Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[maryandtyson]

Joining in to see if a true Disney command can improve on the last trip!

 

[wiscbugs]

You must live in an affluent district...our district will not even allow any field trips for which the students have to pay anything.

 

[LindaLynch28]

I am aboard. Only question I have, how long can you keep us dangling before we find out about the nightime story?

I promise the night time story won't disappoint!

 

[JanetMom]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it.

I like Disney planning as much as the next Dis Addict, but I gotta admit that your ability (and willingness) to book 150 Fast Passes at a time leaves me in awe!

 

[hill6]

Following along Dee. Can't wait to hear all about your adventures. I am shocked by the amount of chaperones. The price of the trip was great.

 

[natebenma]

I'm here and can't wait to read all about it.

Kathy and congrats on first responder status!

 

[pixarmom]

Joining in! Love the photo of you and Ben in the intro. And I'll say this about cost - great value. You may recall my middle school chaperone experience - value not quite the same.

 

[natebenma]

First Page responders!!!

My multi-quote is still not working properly. GRRR!!!

I'm only going to get to first page responses tonight, I'll catch up on Page 2 tomorrow.

woohooo! Joining in

Silver for you, Jen! So glad you are here.

:

Joining! I have never heard of the Y.E.S program. My high school graduation trip was to WDW. That was, however, only a day trip, decades ago and our bus trip was only 2.5 hours.

You get the Bronze. I'll give you lots more info about the Y.E.S classes. Mark and I were dating in high school and our graduation trip was to Florida. We did WDW (MK and EP at the time), Busch Gardens and Sea World.

I'm along for the ride! Can't wait to hear all the details!

Thanks for joining in!

I am so excited that you've begun the report! I can't wait to see the pictures and read all about the trip!

Hey, Lisa!!!

Thanks for coming on over!

Wow! You've got skills Dee! I'm intimidated just linking 2 MDE accounts let alone 13! Looking forward to seeing how this trip compares to 3 years ago.

Brenda

I did the accounts last year, but the whole Magic Band thing is new to me, so I was still nervous about if it would all work. And I prepurchased a Memory Maker and I was really unsure about how to get it all to work with a big group (not to mention people who do not listen to directions!)

This is AWESOME!!!!!!!! Thanks for the TR Dee!!!!!!!!!!!

I waited until you were done with your final so you could join in!

Congrats, again, smarty-pants!

Great start Dee. I am waiting for more!!!

Thank you! I'm so glad you are here to read!

I'm here. Great start.

YAY!!!

Well haven't you just made my Monday which is very kind of you considering you made my Sunday too by posting the photo of the boys on Small World lol. Can't wait to hear all about the trip. Wish a trip to WDW was possible for our kids. I'd be leading the way!! Looking forward to the next installment

So glad to provide some online entertainment to you!



PS- Careful what you wish for...

I'm in Dee!!! Can't wait to read all about it!

I survived our 8th grade trip to DC so will be fun to relive another one.

Jay

Thanks for reading Jay!

I am so sorry I am just missing you in the World at the end of August.

Do you mind spilling a few details about the DC trip? How many days? Cost? Transportation (how long on a bus???). How easy was it to find places to eat? How scary was it keeping track of the kids?

Thanks!

Class trips, the stuff of memories! Can't wait to read all about it, along with the flashbacks of the trip with Nate's class.

The teachers are saying this was the best trip ever. But kind of like childbirth, I'm waiting for the time to erase memories of the painful parts.

Following along! Sounds like an amazing (and stressful) trip. Can't wait to hear about it all. Eeek on the 150 FPP's. I can't even imagine doing something like that- congrats!!

Yes, good description. I have come to the realization that if the trip isn't stressful, then you aren't chaperoning correctly!

I have become an expert at counting to 12!!!

Setting up the accounts and adding everyone to the proper groups and linking the 150 tickets to the accounts was actually harder than booking the FP. We got pretty much the attractions and times I wanted.

I am aboard. Only question I have, how long can you keep us dangling before we find out about the nightime story?

Hey, friend!

The good news is, the story comes pretty early in the report. Maybe the next update or the one after.

I'm in! Looking forward to reading all about the fun and your uber organizational skills.

So glad you are here, Mary Ellen! Need to get caught up on your report...

:

I am here!

YAY, Rebecca!

marking

Thank you so much for joining in!

