high school trip - need input from those who've btdt

[hvanes]

Hi,

Our family has taken several trips to WDW in the past 8 years. Over Memorial Day weekend, our son is going with his high school choir. I have some concerns about their itinerary. If your child has taken a similar trip, and you're willing to answer some questions about that experience, could you PM me please... or post below and I'll PM you?

Thanks!

 

[PrincessP]

Hubby just chaperoned my son's middle school choir/band trip last weekend. Whew! Happy to answer any questions. You can PM me.

 

[luvsJack]

We went on two school trips to WDW. One when dd was in junior high and one in high school Two very different trips.

The first one had us doing all 4 parks in 2 days. It was horrible. The kids fought the whole time, everyone was exhausted.

The second trip was great. The whole choir went to one park each day (4 days), once in the park, they were free to go where they wanted to as long as they were in a group of at least 3. The cost of the trip included one meal a day so they gave us a $15 meal card each day. We could use it however we wanted to. Since the kids were given a little more freedom, they were able to choose who they toured or rode rides with and everyone got along fine.

 

[Music City Mama]

Feel free to PM me. I chaperoned a middle school band trip (around 150 students) a few weeks ago.

 

[acwsmom]

We went at the same time as my daughter's Middle School band trip several years ago during Spring Break. It was definitely interesting! By the end of the trip, we avoided the parks they were scheduled to be at because we knew at least that crowd of kids wouldn't be there. But feel free to PM if you have any questions.

 

[cindyfan]

I joined my DD when she took her high school band to WDW for 5 days. The band consisted of 130 members plus many family members joined them. They did one park each day, including Universal Studios. They planned their park days around their performances/workshops (ex. MK the day they played in the parade). They took the red eye in and came to AK right off the plane/bus. That is pretty much a half day park so it worked great... Arrived at AK around 9:30am the first day and checked into the hotel at 7pm that evening.
Then a full day at each other park. Flew out the morning of the 6th day.
The major thing we would have changed and if they ever go again it will be different... they did not stay at a Disney Resort. It was so inconvenient trying to schedule the tour buses, etc. And it really didn't save any money. If they stayed at a Disney resort (even though it was just a bit more expensive) they could have used Disney transportation and it would have saved the cost of the tour buses. When all was done.... it would have saved lots of time and money to stay on property!
They each received a $15 meal card each day and had to bring extra cash to cover lunch or snacks.
Also, had they stayed at a Disney resort they could have done FP+ early on.
One thing....if its not a huge group..... see if they can all have My Disney Experience accounts set up and have someone (chaperone) coordinate their FP+ We had many of the kids miss out on things because they weren't aware of the entire process and some of the lines were reaching 120 minutes.
You can PM me if you have any other specific questions. good luck!!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

I haven't had a child go on a trip like that, but I have chaperoned school group Disney trips and have run/coordinated school group Disney trips, so if you're looking for any insight from an instructor/coordinator's end, I'm happy to answer any questions or respond to any concerns that I can!

 

[Pembo]

Both of my boys went with their high school band. The itinerary looked dreadful to me!!! That said, the kids had fun in spite of it. It's not as much about Disney as it hanging with their friends. PM me if you'd like.

 

[hvanes]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending some PMs. General question -- were the kids given the opportunity to make FastPasses before the trip? Was there any way to make same-day FastPasses once in the parks?

 

[dzorn]

No we were not given the opportunity to make FP ahead of time as we did not have access to the tickets till we arrived. Many kids did add them their my disney exp app and chose them the first day.

 

[luvsJack]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending some PMs. General question -- were the kids given the opportunity to make FastPasses before the trip? Was there any way to make same-day FastPasses once in the parks?

We were able to on the high school choir trip.

 

[Rockette]

I was part of a bunch of trips for dance... but I was the child. PM me if you want and I can help with any questions.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending some PMs. General question -- were the kids given the opportunity to make FastPasses before the trip? Was there any way to make same-day FastPasses once in the parks?

