Flag retreat - worth this much?

[Disney8704]

I am wanting to sign my DH up for this when we get there if there any dates left, only thing is to maximize our chances, we have to move all our dinners from 5 to 7 at MK and Epcot. Plus, spend the day at epcot, leave epcot around 3:45 to get to MK in time for the flag retreat and then go back to Epcot to finish our day and for dinner, if the day we get happens to fall on a day we spend at Epcot. Or spend the day at AK, leave right when the parade starts, get to MK, do the flag retreat and then head down to DTD. Is that to much for a flag retreat, for something my DH to participate in. Or should we see what they have available during our MK days and leave it as that. We have 2 MK days we can do it - we will be there for 3 days but one of our dinners have to be at 5pm so we can be all done in time for MVMCP. I didnt know if rearraging our dinner times all around would be worth it, plus the extra running around we would have to do if we end up doing it on a Epcot or AK day. I know he really wants to do this, and he doesnt mind running around a lot. He didnt even mind when I asked him if we could leave AKL in the morning, go to MK to get on a monorail to get to Ohana, and then take the monorail down to Epcot. We arent doing that now. I rearrange our breakfasts, but the simple fact he doesnt mind the extra running around. Me, I could care less. I just wanna know if all this is worth doing the flag retreat. Any inputs?

 

[luvthatduke]

We watched one day on our trip 2 years ago,
and it was very moving.
Many people stopped all around the train station
and the hustle and bustle definitely slowed down
while it was going on.
If this is something your DH really would like to do,
and the running around won't make you crazy,
then I'd say go for it - it's probably a literal "once in a lifetime" event.

P.S. There was another thread about the flag retreat
just a few days ago - maybe do a search and see what
the participants had to say.

 

[Moonmom]

I didnt know if rearraging our dinner times all around would be worth it, plus the extra running around we would have to do if we end up doing it on a Epcot or AK day. I know he really wants to do this, and he doesnt mind running around a lot. He didnt even mind when I asked him if we could leave AKL in the morning, go to MK to get on a monorail to get to Ohana, and then take the monorail down to Epcot. We arent doing that now. I rearrange our breakfasts, but the simple fact he doesnt mind the extra running around. Me, I could care less. I just wanna know if all this is worth doing the flag retreat. Any inputs?

I just happened the flag retreat ceremony one day while DH was playing golf; the next time we were in the MK that time of day we made a point making sure we got to witness it. We didn't know anyone it...but it still has a two page spread in my scrapbook!
It your DH really wants to be part of it... get over to the MK the first day and see what day (hopefully it be that day) that he can particpate. It's honor and privilege. And it's something he wants to do. There's other options for dinner.. you can eat later.. have bigger, later lunch that day, (and a lighter, later dinner). And this something he can't do at home.. and it's an honor he deserves.

 

[MaeDaisy]

OP, there are TS restaurants open during MVMCP. You might miss an hour or so of park time, but if you're spending 3 days there, one hour or 90 minutes even won't be a big deal. For our First Ever trip this past December, my family only had 1 MK day plus a MVMCP. The party was our day of arrival, and our ADR for Tony's was 7:10. Our Magical Express was late, so we didn't get to the park until 7:20. They still gave us a table, and we enjoyed our dinner. We didn't start the actual party until after 8:30, but we still got everything done on our list. So don't discount that day.

 

[Disney8704]

Do you think its possible to have an ADR for 6pm and be done by 7 or 7:30 for CRT? The only things we wanna do during MVMCP is the special stuff like the parade, the special shows and of course wishes. Plus take pics as well. If we only miss 30 mins of the party I think it would be ok and we still could get everything done. We dont plan on riding any rides during MVMCP. We're saving them for regular park hours. I know that at 6pm, wishes will be going on so CRT may not be really busy. Plus I've never seen Wishes inside CRT before and heard it was amazing. So that could be a plus to move our dinner from 5 to 6, so that can be 1 more extra possible day for the flag retreat plus experience wishes. We've never seen wishes before except on video. But we will see it the other 2 days while we are there anyways. So seeing it one time in CRT wont be that big of a deal.

