Trip Report An Intimate Travel Party of 128 (the sequel to We're With the Band and Orchestra)

Laurenciaa · Jan 16, 2024

brifraz said:
I know. Worst live trip reporting ever. We are about 9 hours into our drive home and crossing fingers that roads aren’t too terrible when we get closer to home. School is actually closed today because of the snow so lots of parents concerned about our return. Just the latest anxiety cause…

I promise to do a full trip report at some point, but guaranteed it won’t start today. Get back to school and get everyone sent home, dig out my car, go home and get a hot shower and some scotch.

Safe travels @brifraz

cgersic · Jan 16, 2024

You just get home safely and don't worry about live trip updates until we know you are home with that scotch!

Seagull59 · Jan 16, 2024

Safe travels home!

Wicked Sisters · Jan 16, 2024

Safe travels to you all and enjoy that scotch. You deserve it. Looking forward to your report when you have time.

Swissmiss · Jan 16, 2024

So by my calculations you should be about 2 hours from school and about 2.5 hours from the scotch (which sounds like it is more than deserved).

brifraz · Jan 17, 2024

Got back to school yesterday at about 2:30pm local time. After all the unpacking of the busses, getting things back into a snowed in building, and getting medications back to parents, I left school at about 3:30pm. Home at 4pm. Got cleaned up, then decided to just have a pint of ale (scotch would've put me right to sleep) and some dinner. Not sure of a whole lot after that as I started dozing on the couch by 6pm and went up to bed at about 8pm. Slept until almost 6am. For those who have followed along with me before, that is totally unheard of. I'm a 6-7 hours of sleep MAX per night, so a 10 hour night is an extreme outlier. Schools are 2 hour delay this morning due to ice/snow/cold, but getting ready to head in now. I think the report is going to mainly wait for the weekend, but we shall see what the next couple days hold.

Just to be clear, it was not a total disaster and the vast majority of kids seem to have had an awesome trip, but there were a LOT of issues that those of us in charge were dealing with and it definitely wasn't quite as enjoyable for us.

And, for those who asked... Ms. Brifraz got home safely on Monday from her trip to DL - the race went very well and they had a good time (although not without a few bumps as well).

brifraz · Jan 21, 2024

Okay. It's been a few days. I feel sufficiently recovered to share the tale. The tale of a fateful trip.

So, earlier I shared some from our drive down. It was fairly uneventful. Left home pretty much on time. Hit a ton of traffic on the DC beltway but then things were surprisingly clear south of DC (which is usually a real troublesome area). Had our dinner stop at Golden Corral a little south of Richmond which was a little later than planned, but still within the window of timing that would work just fine for us.

During those first four hours, I had a somewhat important but also equally mundane task to complete. Sorting through over 70 different 'as needed' medications that were sent by parents. Since I am required to carry all these meds with me at all times during the trip AND we are required to only use medications specifically provided by parents for their kids, that would mean I'd be taking 30-ish bottles of ibuprofen, 10-ish boxes of Dramamine, 5-ish bottles of antacid, and similar things with me at all times. It's a little unreasonable. So, I had a box of sandwich bags and was transferring 3-4 doses of each medication into a baggy along with the paperwork that needs to be filled out each time I distribute a med to a kid and double labeling everything. Then filling up my backpack with all those baggies. Basically I took 2 paper boxes (that hold 20 reams of paper) full of medications and reduced it down to one backpack.

Anyway, it got done. And after a long night of not very good sleep, we got to Disney.

Now, I did this four years ago and I remembered that when the busses arrived at Studios on that trip, it was a bit chaotic getting to the correct place. I know that the bus entry is NOT the normal entrance off Osceola Pkwy, that it is off Buena Vista Drive. But, I'm not the guy driving the bus and our driver insisted that it had changed in recent years and that the main entrance was the way to go. Yeah... they made us drive around. And, in that process, our busses missed the turn to go toward BV Drive and ended up heading toward WWoS. After about 20 minutes and me eventually saying "just trust me, I'll get you to the right place - don't follow any instructions you might've heard from the parking attendant or the guy at WWoS" we did find our way to the right place. And at about 9:30am, the kids were heading in.

Naturally, yours truly has to wait at the back and make sure everybody gets through security and then that all the tickets work. But, finally I did get myself into the park! This is what just a couple hours of sleep on a bus makes one look like...

Knowing that waiting in huge lines was just an invitation to get a message that I need to meet up with a kid, I decided to just do some of the lesser attractions and enjoy being in the parks as much as I could. Started off with a ride on Star Tours. On the way into the queue, I met up with one of my chaperones who was riding solo and also had never been on Star Tours. She had a blast! And, I enjoyed the ride, or course. I followed that up with a walk through Batuu, hoping to maybe find my way into the Millenium Falcon as a single rider. Sadly, it was down. And, in fact, it would remain down for the entire day. Made for some grumpy kids. As expected, with 107 kids and 22 adults on the trip, I was running into folks somewhat often. Thus, I decided to maybe find a way to escape for half an hour...

However, Oga's was quite well guarded at the moment (plus the wait for walk-up for a single was pretty long) so I continued to wander a bit, getting some photos and saying hello to some of my crew along the way. It was getting close to 11am and I was definitely a bit hungry, so I put in a mobile order for Woody's Lunch Box and picked up some Totchos (veggie version).

Also, helped a group of my kids grab a table. Are there EVER enough tables at Woody's??? Energized with food, I wandered back toward the front of the park. This was when the first of day 1's issues started. Almost simultaneously we got a little bit of rain and I got a message that one of the kids wasn't feeling good. He was going to try to continue touring with his friends, but was feeling some exhaustion and a little sick, so I told him to message if/when he needed some assistance. I headed toward the Indy Stunt Show for the 12:15pm show, figuring I could grab a seat at the back and make a quick escape if needed. Sadly... a little bit of rain meant the 12:15pm show was cancelled. I went over and watched the little Mickey short (okay, maybe I napped for 5-10 minutes in there) and then headed back near Indy to wait for the next show and wait to possibly hear from a kid. If you need a quiet place (except when Indy is letting out), this is a great spot.

The next show of Indy was cancelled so I headed back to watch some Muppet 3D fun. Sadly, almost right as I entered the theatre, I got a message from a chaperone that she had met up with the kid not feeling well and that he was definitely in need of some first aid. They were right outside Tower of Terror, so I rushed over there and grabbed the kid and headed to first aid. To be honest, he didn't seem too bad to me and the Disney first aid folks agreed that he wasn't really in need of much attention. But, to play it safe, we just sat in the first aid location for about 45 minutes for him to rest and recover some energy.

Our attendance meet-up was scheduled for 2:30pm, so a few minutes before 2pm, he and I headed up to the 'stage' right in front of Grauman's Theatre for attendance meet. Most of the chaperones and kids got there prior to 2:30pm which made things very easy. There were a couple stuck in line for Rise and a few others who actually were stuck on Mickey Minnie, so I hung out there until close to 3pm waiting for them. The exhausted kid rejoined his friends and headed back out into the park. Those last kids finally got all checked in (Mickey Minnie was then down for about an hour).

