'Voices of Liberty' report - 1/27/07
Darrell Jefress
for the Voices would be last Saturday. I think I also reported that my wife
and I are scheduled to arrive at WDW this Thursday - just five days too
late.
Well, in the end, I decided I had to go for Ryan's last day. One of the good
uses for money is to be with your friends on the important days in their
life, so even though this cost me a bundle, I knew I was doing the right
thing. So I scheduled the craziest WDW trip I've ever done -
1 - fly out of Los Angeles on Friday night
2 - land at MCO Saturday morning, and drive to WDW
3 - breakfast at Yacht Club Galley
4 - all day at Epcot, including watching the Voices from 12:30 until their
last set at 5pm.
5 - dinner at 'Ohana
6 - hang out in the lobby of the Polynesian reading and doing paperwork
7 - drive back to MCO early Sunday morning
8 - fly back to Los Angeles at 0730, just 25 hours after I landed
In the end, one of my friends gave me a hotel room as a present, so I was
able to get about four hours sleep on Sunday morning before heading to MCO.
Well, I'm glad I went, as this was a genuinely special occasion. Worth every
second, every penny, and all the lost sleep. There were others who came in
for the occasion from Oklahoma (Ryan's home state), Minnesota, and New
York - that I knew of. (I also met one of the Fort Wilderness snowbirds that
we've talked about in the other thread.) Not to mention several members of
Ryan's family, and all sorts of local friends.
The crowds in the rotunda got bigger as the day went on, and the music was
genuinely inspired. All of Ryan's favorite numbers were done, along with a
number of requests from the friends and family. At one point, the group
even did their "happy birthday" salute to a friend's guide dog, named Tiger.
(Yes, the dog *is* named after Tiger Woods.)
At the 3:30 and 4:15 sets, Ryan absolutely brought down the house with the
best performances I've ever seen him give of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
and "Old Man River". And he gave us his popular "braying donkey" at the end
of "Old MacDonald".
The Voices also occasionally do a piece called "50 Nifty United States", in
which at the beginning each of the performers tells us what state they're
from. Ryan gave us "Nebraska", even though he won't be moving there for a
bit yet. (He assures us that he'll always be a Sooner at heart!)
Regrettably, we were forced out into the courtyard for the final set (a
practice I despise as much as others of us dislike the closing of eateries),
but this final set was a fabulous "All Ryan, all the time" set, as he did
the spotlight sections for "God Bless the USA", "Yankee Doodle", and his
final number, "America the Beautiful". It was nice to be able to share the
moment with so many others who were there for the same reason.
In the end, it was a special day for all of us who were there to honor a
dear friend, and a really nice guy. What I also appreciate was that this was
all done without sacrificing the quality of the show for the rest of the
guests. (I have seen Broadway productions in which a departing performer was
honored in such a way that the audience who wasn't part of the "event" was
left wondering "what the heck was all that?")
Ryan will be missed, of course, but what he kept telling folks all day was
"I'm not saying 'goodbye', I'm saying 'see y'all later'. As I told him just
before I left, if we don't see each other again here, we'll meet again, by
God's mercy, in another place.
But the Voices will go on, of course, and they'll still be my single
favorite thing to do at WDW. I'm not sure who'll be the lead bass now. I'm
not sure anyone knows yet.
And in the meantime, my wife and I arrive on Thursday for a "regular" WDW
visit. She'll finally get to meet all the others. We're hoping to find a
time when we can get together briefly with Ryan, since he's still in town.
Nicholas via Darrell
hiddenmickey
ElastiGirl
EG
Darrell Jefress
"ElastiGirl" <mrmrs...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1170106281.5...@k78g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for a great trip report Nicolas!
>
> EG
No, no, no, it wasn't a trip report. I don't do trip reports! You can't make
me write one, I won't, I won't, I won't!
But if it will get more people to visit the Voices and learn what a great
experience it is to watch them perform and get to know them, I'm all for it.
One more odd thing about that day - usually after the Voices finish their
set, a few folks will stand around to chat while most of the guests go
upstairs to the main show, and after six or seven minutes the rotunda is
empty until guests begin trickling in for the next show. But last Saturday,
the place never really cleared out, since a lot of folks were just staying
for each of the sets.