I'm joining along. This sounds like an incredible and slightly overwhelming trip. Can't wait to read all about it.

Thanks for coming to read!

You pretty much hit the nail on the head.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I'm in.
Remember.. if this trip report isn't "saucy" enough you can always make stuff up.
jus' sayin....

~NM

 

[Katesdad]

I promise the night time story won't disappoint!

Linda, I am truly honored that you would use your first posting on the DIS board to respond to me. Now you really have me interested in the happenings at the world with the high school trip. Dee, you better not disappoint!

 

[natebenma]

Joining in to see if a true Disney command can improve on the last trip!

I'm pretty happy with how the trip went. We were able to experience most of what I wanted the kids to do, I got some solo time, my fellow chaperones were great, students were (mostly) well-behaved- no major issues.

:

You must live in an affluent district...our district will not even allow any field trips for which the students have to pay anything.

to the report!

I would not characterize our district as affluent. We have some financial support from parent groups and also from individual donors. But most of our field trips, both local and this one, require the students to pay some amount.

As I mentioned in my intro, the teachers who organize this trip have told me that they will find a way for every student who is eligible for this trip is able to go if they want, regardless of an ability to pay.

I promise the night time story won't disappoint!

Roomie!!!

to the DIS.

I am so happy you are here.

You know, technically, YOU should be telling the story, but I'll take a stab at it.

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it.

I like Disney planning as much as the next Dis Addict, but I gotta admit that your ability (and willingness) to book 150 Fast Passes at a time leaves me in awe!

Thanks for being here!

The hardest thing about booking the FP was making a decision for all those people. The first two days were pretty clear- the 3 mountains on MK day and Test Track, M:S and Spaceship Earth on EPCOT day. A few chaperones asked me to change TT to Soarin'. The third day was a "free day", so I tried to check with the lead chaperone first to see what they wanted- AK or HS, morning or afternoon.

Following along Dee. Can't wait to hear all about your adventures. I am shocked by the amount of chaperones. The price of the trip was great.

We had a pretty good chaperone ratio. As I said in the intro, this is a trip that is attractive to parents because of the destination and price. The hard part is to have the parents understand that this is NOT a family vacation. The focus needs to be on what is best for the group of students as a whole.

Joining in! Love the photo of you and Ben in the intro. And I'll say this about cost - great value. You may recall my middle school chaperone experience - value not quite the same.

Glad you were able to follow the bat signal.

I have a couple of pictures of Ben and me together that I like. I asked him for this one as the location is very close to where the fateful foto(bomb) that made me cry took place.

I'm really impressed with this field trip, and if you ever need backup from me to try to bring it to your school district, let me know. I have spoken before our city's school committee in favor of this trip.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I'm in.
Remember.. if this trip report isn't "saucy" enough you can always make stuff up.
jus' sayin....

~NM

Or you can. I'll put in your account when I get to my story.

 

[irene_dsc]

Jumping in! Our school used to do an out of town trip for eighth grade, but apparently some bad behavior ruined it for everyone else. Now, they do 2 day trips to Chicago (we are in the suburbs), plus a Six Flags day. I can't wait to hear about the adventure!

 

[pas130]

I waited until you were done with your final so you could join in!

Congrats, again, smarty-pants!

One of many reasons YOU ROCK!

 

[natebenma]

Jumping in! Our school used to do an out of town trip for eighth grade, but apparently some bad behavior ruined it for everyone else. Now, they do 2 day trips to Chicago (we are in the suburbs), plus a Six Flags day. I can't wait to hear about the adventure!

Thanks for joining in!!!

That really stinks about having to suffer for the bad behavior of other classes! This is a really nice, well-done trip. This was the first time some kids had been on a plane, the first time in a long time for some and possibly the only time some of these kids will get to visit Disneyworld.

One of many reasons YOU ROCK!

AWWW!!! Back at ya!

:

 

[Disney before Sally]

Memory Maker for 112 teens & 43 adults! I can't figure out that for three adults and two kids.

 

[tarak]

I'm in! Very curious about the classes you took. We've signed the kids up for YES classes two years now. Amara loved the class at MK where they rode Space Mountain twice. Teagan was less impressed, since she hates anything that resembles a roller coaster. She went on the Barnstormer, said it wasn't bad, but also said she didn't want to go on it again.

I'm planning to sign Liam up for that one, assuming it's offered and we'll see what's available for the girls. I think the class that takes you through HM sounds cool.

