This Spring Break, the Wylie Pure Gold Band had the opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida and march in a parade at Walt Disney World.

The Thursday before Spring Break, band members gathered their luggage and began their trip to the most magical place on Earth. The group stayed in Florida for four days and spent three of them at Disney and one of them at at Universal Studios. In the weeks leading up to the trip, the band had multiple rehearsals in order to prepare for the parade that they would be marching in on the second day.

On day one, the band visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The students enjoyed many different areas themed to famous movies, including Toy Story and Star Wars. However, not just movie locations were located at this park. There were also many different attractions, shops, and restaurants all themed as Hollywood was portrayed in the 1930’s. Disney’s most popular attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, was located at this park, and it was a favorite ride for many. Other popular attractions were the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

The next day was the parade day for the band. Within minutes of the group arriving at the Magic Kingdom, it began to rain. Not long after that, lightning illuminated the sky and thunder boomed. It stormed for most of the morning, and at one point lightning struck the Splash Mountain attraction. Because of the weather concerns, it was doubtful that the parade would continue. Luckily, by lunchtime the sun was shining and there were no storm clouds to be seen. The band had the opportunity to go “backstage” and view some of the inner workings of the theme park. After warming up (and putting on their very own pair of mickey ears), the parade began. The Pure Gold played “Deep In the Heart of Texas”, and as they marched down Frontierland and Main Street USA, they were greeted by hundreds of people singing and clapping along. After the parade, students had a chance to watch the breathtaking firework show, a 15 minute long affair that left the crowds speechless.

On day 3, the band took a temporary break from Disney World and instead traveled right down the road to Universal Studios. This park, with a total of nine roller coasters and dozens of other attractions, offered plenty of thrills to the students. Band Members could walk through the locations of their favorite movies and TV shows, such as Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Marvel, and The Simpsons. The two newest rides, Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and the Jurassic World Velocicoaster, were some of the favorites of the entire trip. Some other popular attractions for the students were the Incredible Hulk Coaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and the adventures of Spider-Man.

On the final day of the trip, a half day was spent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This park had hundreds of live animals to be observed by the entire group, as well as offering unique themed lands based off of real locations from all around the world. In addition to this, students had the opportunity to travel to Pandora, the planet from the film Avatar. This spectacular area, which was constructed in 2017, offered some of the most beautiful views on the entire trip. Sadly, after several hours at Animal Kingdom, the band had to return back to Abilene. There is no doubt that there were lifelong memories made for many band members at the most happiest place on Earth.

Photos courtesy of Universal Studios’ website, Zach New, and FEAT travel company.