Now that I was back on my own, it was time to head to one of my favorite attractions anywhere at Disney and ACTUALLY get to see it!

After the show, I decided it was time for a bit more nourishment. It may not be the best food at Disney (is there really much decent counter service in Studios at all???), but it's a decent portion and another quieter place to escape. So, PizzaRizzo for lunch/early dinner!

After eating, I just spent a few minutes sitting in PizzaRizzo and thinking though my gameplan. There were a few hours before we were all meeting up for Fantasmic! so I decided to check on possibly having some Oga's time and booked a ressie for 1 for about 5:30pm. I then headed to check out if maybe the last show of Indy was going to happen (still showing up on the app, so I was hopeful). Sadly, it wasn't to be. Some time during all this, Rise went down for an extended period as well. Of course, that meant I was going to hear a little more grumbling from kids. Falcon down all day, Rise was down for about 3 hours, and Mickey Minnie down for a a couple hours. Bit of a rough day. I decided to take another ride with Star Tours and was happy to get a completely different sequence... although I'm not a fan of either ending that I got on my two trips (Exegol and Naboo).

Since I do tend to just enjoy being in Batuu, I headed back there again and wandered for a bit. During my wanderings, I met up with an old friend...

That's my second Vi Moradi selfie (and if you don't know who she is... start reading the Star Wars novels - she is a pretty fun character) and nice that it was the same actress. I'm wondering if perhaps she is the only actress? It was about 5pm at this point and I decided to check-in early for Oga's. Happened to run into some parents from another local school who was following almost the exact same itinerary as us and chatted with them a bit while waiting to go in.

Once inside, it was quite odd... I don't think I've ever ordered a non-alcoholic drink there! But, my Hyperdrive Punch-it was nice and enjoyed chatting with the other folks at the bar near me.

By the time I figured I would just go head to our meet-up location for the evening in the seating near Fairfax Fare. Definitely a bit early, but with such little sleep the night before, I figured it wouldn't hurt to just sit and relax there. I did make a pit stop on the way to walk through One Man's Dream (I do always enjoy it) and watched the little Percy Jackson preview they were showing (definitely prefer the history movie, but it's was a soft seat in a dark theater so I can't complain). Met up with some chaperones who were grabbing dinner and got some nachos for myself and just waited for our 7:30pm meeting.

Sadly, I've got no more pictures for day 1 for you. Because that was when things started to get very interesting. Let me preface this with the fact that seeing the updated Fantasmic! was a priority for me on this trip. I knew I wouldn't get to do a lot of rides and in terms of new things, this was one I hadn't enjoyed yet! As we started to gather, I got news of one of the kids getting sick in the bathrooms near there. I dispatched a chaperone to check on her. And then, I got news of another one sick in the bathroom. Another chaperone dispatched. At this point, it was getting close to 8pm - and I knew that about 8:15pm was when we would be joining the mass entrance into Fantasmic. Luckily, just a few minutes prior to 8:15pm, both of the aforementioned girls and their respective chaperone helpers had made it to the group and everybody seemed to be doing okay. A little water and Powerade was doing the trick for most of the kids having trouble. We have a 'hydrate or die-drate' motto in the marching band and some kids had forgotten...

Do you know how hard it is to keep a crew of 129 together as you enter Fantasmic??? Yeah, not easy. But we did fairly well. Almost to the seating area, a kid came up to tell me that yet another kid was now feeling sick and that he and a friend had left the queue to go to the bathroom but hadn't told anyone. I frantically called the chaperones who were pulling up the rear of our group and asked one to go find and check on the now AWOL kids. I then served as Pied Piper and got the rest of the folks into the Fantasmic! seating and we got some GREAT seats - almost center section and toward the front, but not right in front. I left the main group under the supervision of the administrator who was with us and parent chaperones and headed out in search of the sick kid, his friend, and the chaperone with them.

If I haven't mentioned before how good some of my chaperones are... now is the time! The one who went to check on the kid is a parent I've worked with for 10 years now and her family had joined us (not with our trip, had flown down on their own) and they had all gone to try to help out with the new sick kid. They had made their way into the Fantasmic area and were actually sitting right by the Fantasmic restrooms. The kid was suffering the same exhaustion and maybe a little dehydration that had been plaguing others on this day. However, he also was having some trouble with his asthma, so I pulled his emergency inhaler (from my magic backpack of meds) and he said that helped. We went in to the back row of the seating area just as the show started.

And stayed there for about 30 seconds. He was feeling a lot worse quite quickly, so we headed back out to near the bathrooms. I let the local CMs know the situation and they tried to call First Aid, but... park closes prior to the F! showing so first aid was closed as well. Time to call in the big guns and the paramedics from Reedy Creek rushed over to help us. During the 10 minutes that we were waiting for their arrival, the kid vomited quite a bit and possibly passed out for a couple seconds (parent holding hime wasn't quite sure what all transpired). Meanwhile, I called the kids parents (who also had flown down, but were already back at their hotel - Pop Century) and told them the situation. They hopped on the Skyliner to come back to the park. The parameds showed up and were great. To make a far too long story short... right as Fantasmic ended, the parents arrived (with escort from park security since it was after hours), the EMTs decided that it was just a combination of exhaustion and asthma attack which then likely triggered a panic attack.

Meanwhile the rest of our huge crew was now standing at the top of the entry/exit ramp waiting for our situation to resolve. Since it was getting quite late, we ordered a Lyft for the sick kid and his parents (Skyliner was already done for the night), and Disney folks helped wheel him out. I gathered all our kids and gave a quick speech about hydrating and getting enough sleep and then we all headed out to the busses.

By the time we got to the hotel it was about 11pm and I dashed in to grab 129 room keys. Oh... wait... I forgot! Mid-morning a parent who had not traveled with us called me to tell me that she was staying at the same hotel as us, but that reception at the hotel had told her that we had been moved to their 'sister' hotel. I then called and they said... 'oh yeah, sorry, we forgot to let you know that we moved you from the Springhill Suites to the TownePlace Suites.' Which meant I should not have been even the least bit surprised when we got to the hotel and the room keys were not sorted correctly and the rooms were not organized correctly at all. Grabbed a couple parents and we did some re-organizing and re-sorting of the room keys and got everyone on their way by 11:30pm

Kids were now up in their rooms and chaperones were making sure everyone was all settled. All was looking pretty good. We had hired overnight security to monitor the hallways so none of the chaperones would need to be policing anything. I know you won't be surprised to learn... they showed up about half an hour late (and at the wrong hotel... well, the right hotel, but not the right hotel for where we now were) and one of them reeked of pot. Seriously??

I really am not sure when I finally got up to my room and to bed, but I'm pretty sure it was close to 1am. Alarm was set for 6:30am to do all the 'regular' morning medications at breakfast starting at 7am. Day 2 is going to start with heading to our stage performance at Disney Springs. Which I'm sure will be MUCH easier day! Right???