 

[disnut8]

Quite honestly, drop the idea of getting your husband to participate. If the reasons he wants to participate are what I think they are, it's not going to matter if he's the one presented the flag or not. For my own personal reasons, it's a very moving ceremony from a spectators point of view as well.

It is presented every day at Magic Kingdom at 5:00. I would suggest getting to the area around 4:45 and sit on the benches in front of the flag and facing towards the train station. The area around the flag will be roped off shortly after that. Most people have no idea of what is going on until the actual ceremony starts. You will have front row seats to everything (or maybe you'll have to stand up depending on the mood of the people that day but you can stand up on the bench). If you get one of the benches on either of the center sides, the procession will go right by you. I think your husband will appreciate everything.

 

[Disney8704]

I dont know what reasons you are thinking, but you are more then likely wrong. My husband loves his job in the Air Force. He's been to Iraq. He's served time in the air force honor guard here at the base for a year. He would have served more time or go back into it, but unfortunatly in his career field he cant. One year and one time only. We are stationed in Dover, DE. and this base is the port morchary. He had to deal with bodies coming off the plane after 9/11. He had to perform in funerals for those people as well. If you think he's doing this to get attention or something, you're wrong. When I asked him if he would like to do it and told him in detail what he would be doing (someone else told me how it goes), he got a huge smile on his face and almost started crying. Now tell me if what you are thinking why he wants to do this?

Quite honestly, drop the idea of getting your husband to participate. If the reasons he wants to participate are what I think they are, it's not going to matter if he's the one presented the flag or not. For my own personal reasons, it's a very moving ceremony from a spectators point of view as well.

It is presented every day at Magic Kingdom at 5:00. I would suggest getting to the area around 4:45 and sit on the benches in front of the flag and facing towards the train station. The area around the flag will be roped off shortly after that. Most people have no idea of what is going on until the actual ceremony starts. You will have front row seats to everything (or maybe you'll have to stand up depending on the mood of the people that day but you can stand up on the bench). If you get one of the benches on either of the center sides, the procession will go right by you. I think your husband will appreciate everything.

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

What exactly is this Flag Retreat thing?? I've never heard of it. They do a ceremony wehn they bring down the American flag??
If so I know the DH would love to see it. He's also in the military and been to Iraq, he's very proud of our flag and our military. We have a flag of our own here and believe me it's taken care.
It's so hard to explain, I guess even for me though he has explain how he feels to me before, but it is a pride thing...he loves his country and proud to serve us. He's not the type to want regonition(sp) for it though, he's the quiet type. He's just happy to do it.
Whenever we go to a race you can see how proud he is when it's time for the Anthem and when the flag goes by or the fly over. He gets very upset when other disrespect that
Anyway I've rambled long enough and couldn't completely explain how he feels or how I feel. I just know when I see our flag I'm a proud military wife who supports it and them regardless!

 

[Disney8704]

Yes its where they take down the flag each day at MK at 5pm. Someone who did it one time explained it to me how it went. You can find that post here:

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17038872&postcount=4

I know exactly what you mean about the whole pride thing. Not everyone is married to military. And we military spouses love to say yes Im a military wife/husband. It's like a saying I hear a lot: It takes a strong woman to love a military man. And it does. People that are civilians can never know how it feels or what its like to be a military spouse. And thats why we military spouses do take great pride in the flag, our troops and country. DH also loves his country and is proud to serve as well. Why wouldnt he be? If he didnt, he wouldnt be in the AF, especially going career as well. He just made Staff Sergent and was so happy when he made it. He's not one for getting anything special out of doing the flag retreat. He wants to do it, just to do it. To feel the pride of being the one to get presented the flag. He's had to fold tons of flags during funerals, so he knows how it feels to fold the flag and give it to someone. I guess the only people who can really say how this feels is the people in the military and their spouses as well. Civilans, sure they might see the ceremony and get moved by it. But seeing the ceremony is one thing. Actually performing in it, is a whole different story.