DD has gone to WDW with her HS softball team for Disney's ESPN Spring Training twice. They were there for 5 days, had 3 day park hoppers and played 3 games and had 2 practices. They went to the parks in between games. They traveled through the parks as a team with the head coach. They did not make fast passes ahead or time, nor did they use same day FP (although they could have if they wanted to, but it would have been difficult to get 20 FP together same day). To minimize wait times, they rode the headliners at rope drop and park closing. DD says she likes the way I tour better (rope drop, touring plans, FPs to minimize waits), but she still had a great time with her team. DH and I went on her last trip and accomplished way more each day than they did.

 

[Pembo]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending some PMs. General question -- were the kids given the opportunity to make FastPasses before the trip? Was there any way to make same-day FastPasses once in the parks?

My kids went pre-FP+ so no MDE. They weren't allowed to hold their tickets so they couldn't get the paper fastpasses. Honestly, most kids don't know Disney so they don't realize there is a thing called fast pass. They don't care that they have to wait in line forever because they are with their friends.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

How the trip goes depends entirely on how well those organizing it understand the Disney system and what they are doing as far as FP magic band ect. DD went with her middle school this year, and her chaperones didn't know what they were doing. I They had 3 kids and a chaperone in each room, and used that chaperone's MDE to order magicbands for the room. So each set of 4 was tied to one adult, but then had the kids touring the parks in completely different groups. I knew this wouldn't work, and tried to tell them what was going to happen, but was told I didn't know what I was talking about.

It made it virtually impossible to pre book fastpasses. They were convinced that the kids tickets wouldn't be linked to their bands and that they could just give the kids the ticket numbers to create their own MDE for fastpasses, then link all the MDE's together to book as a group. Because it was booked as a Disney package, of course they were linked to the chaperone in their room, so at the last minute, ON THE BUS to Orlando, they tell the kids they have to tour with the people they are rooming with. It was a huge mess and no one had advance fastpasses they actually got to keep and use.

So basically, you will need to know how Disney savvy your organizers are to know what's going to happen with FP.

 

[kj2mom]

My son just went a couple of weeks ago for Festival Disney. He could not make FP in advance but once he got there and received his ticket he did make FP. He made some same day and some for future days in his trip. I watched his MDE on my phone and he did a pretty good job, I was very impressed since it was April vacation week which I thought would be fairly busy. He had a fantastic time but he did say he missed my planning skills!!

 

[hvanes]

He had a fantastic time but he did say he missed my planning skills!!

I am hoping that my son's take-away is a greater appreciation for my organizational skills!!

Thanks, everyone, for the GREAT responses. My Inbox was also full of helpful info.

 

[hvanes]

So basically, you will need to know how Disney savvy your organizers are to know what's going to happen with FP.

 

[cindyfan]

How the trip goes depends entirely on how well those organizing it understand the Disney system and what they are doing as far as FP magic band ect. DD went with her middle school this year, and her chaperones didn't know what they were doing. I They had 3 kids and a chaperone in each room, and used that chaperone's MDE to order magicbands for the room. So each set of 4 was tied to one adult, but then had the kids touring the parks in completely different groups. I knew this wouldn't work, and tried to tell them what was going to happen, but was told I didn't know what I was talking about.
...
So basically, you will need to know how Disney savvy your organizers are to know what's going to happen with FP.

So TOTALLY agree!!!!!
They really need to let the experienced Disney Moms handle the planning!!! haha!

 

[acwsmom]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending some PMs. General question -- were the kids given the opportunity to make FastPasses before the trip? Was there any way to make same-day FastPasses once in the parks?

The band kids didn't get their magic bands until they arrived at the parks, so it wasn't possible for them to make FP reservations early. And the travel company helping them with the arrangements wouldn't give us ticket numbers because they couldn't keep track of who got what. So we made sure the Disney savvy kids knew to set up their FPs the night they arrived after they got their Magic Bands. For the most part, they were able to find some good options. But it made my daughter appreciate me more for all the pre-planning I do before we go!