Through the Years

As Disney's youth performance program celebrates its silver anniversary, its famous alumni take a fond look back.

by Catherine Applefeld Olson

The road to performing at Disney Magic Music Days is winding. The preparation, the travel arrangements and the rehearsal schedule require intense focus and determination. But the experience of taking the stage at a Disney theme park while still a child yourself, according to many Disney MMD alums, is nothing short of priceless.

"At a young age, I got a picture of how it should be done, which is not necessarily how it is done in many places," says Mike Scheuchzer, guitarist with Christian pop group MercyMe. Along with his high school choir, Scheuchzer participated in the Candlelight Processional at the Magic Kingdom, a tradition that began in 1971—Walt Disney World Resort's opening year—and was expanded to include youth participants in 1996. He also was part of a troupe that went caroling through Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.

"I was impressed most with how professionally everything was done," he recalls. "Even when you're standing in line at Disney World, it's magical."

The first official Disney Magic Music Days groups performed in 1985 at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts; the program later grew to include Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. During the past quarter century, more than 30,000 groups from all 50 states and six continents have graced the stage at a Disney park as part of the program. Now, as Disney Magic Music Days prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2010, its rich network of "graduates" is proof positive of the benefits of bringing school-age children into the Disney spotlight.

Scheuchzer is only one of a number of entertainment industry notables on the Disney Magic Music Days alumni roster. Others include American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado, Benji Schwimmer of So You Think You Can Dance, TV's House star Jennifer Morrison, O.A.R. saxophonist Jerry DePizzo and Caitlin Hale, who portrayed one of the prep school kids gone anti-establishment in the blockbuster film School of Rock. Many of these Disney MMD participants cite their Disney experience as a "eureka" moment, from which they gleaned knowledge not only about what it feels like to perform for a large audience, but what it takes to get there.

Hale, now 18, traveled from her hometown in Connecticut to perform in a dance troupe at Walt Disney World when she was only eight years old. "It was so important to learn something so different and to perform in front of everyone," she says. The experience was a big confidence-booster for the budding actress as well: "It was very good to have something like this under my belt."

Disney Magic Music Days is "one of the performances I'll always remember because it was so much fun," Hale adds. "It wasn't just work. It was a singing event, a vacation, and a chance to spend time with family and friends."

Yet beyond the fun and games—Disney MMD participants get a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the Disney Parks—a professional work ethic resonates strongly throughout these Days.

"Disney Magic Music Days provided a structure for me to build off of," notes Scheuchzer, who grew up in Parkdale, Fla., practically Disney's backyard. "I can remember being backstage and seeing how well-run everything was. When it was time to play, it was time to play. But when it was time to work, it was really time to work."

Scheuchzer has adopted that mantra in his adult life, particularly when it comes to making and performing music. "It impacted me greatly," he says. "The work ethic at Disney shows in how magical those performances are for the people who are coming to watch. You literally forget where you are."

Recording artist Jessy J, who recently topped Billboard's year-end Hot Smooth Jazz Songs chart with her song "Tequila Moon," knew before high school that she wanted to be a professional entertainer. But she credits her Disney Magic Music Days experience for elevating the dream.

"I saw entertainment on a larger scale. It rocked my world to think of entertainment as more than just playing music," she says. "It's about sharing joy and sorrow, connecting with the audience, and all of that came full circle during my time at [Disney Magic Music Days] and later as part of The Disney All-American College Band."

Jessy, who performed at Disneyland for the first time playing alto sax as part of an All-Southern California Honor Group, recalls her Disney MMD debut. "I can remember being backstage, all dressed up and ready to do our half-hour show at Carnation Plaza," she says. "Then we got to go into the park and that was the best part. What kid wouldn't want to spend the day in Disneyland?"

She also remembers the prep work. "We had rehearsals on Saturdays, maybe four or five weeks in a row, and the music was really challenging," she says. "But I noticed right away that it was super-organized, and the staff was friendly and personable. It was all those little things. Shaking hands. Not pointing at us, and just being courteous. All those things stayed with me."

Though Jessy didn't have to travel far from her Southern California home to Anaheim, she relished the opportunity to expand her world, if only by a town or two. "Traveling is a huge part of growing and maturing, musically as well as personally," she says. "When people travel together, they have stronger ties and it builds relationships that last a lifetime." In fact, she says she's still in touch with many of her early bandmates.

As Disney Magic Music Days performers continue to cycle out into the greater entertainment sphere, actress Hale recently found herself in a full-circle magical moment when she returned to Walt Disney World with her senior class just before high school graduation.

"I hadn't been back since the [Disney Magic Music Days] performance, and it was so much fun," she says. Walking by the Cinderella Castle, she couldn't help but let her mind wander back a decade, to the feeling of being onstage in front of the castle dancing for so many park visitors. "It brought back great memories," she says.

A DISNEY PERFORMANCE TIMELINE

The 25th anniversary of Disney Magic Music Days is in 2010, but the history of excellence in performance at Walt Disney World goes back even further than the 1980s-vintage ads pictured below—back to the very beginning of the Florida resort.

1955 Disneyland holds its grand opening on July 17 in Anaheim, California. Television crews, marching bands, and stars including Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, and the Mouseketeers joined Walt Disney as he read the dedication. More than 28,000 guests witnessed the opening of Walt Disney's first Theme Park.

1971 Walt Disney World Resort opens to the public on October 1. The official grand opening is October 25, featuring a reading of the dedication plaque on Main Street, U.S.A. by Roy O. Disney. In December, the first Candlelight Processional is held.

1975 "America on Parade," designed for the Disney celebration of America's Bicentennial, begins its 18-month run in the Magic Kingdom. The program consists of one to two parades a day, each featuring up to six marching bands. This was the first time Disney solicited nationwide for high school bands to perform in its parks, an early precursor to Disney Magic Music Days.

1976 On September 6, a total of 2,000 guest high school band students march and play five tunes with a Disney soundtrack as "America on Parade" ends its featured run.

1985 The name "Disney Magic Music Days" is established, and sales and marketing efforts for the new program begin.

1989 Disney Workshops are offered for the first time at Disneyland Park in California.

1994 The Disney Performing Arts Workshops begin their first official year of operation at Walt Disney World Resort. (A smaller educational program—first called 101, then Disney Entertains—had been offered in prior years.) The annual Candlelight Processional moves to Epcot.

1996 Walt Disney World Resort celebrates its 25th anniversary. A rededication of the Magic Kingdom Park takes place in front of the Cinderella Castle Cake with speeches by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Roy E. Disney, and Michael Eisner. For the first time, the Candlelight Processional includes Disney Youth Group Programs participants. The "Dance in Disney Shoes" program debuts.

2005 On May 5, the 18-month "Happiest Celebration on Earth" begins. Both Festival Disney and the Disney Honors make their debuts in the spring.

2008 The Disney Step Classic debuts in September.

2009 The Disney Jazz Celebration starring Arturo Sandoval premieres in February.