8caliace
United States Air Force
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2000
- Messages
- 324
We have been back a couple of days from a great 9-night trip, staying at SOG. Anyways, this had to be the trip with the most "Disney Magic", with the following events standing out:
#1: I was able to be the "Veteran of the Day" and take part in the Flag Retreat ceremony at MK. I showed up at the flagpole about 15 minutes before the ceremony started, and was introduced to the 3-man security team and my private PhotoPass photographer. Great guys, all of them. I was given a quick run-through of what was going to take place and the lead member gathered a bit more info from me about myself. Nothing complicated in the details, but I was actually a bit anxious so I was worried I would forget something. I was assured by all that I would do fine and they would give me cues if needed. We went off to the side of City Hall to await the band (again, a bunch of awesome people) and my family was given a special area to view the ceremony up close. At showtime, we marched to our place at the top of the steps to the train depot. The band took its spot at the bottom of the stairs, played its initial piece and we all marched to the flagpole. 2 of the guards took their place to lower the flag and the band began the National Anthem while myself and the other guard rendered a salute. Once the flag was down and the music was over, I lowered my salute and we repositioned ourselves. The 3 guards began the folding of the flag and I remained at attention. Once the flag was folded and secured, it was placed in my arms and the band played a compilation of the service songs. The leader of the security detail then made an announcement to the crowd surrounding the flagpole area. He read a proclamation declaring me as Veteran of the Day, saying who I was, my hometown (Los Angeles), and branch of service (USAF). I got goosebumps from the cheers from everyone around. A folder with the certificate was placed behind the flag and the band marched to their position facing the castle with me directly behind them, and the 3 guards behind me and my family members behind them followed by about 30 manager types in suits. We then marched in step down Main Street, turning off to the right about halfway down. The band departed, but the security detail remained. The leader took the flag back explaining that Disney has the flags specially made. He also took the folder from me and made a presentation to me with the items inside. I was a certificate with the proclamation. I was also given a certificate for a free 5x7 print of my choice of all the photos taken during the ceremony. Finally I was presented with a special Veteran of the Day pin. It was explained that these pins are authentic Cloissone(sp?) pins which are very limited in quantity and very special. He stated that it would be very disappointing to ever see one of the pins on eBay, and I assured him that mine never would. They then brought my family in for pictures with the flag, certificates, security detail, etc. They all thanked me for my service and I thanked them for such an awesome experience. My wife and mom were in tears. All I can say is if you are veteran or are traveling with one in your family/group, you have to experience this.
#2: Surfing Lesson at TL-So much fun. My son(9), my brother and his fiancee, and myself took part with 7 others. It was a very early start to the day, and quite a workout, but it was awesome. Instructor staff were great, giving group instruction to begin, then breaking it down to one on one as we actually hit the waves. We got to ride about a dozen waves each, which was perfect. Family was able to come in to watch, and my mom was there to take plenty of pics. At the end, we were all given "Surftificates" and stickers from the surfing school. I think it is something we would all love to do again.
#3: Jedi Academy-My son had been talking it up for months leading up to the trip. I was worried he might be disappointed if not chosen. But fortunately, he was among the Chosen, and he loved it. It was great watching them all train, and then the fight with Darth Maul was priceless. They all received certificates at the end which will make a great framed memento with some pics of the battle.
#4: Backlot Tour-my brother and I were chosen to take part in the pre-ride show at the Backlot Tour. We were actually pretty far back in the line, yet I threw my hands up and got my brother to throw his up and we were picked. Again, the family got to move up front to take pics. It was great fun to act as the 2 deckhands for the scene.
#5: Angels vs Devil Rays-as luck would have it, our beloved Angels were in Tampa during our trip. My son not only got a few autographs from the players, but also had a ball tossed to him by one of the Angels (Kelvim Escobar) during the pregame.
Again, what an incredible trip. It seemed like there was so much magic going on for us all for the entire trip. Now its time to start planning next time. Thanks for reading.
