North band marched down Main Street U.S.A. as part of the Walt Disney World Thanksgiving parade to perform for

Over break, 142 North’s band members traveled to Orlando as a part of their trip that only happens once every four years. North was one of the few bands who got this opportunity.

“We performed with five other bands with a total of 543 people,” senior Arnav Nanga said.

It was a surreal experience says students who went on the trip and it was worth the 4 a.m. wake-up call and 6 a.m. rehearsal.

“We all woke up in the early morning to rehearse [on the day of the parade] and Magic Kingdom was completely empty, which was a strange but peaceful experience,” Nanga said. “The castle was all lit up and it was amazing.”

The band performed a variety of classic Disney songs.

“The pieces [we played were] Disney Celebration, which is an arrangement of classic Disney music such as Zip-a-dee-Do-Dah, It’s A Small World, Friend in Me, and Pirates of the Caribbean, then we are playing the Mickey Mouse March, the Military March and an arrangement of the Star Wars theme.” senior Nathan Wood said.

The band got to show off their talent to those who were at the park.

“Performing in front of a big crowd in front of Cinderella’s Castle and having fireworks go off as we finished our last song [was one of my favorite parts],” Wood said.

The band has been practicing for months preparing for this trip.

“We have been rehearsing the music usually about two days a week during class, as well as after school rehearsals two to three days during the week,” Wood said.

The color guard have been consistently working on routines and perfecting them to ensure they are representing North and the program well.

“A week after finishing up the marching season, we began practicing for this trip,” senior Katie Griesenauer said. “We were given the music that the band is playing in Florida and the seniors made a routine that could be done while in the parade.  Disney sent us another routine we needed to learn from them that we [practiced] to make sure we represent the band and the school very well during the parade.”

When they weren’t preparing and practicing, the band had the opportunity to explore the parks on their own. They went to a variety of the parks including Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

“We were allowed to go around and do whatever we wanted in the parks,” Wood said. “Basically, it was just our time to do whatever.”

This time in the parks allowed for the students to explore Disney and all the parks.

“It was a great experience spending my senior year with my second family and just having a great time with everyone,” Nanga said.

The band also got to interact with the other bands at a party thrown at Epcot for the bands.

“My favorite part was probably the giant dinner and dessert party we had thrown at Epcot,” Nanga said. “There was fireworks and we got to hang out with other bands and it was an amazing time.”

This trip only happens every four years, so no student so far as gone.

“I [was] most excited to make memories with my best friends,” senior Katie Griesenauer said. “Guard has given me some of the most important people in my life and the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with them in Disney is so exciting.”

In order to earn money to offset the cost, the band used a more personal platform and spread the word through social media and text.

“We fundraised during the marching season with a fundraiser similar to SnapRaise but our fundraising company was more marching-band oriented,” Nanga said.

The trip was memorable for all members and was full of laughs says students.

“The entire trip was a lot of fun and I think it was a really great experience that I will never get do again, so I am just really glad I had the opportunity to do something like this,” Wood said.