Swissmiss · Jan 21, 2024

I’m exhausted just reading about your trip!

cgersic · Jan 23, 2024

Daaaaang!! That is a LOT for one day at the Studios! I sure hope you get some rest soon (in the report)!

brifraz · Jan 28, 2024

Alrighty, then... let's take a look at the second day at WDW for my crew. It started with an early morning wake-up call as this is our stage performance day. 91 of the kids have to be ready to head to the Imagination Campus facility near Disney Springs to get ready to perform, so we get everyone and everything loaded up at about 8am. Despite a few kids being a little late, it's a relatively smooth morning.

As we get on the busses and headed over, spirits are high. For my bus, that meant a little entertainment as I played tour guide pointing out all kinds of things along the road - using my best gentle, Disney tour guide voice.

I doubt she will ever see this, but on my left (the right of the picture) is my super chaperone, MS, mentioned in the previous post as she was helping with the kid in distress from the previous night. Oh, yeah... about him! Texted back and forth with parents in the morning and they decided that he was going to forego the stage performance to get some rest, but they would all join us at Animal Kingdom in the afternoon. But, let's get back to the action at hand!

Met with our Disney helpers at the Imagination Campus facility and kids did all the things they needed to get themselves ready for the performance. We reviewed some of the music - especially the spots that might trip us up and the spots that we had skipped over a bit in our shortened rehearsal time.

Had a few minor issues with kids forgetting their ties or black socks or dress shoes or whatever... but nothing too terrible to deal with. Once ready to go, we headed to Disney Springs and made the trek from the busses to the stage area. Walking out as we were announced, I noticed @pkkurz in the crowd - so glad that you once again came out to see us!

However, I'm fairly certain that the smile pictured above might've been my last during the performance. Our first piece, Pirates of the Caribbean, was okay. Certainly not a stellar performance, but passable! The second, was not quite so great. It was a medley of a variety of Disney songs that concluded with It's A Small World. It was already going a bit rough, but when we got to IaSW, the wheels fell off. Totally. 30 years of teaching high school music and this was the first time that I ever had to stop in the middle of a song and restart. I've heard a couple of the parent recordings and... well, it really was that bad. Now, I know that I'll always be the most critical of myself and my performances, and that many will say that it all sounded 'fine.' But, it wasn't fine and I'm just going to leave it there. Our third piece was selections from Star Wars, and again there were quite a few issues. Nothing so bad as in the Disney medley, but again, not a performance that I want to listen to ever again.

One of the worst parts about it, is that all the kids knew it had gone poorly and spent the rest of the trip apologizing to me for it. To which, I would apologize back to them. While it is true that they didn't perform up to our usual standards, I hold myself quite responsible as we did not practice enough and I didn't have good alternate plans in place for when weather impacted things. Live and learn, eh?

Back at Imagination Campus, we got ourselves changed into park touring gear and then headed back to Disney Springs to pick up the few kids and lots of chaperones who had not participated in or helped with the performance. And then over to Animal Kingdom. Honestly not totally sure when we got there, but it was likely around 1pm. On the way over, I texted a bit more with the parents of the sick kid from the previous night and we set up for them to meet me (paperwork for the kid having left and then rejoined the group) at the park entrance a bit later in the afternoon.

With that being the case, upon getting into Animal Kingdom (and making sure all the kids were in), I just hung out with the animals in the pre-Tree of Life areas. After waiting for about 45 minutes, I texted to check on their status and they had decided not to come over and meet up after all... would've been nice of them to let me know!! Now with a little more freedom to do some touring, I headed back to Africa and grabbed some MUCH needed lunch at Harambe Market. The Impossible Kofta pita was really excellent! I know some may scoff at the 'impossible' but it was really good stuff.

Now in better spirits thanks to some food, I decided to head over to the Safari and, despite an hour plus line, wait for an adventure on the savanna. I don't think I've mentioned yet, but in addition to my crew, there were some other schools from Maryland at WDW on this weekend (and if I did already mention it, well... here it is again). One of those was a school from just down the road from us - maybe 15 minutes drive - who are in our county and are a very similar program to ours. In fact, their director used my plans and itinerary to figure out their trip. About a year ago, I had talked to a couple directors in a neighboring county and they had both said they were considering the same weekend. I knew that one was there, but the other I was pretty sure had changed their plans. Their director is an old friend (he student taught with me about 20 years ago), but I knew he was having some health issues so I'd assumed they weren't going. Why do I bring this up now? Well, in line next to me were a bunch of kids wearing gear from that school. I asked them if they were there to perform and if so, if their director was with them. They were, but he wasn't. I'm also friends with the head of music for that district so I texted her to see what was up with that. Turns out his health issues were a little worse than I thought and that he was now on a leave of absence.

With this news, I didn't really feel like spending an hour in line with some of his students and thoughts of health issues and losing friends (just a few weeks past I had attended two funerals, so all this was all front of mind). So, I sought out one of my favorite animal spots in the park. Came across a couple of my chaperones on the way and showed them what I consider a hidden bit of magic in Animal Kingdom.

Also, the peace and quiet of the paths under the Tree of Life is always welcome. After the healing of hanging out with the kangaroos (and then the otters and tortoises as well), I headed to Finding Nemo and snuck in the back right before the show started. Maybe not the best view, but at least I got to see it!

Following that, I headed over to Pandora. I knew that a lot of my kids had headed to Flight of Passage right when we arrived and the wait had been fluctuating between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, so I figured some of the last of them would be coming out about this time and I'd check in with them to see if they enjoyed it. Caught up with quite a few of them and everyone loved the ride, but not the wait so much!! I joined up with a big crew of chaperones and kids who were heading over toward Everest (which was currently down, but everyone was hoping it would get going again). Helped them with some Genie Plus and Lightning Lane work and then when they waited for the ride, I headed back to check on my tiger friends on the Maharaja Jungle Trek.

The male tiger was out and about and making a ruckuss. Which, of course, meant a big crowd to get a view and pictures. I just hung out and the back and watched him wander and pine for his lady tiger friend for a bit and then started heading toward the front of the park. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of him. Meanwhile, another round of texting with the (maybe still or maybe not still) sick kid's parents. Plan now in place for him to meet up with us at Disney Springs.

Got to the front of the park around 5:45pm, with our meet-up and departure planned for 6:30pm (park close was 6pm). And, we were pretty close to making that time. We had to wait about 10-15 minutes for a few kids who were finishing up a ride, but nothing too bad this time. Back to the busses and headed back to Disney Springs so everyone could enjoy some time there (2.5 hours to be exact).

Once at Disney Springs, everyone headed in. I have to say - unlike the last trip four years earlier, we had ZERO issues with tickets working on this trip. (see, I can find some positives!!) I had a plan in mind for my dinner with my fingers crossed it would work out. Raglan Road - seat at the bar (usually a single is available, right?), fish and chips, and some entertainment. But, of course, it was packed. The bar was 2-3 people deep on all sides, so I checked out the outside seating. One single seat at the corner of the outside bar near where the staff station is. Worked for me. But, now I bring you perhaps the saddest sight there is...

