CHS alumni perform in Walt Disney World parade

Cassville High School alumnae Paige Lynxwiler and Lauren Davis had the opportunity to perform in Walt Disney World's Thanksgiving Parade 2012 as members of the Missouri State Pride Band.

"This is the first time the PRIDE has been to Disney World, as far as I know," said Lynxwiler. "Trips are around every other year and have included multiple parades, including televised parades, Disney Land in California, and even a trip to Europe, I believe."

The Missouri State Pride Band performed a jazz version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" during the annual Thanksgiving Day parade at Disney World in Florida. A video of the performance can be found on Youtube.

"If you watch to the end, you can see just how little time we had to 'rest' in between playing the song over the course of the approximately mile-long parade through the park," said Lynxwiler.

The band began practicing for the performance before the college football season concluded. Due to the fact that the band had performed the same song in the past several of the upperclassmen just had to refresh their memories, said Lynxwiler.

"We left Springfield on Tuesday afternoon, drove all the way through except for a couple of stops to eat and change out bus drivers, and we got there on Wednesday late afternoon," said Lynxwiler. "We left on Saturday morning and got back Sunday afternoon.

"We didn't have enough time for everything we wanted to do, but that could take a couple of weeks," added Lynxwiler.

On the first night in Florida, Lynxwiler had the opportunity to visit Downtown Disney with members of her band section.

"We got our reservation for Rainforest Cafe and went around to different stores while waiting for a table big enough for the 11 of us," said Lynxwiler. "The next day, we went to Magic Kingdom and met Aladdin and Jasmine, Ariel and Belle. We got to see part of the park that wasn't scheduled to be opened until December.

"The new Fantasyland is like a little girl's dream," continued Lynxwiler. "It has an interactive play with Belle, as well as Be Our Guest Restaurant. In addition, Ariel has a new grotto where you can meet her and take pictures, as well as a ride."

On the second full day in Florida, Lynxwiler met up with Davis and the pair visited Magic Kingdom and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the full band and family members who attended the trip with the students at Epcot Center.

"After dinner, we were joined by Austin Douty of my section, and we got to meet Mickey, Minnie and Pluto, and let me tell you, Pluto was a riot," said Lynxwiler. "We couldn't even smile for the cameras because we couldn't stop laughing."

On Saturday, Lynxwiler and Davis visited Animal Kingdom on a "mission to meet characters.

"We weren't disappointed," said Lynxwiler. "We left with pictures with Donald, Pocahontas, Chip and Dale, Baloo and King Louie before we went back to Epcot to meet some more characters. We met Belle, Mulan, Aurora and Goofy. Then we had to hightail it back to the bus to come back to Springfield."

Lynxwiler said she enjoyed walking different pathways for the various characters areas.

"Belle's cottage had a sidewalk with scratches and animal tracks," said Lynxwiler. "Ariel's grotto had shells at the bottom of the almost metallic coral reef.

"The experience was phenomenal," said Lynxwiler. "I went to Disney with my family as a kid, but I only remember bits and pieces. This time I'll remember a lot more. Disney does everything so thoroughly. The details had details. I can't describe how amazing it was to see it."

Lynxwiler plays the mellophone, which is a cross between a trumpet and a baritone. For concert setting, she plays the horn.

Davis is a member of the Missouri State Pride Band colorguard. For concert, she plays the trombone.

Lynxwiler and Davis graduated from Cassville High School in 2011.