Courtesy of Silas Wooten
My freshman year performing arts trip was supposed to be to Disney World, however, the COVID-19 virus stopped that. Luckily, I got to go as a senior and experience the “most magical place on earth” with a program I love. Grosse Pointe North choir, band and orchestra spent five days visiting different attractions, including Disney Springs, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom, while performing at a vocal workshop through Disney’s Imagination Campus. The performing arts department visits a new place every year to compete and work with professionals. This was the first annual performing arts trip I had attended and although there were some downsides, I would do this trip again in a heartbeat.
The main problem with this trip was the affordability. In previous years, the performing arts trips had traveled by bus to prevent paying airline expenses, but this year we flew to Orlando. Although we were provided with dining cards that we could use in quick-service restaurants around the parks, the food was costly and the dining cards didn’t cover every restaurant. The costly budget was unfortunate for a lot of seniors who couldn’t participate in their final trip.
Even though five days may seem short, our days were extremely draining. For our flight, we woke up at 3 a.m. to spend time in Disney Springs. For the rest of the trip, we would leave our hotel around 8 p.m. and wouldn’t return until 10 p.m. However, these long days ensured that we got to spend as much time in the parks as possible and watch the fireworks shows that would happen every night.
However, the most enlightening part of the trip was working with Disney’s Imagination Campus, an educational program that allows performing arts students around the world to be directed by Disney professionals. The band and orchestra worked on pieces from the Disney movie “Frozen” and the choir worked on pieces from “Beauty and the Beast.” The choir had a director who was a part of the Voices of Liberty at Disney and he conducted a medley that included the songs “Belle” and “Tale as Old as Time,” which went into an animation from the movie. Watching my friends and I step out of our comfort zone and record songs showcased the talented singers in our program. Seeing the animation put together within minutes was astonishing and something that I won’t forget. At the end of our workshop, our director told us that he was impressed with our program, and thanks to him he guided us to become better singers, which is the whole point of our annual trips.
Despite some general complaints about the trip, Disney was the perfect getaway to enjoy with my closest friends. While my classmates had to endure cold rainy weather, I was in 90-degree weather working on my tan. This did get to me by day four when we felt like we were dying of a heat stroke, but every indoor attraction had air conditioning and ice water, so there was always a place to stop and catch our breath. All of the parks were extremely unique and intricate from the mechanics at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios to the detailed queue line for the Avatar ride in Animal Kingdom. In my opinion, the fun I had on the trip outweighed the sweaty days and money spent. Disney brought me so many memories and was an overall incredible experience that I will never forget.