Yup. That's a water to drink at Raglan Road. Truly sad. But, the rest of the experience there was much better.

And, up close and personal with the music and dance, for sure.

Now that I was fed, it was time to meet up with some kids who needed evening medications. Which brings me to mention another positive from the trip. In our group texting app for the trip, the kids had taken to playing a little game of taking secret pictures of me and posting them with the caption 'spotted in the wild' or 'in his natural habitat' or something similar. I don't think they realized that every post in the app has to get approved by me, so I was aware almost immediately that it was happening. But, they were having fun with it so I went with it.

brifraz · Jan 28, 2024

Anyway, got to the group where two kids who needed meds were (at Chicken Guy) and chatted with them about the game a bit. Turns out that one of the kids had assigned points to different things. They all know that I am not a big fan of selfies like they are, so getting a selfie with me was worth the most points. Since they were good kids, I felt I could indulge them!

Nobody is as cool as that guy. Anyway, 9:30pm arrived pretty soon and we all gathered en masse near Cirque to head back to the busses. Plus, we regained the formerly sick kid back with us! Back at full strength we headed back to the hotel. And, the evening went relatively smoothly... until our security again didn't show up on time. Or even close to on time. While my all-star top chaperones waited in the lobby for the security (having called them, they promised they were on the way), I did the walks of the hallway and knocked on a few doors to get kids to quiet down and get to bed.

But, eventually security was in place, and everyone got some sleep!! Well... a certain one person had some trouble sleeping despite his exhaustion because he was still a bit troubled about the morning performance knowing that another performance was coming up the next day at Magic Kingdom. See you there. (likely next weekend)

Swissmiss · Jan 28, 2024

I’m really glad that you were able to find at least some positives in this trip, and I am truly sorry that Mother Nature mucked up your training schedule making your performance not up to the standard you would have liked. Just remember: most people in an audience aren’t musically inclined so they notice less things than you would.

erstwo · Jan 29, 2024

I can’t believe we are only on page 3/ day 3(??) of this trip. I feel like you have lived two lifetimes already! What a wild ride.
I agree with Swissmiss on the performance! Anyone who can play even one note well on an instrument amazes me (zero talent here) and any band director/ teacher who teaches and takes a group that size on a trip of this magnitude gets a TON of respect from me.
So sorry for your recent losses and your friend’s diagnosis.

brifraz · Feb 3, 2024

It's about time for day 3 of this adventure going. Of course, I was up early and down to the lobby to distribute meds and get some breakfast for myself. Early on, there wasn't a whole lot of drama - well, except the excitement at 7am as people got their Tron boarding passes (myself included). As kids made their way down, lots of reminding all the marching band kids to have their uniform and equipment with them for load-up. As the morning wore on, word came that another kid was feeling under the weather and had been throwing up overnight. It was a kid from one of the rooms that I had checked on the night before and the room had been a TOTAL MESS. And it appeared they had brought the entire Wal-Mart junk food section with them. a couple chaperones were dispatched to check on her while I worked out a plan of action.

She definitely wasn't doing great, so one of our chaperones (the aforementioned assistant principal from another school) volunteered to stay at the hotel with her until she was feeling up for coming into the park and the rest of us headed to Magic Kingdom. Arrival went pretty smoothly; although there was a very zealous security person at the metal detectors. Okay... maybe there weren't that overzealous - one of my kids, despite numerous reminders to leave such things on the bus, had brought their flute in their backpack with them. Hmmm... three metal tubes in a hard plastic case with lots of little metal pieces attached - I'm sure that looked great to the detectors. I stayed with the kid while the majority of our crew were already getting on the monorail and ferry, but eventually we got on our way as well.

The last groups of kids and chaperones hopped on the ferry as a group and finally made our way to the Magic Kingdom.

Once in the park (after making sure that everyone got through the tapstiles successfully), I headed to the rocking chairs by the Town Square Theater and just sat and people and Dapper Dan watched for a bit. While there, the director from the other school by us came in with her family (who had met her there) and we chatted for a few minutes about the chaos that we had each enjoyed the past few days. Her husband had their 3 year old on his back and the youngster was very vocally complaining about being hungry, so I grabbed a squeezable applesauce from my backpack stash and made his morning a bit easier.

Forgot to mention that for some reason, overnight my phone had failed to charge. So, my first stop before the rocking chair was the fuel rod station in the little photo shop right there. Just another of those little things, you know??

Okay, so I sat for a bit but then decided to make my way really into the park. And, what better way to do it than via a double decker bus!

Got into the hub as the first castle stage show was going on so I stayed a little bit to listen to "I Have a Dream" before continuing to tour around. Much like the previous two days, I had no major plans for the day except trying to catch Tron (oh, and this parade thingy). So, I just wandered a bit through the Liberty Square and Frontierland. I did happen upon Big Al and a friend on the walk so I decided to get a picture.

The friend was a little surprised that I wanted to get her in the shot, but all credit to the CMs, be they in costume or supporting those in costume. Being pretty exhausted by the past few days, I decided to find myself another rocking chair. One of my favorite spots - the little gazebo by the river in front of Big Thunder Mountain. And, while there, I put out the word (as well as a picture of my view) in our app that I was sitting someplace and there would be 'bonus points' for figuring out where I was and getting a picture. It took a while, but eventually some kids in the Haunted Mansion line figured it out and got some VERY long distance pictures. Having been found out, I moved on.

During all of this, there was some continued 'activity' via text. The sick kid was feeling a bit better, but not good enough to make it to the park. The chaperone with her wanted to catch the parade, so we were going to have a swap of chaperones shortly. PLUS, in the exchange of duties in the morning, our plumes (the feathers in our marching band headgear) had been left at the hotel. Nobody's fault, just another little thing! So, the chaperone coming back grabbed the plumes and caught the Lyft over while a different chaperone headed back to the hotel.

Actually, it was getting past 11am and I wanted to grab an early lunch since our parade meet-up time was just after 12pm. Headed to Pecos Bill's and grabbed some nachos with chicken and just sat in there and enjoyed those for a bit. Once we got to 12pm, I just stepped outside and started gathering our crew. By 12:30pm, everyone was there - and a few single drops of rain had fallen on us. Our Disney handler met up with us and took us back to the parade prep area. In the past, we have gone out via the road by Tiana's, but this time they had us exiting next to Pirates and then talking a bit of a long walk to the prep area. We left one of our folks at the gate (with a Disney person) to collect the plumes when they arrived and the rest of us started to get ready.

To summarize quickly... during prep time... 2 kids missing parts of their uniforms (we had spares ready to go), 1 kid missing all their music (I had spare music for them), and 1 kid missing their lyre (thing that holds the music... the spare of which I had already loaned to the other local school... oh well). So, 3 kids easily recovered and 1 out of luck. About the same time, it starts raining for real.

