Lachlan LeonardLong time no see! Time for a long overdue update. Where do I begin?
At the beginning of August I headed over to Magic Kingdom to check out the brand-new nighttime parade Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. The floats lit up beautifully and featured so many favorites — Elsa, Pinocchio & Geppetto, Peter Pan & Wendy, a handful of princesses with their princes, and of course Mickey and the gang.
A few days later, I got to experience something really special: a cast-only event at Hollywood Studios for National Rollercoaster Day.
We had the park all to ourselves long after guests had gone home, which meant late-night rides on Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
The highlight of the night for me though was getting to ride Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster with the work lights on — seeing the track and layout of what’s normally a pitch-black ride was such a cool, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After spending plenty of time on Batuu helping the Resistance, I took a much-needed getaway with my friend Victoria down to Miami.
The drive was about three and a half hours, and we had three days packed with food, fun, and sunshine.
I really enjoyed Miami as a whole, and our highlights included shopping, the Museum of Ice Cream, and an amazing breakfast at a cafe called Little Hen (seriously one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had).
But the main event was seeing Katy Perry on The Lifetimes Tour.
Katy was actually my very first concert back in 2014, so seeing her again nearly 11 years later was really special. S
he performed for almost two and a half hours, covering all the big hits and plenty of newer songs too. She even did aerial stunts and closed the show flying across the arena on a giant butterfly — an absolute icon.
Barely a week later, I was heading right back to Miami for another concert — and this time it was the one I’ve been waiting for for my entire life.
My all-time favourite artist, Lady Gaga. I’ve looked up to Gaga since I was four years old, so finally seeing her live was beyond emotional.
For the first show, I went solo by train and had a VIP ticket with an incredible view, really close to the stage. After a dramatic video interlude, Gaga appeared in a massive (and I mean massive) red dress.
I had tears in my eyes finally seeing her in person — it’s a feeling I’ll never forget.
Toward the end she even left the stage and came around the barricade, and I got to see just how tiny she is in real life!
The next night my friend Perry from Living with the Land joined me, and even though our seats were all the way in the back, the show was just as magical.
We got to meet up with my friend Nancy from Rise of the Resistance too who was there the same night.
Needless to say, the post-concert depression has been real, I rewatch the videos I took of Gaga almost every night before bed.
But the whirlwind didn’t stop there. Just three days later, I was back at the airport flying to Las Vegas to surprise my family, who were there for my cousin Emma’s wedding.
My mum was the only one who knew I was coming, so I was especially excited to see my dad’s reaction since I hadn’t seen him in eight months.
We had the best few days together, and as a bonus we made a stop at Haus of Gaga Las Vegas in Park MGM.
The exhibit features some of Gaga’s most iconic outfits, including the infamous meat dress from the 2010 VMAs, along with tour costumes, red carpet looks, and more.
Finally, to round out a busy few weeks, I got to reunite with some familiar faces from New Zealand.
My friends Nick and Sarah, had finished up their internships at Sea Island in Georgia.
On their way to Georgia we went to Disney World together, but now that they were on their way home it was time for a Universal trip instead!
We stayed at the brand-new Terra Luna Resort, spent time at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, and filled the days with laughs, yarns, and plenty of good memories.
And that’s a wrap for this update! I know it was a long one, but so much has happened lately. I promise I won’t keep you waiting quite so long for the next one. 😉
