VIDEO: Musician That Appeared In First Magic Kingdom Parade Returns With Grandson
We’ve got a touching story for your Tuesday afternoon! Back on October 25, 1971 there was a 1,076-member marching band that paraded down Main Street USA in celebration of Walt Disney World’s grand opening!
One of the participants on the day was David Phillips who played the trombone. Nearly 50 years later Dave returned to the Magic Kingdom to mark another very important occasion, his first time visiting the parks with his 5-year-old grandson Gideon.
Reflecting back on his parade performance, Dave remembers that the parade was led by Mickey Mouse and involved 4,000 world-class entertainers. This included a massive cast of much-loved Disney characters.
Also making an appearance where Herald Trumpeters from the United States Army Band and there was even a mass choir!
Music has always been an important part of Dave’s life, his father was a music teacher in Florida and encouraged him to play the trombone. Dave remembers that he originally missed the Grand Opening Parade audition but that he send a cassette tape to show of his talents.
To his surprise he was chosen as one of the 1,076 members in the marching band which was directed by Meredith Wilson who also composed music for The Music Man!
Check out this video below of Dave reliving the Disney magic and his grandson getting to enjoy it for the first time.
As you can see from the incredible footage above, Dave had a chance to watch the current Main Street Philharmonic band march down Main Street U.S.A. with his grandson by his side.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for more touching stories like these!
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