But, that wasn't the worst. I was about to go get my suit on when a kid comes up to me... "I can't find my drum." Wait... what??? They play bass drum... it's huge... there's no way we left it at the hotel... but, it was not there. I dug through both bus underneath storage areas and no hidden bass drum (spoiler alert - it was still in Maryland, sitting in the hallway waiting to get loaded). So, I gathered the (now very upset) kid with another bass drummer and my chaperone/percussion staff guy and we come up with a plan. During the parade, he is going to help us 'rotate' the drum so every kid still gets to play and be a part of the parade. I thank both kids and the staff guy about 50 times right then and another 50 after the parade!!

I got dressed and we were all ready to go. Time for one picture.

And then off we went! We were playing a Disney Marches Medley and Pirates (different version, but yes, again). First time through the Medley was solid. First time through Pirates (right as we passed Country Bears) was PAINFULLY BAD. Luckily, I'm pretty sure something in all the kids at that moment triggered the "well, we totally screwed up on stage and now we've totally screwed up in the parade, might as well just go for it" and the rest of the parade they sounded great.

However, the rain did not let up even a little bit. It wasn't pouring, but it was a decent steady rainfall as we marched. Regardless, we got through and then got back to the busses and changed back into park clothes. Meanwhile, a couple different things happened via the phone - I got called for Tron and got word that today's sick kid was feeling better and ready to come to the park. And, as soon as we finished marching and were backstage... the rain stopped! Seriously?? It literally just rained on our parade and that was the only rain all day.

Now back in the park to do some more touring, I headed to the front of the park to meet with the (now returning) sick kid, thank the chaperone, and catch our local neighbor bands (yes, both the close local one and the somewhat local one with the absent director) in their parade. Kid got back, no problem, cheered on the bands (and got some video to share with them), and then headed to Tron. Very happy to perhaps finally be done with the chaos of this day and enjoy an actual attraction!

Over two hours after I was called, but no problem getting in and after about 45 minutes I got to ride a piece of my childhood (finally!!!).

Certainly a very fun ride, but a bit short IMHO. Post-ride, I wandered a bit more around the park only to come across one of our kids. Totally by himself. "My friends wanted to go do more stuff, but I'm exhausted so they just left me here." Well, that's not an ideal situation. He just wanted to sit near the ice cream parlor and hang out. Luckily, I'd gotten a recent text from a parent saying they were 'done' and were just going to find somewhere to sit. So, I told the parent to meet the kid outside the ice cream parlor. Meanwhile, another kid needed medication so I went to meet them and left the single kid sitting at a table and waiting for the parent. No more than 5 minutes later, medication delivered, but a text from the parent that the kid was no longer by the ice cream parlor.

Knowing how a lot of things had gone in the past 72 hours, I was definitely concerned about the wherabouts of this kid. Put out an APB for him in our app (no responses) and then began searching any "I just want to sit" areas I could think of. No sign of the kid. Wandered and looked for about a full hour when another chaperone finally texts me that the kid is found and was back with his friends. Grumble... By this point, it was getting on towards fireworks time. I had lost my appetite from stress and just headed to the 'rise' in Main Street and get a good fireworks spot and invited any kids and parents to join me for the ideal viewing location.

Only a few kids joined me to wait for the show, but no worries. And, just in case things seemed to be calmed down... got a text from a parent that one of the kids had sprained an ankle, but was going to make it to outside the ice cream parlor and sit with the 'done' parent and I put out a 'anyone who needs to just chill... GO THERE' message. I did get to watch the fireworks with no real drama, which was nice!

After the fireworks, I headed over there (despite the protestations of the CMs trying to heard everybody down Main Street and out) and had our nurse chaperone meet us there as well. Ankle was definitely not in great shape, so I headed over to first aid and grabbed a wheelchair for when we were going to be heading out in an hour.

On the plus side, the end of the night went pretty smoothly. All the kids reported to just outside the train station (inside the tapstiles) for our meet up an hour after fireworks. And, a couple parents showed up with a present for me for all the work organizing the trip. We gathered in chaperone groups and headed en masse to the ferry. Generally, I head up our entourage and have a couple chaperones pulling up the rear of the group. Here's the picture from their point of view as we boarded the ferry.

Yes, that's the gift on my head! Definitely love my Mickey Sorcerer Ears. Loaded the busses without any major issues. Got back to the hotel and distributed meds, etc. It was a bit after 10pm and I suddenly realized I hadn't eaten anything since 11am. Asked some of the staff and chaperones to cover for me and I ran across the street to Five Guys to grab a sandwich and some fries - plus a milkshake for one of the chaperones who had helped out so much during the day.

For once (on our last night in the hotel), our security showed up on time (11pm) and without any issues at all!! And, I managed to get into bed and asleep prior to midnight. Next weekend, our final day in the parks at Epcot!

riverside · Feb 4, 2024

I give you all the credit in the world—I’m exhausted just reading this!!

brifraz · Feb 11, 2024

Hey howdy hey! Let's get to the last day.

Relatively normal wake-up for me. Up before 6am and got everything packed up to load onto the bus. Somehow, I managed to get downstairs holding my garment bag, suitcase, two paper boxes (full of medications), and my backpack all in one trip. Wish I had a picture of that little adventure. However, at this point in the trip I was pretty convinced that an extra trip up or downstairs might result in me getting stuck on a broken elevator or something similar.

The early morning progressed as usual. Kids filtered down slowly for breakfast and some stopped by to pick up medications. Chaperones got the days meal cards distributed to kids, etc. Eventually, kids started coming down with all the their luggage and their instruments and chaperones started to report in that rooms were cleared. Now, you know there is no chance of this going totally smoothly, so... the kid who got sick on the first night was once again feeling under the weather; however, this time our nurse and I were both pretty sure it was a bit of anxiety more than anything else. With some assistance, he made it downstairs and got loaded with everyone else. Well... everyone else except a couple kids. Chaperones dispatched to their room. "Almost ready." This was about 5 minutes after our planned departure from the hotel. However, loading the busses was taking a little longer than expected, so it wasn't a huge issue. Until the busses were done and it was now 15 minutes past our departure time...

But, they finally got onboard and we headed to Epcot. Unloaded in the bus lot and kids headed into the park. The sick kid was feeling better enough to go with his friends, so we let him. And, despite hoping to be in park close to opening, I finally found myself in at about 9:45am. Lines were already growing and I wasn't feeling particularly like waiting in any, so I just explored the new area behind Spaceship Earth. While I definitely miss the fountain, I definitely don't miss the construction walls! And it is a relatively nice (albeit, nothing incredibly special) area.

While I didn't have any need to use them, I felt like this was a highlight.

These little towers are scattered around the area and there are also some charging ports and plugs at the 'bar' areas around some of the planters. I then went up to get my picture from the new Walt statue. But, more importantly, to get a picture of the area looking back from right next to the statue.

