Cape Central Marching Tigers peform in Disney World parade

Who knew the Sunshine State could be so cold?

Not Austin Wicker and his mates from the Cape Central Marching Tigers.

The marching band recently completed a whirlwind trip to Florida, where it spent a couple of frigid days tuning up for the evening parade of bands at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

"We were the very first band to come out," said Wicker, a senior and the band's drum major. "There were tons of people. It was awesome."

The Marching Tigers were back at Disney, where the band has played every four years, marking another high point for the award-winning band.

But if the musicians were looking for a tropical winter break, they had come to the wrong place.

Departing the day after Christmas, the band trekked 16 hours by bus. The students spent the first day at a beachfront hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla. Not long after unloading their stuff, the band marched down to the beach for a cool run through. Temperatures were in the upper 30s, about 30 degrees cooler than the typical high in Florida in late December.

"I was in shorts," said Semaj Bird, a freshman who plays the baritone. "I thought Florida was going to be extremely hot, but when I got down there it was really cold."

Wicker said it was actually warmer in Cape Girardeau while they were in Florida.

The Cape Central Marching Tigers parade down Main Street USA at Disney World. (Submitted photo)

"We were very confused," he said.

Still, the trip was a dream come true for Wicker.

"I've always wanted to go to the beach," he said. "When we got there, I saw the ocean and the beach. I was so excited. I had to go into the ocean at least once."

It was a quick dip. The water was freezing.

Frigid conditions proved no problem for the Marching Tigers, part of a band program that has tallied a long list of successes in recent years. The high school's concert band was selected by audition to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association Convention in January 2010, and tapped to march in Gov. Jay Nixon's inaugural parade in 2009. This year the band placed first at five regional marching competitions and took first at two the year before. In 2008 the band finished first in every competition it entered.

But marching in the Magic Kingdom was, well, magical, Wicker and Bird said. Along the way, band members checked out Epcot Center and Universal Studios. Bird recommends future band members not pass up the opportunity to march at Disney.

"Do it, for real," the freshman said. "It goes by so fast, so just enjoy it while you can."

mkittle@semisourian.com

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1000 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, Mo.