What exactly is this Flag Retreat thing?? I've never heard of it. They do a ceremony wehn they bring down the American flag??
If so I know the DH would love to see it. He's also in the military and been to Iraq, he's very proud of our flag and our military. We have a flag of our own here and believe me it's taken care.
It's so hard to explain, I guess even for me though he has explain how he feels to me before, but it is a pride thing...he loves his country and proud to serve us. He's not the type to want regonition(sp) for it though, he's the quiet type. He's just happy to do it.
Whenever we go to a race you can see how proud he is when it's time for the Anthem and when the flag goes by or the fly over. He gets very upset when other disrespect that
Anyway I've rambled long enough and couldn't completely explain how he feels or how I feel. I just know when I see our flag I'm a proud military wife who supports it and them regardless!

 

[MyGoofy26]

Sounds like something that would be more than worth all the hoops to jump through for him. We watched this for the first time on our last trip - somehow we never caught it and I wanted to make a point of seeing it. It's such a simple but beautiful ceremony - I was so moved, I can't imagine how it must feel for those who have actually fought for this country. I'd be willing to bet that when it's all over and for years to come when you both look back on that day you'll only remember the emotion and not the stress of getting to and from.

I say go for it.

 

[ToriLammy]

I am wanting to sign my DH up for this when we get there if there any dates left, only thing is to maximize our chances, we have to move all our dinners from 5 to 7 at MK and Epcot. Plus, spend the day at epcot, leave epcot around 3:45 to get to MK in time for the flag retreat and then go back to Epcot to finish our day and for dinner, if the day we get happens to fall on a day we spend at Epcot. Or spend the day at AK, leave right when the parade starts, get to MK, do the flag retreat and then head down to DTD. Is that to much for a flag retreat, for something my DH to participate in. Or should we see what they have available during our MK days and leave it as that. We have 2 MK days we can do it - we will be there for 3 days but one of our dinners have to be at 5pm so we can be all done in time for MVMCP. I didnt know if rearraging our dinner times all around would be worth it, plus the extra running around we would have to do if we end up doing it on a Epcot or AK day. I know he really wants to do this, and he doesnt mind running around a lot. He didnt even mind when I asked him if we could leave AKL in the morning, go to MK to get on a monorail to get to Ohana, and then take the monorail down to Epcot. We arent doing that now. I rearrange our breakfasts, but the simple fact he doesnt mind the extra running around. Me, I could care less. I just wanna know if all this is worth doing the flag retreat. Any inputs?

How many times do you think you'll be back to WDW? If you plan on going again and again then it may not be worth it to try and fit the flag retreat in this trip. If this is a one time deal then yes it is very much worth it to try and get your DH in.

We go to WDW about every 2 and half to three years. The first time we went I didn't really know about the flag retreat so while we saw it, we didn't know we could participate. The 2nd trip I was very prepared and we were able to volunteer and participate. We just returned from our 3rd trip and we didn't volunteer because we wanted to let others have chance.

The only time we'd try to do it again is if my DH's Army Brother was with us, he was supposed to go on our 2nd trip but got deployed to Iraq shortly before the trip. He was supposed to go on our 3rd trip but had to take another trip to Iraq (only a visit this time but scheduled at the same time as our Disney trip). One of these days we will all be at WDW at the same time and yes we'll volunteer at least the two brothers for the flag retreat ceremony.

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

Yes its where they take down the flag each day at MK at 5pm. Someone who did it one time explained it to me how it went. You can find that post here:

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17038872&postcount=4

I know exactly what you mean about the whole pride thing. Not everyone is married to military. And we military spouses love to say yes Im a military wife/husband. It's like a saying I hear a lot: It takes a strong woman to love a military man. And it does. People that are civilians can never know how it feels or what its like to be a military spouse. And thats why we military spouses do take great pride in the flag, our troops and country. DH also loves his country and is proud to serve as well. Why wouldnt he be? If he didnt, he wouldnt be in the AF, especially going career as well. He just made Staff Sergent and was so happy when he made it. He's not one for getting anything special out of doing the flag retreat. He wants to do it, just to do it. To feel the pride of being the one to get presented the flag. He's had to fold tons of flags during funerals, so he knows how it feels to fold the flag and give it to someone. I guess the only people who can really say how this feels is the people in the military and their spouses as well. Civilans, sure they might see the ceremony and get moved by it. But seeing the ceremony is one thing. Actually performing in it, is a whole different story.