And, following that picture, I heard one of my favorite sounds in Epcot. Rushed over to the breezeway between Creations and Connections to take in the show.

Always enjoyable. Talked to them for a bit afterwards (as I always do) about drumming and teaching drumming and warned them that some of my kids might be coming up to them later (I had given all my percussion kids clear instructions to see the Jammitors and talk to them if possible). In case you couldn't tell from the pictures, it was a bit damp out. Not any real 'rain' per se, but definitely a decent bit of wetness around - some mist and a few very light drizzles. (this is what we call foreshadowing)

Jammitors visit concluded, I decided to stop into Club Cool for a sampling of some world beverages. Enjoyed the usual suspects - the watermelon one, kinda enjoy the plum one - and then decided that with everything that had happened the past three days, what could go wrong with this??

And.... nothing. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I've certainly gotten Beverly at least 20 times in the past and have always gagged a bit during the sip. But, this time, either because my brain had reached that point of complete apathy or because my palette was searching for something unique and different, I actually enjoyed it. I got a second cup. And then a third. Which makes me very curious about how I will feel about Beverly in April when we are there for the race and (knock on wood) I'm much less stressed!!

My tastebuds in a strange, but happy, place, I headed across into Creations to try to find a water bottle that my daughter really wanted. Tracked it down and Face-Timed her to verify that it was the right one and she really did want it. Luckily she was free and we actually chatted for a little bit. She was dealing with a situation where she hadn't gotten paid for a job she did up at college and I gave her some suggestions for pursuing what she was owed. Always good to be useful! Went back in and picked up the bottle and then headed to The Land for some calm, quiet time on Living with the Land.

Before that, I stopped over at Soarin' to inquire about single rider. I had heard rumors that this was a thing during the holiday season. Talked to a CM for a bit, and it was actually a thing, but wasn't currently. He said it had been somewhat successful, but as of right now there were no plans to make it permanent. No worries, I got a reservation (well, not really) with a slow boat through some greenhouses. As I got there, the line looked surprisingly long - in fact, the entire weave was pretty much full. Plus, it included some kids and a chaperone who I knew would invite me up with them and who I really didn't want to ride with!! So, I headed back upstairs to watch Awesome Planet. Not at all surprisingly, even before I was in the theatre, the MDE app updated with Living with the Land being down.

I'm sure I have mentioned it in a previous Trip Report, but I really enjoy Awesome Planet. Beautifully filmed, just a bit silly at times, and educational. Kinda what I wish everything in Future World was. After the film, Living with the Land was back up and running and the queue was much shorter so off I went.

'Tis a sad day when the CMs are removing the holiday 'overlay' lighting from LwtL. But the ride was still enjoyable and I had a row all to myself which is always nice. Figuring it was as good a time as any to stick with the slow ride theme, I walked over the The Seas and rode along with Nemo. Sadly, when I got into the aquarium area, the manatees were not out and about so I didn't get to hang out with them.

Again sticking with a theme (but the theme now being water), I took my first walk through the Journey of Water. It was nice, educational (if you bother to read the placards) and FULL of little kids having a blast. Again, pretty Epcot-y and not over the top with Moana characters. Not sure if she does a Meet and Greet in the area at times, because that would certain change things in a less than positive way (for me, at least).

It was getting on towards lunch time, so I headed back into World Showcase to find myself something to enjoy. Of course, not thinking that it was a holiday (MLK day) that is not blacked out for APs, so it was very crowded at all the Festival of the Arts booths. I did a full lap of the lagoon heading from Mexico toward France knowing that a food priority would be the bread bowl with brie. And, while the line there was quite long, it moved very quickly and I got my delicious snack/mini-lunch/whatever and headed toward the perfect place to relax and enjoy in peace.

Enjoyed my lime ginger ale (thank you, Coke Freestyle machine) and my cheesy yum and just sat for about half an hour. While sitting, I pulled up every weather app/website that I ever use to track the incoming rain. The storms had been forecast since the previous week, so I knew there might be some weather trouble brewing. Our attendance meet-up was scheduled for 2pm and it was looking like the worst heavy rain and lightning/thunder were likely at the same time... (this is what we call a cliffhanger, but perhaps not for those who caught that earlier foreshadowing)

pkkurz · Feb 11, 2024

brifraz said:
Hey howdy hey! Let's get to the last day.

Relatively normal wake-up for me. Up before 6am and got everything packed up to load onto the bus. Somehow, I managed to get downstairs holding my garment bag, suitcase, two paper boxes (full of medications), and my backpack all in one trip. Wish I had a picture of that little adventure. However, at this point in the trip I was pretty convinced that an extra trip up or downstairs might result in me getting stuck on a broken elevator or something similar.

The early morning progressed as usual. Kids filtered down slowly for breakfast and some stopped by to pick up medications. Chaperones got the days meal cards distributed to kids, etc. Eventually, kids started coming down with all the their luggage and their instruments and chaperones started to report in that rooms were cleared. Now, you know there is no chance of this going totally smoothly, so... the kid who got sick on the first night was once again feeling under the weather; however, this time our nurse and I were both pretty sure it was a bit of anxiety more than anything else. With some assistance, he made it downstairs and got loaded with everyone else. Well... everyone else except a couple kids. Chaperones dispatched to their room. "Almost ready." This was about 5 minutes after our planned departure from the hotel. However, loading the busses was taking a little longer than expected, so it wasn't a huge issue. Until the busses were done and it was now 15 minutes past our departure time...

But, they finally got onboard and we headed to Epcot. Unloaded in the bus lot and kids headed into the park. The sick kid was feeling better enough to go with his friends, so we let him. And, despite hoping to be in park close to opening, I finally found myself in at about 9:45am. Lines were already growing and I wasn't feeling particularly like waiting in any, so I just explored the new area behind Spaceship Earth. While I definitely miss the fountain, I definitely don't miss the construction walls! And it is a relatively nice (albeit, nothing incredibly special) area.
View attachment 767854

While I didn't have any need to use them, I felt like this was a highlight.
View attachment 767855

These little towers are scattered around the area and there are also some charging ports and plugs at the 'bar' areas around some of the planters. I then went up to get my picture from the new Walt statue. But, more importantly, to get a picture of the area looking back from right next to the statue.
View attachment 767856

And, following that picture, I heard one of my favorite sounds in Epcot. Rushed over to the breezeway between Creations and Connections to take in the show.
View attachment 767857

Always enjoyable. Talked to them for a bit afterwards (as I always do) about drumming and teaching drumming and warned them that some of my kids might be coming up to them later (I had given all my percussion kids clear instructions to see the Jammitors and talk to them if possible). In case you couldn't tell from the pictures, it was a bit damp out. Not any real 'rain' per se, but definitely a decent bit of wetness around - some mist and a few very light drizzles. (this is what we call foreshadowing)

Jammitors visit concluded, I decided to stop into Club Cool for a sampling of some world beverages. Enjoyed the usual suspects - the watermelon one, kinda enjoy the plum one - and then decided that with everything that had happened the past three days, what could go wrong with this??

