Disneyland parade day today, but things didn't start out well. Our nebulizer boy had to be walked to the nurse for his treatment and then walked to the practice area. I also walked over another student who was in the infirmary. When we got to the practice area, two of the women helping the color guard practice made comments that the kids needed to run because they were late. I told them that my boy couldn't run because of asthma and it wasn't safe for him to run, and they snubbed me totally. I was so angry as their attitudes were very uncalled for, especially to me, a chaperone. I was steaming, and then Darrell called and told me to hurry and get back because we were leaving for Disneyland at 9:30 am. We knew the accompanying travelers were leaving early, but we thought the chaperones would go with the band later. However, apparently the day before, Disneyland was closed because the park was too full, and the group coordinators were thinking that we might not be able to get in if we went later. So without letting our boys know, we were rushed off to Disneyland. The band was scheduled to march in the 3:00 pm parade and we were not returning to the hotel until after the 9:00 pm fireworks, so it was going to be a long day.
And they were right! Disneyland was packed! Darrell and I went in, thinking we might do some rides, eat, shop, then stake out a good place to watch the parade. Since we heard that the parade started from "It's a Small World" we decided to go there first to see if there was a good place to watch the parade. We thought we might also ride since the ride is changed for Christmas. The wait was around 2 hours, so we decided to eat instead. We got some tamales from a cart and had a snack. We walked around a bit, shopping, amazed at how crowded the place was. We finally decided to settle ourselves on a bench in front of the castle, around the Walt Disney statue. It was situated right where the band would march down from the Matterhorn area onto Main Street - perfect spot! You can see we spread out our stuff to reserve the whole bench!
My boss Kimberly, whose son is a junior in the band, had text messaged me to let me know that she and her family decided to fly to California at the last minute. I texted her back to let her know that they might have difficulty getting in because we heard the park was closed because it was already at capacity. I also called the Pringles, whose son was in our group, to let them know, and I called my friend Karen, who was on her way with her family to watch Ryan march in the Main Street Parade. Out of all of them, only Karen and her family could not get in; they had annual passes and could get in if they paid a premium, but her in-laws, who would need one-day passes, could not get in. Unfortunately, they came all the way to Anaheim from Torrance, but could not get in the park. The Pringles got in, after explaining that they came all the way from Hawaii to see their son.
The University of Southern California (USC) Trojan Marching Band marched down Main Street first, in the opposite direction from the main parade. We were looking for our friends' son, Jonathan, but they were all wearing dark glasses, so we couldn't find him. They looked pretty cool.
Then the Kamehameha All-Warrior Marching Band started off the Main Street Parade. The band looked so sharp! The letter girls led the band, followed by the Hawaiian Ensemble dancers.
Ryan was in the second row of tubas, second from the left. We were so proud of the band. Too bad the parade went by so quickly! It seemed to be over in just minutes.
After the band passed us, we headed to ToonTown, which is where we were told to meet our boys to let them know the plans for the rest of the day, where to meet after the fireworks, etc. Due to miscommunication, we waited two hours in ToonTown outside the backstage gate for the band. Only a few of the band coordinators/chaperones were allowed backstage by Disney, so the rest of us waited out in the cold. Apparently the band was taking photos backstage, changing out of their uniforms and putting their instruments on the rented truck. After we briefed our boys, Darrell, Ryan and I headed out to Naples Restaurant in Downtown Disney to meet our friend Mary Ann, her mother Grandma Katie, her son Jonathan (USC Band), and his girlfriend Ann for dinner. 
Darrell met the family when they visited the Hyatt Regency Kauai when Jonathan was little, and we've kept in touch over the years. It's amazing to see Jonathan all grown-up; he graduated from high school this past June and is now a freshman at USC. They are such nice people, and it was great to see them again.
My boss Kimberly, whose son is a junior in the band, had text messaged me to let me know that she and her family decided to fly to California at the last minute. I texted her back to let her know that they might have difficulty getting in because we heard the park was closed because it was already at capacity. I also called the Pringles, whose son was in our group, to let them know, and I called my friend Karen, who was on her way with her family to watch Ryan march in the Main Street Parade. Out of all of them, only Karen and her family could not get in; they had annual passes and could get in if they paid a premium, but her in-laws, who would need one-day passes, could not get in. Unfortunately, they came all the way to Anaheim from Torrance, but could not get in the park. The Pringles got in, after explaining that they came all the way from Hawaii to see their son. 
Darrell met the family when they visited the Hyatt Regency Kauai when Jonathan was little, and we've kept in touch over the years. It's amazing to see Jonathan all grown-up; he graduated from high school this past June and is now a freshman at USC. They are such nice people, and it was great to see them again. 
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