Thanks, I think you explained it better them, I have a hard time with words that are in my heart.
My DH is actually at school right now to put in for Staff Sergent!
I also understand about the folding the flag at funerals, unfortunately DH was the pall bearer and folded the flag for his Best Friends funeral. It was the first time I ever saw him cry. It was a tough day that so many others go through every day as well.
Anyway enough of sad stuff.....I thank -you for the info, I'm going to tell DH about this and going to do our best to get up front to see the ceremony! If asked I'm sure he'd participate, but be just as happy to see it!

 

[Disney8704]

We will be back to WDW again. Just dont know when. After this trip, we are gonna consentrate on getting bills paid off and then getting into our own house. Right now we live on base housing. So it probably wont be another 3 or 4 yrs from now before we go again. I would much rather do it this trip then waiting next trip, because you never know they might end up stopping doing the flag retreat. They havent always done it since MK opened, so things could change and probably will change. Only a matter of time.

How many times do you think you'll be back to WDW? If you plan on going again and again then it may not be worth it to try and fit the flag retreat in this trip. If this is a one time deal then yes it is very much worth it to try and get your DH in.

We go to WDW about every 2 and half to three years. The first time we went I didn't really know about the flag retreat so while we saw it, we didn't know we could participate. The 2nd trip I was very prepared and we were able to volunteer and participate. We just returned from our 3rd trip and we didn't volunteer because we wanted to let others have chance.

The only time we'd try to do it again is if my DH's Army Brother was with us, he was supposed to go on our 2nd trip but got deployed to Iraq shortly before the trip. He was supposed to go on our 3rd trip but had to take another trip to Iraq (only a visit this time but scheduled at the same time as our Disney trip). One of these days we will all be at WDW at the same time and yes we'll volunteer at least the two brothers for the flag retreat ceremony.

 

[Disney8704]

Im surprised I was able to find the right words to say Congrats on your DH making Staff. My DH starts school this monday and will be graduting on March 29th. I told him once hes done ALS (airman leadership school), make sure he gets Tech studying materials, cuz thats the hardest rank to make, and he has 2 yrs before he can take the test. I think 2 yrs of studying will be enough, I hope, Is your DH taking his class at your base or somewhere else? My DH is just going to the class here on base. Actually to be more specific its not even on base. Its at the old elementary school here on base housing. So hes gonna walk to class everyday to save on gas. Works for me with these gas prices! It's $2.23 here It went from $2.19 to $2.23 over night literally. Also, if you wanna participate, make sure you go to guest relations on your 1st day of your trip. Heard it a hard thing to grab a spot for. Might have better chances during EMH morning at MK. And since not a whole lot of people know about this, maybe we'll both get lucky and grab a day. Now Im just trying to figure out do I wanna take pics or video tape it, if we do grab a spot, lol. I want video and DH wants pics. And I told him, I rather have video. Maybe I can find a way to hold the video camera in 1 hand and the camera in the other hand and do both, lol.

Thanks, I think you explained it better them, I have a hard time with words that are in my heart.
My DH is actually at school right now to put in for Staff Sergent!
I also understand about the folding the flag at funerals, unfortunately DH was the pall bearer and folded the flag for his Best Friends funeral. It was the first time I ever saw him cry. It was a tough day that so many others go through every day as well.
Anyway enough of sad stuff.....I thank -you for the info, I'm going to tell DH about this and going to do our best to get up front to see the ceremony! If asked I'm sure he'd participate, but be just as happy to see it!

