“It’s a small world after all.” The world did not seem that small for the band students when they had to sit in a bus for 24 hours to arrive at Disney World. The band students were gone from April 8th through the 12th. Each day was a new adventure, where the concert band and jazz band both played on stage for an audience that grew as the performances went on.

Senior Brett Smith loved performing with band,

“My favorite part of performing on stage was actually from the spectator’s view. On the recordings you can see the volcano erupting behind us as we play.” Behind the stage and across the river, a restaurant had a volcano, which started erupting in the middle of the song. Many of the people in the audience loved that the volcano seemed to be erupting to the beat of the song, and were even more excited to listen to the other songs yet to be performed.

Junior Daniel Rehm also enjoyed the exploding volcano.

“The volcano was obviously the best part of performing on the stage,” Rehm commented. Rehm mentioned that his favorite part was not the parks, but

“I enjoyed the time at the hotel the most, as it was a welcomed change from the hot hussle of wandering the park.” Many people may think that the parks were the sole purpose of going to Disney, but sometimes people need a break from the excitement.

Sophomore Kate Peter commented,

“I felt very happy to be a part of something new, and I loved exploring the different countries at Epcot and seeing how their culture is.” Epcot is organized by a circle of different countries, from France, to China, to Morocco. Each country is represented with their unique cultural aspects, like Day of the Dead in Mexico, or temples in Japan.

Mr. Wade Heinen explained how the Disney trip came to be.

“I began our first trip as a school band actually to Chicago one year after I started teaching here. At the school that I worked at previous to South, I did an annual trip to Chicago that included a performance. It went very well each year and was very memorable for my past students. I wanted the same opportunity for my current students at South. After two years, I looked into travelling a longer distance and set our band’s goals towards Florida. Continued excellence in music, hard work, commitment, and past successful trips has maintained now that tradition.” Heinen plans both a Disney trip and a Chicago trip where each one is on a four year rotation, each happening two years apart. This year was the year of the Disney trip, but the current sophomores and freshmen will have the opportunity to travel to Chicago with the band in two years.

While most students that went on the trip liked the actual performing, Sophomore Jasmine Gabrish enjoyed what happened after so much more.

“I loved when Mr. Heinen was asked for an autograph by a little girl,” Gabrish stated. At the end of the performance, a little girl that was sitting in the front row asked Heinen for an autograph, saying that it was her dream to conduct a band when she was older.

Disney is definitely a magical place, where many memories are made in a single instant. Parades, rides, souvenirs, and being with friends all created a magical trip for South High band students, and everyone got a little taste of how pixie dust works.