April 29, 2009 - Our World Wind Band Trip to Disney World!

Last weekend I embarked on a trip to Disney World with the Central High School Band of which my 10th grader, Cameron, is a member. Two Hotard 55-passenger busses filled to the brim with teenagers and those of us parents who were brave enough to go as chaperones. We had to report to the school at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon so that the band could practice a bit before the trip. They had been off of school for spring break and not played in several days. We were scheduled to pull out at 4:00 p.m. -- the idea was to leave in the afternoon, drive all night so that the kids would sleep, we would stop for breakfast the next morning and then go straight to the Magic Kingdom for a full day in the park on Friday. The problem is that "Stacey" cannot sleep in planes, trains or automobiles! Just let me say that the teenagers on this trip were amazing. Members of the band, choir, Silks (flag team) and Kittens (dance team) went on the trip and there was absolutely no DRAMA! At least none that I was aware of - and I find that amazing and tip my hat off to those kids! WOW!!The kids were sprawled out all over the bus floors and seats trying to sleep. I think my friend Tammy and I were the only adults who did not have seats to ourselves and therefore sat up all night "trying" to sleep during the 14 hour bus ride. We got to the park when it opened on Friday morning with swollen eyes and ankles! But we were ready to hit the park.


We had a ball! Disney really is a magical place. You can't help but be transformed into a kid again. We spent the entire day running from one ride to the other, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain. We visited Minnie and Mickey's houses -- they live next door to each other you know. Minnie's house was interactive, and Cameron, Ariel and LaKeidra had a ball exploring the house . . . eh . . . Tammy and I had fun ourselves!








This is our crew on Splash Mountain. You can just see my left eye (LOL), then, Maddie & Ariel, Colleen & Cameron, and Kelly in the very back.







This is Cameron listening to Minnie's messages on her answering machine.







Now this was probably one of the cutest things that happened. In Minnie's backyard is a gazebo and Ariel wanted Cameron to take a picture with her in the gazebo - here are the pictures of how that went . . .

Ariel: "Cameron, come take a picture with me."

Cameron: "Nooooo . . . not in a pink and purple gazebo!"

Ariel: "Oh come on . . . it'll be fun!!"

Cameron: "Oh, all right!"

Me and Tammy: "Say Cheese!!!"

After conquering the Magic Kingdom, we left to go to our hotel to check-in, a quick change of clothes and headed back out to Downtown Disney where the Jazz Band would perform. They are absolutely amazing! Look at my cool - jazz playing son!

We ended the night with dinner at Planet Hollywood.

Saturday morning we headed out early -- it was Disney's Hollywood Studios ALL DAY!! Woo Hoo! That meant Rockin' Roller Coaster

and my favorite -- the Tower of Terror -- all day long!!!

I'll let you in on a little tradition I've started since our first trip to Disney. I always get a picture with one of the spooky "Bellmen" inside the Tower of Terror. They try to stay in character, and usually they can be pretty spooky, this one though . . . not so much - LOL!

We had a ball on Saturday and stayed until the park closed! We rode those rides over and over! Don't you love fast passes!?!

That night, the band attended a workshop where they went "in studio" and learned the music to a Disney movie . . . in this case Alladin and got to play the music to the movie. It was amazing. If I can figure out how to post videos on here, I'll come back and add it. To watch the piece of the movie and know that our band was playing the soundtrack was pretty amazing. They had so much fun!!

Sunday was our final day at Disney. We went to Epcot from opening (at 9am) to close (at 9pm). The very first thing on the agenda for the day was a performance by our Symphonic Band who did an amazing job!
Here's the band performing on stage in Epcot. They looked awesome and sounded wonderful! Cameron is the closest trumpet!

After their performance, we were off to Test Track and Mission Space (which I can only ride once - LOL). It was an exhausting day, but I got to do things at Epcot that I hadn't done before on our previous visits, so it was fun. Probably one of my favorite things was "Turtle Talk with Crush". Yeah, it's pretty much for little kids, but it was precious. Crush (the Sea Turtle) from Finding Nemo is on a screen, and literally interacts with the kids in the audience. It was too cute! I took a pic with my favorite and hopefully next car . . . the 2010 Camaro!
Then we headed to the World Showcase, walked around, ate dinner and then enjoyed Illuminations (the fireworks show at Epcot) I got this pic on the way out. Then we headed for the buses and the 12 hour ride home. I got a little smarter this time and joined some of the kids on the floor of the bus. Did I sleep . . . NO! But it sure beat sitting up in a chair for 12 hours! That about sums up my first "band" trip! We had a great time! The kids had some fantastic performances and workshops and Disney, as usual, was amazing!So, like they say in Disney . . . "Have a Magical Day!"