View attachment 767858

And.... nothing. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I've certainly gotten Beverly at least 20 times in the past and have always gagged a bit during the sip. But, this time, either because my brain had reached that point of complete apathy or because my palette was searching for something unique and different, I actually enjoyed it. I got a second cup. And then a third. Which makes me very curious about how I will feel about Beverly in April when we are there for the race and (knock on wood) I'm much less stressed!!

My tastebuds in a strange, but happy, place, I headed across into Creations to try to find a water bottle that my daughter really wanted. Tracked it down and Face-Timed her to verify that it was the right one and she really did want it. Luckily she was free and we actually chatted for a little bit. She was dealing with a situation where she hadn't gotten paid for a job she did up at college and I gave her some suggestions for pursuing what she was owed. Always good to be useful! Went back in and picked up the bottle and then headed to The Land for some calm, quiet time on Living with the Land.

Before that, I stopped over at Soarin' to inquire about single rider. I had heard rumors that this was a thing during the holiday season. Talked to a CM for a bit, and it was actually a thing, but wasn't currently. He said it had been somewhat successful, but as of right now there were no plans to make it permanent. No worries, I got a reservation (well, not really) with a slow boat through some greenhouses. As I got there, the line looked surprisingly long - in fact, the entire weave was pretty much full. Plus, it included some kids and a chaperone who I knew would invite me up with them and who I really didn't want to ride with!! So, I headed back upstairs to watch Awesome Planet. Not at all surprisingly, even before I was in the theatre, the MDE app updated with Living with the Land being down.

I'm sure I have mentioned it in a previous Trip Report, but I really enjoy Awesome Planet. Beautifully filmed, just a bit silly at times, and educational. Kinda what I wish everything in Future World was. After the film, Living with the Land was back up and running and the queue was much shorter so off I went.

View attachment 767859

'Tis a sad day when the CMs are removing the holiday 'overlay' lighting from LwtL. But the ride was still enjoyable and I had a row all to myself which is always nice. Figuring it was as good a time as any to stick with the slow ride theme, I walked over the The Seas and rode along with Nemo. Sadly, when I got into the aquarium area, the manatees were not out and about so I didn't get to hang out with them.

Again sticking with a theme (but the theme now being water), I took my first walk through the Journey of Water. It was nice, educational (if you bother to read the placards) and FULL of little kids having a blast. Again, pretty Epcot-y and not over the top with Moana characters. Not sure if she does a Meet and Greet in the area at times, because that would certain change things in a less than positive way (for me, at least).
View attachment 767862

It was getting on towards lunch time, so I headed back into World Showcase to find myself something to enjoy. Of course, not thinking that it was a holiday (MLK day) that is not blacked out for APs, so it was very crowded at all the Festival of the Arts booths. I did a full lap of the lagoon heading from Mexico toward France knowing that a food priority would be the bread bowl with brie. And, while the line there was quite long, it moved very quickly and I got my delicious snack/mini-lunch/whatever and headed toward the perfect place to relax and enjoy in peace.

View attachment 767863

Enjoyed my lime ginger ale (thank you, Coke Freestyle machine) and my cheesy yum and just sat for about half an hour. While sitting, I pulled up every weather app/website that I ever use to track the incoming rain. The storms had been forecast since the previous week, so I knew there might be some weather trouble brewing. Our attendance meet-up was scheduled for 2pm and it was looking like the worst heavy rain and lightning/thunder were likely at the same time... (this is what we call a cliffhanger, but perhaps not for those who caught that earlier foreshadowing)

The new area behind SE is even more stunning at night. Lights imbedded in the concrete and the trees are synced to the sequence playing on SE. The music score really enhances the atmosphere, not that you would notice.

brifraz · Feb 19, 2024

Alright, let's finally get this thing wrapped up! (Happy President's Day, as well) When I left you, I was in the DVC lounge enjoying a quieter moment to myself and checking every futurecast, radar loop, etc. that I could find. And 2pm was looking pretty terrible. Except on the standard iPhone weather app (which I hate), which showed the rain coming through earlier and being done by 2pm. I decided it didn't matter, I was going to switch the 2pm meet up to being virtual.

I sent out a message to all the chaperones to let them know that kids would be texting them pictures of where they were (with all the kids in their group in the shot) or sharing group pictures in our texting app. Side note... plug for SportsYou - it was a really great app for the kids and chaperones to share information and also have quite a bit of fun (and as the group leader/coach I could set it up where I got final approval on all posts, which may have taken up some of my time was a very good decision). Then sent the kids the message. Between 1:30pm and 2:15pm they had to send their chaperone (or post) a picture of themselves and where they were just to make sure everyone was doing okay. Also that I would be in Odyssey for anyone who wanted to do an in person check-in. Also, highly recommended checking in and then going to Soarin', Frozen, Spaceship Earth, or Remy since those all had inside places to wait out the storm. It was a little before 1pm and the sky was definitely getting very heavy, so I headed across to Odyssey. But, wait... what's that I hear? It's a little diversion!!

Can't beat a second show in the same day. Also chatted again and found out that some of my kids had watched them in one of the other shows and came up and talked to them a bit. Glad to hear that as well. As I got into Odyssey at about 1:15pm, a few raindrops had started to fall. Not too much, but enough that people were starting to put on rain ponchos and the seating was filling up quickly. As a solo artist, I saw a family with a couple extra chairs and just asked if I could sit at their table rather than taking up my own. They were fine with it and super nice and had gone on a band trip to Disney when they were kids (it was 3 generations of family and the middle generation had gone as kids and the older generation had gone as chaperones, the younger were only 2 and 5 so...) so we had a nice little chat as we watched the rain build.

When I had sent out my change in plan to virtual check-in, a couple of the chaperones had asked 'why?' and 'it's not really raining?' and 'my app shows it stopping before 2pm?' and things like that. So, when it got to 1:45pm and it was a steady rain, I was feeling a little vindicated and proud of myself for making the call. And, when at 2pm it was a full on downpour, I was downright elated that SOMETHING had gone very successfully in the direction that I had planned. Albeit, a backup plan that had developed on the fly because the initial plan wasn't going to work out.

A few kids did come join me for a little bit in Odyssey, but the rest all did the virtual check-in. And, to my great delight, all of them were checked in by just a couple minutes after 2pm so the level of worry never really ratcheted up this time. The rain began to subside at about 2:30pm and the radar was looking good so I ventured back out into things. Lots of kids were heading to Test Track in hopes that there would be a short line at reopening and I got quite a few messages of thanks for the warning about the weather!

I decided that I'd like to get some food since the brie and bread bowl had been a few hours earlier and isn't all that hearty of a meal. But, I wanted something different so I went back around the World Showcase to Morocco and got the bread service and then headed to one of the hidden tables back in the pavilion area and enjoyed my second snack. Very good, but also not terribly filling. Wandered through the shops in Japan and then the shops in France and UK for a bit. Headed over to Canada and watched some "Canada, Far and Wide" for a bit. Then grabbed one more bite to eat. Knowing that our dinner wouldn't be until 8pm and it was about 4pm at this point...

