High School Trip to WDW

[DennisP]

There have been a few threads from DISers asking about high school students going to WDW for Magical Music Days. My DW and I have been chaperones on a number of trips not only to WDW but also to Hershey, Williamsburg, Canada, etc. Our DD who is the music director at a high school, gave me the following itinerary for a trip from New Jersey to WDW last year. Maybe some of you DISers out there may find it useful or at least interesting.

DAY 1
 Depart high school at 3:00 PM. Regular rest stops with dinner* stop en route.

DAY 2
 Breakfast* en route
 Approximate arrival time in Orlando is 11:00 AM
 Freshen up at hotel – Check-in if possible
 Depart for WDW (MK)
 Lunch* and Dinner* in the park
 Hotel check-in if not done before
 Private nighttime security at 11:00 PM

DAY 3
 Breakfast* at hotel
 Depart for WDW (AK in AM: MGM in PM)
 Lunch* and Dinner* in parks
 Return to hotel at a time agreed to by the group
 Private nighttime security at 11:00 PM

DAY 4
 Breakfast* at the Hard Rock Café
 Adjudication for Show Choir at 11:30 AM
 Adjudication for Concert Choir at 12:55 PM
 Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure Theme Park
 Lunch* and Dinner* in the park
 Music in the Parks Festival Awards Ceremony at the Hard Rock Café
 Return to hotel at a time agreed to by the group
 Swimming at hotel pool
 Private nighttime security at 11:00 PM

DAY 5
 “Capture the Magic” photo shoot in front of the MK castle at 6:30 AM
 Breakfast* at the hotel and hotel check-out
 Depart for WDW (Epcot Center)
 “Magic Music Days” performance by Concert and Show choirs
 Lunch* and Dinner* in the park
 Special surprise in the park (dessert reception during Illuminations hosted by parents of choir director)
 Depart for New Jersey after Illuminations – Rest stops en route.

DAY 6
 Breakfast* and Lunch* en route
 Approximate arrival time at high school is 5:00 PM

* Indicates meals included in tour package

 

[Dan Murphy]

 

[kaguilbeau]

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to talk my DD into WDW as her Senior trip. Problem is most of her friends go to Cancun or some other "wild" trip. WDW seems tame compared to that. What type of freedom is usually given to these kids? For example, do the depart hotel to theme park and back all as one group - and maybe split up at the parks. I guess the answer may depend on the ages of the kids. In my case, they would be 17 & 18 yr olds. Many that age could almost make the trip without chaperones, but then I would lose my excuse to be able to go!!!

 

[CarolA]

I think that generally these groups travel to and from hotels together, but do break up at the parks.

The groups I have traveled with have been a little younger and we have had two methods. One is they must stay with an adult. As they get older (early high school) they can go off on their own, but must check in every now and then. (For example, we hold thier meal vouchers!)

 

[DennisP]

Students traveled as a group from the hotel to a park via the hired bus. They chose the park they wanted to go to and stayed there all day. In fact, the chaperones collected the park passes as the students exited the entrance turnstiles at the park. While this limited the student's ability to get fast passes, it did keep the students in one place and reduced the possibility of lost tickets. It also made the chaperone's job a lot easier (he-he).

 

[ktglads]

Went went to Universal and WDW on our senior trip and were given quite a bit of freedom. Those who the school thought could not handle the freedom were not allowed to go. We ended up with 40 girls and 3 chaperones. We stayed at the All-Stars and took park transportation to the parks and were given free reign, having to check in once during the afternoon and at the end of the day for fireworks. Other than that, we were free to go wherever we wanted. They basically held the fact that if you misbehaved, they would send you home at the expense of your parents (they actually did send someone home in the class ahead of me).

We held our tickets and were told that if we lost them, then we were out of luck and would have to buy new tickets. We were given full priviledges to park hop if we wished, but with only 3 - 4 hours between check in times, we were pretty limited in where we were able to go. 90% of the people stayed in the park while a couple went back to the hotel to lay by the pool.

 

[Steven41782]

I remember going on our magic music days trip in 1998. It was tiring. We had to ride the bus all night (whose gonna sleep??) Then get off the bus at Universal Studios. Then they had a pizza party for us (up till midnight). Then the Magic kingdom one day and Animal Kingdom the next. I guess the trip would be better if I actually got to sleep. I also think they tried to cram toooo much stuff into our schedule, but hey... it was memorable.. I would just rather go with the family and having relax time.