Walt Disney World’s Night of Joy is a yearly event that’s been running for more than 20 years. I had never heard of it until this year, when music from the Chronicles of Narnia’s Inspirational Soundtrack was to be featured. I was given an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World, a place that I had never been. Having eight tickets, four for each of two days, and three friends in tow, we set up the trip in about three days time.
We flew down on Thursday, out of Detroit, and found our way to the Coronado Springs Resort Hotel. While in Detroit, we went to a TCBY at the airport. One of my friends went up to the counter and asked the guy there if they had any flurries, as he did not see it on the menu. The guy behind the counter was mock-upset at that question and said “We call them shivers here” and really went after my friend about that question. After he got his “shiver,” I said “Mike, let a pro show you how it’s done..” walked up to the counter and said, “So, do you have any flurries here?”
The following morning, we left for the Magic Kingdom, and would up deciding to go to Epcot Center, we went on some rides, including the one in that giant golf ball “Spaceship Earth.”
I only had one ticket for each Night of Joy, so I worked with some incredible people and managed to get ahold of two more tickets for that Friday (Thanks Peggy and Christine and all others that helped out!) and as my friends were talking to Christine, and another gentleman, he had the third ticket they needed to get into the Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom. He also told them that the movie is just the beginning and they Disney is planning some huge features to be added to the parks next summer. He wasn’t specific about them, but I believe he was talking about the MGM Studios Narnia Exhibit we mentioned earlier.
At this time, I went to a reception where I met Leigh Ann, from EMI CMG, and Scott from EMI and David from Narniaweb, and many other people involved in many parts of the Music that is on the Narnia Inspired soundtrack, including promoters from Family Christian Stores and others that helped put the weekend together…if I could remember everyone’s names, I’d list them all, but since I’m terrible with names, I’ll just tell you that everyone was extremely nice and fun to talk to. I even did some entertaining with my impressions of Donald Duck, Gollum and Kermit the Frog.
After that, it was time to hit the shows.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th
Castle Forecourt Stage:
Audio Adrenaline – 7:30 p.m.
Steven Curtis Chapman – 9:25 p.m.
Mercy Me – 11:20 p.m.Galaxy Palace Theater:
Marc Schultz – 7:30 p.m.
Vicky Beeching – 9:15 p.m.
Nicole C. Mullen – 10:35 p.m. & 11:45 p.m.Splash Stage:
Matthew West – 7:30 p.m. & 8:45 p.m.
Casting Crowns – 10:20 p.m. & 11:35 p.m.Cosmic Ray’s:
Witherspoon – 8:30 p.m.
Big Daddy Weave – 9:45 p.m. & 11:00 p.m.
If you know the artists, you can see how hard it would be to choose where to go and what artists to check out. I’ve seen Audio Adrenaline more than a few times, but I’d never seen Mark Schultz. My friends all went to check that show out, so I went there, and found them towards the end of the incredible performance.
We then found our way to the Castle Stage, for Steven Curtis Chapman. He always puts on a great show. One big thing to point out, is that they performed the Narnia-inspired song “Remembering You” for the first time with the band, on stage, without so much as a rehearsal. They performed it very well, despite that fact. There were cheers all around when he mentioned that it was for the Chronicles of Narnia.
Next we went over to the Splash Stage to check out some Casting Crowns. We passed by the Narnia booth that featured Buena Vista’s Narnia game on 4 playable Xbox consoles. An excellent looking game.
The next day, we went straight to MGM Studios, where we saw many shows and rode many rides, including the Indiana Jones Stunt show, Star Wars’ Star Tours, Muppets 3D, and a Vehicle Stunt show.
We were walking down an area and there happened to be Donald Duck, taking pictures with people, so I handed my camera off to a friend, and got in the short line.. walking up to him,
I did an impression and said “How you doin’?” and I heard a voice come from out of nowhere, saying “So, you can do the voice, huh?” That sure took me by surprise. I was under the impression that they weren’t allowed to talk, but there weren’t any kids around, so I guess it was okay at that time.
After a few other things, we went over the the Magic Kingdom for the second night, which I bought the extra three tickets to, for my friends.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th
Castle Forecourt Stage:
tobyMac – 7:30 p.m
Donnie McClurkin – 9:25 p.m.
Newsboys – 11:20 p.m.Galaxy Palace Theater:
Stellar Kart – 7:30 p.m.
Superchick – 8:40 p.m.
CeCe Winans – 10:35 p.m. & 11:45 p.m.Splash Stage:
Kutless – 7:30 p.m. & 8:45 p.m.
Tree63 – 10:20 p.m. & 11:35 p.m.Cosmic Ray’s:
Kellogg’s Choir & Kierra “Kiki” Sheard – 8:30 p.m.
Further Seems Forever – 9:45 p.m. & 11:00 p.m.
This night, we started with Kutless, went on the Pirates of the Caribbean, and then watched Tree63. Kutless didn’t play their Narnia track “More Than It Seems,” but they rocked. 
The performance of the evening though, belongs to the Newsboys. They take the stage with such confidence and so relaxed, that they just put on a great show. It seems so effortless, and rightly so, as they’ve been around for many years and have so many great songs.
The next morning, we flew back to Detroit, and I drove us all back to Grand Rapids, and then a few of us left for Muskegon to get to Mass before our retreat planning meeting. It was a pretty great weekend, and very tiring, but well worth it.
