ELGIN — Boarding iconic rides like Matterhorn Bobsleds or Pirates of the Caribbean is not the only way to experience an unforgettable thrill at Disneyland.

Just ask some of the students who are members of the Elgin Opera House’s Opera House Youth Actors. On Sunday, April 10, 34 members of the group, more than from Union County, performed a medley of songs from Disney movies at the legendary amusement park complex.

“It was one of the biggest thrills of my life,” said Brady Morgan, a junior at La Grande High School.

The Opera House Youth Actors sang songs from Disney classics like “Mary Poppins,” “Aladdin” and “Little Mermaid” over a 25-minute span in an outdoor theater at Disneyland California Adventure Park.

The group stopped foot traffic during the performance.

“I saw people walking by and I was sure they would keep going but they didn’t. They stopped and watched. I couldn’t believe it,” said Rose Gray, a member of the Opera House Youth Actors who attends Willamette Connections Academy, an online school.

Morgan said he was a bit uneasy on the outdoor stage initially.

“I was really nervous at first but once we got going the nerves went away,” he said.

The Opera House Youth Actors rose to the occasion, according to Kelli Davis, whose daughter, Kaylie Davis, is a member of the group.

“It was the best I ever heard them sing. They did a very professional job. I was proud of them,” Kelli Davis said.

According to Terry Hale, the Elgin Opera House’s executive artistic director, the stage manager for the theater at Disneyland California Adventure Park had nothing but praise for the Opera House Youth Actors.

“She told them she had seen hundreds of groups perform at the theater and that they were the first that moved her to tears,” Hale said.

Easing loneliness

The Opera House Youth Actors were given the chance to perform at Disneyland based on the quality of an audition video they made, Hale said. Each member of the group had to raise $2,000 to go on the tour.

The performance at Disneyland came on the final portion of a tour that began with multiple stops in Utah, where the Opera House Youth Actors received a tour of the new $84 million Hale Center Theatre in Sandy. The tour was led by Dave Tinney, the artistic director of the theater, who also conducted a workshop for the Opera House Youth Actors. Hale credited Tinney with being extremely generous with his time.

The group also attended a workshop put on by the Brigham Young University Young Ambassadors Utah and performed for residents at an assisted living center in Provo.

Gray said that performing at the assisted living center was particularly fulfilling because she believes some of the seniors living there were likely coping with feelings of isolation.

“It was nice to give a smile to ease their loneliness,” Gray said.

Imagination Campus

The Opera House Youth Actors next traveled to Anaheim where they attended a Disney Broadway workshop at Disneyland’s Imagination Campus before performing their medley of songs at the outdoor theater. The workshop was led by Disney producers and directors who had the Opera House Youth Actors performing a scene from “Tangled,” a musical adventure fantasy comedy. Hale noted that his group learned the music, choreography and script for the scene in less than two hours. No surprisingly the auditions for the “Tangled” scene were conducted at blistering pace, often in only 15 to 20 seconds.

“They learned that when you are an actor it is important to be ready to give a quick, strong audition,” Hale said.

Kaylie Davis said the audition process was a heartening for the Opera House Youth Actors.

“Everybody was cheering for each other during the auditions,” Davis said.

Elgin Opera House Youth Actors member Lily Troutman, a student at Central Elementary School, said experiences like the Imagination Campus workshop and the performance at the Disney California Adventure Park helped create strong bonds among the group during the tour.

“It was really exciting,” she said. “We learned how to trust each other while performing.”

The members of the Opera House Youth Actors also got to enjoy rides at the Disneyland complex, an experience Hale said they richly deserved.

“This is one of the hardest working performing arts groups in the country,” Hale said. “It was nice to see them play together after a busy season.”