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Trish
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2006
- Messages
- 2,906
(Continued from last post)
After our perfect, front row view was taken away by a new row of seats, a little disappointment started to set in, which was then quickly replaced by excitement once we realized for whom these seats were intended.
Within moments of the new seats being placed in front of us, none other than Tony Baxter strolled up and sat in the seat immediately in front of me and Carrie. Once again, I was within 2 feet of this Disney Imagineering rockstar.
Sadly, he didn't seem to remember me from our elevator encounter the previous evening.
While she doesn't do autographs, I am pretty sure Ms. Lurkyloo couldn't resist taking a covert photo of the back of Tony's head and tweeting it out to show everyone who we were lucky enough to be seated behind.
Finally, the evening's festivities got underway. To get us warmed up, the disbanded but reunited Kids of the Kingdom took to the stage to perform a few sappy numbers. This brought some nostalgia back to the audience, which tied in nicely with all of the reminiscing we had done that weekend.
Then the Main Street Philharmonic band decked out in their majestic uniforms swept the stage from the rear of the auditorium filling our ears and hearts with some old familiar tunes. It was a wonderful surprise, and a great way to kick-off the evening.
Tim O'Day then took to the stage to introduce the guest of honor - Richard Sherman.
Richard started immediately into some of his many memorable and favourite tunes, with some talking dialogue with Tim O'Day thrown in between the various numbers. It was incredible to sit there and listen to song after song of favourite Disney melodies and to realize that one pair of singing-songwriting brothers were the creative geniuses behind them all. What a gift!
Richard Sherman is about the most charming and delightful man you could ever hope to meet. You can just tell that he thoroughly enjoys his craft and that singing and songwriting is indeed his true passion in life. He was having just as much fun up there performing his songs on stage as we were in listening to them. And he seems to be so touched and humbled by the fact that he is continuing to be recognized by the Disney community so many years later.
While Tim O'Day did a pretty good job introducing several of the songs, and filling in some background details, at times he seemed to be rushing Mr. Sherman along, who clearly wanted to talk more to the audience and share more stories. While the evening certainly wasn't short, I could have stayed there listening to Mr. Sherman a lot longer, and it seemed that he would have been quite happy to continue talking, signing and playing for us if allowed.
While I had heard Mr. Sherman tell this story before in past interviews, hearing once again in person the story of Walt's favourite song, Feed the Birds, and how often he requested the Sherman brothers to play it, followed by a live performance of the song by Richard Sherman himself was incredibly special.
Then, just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better, the original Dreamfinder and Figment came out on stage to perform One Little Spark live with Richard Sherman. The crowd went absolutely wild!
As a finale, the WDW Cast Choir and Band was brought on stage to close the show. They played a couple numbers, and then we were treated to a rousing performance of Golden Dream from the American Adventure.
Recognize Billy Flanigan? Yep...he's the guy who played Ken in the Barbie show at Epcot oh so many years ago.
The final number was a performance of Celebrate the Future, Hand in Hand, with an impressive solo from one of the young WDW choir members. Everyone, including Dreamfinder, Figment and Richard Sherman, was brought on stage for this final number.
It was a wonderful, wonderful evening.
For me, this evening was the highlight of Destination D. In and of itself, and without all the other treats, photos, stories, and imagineers that were shared with us that weekend, this evening alone was worth the price of admission, and then some.
(Once again, all photos are courtesy of Melanie.
)
Up Next: Destination D Wrap Up, and the rest of our Trip...
After our perfect, front row view was taken away by a new row of seats, a little disappointment started to set in, which was then quickly replaced by excitement once we realized for whom these seats were intended.
Within moments of the new seats being placed in front of us, none other than Tony Baxter strolled up and sat in the seat immediately in front of me and Carrie. Once again, I was within 2 feet of this Disney Imagineering rockstar.
Sadly, he didn't seem to remember me from our elevator encounter the previous evening.While she doesn't do autographs, I am pretty sure Ms. Lurkyloo couldn't resist taking a covert photo of the back of Tony's head and tweeting it out to show everyone who we were lucky enough to be seated behind.
Finally, the evening's festivities got underway. To get us warmed up, the disbanded but reunited Kids of the Kingdom took to the stage to perform a few sappy numbers. This brought some nostalgia back to the audience, which tied in nicely with all of the reminiscing we had done that weekend.
Then the Main Street Philharmonic band decked out in their majestic uniforms swept the stage from the rear of the auditorium filling our ears and hearts with some old familiar tunes. It was a wonderful surprise, and a great way to kick-off the evening.
Tim O'Day then took to the stage to introduce the guest of honor - Richard Sherman.
Richard started immediately into some of his many memorable and favourite tunes, with some talking dialogue with Tim O'Day thrown in between the various numbers. It was incredible to sit there and listen to song after song of favourite Disney melodies and to realize that one pair of singing-songwriting brothers were the creative geniuses behind them all. What a gift!
Richard Sherman is about the most charming and delightful man you could ever hope to meet. You can just tell that he thoroughly enjoys his craft and that singing and songwriting is indeed his true passion in life. He was having just as much fun up there performing his songs on stage as we were in listening to them. And he seems to be so touched and humbled by the fact that he is continuing to be recognized by the Disney community so many years later.
While Tim O'Day did a pretty good job introducing several of the songs, and filling in some background details, at times he seemed to be rushing Mr. Sherman along, who clearly wanted to talk more to the audience and share more stories. While the evening certainly wasn't short, I could have stayed there listening to Mr. Sherman a lot longer, and it seemed that he would have been quite happy to continue talking, signing and playing for us if allowed.
While I had heard Mr. Sherman tell this story before in past interviews, hearing once again in person the story of Walt's favourite song, Feed the Birds, and how often he requested the Sherman brothers to play it, followed by a live performance of the song by Richard Sherman himself was incredibly special.
Then, just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better, the original Dreamfinder and Figment came out on stage to perform One Little Spark live with Richard Sherman. The crowd went absolutely wild!
As a finale, the WDW Cast Choir and Band was brought on stage to close the show. They played a couple numbers, and then we were treated to a rousing performance of Golden Dream from the American Adventure.
Recognize Billy Flanigan? Yep...he's the guy who played Ken in the Barbie show at Epcot oh so many years ago.
The final number was a performance of Celebrate the Future, Hand in Hand, with an impressive solo from one of the young WDW choir members. Everyone, including Dreamfinder, Figment and Richard Sherman, was brought on stage for this final number.
It was a wonderful, wonderful evening.
For me, this evening was the highlight of Destination D. In and of itself, and without all the other treats, photos, stories, and imagineers that were shared with us that weekend, this evening alone was worth the price of admission, and then some.
(Once again, all photos are courtesy of Melanie.
)Up Next: Destination D Wrap Up, and the rest of our Trip...
Are you doing the 
But you and Brian are even closer than me! Have fun counting down the days! 
