Marching Band and Dance Team: Spring Break at Disney World
Over spring break, the entire marching band and dance team took a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to perform in Magic Kingdom. Although the performance was only for one night, the group spent five days in Orlando visiting all four parks in Disney World, as well as a visit to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and several restaurants in the area.
The trip started with a day at Disney's Blizzard Beach water park. Sophomore on the dance team Liz Schaefer said, "The water park was awesome, there were so many cool waterslides! The weather was perfect." After the day at the water park, the group ventured to Downtown Disney, a plaza of numerous shops and restaurants, to have dinner at Planet Hollywood, as well as a few hours of shopping for lots of Disney merchandise.
On the second day, another day of perfect weather, the band and dance team headed to Magic Kingdom and spent the day in the park, tackling rides such as the infamous Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Later in the day, it was time to prepare for their performance, which took place in the night time Spectromagic Parade. The sounds of "Stars and stripes Forever", as played by our KHS Marching Band, resonated throughout the park as the band marched their way towards Magic Kingdom. "That performance was the perfect way to end my marching band career," said senior flute player Rachel Besand. "Everything about the parade was so magical, I felt like a true Disney performer." After the parade, everyone headed back to the hotel for a pool and pizza party, a great way to end an awesome day.
For the third day of the trip, the band traveled to Epcot, where many different countries from all over the world are represented in one theme park. These different countries provided for plenty of great food, as three band members in particular found out. Seniors Torry Treu and Matt Bryson, along with freshman Kyle Pavilonis, managed to eat food from every single country in the park throughout the day (that’s 11 countries!) and they have the receipts to prove it. In addition to the food, there are lots of great rides at Epcot including Soarin', a hang gliding simulation, and Test Track, where you get to experience life as a crash test dummy. But before all of that action took place, the band got to go back stage with a special conductor who they worked with to create their own version of a song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. At the end of the workshop, the band received a DVD of their music put to the actual animation from the movie.
The following day was very different because the group left the realm of Disney parks. In the morning, they had breakfast at The Hard Rock Café in Orlando followed by a trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure, a park with several daring roller coasters and water rides. Although many of the students ended up soaking wet from riding a variety of water roller coasters, everyone had a great time and ended the day with a trip to Universal’s City Walk, a shopping center with tons of unique restaurants and shops.
The last day of the trip was a busy one; the day was split into two parts, spending the morning in Disney's Animal Kingdom and the afternoon in Disney's Hollywood Studios. After a great breakfast buffet at The Rainforest Café located inside the park, the group was able to explore several different continents and the culture there. Probably the best part of the Animal Kingdom experience however, was the brand new roller coaster built less than a year ago, Expedition Everest. After a great morning looking at lots of wildlife, the group went to Hollywood Studios for the last stop of the trip. Everyone was entertained by thrilling rides such as Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster, as well as great live shows like The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. From there, the buses picked up the kids for the 22 hour ride home back to Ohio. As a senior member of the dance team, I know that I will always remember the Disney trip as one of my favorite high school experiences and I think that all of the other students would agree with me. I'm glad to say that it was a great time filled with countless memories with friends that will last a lifetime.
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