#1: I was able to be the "Veteran of the Day" and take part in the Flag Retreat ceremony at MK. I showed up at the flagpole about 15 minutes before the ceremony started, and was introduced to the 3-man security team and my private PhotoPass photographer. Great guys, all of them. I was given a quick run-through of what was going to take place and the lead member gathered a bit more info from me about myself. Nothing complicated in the details, but I was actually a bit anxious so I was worried I would forget something. I was assured by all that I would do fine and they would give me cues if needed. We went off to the side of City Hall to await the band (again, a bunch of awesome people) and my family was given a special area to view the ceremony up close. At showtime, we marched to our place at the top of the steps to the train depot. The band took its spot at the bottom of the stairs, played its initial piece and we all marched to the flagpole. 2 of the guards took their place to lower the flag and the band began the National Anthem while myself and the other guard rendered a salute. Once the flag was down and the music was over, I lowered my salute and we repositioned ourselves. The 3 guards began the folding of the flag and I remained at attention. Once the flag was folded and secured, it was placed in my arms and the band played a compilation of the service songs. The leader of the security detail then made an announcement to the crowd surrounding the flagpole area. He read a proclamation declaring me as Veteran of the Day, saying who I was, my hometown (Los Angeles), and branch of service (USAF). I got goosebumps from the cheers from everyone around. A folder with the certificate was placed behind the flag and the band marched to their position facing the castle with me directly behind them, and the 3 guards behind me and my family members behind them followed by about 30 manager types in suits. We then marched in step down Main Street, turning off to the right about halfway down. The band departed, but the security detail remained. The leader took the flag back explaining that Disney has the flags specially made. He also took the folder from me and made a presentation to me with the items inside. I was a certificate with the proclamation. I was also given a certificate for a free 5x7 print of my choice of all the photos taken during the ceremony. Finally I was presented with a special Veteran of the Day pin. It was explained that these pins are authentic Cloissone(sp?) pins which are very limited in quantity and very special. He stated that it would be very disappointing to ever see one of the pins on eBay, and I assured him that mine never would. They then brought my family in for pictures with the flag, certificates, security detail, etc. They all thanked me for my service and I thanked them for such an awesome experience. My wife and mom were in tears. All I can say is if you are veteran or are traveling with one in your family/group, you have to experience this.
#2: Surfing Lesson at TL-So much fun. My son(9), my brother and his fiancee, and myself took part with 7 others. It was a very early start to the day, and quite a workout, but it was awesome. Instructor staff were great, giving group instruction to begin, then breaking it down to one on one as we actually hit the waves. We got to ride about a dozen waves each, which was perfect. Family was able to come in to watch, and my mom was there to take plenty of pics. At the end, we were all given "Surftificates" and stickers from the surfing school. I think it is something we would all love to do again.
#3: Jedi Academy-My son had been talking it up for months leading up to the trip. I was worried he might be disappointed if not chosen. But fortunately, he was among the Chosen, and he loved it. It was great watching them all train, and then the fight with Darth Maul was priceless. They all received certificates at the end which will make a great framed memento with some pics of the battle.
#4: Backlot Tour-my brother and I were chosen to take part in the pre-ride show at the Backlot Tour. We were actually pretty far back in the line, yet I threw my hands up and got my brother to throw his up and we were picked. Again, the family got to move up front to take pics. It was great fun to act as the 2 deckhands for the scene.
#5: Angels vs Devil Rays-as luck would have it, our beloved Angels were in Tampa during our trip. My son not only got a few autographs from the players, but also had a ball tossed to him by one of the Angels (Kelvim Escobar) during the pregame.
Again, what an incredible trip. It seemed like there was so much magic going on for us all for the entire trip. Now its time to start planning next time. Thanks for reading.
You deserved to have such a Magical 
time with your family 
. Because of men and women such as yourself we can all enjoy, as free people, a great vacation at a place like WDW. We are looking forward to seeing our first Flag Retreat this July. I know it will be a very emotional experience for us as Americans.
