Info on planning Magic Music days?

[Rpsemont]

My daughter is in a choir that has expressed interest in going to WDW. I have gotten the "package" from WDW on Magic Music days but have a few questions for those that participated in this before.
1) Did the group go as a group or did many members of group go with their whole family
2) If families went, was it left up to them to do their own air and accomodation (kinda like a wedding guests) or were group rooms and flights arranged?
3) The choir she's in is 3rd grade - 8th grade. Do they sometimes allow children younger than 11 (the age in their MMD info)?
4) How far in advance did you have to plan it?

Any other thoughts and experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WDSearcher]

1) Did the group go as a group or did many members of group go with their whole family? Usually, the group goes as a group and the families come seperately. Not every kid's family comes, of course, and some kids' parents come along with the group under the guise of chaperones. But the special pricings and such are generally for the group only.

2) If families went, was it left up to them to do their own air and accomodation (kinda like a wedding guests) or were group rooms and flights arranged? It is up to each individual family to make their own arrangements, as far as Disney is concerned. The band or choir may choose to help parents, siblings, etc with arrangements, but that will vary by group.

3) The choir she's in is 3rd grade - 8th grade. Do they sometimes allow children younger than 11 (the age in their MMD info)? Not for general MMD performances in the parks, no. There are "backstage magic" issues as well as insurance issues for Disney with children younger than 11. If a group shows up at WDW with performers younger than 11, the entire group will not be allowed to perform (they will, in effect, be disqualified for not following the rules). In the springtime, there's a program called "Elementary School Showcase" that happens at Downtown Disney. All ages are allowed there.

4) How far in advance did you have to plan it? Most groups plan as far in advance as they can, since there's a lot of fund-raising and planning that has to happen. From Disney's standpoint, they suggest that you not plan farther out than a year. The reason why -- you have to send in an audio or video tape of your group in order to get accepted. If you're coming in 2005, Disney wants to hear the 2005 group, not one from the year before.

 

[Rpsemont]

Thanks for the info. Anyone who's know groups that went have an idea of cost? I realize there's tons of variables, but I'd love to get some ballpark of a cost per person. Even if it's a big range and based upon a different group at a different time.

 

[eeyore0062]

We live in Central Florida, and my DD has participated in the Elementary showcase at Christmas time twice now. Her group is 9 and 10 year olds, so they don't perform in the parks, only DTD. They rode a bus from school, performed, ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and returned to school. It didn't cost the parents anything.

I am sure it is much more complicated if you are coming from out of state.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We went with our son's HS band in late June 2004. All people going (families included) were able to get the special price on tickets. Nobody got a break on the hotel room rate. The kids only could purchase food vouchers. We did have some families travel with the group, but it turned out to be cheaper to make you own travel arrangements.

We are from NY

airfare was about $300/person
the hotel (ASMU) was about $100/night (get a tax exempt rate if possible), 4 kids per room
food vouchers were $10.50 (we did 2 per day)
Disney transportation (airport to hotel, hotel to backstate area) was about $25/person
We sent a truck down with luggage and instruments (cost ???)
We did a workshop at Epcot (also not sure of the cost, about $25/person)
4 day hoppers plus 1 option were about $120

We stayed from Mon-Fri and I think the cost was about $800/person. The kids did fund raising and got some donations, so it turned out to be a lot less.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Oh, they sent their audition tape in about year before the trip.