 

[SarahDisney]

I think it's really cool that the 8th graders go to Disney. It's both educational and an excellent bonding experience for the kids. Plus, for kids whose families can't afford to go to Disney (which was the case for my family until I was Ben's age), it gives the kids a chance to see what this Disney thing is all about!

I'm excited to read all about the trip (and learn about the Y.E.S program components, which I think are such a cool thing for Disney to offer)!

 

[BLAZEY]

Sounds exciting. In our district band students have the option of a Disneyland trip, a camp and the French Immersion students have an exchange with a school in Quebec in 8th grade. In grade 10-12 the French Immersion students have an exchange to France. My school trip was to Japan with my Japanese Language class. I think travel is a learning experience no matter where you go!

 

[BaseballMoM2007]

Excited to follow along. I am in the beginning stages of planing a much smaller group trip for a baseball team so very excited to follow along and see if you have any tips for planning for groups. I estimate our group to be between 55-65 depending on how many sets of grandparents tag along.

 

[natebenma]

Memory Maker for 112 teens & 43 adults! I can't figure out that for three adults and two kids.

Don't get me started on Memory Maker!!! I spent yesterday dealing with issues, adding on lost pictures, because some of the chaperones did not listen to my instructions.

I purchased the MM on my own and encouraged sharing by the groups. I only linked the lead of each of the 13 walking groups to my MDE account, so I instructed them to use only the lead's card (park ticket) to add ride photos or park photos or to get a card from a park photographer and I would add the numbers after the trip

1) One guy in a group (who was not the lead) added all of their pictures- over 100- to his Magic Band. Yes, we had Magic Bands, but since they were only for getting into our rooms, they were not attached to any MDE accounts, so the pictures were not going anywhere. I called MM support yesterday with the band number and they were able to add the pictures.

2) One group, with 14 people, just added the pictures with random cards from the group, not the lead. So I had to call MM support with 14 ticket numbers to see which accounts had tickets. 11 of the 14 people in the group had used their cards to for pictures.

3) One of the park photographers wouldn't give them a card and insisted that all they needed to do was add the picture to their Magic Band.



The MB is on my personal account and I am not going to give anyone access. I may invite others over if they want some input into borders, but I will probably be doing all the work when that time comes.

I'm in! Very curious about the classes you took. We've signed the kids up for YES classes two years now. Amara loved the class at MK where they rode Space Mountain twice. Teagan was less impressed, since she hates anything that resembles a roller coaster. She went on the Barnstormer, said it wasn't bad, but also said she didn't want to go on it again.

I'm planning to sign Liam up for that one, assuming it's offered and we'll see what's available for the girls. I think the class that takes you through HM sounds cool.

I will go into depth about the classes in the report. I am very jealous about the Space Mountain one! The only two years our school did not do this program was when my kids were there. The MK one is ok, going backstage at HM is cool, but very brief. And the attractions you experience are HM, Philharmagic and STITCH!!! Not the most interesting for middle schoolers.

I think it's really cool that the 8th graders go to Disney. It's both educational and an excellent bonding experience for the kids. Plus, for kids whose families can't afford to go to Disney (which was the case for my family until I was Ben's age), it gives the kids a chance to see what this Disney thing is all about!

I'm excited to read all about the trip (and learn about the Y.E.S program components, which I think are such a cool thing for Disney to offer)!

So glad to have you here.

I think this is definitely a valuable trip on many levels. One of my friends hope this trip continues because this is the only way her 3 kids will get to go to Disney- they won't be able to take a family vacation there.

:

Sounds exciting. In our district band students have the option of a Disneyland trip, a camp and the French Immersion students have an exchange with a school in Quebec in 8th grade. In grade 10-12 the French Immersion students have an exchange to France. My school trip was to Japan with my Japanese Language class. I think travel is a learning experience no matter where you go!

Those are some great trips! Do the band students get a say in which trip(s) they do or do the teachers decide each year?

Wonderful opportunities!

Excited to follow along. I am in the beginning stages of planing a much smaller group trip for a baseball team so very excited to follow along and see if you have any tips for planning for groups. I estimate our group to be between 55-65 depending on how many sets of grandparents tag along.

So is it a trip to Disney? What month? Is that the All Star Sports trip in your ticker?

Flying or driving? I'll definitely have some tips- especially about some of the safety features and the food.