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

Im surprised I was able to find the right words to say Congrats on your DH making Staff. My DH starts school this monday and will be graduting on March 29th. I told him once hes done ALS (airman leadership school), make sure he gets Tech studying materials, cuz thats the hardest rank to make, and he has 2 yrs before he can take the test. I think 2 yrs of studying will be enough, I hope, Is your DH taking his class at your base or somewhere else? My DH is just going to the class here on base. Actually to be more specific its not even on base. Its at the old elementary school here on base housing. So hes gonna walk to class everyday to save on gas. Works for me with these gas prices! It's $2.23 here It went from $2.19 to $2.23 over night literally. Also, if you wanna participate, make sure you go to guest relations on your 1st day of your trip. Heard it a hard thing to grab a spot for. Might have better chances during EMH morning at MK. And since not a whole lot of people know about this, maybe we'll both get lucky and grab a day. Now Im just trying to figure out do I wanna take pics or video tape it, if we do grab a spot, lol. I want video and DH wants pics. And I told him, I rather have video. Maybe I can find a way to hold the video camera in 1 hand and the camera in the other hand and do both, lol.

DH had to go to South Carolina for his, so it takes some gas, but will be worth it in the end!

Thanks for the info, our first day is a EMH at MK so I'll give it a go, we'll be there 3 days, maybe we'll get one for one of those days!
I'm lucky I have a 14 1/2 yr old that can take pics while I tape!
Good Luck, hope your DH can get it as well!

 

[disnut8]

I dont know what reasons you are thinking, but you are more then likely wrong. My husband loves his job in the Air Force. He's been to Iraq. He's served time in the air force honor guard here at the base for a year. He would have served more time or go back into it, but unfortunatly in his career field he cant. One year and one time only. We are stationed in Dover, DE. and this base is the port morchary. He had to deal with bodies coming off the plane after 9/11. He had to perform in funerals for those people as well. If you think he's doing this to get attention or something, you're wrong. When I asked him if he would like to do it and told him in detail what he would be doing (someone else told me how it goes), he got a huge smile on his face and almost started crying. Now tell me if what you are thinking why he wants to do this?

Whoa - I never thought your husband was trying to get attention. I would never think that of any person. Your reasons and mine are the very same. Exactly the same. What I was trying to say (and I guess I did a poor job at it) was that even if your husband isn't a part of the ceremony, to go anyway because he would be moved even if he wasn't in it. More than moved. He *would* cry. You asked if the Flag Retreat was worth it. I was trying to say that it's worth it anytime. Participation or not. If it's too much of a hassle to rearrange things for him to be in it, go anyway. Even just viewing the ceremony is enough.

And, as I always do, I thank your husband for all that he is doing for our country and countries around the world. I also give out a huge thank you to you and your family because it's tough to be a military wife. I know. I was one.

 

[Disney8704]

Well we plan on seeing it regardless if hes in it or not. Even if he is, we are still gonna see it 1 more time, just so he can see it in another way. And the reason why I blew off like that, cuz you said blunetly came out and said that my husband shouldnt do the flag retreat. And Im thinking whats wrong with you? If my husband doesnt deserve to be in the flag retreat, then nobody should. Oh well, its over, its in the past. I asked my husband if he was sure he didnt mind running from one park to another just to be in the flag retreat, and he said he didnt mind. So we are gonna try to get him a date. Im really hoping its a day we are already in MK, but if not, oh well. We'll just have to work around it. Maybe instead of leaving the park just to go to MK and come back to Epcot, maybe we can spend the morning and early afternoon in Epcot, go to MK for lunch and stay there until the flag retreat and then go back to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations.

Whoa - I never thought your husband was trying to get attention. I would never think that of any person. Your reasons and mine are the very same. Exactly the same. What I was trying to say (and I guess I did a poor job at it) was that even if your husband isn't a part of the ceremony, to go anyway because he would be moved even if he wasn't in it. More than moved. He *would* cry. You asked if the Flag Retreat was worth it. I was trying to say that it's worth it anytime. Participation or not. If it's too much of a hassle to rearrange things for him to be in it, go anyway. Even just viewing the ceremony is enough.

And, as I always do, I thank your husband for all that he is doing for our country and countries around the world. I also give out a huge thank you to you and your family because it's tough to be a military wife. I know. I was one.