Down to Disney and Beyond!
by Annie McKinney
This year, the Shelby Whippet Band traveled down to Orlando, Florida to march in Disney World at the Magic Kingdom park’s morning parade. The band first began their trip on Friday afternoon around 2 o'clock. They arrived in Florida around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, along with a few stops in between.
One of my favorite memories about the bus ride on the way down was after we switched bus drivers in Statesville, North Carolina. It was about 12:40 a.m., and we were 20 miles out of Charleston, South Carolina. To keep us all awake so we could see Charleston, Mr. Day told everyone on bus two his classic stories. After we had passed through Charleston he, then told all of us a "bedtime story." You can never go wrong with a Mr. Day story!
When the band arrived at the Disney parks, the first Disney stop was at Blizzard Beach. Blizzard Beach is a water park down in Disney. It is mostly known for the water slide "Summit Plummit." Summit Plummit is a 12 story, almost vertical drop. I personally rode the waterslide twice; the first time I was terrified, the second time, I was still, if not even more, terrified. After the fun-in-the-sun morning at Blizzard Beach, the band then traveled to Animal Kingdom to spend the rest of the day there. At Animal Kingdom, the band rode the Expedition Everest, went to Dinoland, watched a parade, and watched some shows! For some of the band students, this was the first time they have ever even ridden a rollercoaster, which, for most, was Expedition Everest!
After the long day at Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom, the band finally departed for the hotel, The Rosen Centre. The first night there, all the students and chaperones got adjusted to their home for the next four days/nights. There they enjoyed a wonderful pizza and pool party.
Sunday, the band made its way to Epcot, the around-the-world themed park. At about 1 p.m., the band met up in the “country” Italy. In Italy, the band was led backstage to do an instrumental workshop. There, the band kids got to play Disney music from the movie, Tarzan, and the music they played from Tarzan got turned into a little “movie.” They also got to work with a director who works for Disney, and their guide played Mary Poppins in the Hollywood Studios show Fantasmic! After the Illuminations show at Epcot, the band departed for their hotel, knowing the day they’ve been waiting for was finally here.
"Monday morning you could totally tell everyone, at breakfast at least, was a little nervous. I mean who wouldn’t be? What was really nerve-calming was talking to the other kids from the other bands who had already performed. There was a band out by Akron who had marched Sunday, and they gave [me and my friends] tips and a little ‘pep talk’ before we left that morning. It was pretty cool,” said a band student. All of the band kids could agree that it was an amazing and
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be marching down Main Street in the Magic
Kingdom.
“What really got the nerves going was that there were three bands for the morning parade, and we were the first. Everyone watching would compare us the to the rest of the bands in the morning parade, and the mid-day parade, and the nighttime parade...talk about pressure! Oh, and plus that, we’ll be in random peoples' vacation photos[, which] is pretty cool," said another band student.
After the spectacular march down Main Street, the band was free to roam Magic Kingdom. “My favorite show was definitely the Wishes one at Magic Kingdom,” says a saxophone player. After riding the monorail and the bus to the hotel, everyone was tired and sunburnt, but the worst sunburn was yet to come. On Tuesday, the band drove an hour out to Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and Coco Beach. It was a chilly and foggy day by the time the band arrived, so most of the band students decided not to wear any sunscreen. “I had never been to the beach before, and my parents did warn me that it was salty water. I didn’t realize how salty it really was. How do fish stand that?!” remarks a band student. “One cool thing about the beach was that I had never been body surfing before, but I caught on quickly! It was also hysterical to watch the guys in band build this ‘super big sand castle.’ [It's] too bad all of their shovels broke!”
On the way home most of the band kids who forgot to use sunscreen finally started to feel the pain. Most of the kids claimed it was one of the worst burns they’ve had. “Everyone pretty much got burnt, like bad. We all looked like lobsters. It was hilarious until we all tried to sleep. The chaperones had to bring around bottles of Aloe to each room to help heal the burns," said another student.
After the drive home the band then stopped to shop down at Downtown Disney for the rest of the trip. The band’s last day at Disney was spent at Hollywood Studios, where they could watch shows, meet more characters, ride more rides, and do some more shopping. The main attractions Hollywood Studios are Tower of Terror, The Rockin Roller Coaster, and Fantasmic (the big nighttime show). The band was able to catch one of Fantasmics performances--the 8:30 show. Fantasmic is a show outside involving water, fire, lights and fireworks. It incorporates Disney Characters from Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Lion King, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, and many more! After the show, the SWB headed back to the buses, and off for home they went! They arrived home from Florida at about 6 p.m Thursday.