Making Music at WDW: March 25-29, 2009

I know this TR is a little late. I would have started it sooner, but real life got in the way.

Here's a little info about the trip. The HS in my town (NVD) was going on the annual music trip, and this year's trip was to WDW! My brother was going (he's a senior), so I was invited to go too as a chaperone. I did the same trip my Jr year in HS, and it's Disney (so of course I said yes). The trip was Wed, March 25, to Sun, March 29. We went to all 4 theme parks, plus BB and Wet-and-Wild (for the awards ceremony). Well, I think that's enough info. Here we go!


Oh, a quick warning- this TR has a LOT of pictures. Just wanted to get that out there.

 

[lilclerk]

I went to Magic Music Days in 2003. That was a really fun trip, getting to go backstage at Epcot.. even for a little bit.

 

[joanna71985]

Wed, March 25
This was the day we left for FL. I got to the high school at 3:30pm, and Mr. Harris and Mrs. Mac (the band teacher and choir teacher) started giving the announcements around 4pm. After that came the first part of chaperoning- checking the luggage. It really wasn't that bad though (though it was a little weird). It went faster then I thought it would. After that, it was off to the airport. We had a late flight (9pm), and got into the airport with time to spare. However, we pushed back late (after 9:30pm). So this meant we got in to FL late. By the time we landed, got the luggage (2 suitcases got lost), got to the buses, and got to the hotel it was 2 am! Going to bed after 2:30 am was fun. But we did get to sleep in, which was nice. My roomie was Ms. G (one of the other teachers going down). I knew her from marching band (she worked with the colorguard), and she is really nice. We had 5 rooms and 19 students to chaperone. They were great kids (had no problems with them at all during the trip). Next up- going to DHS.

I went to Magic Music Days in 2003. That was a really fun trip, getting to go backstage at Epcot.. even for a little bit.

I love the Magic Music Days, especially the marching bands at MK (I was in marching band all 4 years, and I assisted the band another 4 years. In fact, 2008 was my last fall helping out. ). I would have loved to do that when I was in HS.

 

[joanna71985]

Thurs, March 26
This was the day we went to DHS (Disney Hollywood Studios). It was a lot of fun. We didn't have to wake up til 8:30, which was really nice. We left for the Studios at 11am, and got there around 11:30. I hung out with my friend Andrew for the morning. Our first stop was TSM, to see if there were any FP left. There were, amazingly enough. But they weren't until 7:30pm (we ended up not using them). We then went to the Star Tours shop, before going to see the Power Rangers. There was a new ranger out (the Green RPM Ranger replaced the White Dino Thunder Ranger), so he was our first stop. Then Andrew saw the Blue Jungle Fury Ranger, while I got into line for the Pink Mystic Force Ranger. We were then able to see Red SPD Ranger and Yellow Operation Overdrive. The fact we were able to see all of them in 1 set is testimony to how slow the parks were. It usually is impossible to see more then 2-3 in 1 set. And the best part? My friends were still bid as attendants with the Power Rangers! It was really nice getting to see them. I loved my time working with the Power Rangers. Here are some Power Ranger pictures:

Me with the new ranger (the Green RPM Ranger)

Pink Mystic Force Ranger and me

Red SPD Ranger and me

After finishing up with the Power Rangers, we met up with my brother. We did Star Tours and TSM together (I came in second out of the 3 of us):

A couple of my favorite TSM queue pictures

After TSM, it was time for the Bolt characters to come back out (so it was off to the Animation Building). There I got some more good news. Mittens was still out! I was able to get all 3 (Bolt, Rhino, and Mittens). I had worn my Bolt t-shirt (that my sister gave me), and they loved it! There is a quote from the movie on the back (This Is Ridonkulous), and Bolt just had to point that out to Rhino. It was a great overall interaction with them:

Having a conversation with Bolt and Rhino

Helping Rhino turn the page for Mittens

Mittens, Rhino, me, and Bolt

I also decided to see Mickey as well (the line was only about 5 minutes long):

Getting a hug from Mickey

Me and Sorcerer Mickey

 

[joanna71985]

Then we left Animation. It was check-in time at the Hat. Before my chaperone hour started, I went to meet JoJo and Goliath.

Then it was back to the Hat. During my chaperone hour, I got to see the new HSM 3 show. It's pretty cute. Mr. Eftychiou (the 4th teacher) sat with me and Ms. G during the hour. The three of us had a nice chat while waiting around. After the hour ended, I stayed and watched the last show. After the show ended, I went to see Prince Caspian. The wait was a lot of fun. The attendant was reading trivia cards. Some of them were tricky. But I got one right! The question was "what word do graduates from Harvard say wrong". The answer was wrong!