And of course, lots of people were waiting around to visit with Ryan, so he
barely made it backstage at all between sets. Eventually someone would have
to come out and give us an "ahem, can we have a *few* moments of your time
to prepare?"
Nicholas via Darrell
MajorWoody
"Darrell Jefress" <eve...@tokyo.com> wrote in message
news:ELrvh.481949$Fi1.262608@bgtnsc05-
Thanks for a great report, I was hoping someone would let us know how it
went. I wish I could have made it to the last shows, but that's the way it
goes. I'll be down next week, keep an eye out for me!!
Thanks, and take care,
Bill
leniemc
Jefress says...
them. I even have a couple of their CDs. I'll be down their next week - can't
wait!
lenniemc
Darrell Jefress
"leniemc" <leniemc...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:epm60...@drn.newsguy.com...
> Thanks for the report, Darrell. I love the Voice of Liberty and never
miss
> them. I even have a couple of their CDs. I'll be down their next week -
can't
> wait!
If you're there on Tuesday or Thursday, be sure to ask someone if Nicholas
is there. Or just look for the really good-looking guy in the front row
holding the camcorder.
Nicholas via Darrell
lenniemc
Jefress says...
sure to look you up! Seems like the last several times I've been the one that
gets her hand held while being sung "Ole Suzanna" to. It's happened 3x's in a
row. Think this time I'm going to the back of the Rotunda! ☺ Have a
safe trip!
lenniemc
FIZZIE
Thanks for your report.
I always make it a point to hear the Voices of Liberty.
For my family, they have always been a Disney main event, not to be
missed.
Just another example of the high quality performances that add up to
make the price of a park pass seem like one of the best bargains on
the planet.
-Fizzie
bigbrian-nc.com
> Ryan will be missed, of course, but what he kept telling folks all day was
> "I'm not saying 'goodbye', I'm saying 'see y'all later'. As I told him just
> before I left, if we don't see each other again here, we'll meet again, by
> God's mercy, in another place.
>
> But the Voices will go on, of course, and they'll still be my single
> favorite thing to do at WDW. I'm not sure who'll be the lead bass now. I'm
> not sure anyone knows yet.
>
> And in the meantime, my wife and I arrive on Thursday for a "regular" WDW
> visit. She'll finally get to meet all the others. We're hoping to find a
> time when we can get together briefly with Ryan, since he's still in town.
>
> Nicholas via Darrell
Nicholas,
Thank You, Thank you, Thank You! I haven't poted to RADP in
years, but I just had to write to thank you for your report, the
Voices of Liberty are a favorite of mine, probably my top favorite in
all the Live entertainment groups, and I really like many of the Live
Entertanment offerings, Ryan in particular has always taken time to
say hi to me and even remembered my name after a very long time
between trips
I regreted not getting to see the VOL in December. If there's a way to
pass my best wishes along to Ryan in whatever he pursues please let me
know how, Thanks
Brian Martsolf - http://www.bigbrian-nc.com
Darrell Jefress
"bigbrian-nc.com" <mart...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:1170235997.0...@k78g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> I regreted not getting to see the VOL in December. If there's a way to
> pass my best wishes along to Ryan in whatever he pursues please let me
> know how, Thanks
I will certainly let him know if I see him tomorrow. If not, I'll pass along
your sentiments via email.
Nicholas via Darrell
bigbrian-nc.com
> "bigbrian-nc.com" <marts...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>
> I will certainly let him know if I see him tomorrow. If not, I'll pass along
> your sentiments via email.
>
> Nicholas via Darrell
Thank You Nicholas I really appreciate that!
www.bigbrian-nc.com
Disneyfan/Podcaster, Lou of the WDW-memories web site and pod cast
site: http://www.wdw-memories.net/
pod cast: http://wdw-memories.podomatic.com/
near the end of the show Ryan stopped to chat with Lou the host of the
podcast, any how I thought some of you might like hearing this.
Lou was actually the source of the live tracks I added on to the CDs I
made for the Voices of Liberty several years back.