7 Things (The Magic Tour Edition)

The tales of the Springfield Young Friends 1993 trip to Walt Disney World are coming to an end- but here are 7 more thoughts about that amazing trip:

1)  Keith Murphy was one of the guys who went on the trip that I didn't know very well.  He was a friend of Jennifer Wood.  He was an alright guy, but he had several "Christian" t-shirts he wore that week that several of us found offensive.  They were not the "God loves you" kind of Christian message- they were the "you will burn in hell for all eternity" kind of message.  They just didn't seem appropriate for our group or for WDW.   But he wore them anyway!  If Barbara Moran could have gotten hold of them she would have burned them...

2)  My wife Marilyn roomed with Ashley Goad, Erin Moran and Mandy Beggs.  Either Mandy or Erin was a slob and the other was a neat freak, with Ashley and Marilyn caught in the middle.  It seems like each day brought new stories of their ongoing battle!

3)  We did all of the major night events at the three main parks that week.  We saw Illuminations, the laser lights and fireworks show over the lagoon at EPCOT; we saw SpectroMagic, the amazing electric parade at the Magic Kingdom; and we saw Sorcery in the Sky at the Disney/MGM Studios.  Even with all of that light and spectacle, our favorite parade of the week may well have been the afternoon parade at the Studios.  It was an Aladdin themed event, using the great "Prince Ali" song from the movie to brings out floats, characters and camels.  Plus Genie appeared in four or five different forms, and we got to shake hands with Abu and Jafar.  We had a blast watching the parade go by!

4)  This was our third youth group trip to Disney since 1987, and we had developed our own sayings and "language" over that time.  For instance, "Mr. Fy" was our name for Goofy.  "That White Chick" was how we referred to Snow White.  At rides like Pirates of the Caribbean or Space Mountain that had two lines, we all understood that the left line moved faster.  On Space Mountain, we knew that on the left side the ride WAS faster!  We knew that the only way to beat the crowds for the afternoon parade at the MK was to catch "The Express," our name for the Walt Disney World Railroad.  It is safe to say that for many of us WDW felt like a home away from home.

5)  Despite our moments of wildness and extreme volume around the pool, the folks at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort told me that our group was one of the finest groups of young people they had ever been around.  I would have to agree.  It is a real point of pride with me that I heard similar words so many times over my 28 years of ministry with youth...

6)  There was indeed a Black Thursday on the trip, but it consisted primarily of some of our leaders threatening to kill some of the slobs they were rooming with...and we did bring everyone home that we took, so no serious damage was done.  That also means no one died from consuming two day old fried chicken from anyone's fanny pack...

7)  The best thing I ever did on a youth trip was include those amazing meal tickets in the cost so that everyone would eat well.  It kept the kids happy and healthy, made the adults feel like they were special, and gave us some unbelievable memories.  Our final act before heading home was to use our final ticket for the all-you-could eat breakfast at the Cape May Cafe (pictured at right) in Disney's Yacht Club Resort.  This huge, delicious breakfast also included visits at our tables from Mr. Fy, Pluto, Chip and Dale.  It was the perfect finish to a nearly perfect week!

There is only one story left to be told from The Magic Tour, and it is not a happy one.  We still had to travel home.  And the Holly Spring Friends Meeting van was going with us...

Because of Jesus,