After I was done with Prince Caspian, I got dinner at Pizza Planet, then got into line for Fant. Also in line was Mrs. Mac, Mr. Harris, Dennis, AJ, and Kathy Mueller (the nurse on the trip). When we finally got into the theater, I decided to go down fron to watch (so I could "attempt" to take pictures). BIG mistake. The wind was really blowing, so the water from the screnes was blowing in. The first few rows all got doused with water (and it was not that warm to begin with). After the show ended, it was back to the hotel and off to bed.


Friday, March 27
This was the Blizzard Beach/Epcot day. I had been on the fence about swimming before Fri. However, my mind was made up for me when I woke up. I ended up sitting with Mr. Harris, Ms. G, Mr. Singer, and Mr. Eftychiou all morning at BB. That was fun. Ms. G gave Mr. Harris a drawing lesson, which was fun to watch. We were at BB for about 3 hours, then it was off to Epcot. The 5 of us went off to Mission Space. I didn't want to ride Orange, so Mr. Singer and I went on Green (I told him he could have done Orange if he wanted, but he stayed with me). It turned out to be a fun ride (I had never ridden before), and the wait went by really fast. It said 30 minutes, but was only about 5-10.

I conquered Mission Space!

After we got off, the 2 of us did TT single ride (the others were still in line). After we finished the ride, we went to Morocco where I split off from the rest. The Flower and Garden Festival was going on at the time, so I got pictures of all the topiaries around the park. I also saw many characters (Snow White; Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie; Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore; and Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald).

Snow White and me

Genie, Jasmine, me, and Aladdin

Having a conversation with Princess Aurora

Tigger, me, Pooh, and Eeyore

When I was with the Pooh characters, British Invasion was playing outside. Pooh went to turn on the (horrible) music inside the room, and I told him "Pooh, wouldn't you rather listen to that music instead?". He paused, then started dancing! So all 4 of us (even Eeyore) were dancing along to British Invasion. It was awsome. I also saw one friend in WS (and it was totally random). I was walking through the WS (I think it was in Germany?), and all of a sudden I ran into my friend Paul from FB (he was in FL at the same time). It was so funny. I think we both were really surprised. I ended up eating dinner at Garden Grill (which was nice, as I didn't have an ADR). The food was good (the mashed potatoes were amazing, as was the dessert!!!), and the character interaction was awsome. The best one was with Dale. We were talking about how his cooking was really good. He then got down on one knee, and did a ILU (along with a drawn heart).

 

[joanna71985]

After dinner, I went to see the characters in Character Spot, which was fun.

Me and Mickey

Me and Pluto

Me and Minnie

Me and Donald

Me and Goofy

Then I rode Spaceship Earth (I taped my future. It was too funny. I showed it to Ms. G, and she couldn't stop laughing), played a round of the floor-hockey game, and took pictures of the topiaries in front.

Cinderella's coach

Aurora and Prince Philip

Belle and Beast

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Spaceship Earth at night

Then it was back to the hotel, and off to bed.

 

[joanna71985]

Here are pictures of some of the topiaries:

 

[joanna71985]

More pictures from Epcot:

 

[PotteryGal]

Loving the TR, Jo! And I'm so jealous you met Rhino - I adore him!

 

[joanna71985]

Sat, March 28
This was the worst morning of the trip, getting up wise. Wake-up was at 7am! Breakfast was at 8am, then everyone was off to the different performing centers. I was originally supposed to be with the band group. But Mrs. Mac needed more chaperones with the choir group. So Ms. G, Mr. Eftychiou, and myself switched. I didn't know which songs they were singing beforehand (the spring concert is in April, although the band concert was in early March). But they did really well! I loved the songs the 3 choirs did. It was also fun listening to the other choirs (there were 2 others there). We were done at 12:30, and were in the Animal Kingdom by around 12:45 or so (the band didn't get there until almost 3pm). My first stop was to EE (it was funny, when we got there, a bunch of the kids took off running. They were right in front of me in the single riders line at EE, and I walked there). I ended up riding EE 5 times, 4 by Single Rider. I got to be in the front row by single rider! I ended up in rows 1, 4, 5, 11, and 17 (that's the row I requested when I did FP). Funny story- the 4th time I rode EE (the time with the FP), I had just gotten to my row when I heard someone call my name. It was Mr. Harris, Ms. G, Mr. Eftychiou, and Mr. Singer! They were in the single rider line (I ended up right behind them when I got off and did my last ride in single rider). I saw MJJP in between EE rides. It was a good parade (even though the puppets were down), with great character interaction. I got a hug and a cheek tickle from Chip, and a HUGE hug from Brer Bear. Goofy was great too (he was blowing kissed and posed for me when I was taking his picture). I also got high fives from other characters and stilt walkers. After the parade, I went on the Safari. It was a good ride (there was a baby giraffe and elephant out), but the cheetahs and lion were all sleeping. I went to see Terk, and the attendant was my friend I worked with last summer. It was really nice seeing her again. Then it was time to leave AK, and go to Wet and Wild for the awards ceremony (oh, Akon was in the park! I passed by him and his party and guide a few times). The ceremony at Wet and Wild was fun. The food was pretty good (I had a burger and beans). Then it was time for the awards. NVD did awsome! They got gold for everything but Jazz Band. Overall there were 7 big trophies (including one for most overall band and choir points), 3 small trophies, and 6 plaques. I was really happy for them. They did a great job. After the awards were handed out, everyone was allowed to swim for a bit before going back to the hotel. The trip was almost over.