A little comfort food for the win. As you can see by the table, there was still a decent bit of wetness around, but it wasn't really raining any more, which was nice. Took my time eating and people watching (as a solo travel is often wont to do) and then gradually made my way around World Showcase again. This time it was to catch some of the Broadway show at the American Gardens. It was the original Anna and Elsa from the Broadway version of Frozen. I'm not a big Broadway fan, but the shows are always well done and it was a place to sit and be entertained so I was all for it.

Also, all through the afternoon I had been in contact texting with the Special Events folks from Disney about our dinner. They were waiting until THE last minute to decide if our dinner would be outside or move inside. Our spot was the little island in front of Italy (actually both islands), but the rain location was the rotunda at American Adventure. The official last minute was 5pm, but I didn't get the final word on the decision until almost 5:30pm. And the final decision was staying outside and crossing fingers for no more raindrops. After the show, I wandered over toward Italy to check out our location (like I hadn't seen large groups there for dinner before??) and talk to the CMs to get a feel for how check in was going to happen. They were very kind and had almost no idea what was actually going to happen - they were CP kids and hadn't even gotten the word that we would be outside, they had just been told to guard the little gates to the area.

I did some more wandering of World Showcase and stopping in shops and found another secluded table in the back of the Italy Pavilion and just chilled out for a little bit there. With our dinner at 8pm, our meet time at the location was 7:40pm and at about 7pm, I headed back over to be there early and also check on the preparations. The crew was now hard a work!

My dinner crew was larger than the main travel group for this trip. In addition to our usual nearly 130 folks, a lot of the parents and family members had bought into the dinner with us, so this was a 180 person group for dinner! Which meant, I was going to be busy handing out 180 wristbands to get everyone in. Actually, I just divided them up between the chaperones and had them deal with all the kids while I got the family members taken care of. At a few minutes before 8pm, we got in and had our dinner. I had gotten the 'snack' dinner menu as it looked the most likely to satisfy the most kids. So, lots of chicken tenders, pizza, pretzel bites, mac and cheese, and that kind of stuff. Seemed to go over pretty well.

Much as I spend most of my time as a music teacher trying to make sure everyone else is happy and getting full benefit out of everything, I was a bit greedy for this and got THE best table for myself and the top chaperone crew and it was worth it.

This being my first time seeing Harmonious, I didn't really take pictures, just sat and enjoyed the show. It is certainly better than what things have happened since Illuminations, but still a distant second behind the Reflections of Earth. Parents and kids all seemed to really enjoy it as well. I also had made sure that during dinner, I had talked to all the CMs working with us and offered lots of thanks. Which I think is why they let us hang out in the area a little longer than the paperwork had said we would be allowed to. Officially, you have about 10 minutes after the show ends to get the heck out so they can clean up. Knowing the chaos of World Showcase emptying after fireworks, I held us for a little bit longer, but got the kids to get out of the way of the clean-up and just gather at the gates area.

Eventually, the huge masses had cleared a bit, so we began our mass migration out to the parking lot. Got out and found our busses and then had about a half our of kids going to the bathrooms, getting changed, brushing teeth, and (of course) getting their medications before we hit the road back North.

Very glad to have access to the express (pay) lanes on I4 because, as you can see on the right of that picture, it was a mess for the regular travelers that night. Drive went relatively smoothly. Made the same pit stop in the Carolina's that we had made on the way down to switch bus drivers. Oh, yeah... the drivers! Who has two thumbs and forgot to get enough cash for their tips? This guy! Dashed into the truck stop where we were changing drivers and got some cash (from my personal account) and quickly found our three drivers who had been with us all weekend and got them tipped! Whew!! Since the break was at about 3am, we decided to go ahead and hand out the breakfast baggies to any kids who wanted them.

Back on the road and it had started to rain a bit. We knew we were heading into cold and rain up North. What we didn't realize is how close the rain would come. Well, it wasn't a problem for me, but over on Bus 3 there was a leak. It stated out as a little leak of a few drops on the little desk in front of the front seat. By the time we stopped for early lunch in Southern Virginia, it was a bit more like a waterfall. They were filling a cup with water each minute or so and then pouring those into old water bottles. At the lunch break, the driver tried to remedy the situation but had pretty much zero luck. Luckily, it wasn't an issue on my bus as I was re-sorting all the medications to have them ready to give back to parents when we got home. I guess it was lucky for bus 3, but once north of Richmond, the precipitation let up a bit and also became of the frozen variety.

Speaking of the frozen variety of precipitation, back at home they had gotten a bit of it overnight and in the morning. In fact, enough of it that school was closed. Obviously, we were still going to get back at about 3pm and get kids back to their parents, but there was a LOT of messages of 'what are we going to do?' and 'can parents actually get in to the parking lots?' and similar type stuff. And some messages from me to our building supervisor and principal of 'please try to get the path cleared into the building for us????'

Luckily, it all turned out okay. Well, a bit messy, but okay.

We got in just before 3pm and after getting luggage sorted and instruments put away and uniforms hung up and medications returned and... I'm not even sure what else was happening at this point... the kids were all gone by 4pm and it was time for me to head home. Some great parents had come to school before we got there and shoveled out all the chaperones and kids cars in the student parking lot which was certainly a nice surprise! Sadly, nobody had realized my car was in the faculty lot which hadn't been cleared at all. BUT, remember those all-star chaperones? Yeah, they had seen my car and were getting it cleared when I walked out to it. Once again thank goodness for them!!!

I was planning to wrap this up with a picture of my drink from when I got home or maybe of the dinner that was waiting for me. But, I didn't get pictures and I honestly don't remember them either!!! But, I did get home. Took an extended hot shower and made my wife tell me all about her Disneyland adventure to avoid talking about my trip!

So, if anyone out there is planning to take 108 kids and 20 adults to Disney in the near future, I have all kinds of advice to share. First time I've done one of these big trips without a touring company and while it saved a lot of money it was certainly a lot of work!

brifraz · Feb 19, 2024

A couple bonus pictures from parents...

A different view of our stage performance.

And, this one I like to call "Strange old man in suit wanders into parade at Magic Kingdom"

Swissmiss · Feb 19, 2024

Wow! Kudos to you!

Trip Report An Intimate Travel Party of 128 (the sequel to We're With the Band and Orchestra)

Laurenciaa

Well-Known Member

cgersic

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Seagull59

Member

Wicked Sisters

Well-Known Member

Swissmiss

brifraz

Marching along...

brifraz

Marching along...

Swissmiss

cgersic

Well-Known Member

brifraz

Marching along...

brifraz

Marching along...

Swissmiss

erstwo

Well-Known Member

brifraz

Marching along...

riverside

Well-Known Member

brifraz

Marching along...

pkkurz

Well-Known Member

brifraz

Marching along...

brifraz

Marching along...

Swissmiss