A mama duck and babies. She had 9 altogether, and they were sooo cute!

Goofy posing

Donald wants to hear people copying along

Mickey having some fun

Wilderbeast naptime

One of the giraffes

A flock of flamingos

Me and Terk

The spot where I spent most of my time

The awards!

 

[Uponastar]

Love all the pics, Jo!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[joanna71985]

Sun, March 29
Last day in FL. And of course, it would be the only day to rain. Breakfast was at 9am, then it was time to load everything onto a truck. That took a bit of time. Then it was off to the MK. It was raining pretty hard by this time (I was so glad to have my umbrella). The hem of my pants and my socks/shoes became soaked from all the rain. Once inside the park, my first stop was to Space Mountain (but it was down). So I went to Toontown. The wait for the Fairies was listed at 75 minutes, but I only waited about 45 minutes. I got to see Tink, Iridessa, and Silvermist. However, I think it's going to be tricky to get Fawn and Rosetta (since the Fairies there aren't listed, like the princesses are). Once done in Toontown, I went to see the 1:15 show of Dream Along. It was canceled, but the characters came down! I was able to get Mickey/Minnie, Peter Pan/Wendy, Snow White/Snow Prince, and Aurora/Philip. I ran into Paul again too! I was in line for Peter Pan and Wendy, and he was behind me! This time I was able to chat with him for a bit (he was in a hurry at Epcot). After finishing up at the castle, I went to see the time for Space. It was at 50 minutes, so that was a no-go (I ended up not riding it). So on my way back to the castle, I stopped to see the Tremaines. They were a riot! They asked me if I was interested in taking the cleaning job (since Cinderella apparently isn't that good at cleaning). I went back to the castle for the 2:15 show. But due to a 5-second burst of rain, it was canceled. I went to get lunch from Casey's then. Then I went to get my spot for day parade. I guess I won't be watching at my old spot anymore, since there are now mini show stops. This time I watched on Main Street, across from the art store/movie theater. The new parade was cute. I saw several familiar faces. After the parade ended, I did a little shopping. I got a book and a watch from the Emporium. Then I stopped at Guest Relations for a I'm Celebrating button. And with that, it was time to leave. Unfortunately the trip was over. After doing a head count, it was off to the monorail and back to the parking lot. The guide from the trip, Mia, was there. One cool thing I almost forgot to mention- Mia also works at Disney! She said she recognized me, and I'm pretty sure I recognized her too (she's a perfomer). This flight was a bit earlier (7pm). However, it was delayed. We didn't push back until after 8:30! And by the time we got in and got home, it was almost 2 am! Overall, it was such a fun trip. I had a blast, and everyone was great. I think for my one and only time chaperoning, it was a success.

Me and Iridessa

Me and Tink

Silvermist and me

Minnie, me, and Mickey

Wendy, me, and Peter Pan

Snow White, me, and Snow Prince

Aurora, me, and Prince Philip

Drizella, Lady Tremaine, me, and Anastasia

 

[joanna71985]

Love all the pics, Jo!
Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Dot!

 

[joanna71985]

MK pictures:

PUSH entertaining the crowd

Mickey and Minnie on their new float

Snow Prince and Snow White

Aladdin

Bert and Mary Poppins

The Villians

Peter Pan, Wendy, Alice, and Mad Hatter

A float performer

Dale

Donald

 

[Uponastar]

Super report!
Glad you got to go, Jo!

 

[mpoppins76]

Lovin the pics, Jo!!! You got some great ones!!!

 

[joanna71985]

Super report!
Glad you got to go, Jo!

Thanks Dot! I was so happy I could go. It was such a great trip (and the band/choir did so much better then when I was in HS on the music trip).

Lovin the pics, Jo!!! You got some great ones!!!

Thanks Steph!

 

[mousefan1972]

Great pictures, Joanna! So glad you had a good time.

 

[joanna71985]

Great pictures, Joanna! So glad you had a good time.

Thanks Kristin!

 

[HollyBelle]

Loved all the character interactions. And the picture with Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters is perfect! Thanks for sharing.