School music trip to WDW!

[Mrs.Milo]

My DGD who will be a senior next year is in orchestra, and her teacher just announced dates for a Spring 2018 trip to Disney; we are excited! All we have so far is the student $ amount and the dates for the trip and are curious what to expect. Any experiences appreciated, thanks.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Personally I have no experience with this, but I remember reading a trip report from a mom who chaperoned. She had a miserable time. Her complaints included a child photo bombed a picture that her and her son took on every visit to the world. They did not set up a touring plan and the kids wasted so much park time in line and doing stupid things. They overpaid for food. They did not stay onsite and the buses back and forth were so time consuming, etc. etc.

All I will say is this is a different kind of trip. I am sure the kids had a great time as they were running around with their friends. To them it was party time and the mom wanted a regular family Disney trip. Temper your expectations and go with the flow and all will be fine.

 

[luvsJack]

We have been on two. The first one was a disaster. The second one was fun. The first was 7th/8th graders and they acted like a bunch of brats. Plus the choir director tried to do all 4 parks in 2 days so it was like getting a tiny taste and then being jerked away to go to another park.

The second trip was high school kids. We didn't stay onsite but it didn't take that much away from touring. We had free breakfast in the hotel and then a $15 voucher each day for food in the parks, the other meal was oop. The tour company gave us our ticket numbers in advance so that fp could be made and I made the ones for our group going by the schedule we were given. They performed at Disney Springs and that was really enjoyable. Everyone in our group got to do what they wanted to do the most and it was a good trip.

You can't go into it thinking "family" trip. Its not going to be like your normal family trips. You have to go with the flow, do what others want to do (if you have a group of the kids to chaperone) and be willing to give up some of the things your family normally does on a trip to WDW. But, if, like us, you have kids in your group that have never been, it can be like a first trip all over again because its so much fun to see them experience it all.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My son went twice (technically, although he was only in honor guard the first time) and my daughter went once. 2011 and 2015. While some of the details depend on the travel company you are with, here are some things your children may experience:

Marching Band: March in a parade around the Magic Kingdom

Concert Band/Orchestra or Jazz Band: Play at the bandshell in Disney Springs or Epcot.
Chorus: Sing at the bandshell in Disney Springs or Epcot.

Chorus: If going between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sing in the Candlelight Processional!

Band & Chorus: Practice & Perform Disney music in a recording studio with Disney professionals.

Kids will likely get a pair of mouse ears:

And a drawstring bag:



And time in the parks, obviously.

Note that my children's school had a chorus and band that went on the trip. We do not have an orchestra, but we do have a concert band, jazz band, and marching band. I'm not sure if an orchestra gets different opportunities.

There were other things my kids did (a buffet at Rainforest Cafe, for example), but I think they were all specific to the touring company we booked through.


http://www.disneyyouth.com/our-programs/performing-arts/sp/performance/#categories-performance

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You can't go into it thinking "family" trip. Its not going to be like your normal family trips. You have to go with the flow, do what others want to do (if you have a group of the kids to chaperone)

We decided both times to follow the band down but not go as chaperones. Our first time we brought our son with us who was technically in the marching band (and got to march) even though he wasn't a high schooler. The second time our daughter was in college. Both times we did our own thing and met up with our child who was there with their friends a few times. And watched them perform, obviously.

The choice is yours, of course, but we didn't want to be bothered with the hassle of chaperoning. And our trip was cheaper by ourselves than going with the kids. Go figure.

 

[VillainFavs]

My two high schoolers just did this in April! They had an absolute blast and everything was handled extremely well. They stayed at All-Star Music for four nights, had four days in the parks. They did a behind-the-scenes workshop in Epcot one day, and played at Disney Springs another day.

They got their tickets about a month in advance so they could make FPs ahead of time. My guys took charge of helping their friends set up MDE accounts and linking them so they could all have FPs together, which was great. They got a $10 food voucher for breakfast at the resort each morning. Then they got one voucher for a QS meal for each day. Otherwise it was OOP.

Flew Southwest. Had to pick up their luggage/instruments from baggage claim in Orlando, but then had their own buses that took them directly to HS on their first day. Same in reverse on the way home---went to AK for the day, and buses took them directly from there to the airport.

It really was seamless and I don't think was crazy expensive for what they got. If you have any specific questions at all, feel free to PM me!

 

[luvsJack]

We decided both times to follow the band down but not go as chaperones. Our first time we brought our son with us who was technically in the marching band (and got to march) even though he wasn't a high schooler. The second time our daughter was in college. Both times we did our own thing and met up with our child who was there with there friends a few times. And watched them perform, obviously.

The choice is yours, of course, but we didn't want to be bothered with the hassle of chaperoning. And our trip was cheaper by ourselves than going with the kids. Go figure.

Yeah, it probably would have been cheaper for dh and I to go on our own too. Honestly, with high schoolers chaperoning was a breeze. They got along great, they wanted to have fun but didn't get out of hand at all. So honestly, even if we had driven down on our own, we would have probably stayed with them the whole time anyway. They really made it a lot of fun. Again, its just going with the flow. And if you like teens, being with them can be very enjoyable.

Junior high kids UGH! Never again.

Part of what made our time at WDW so good was our tour guide that got us to and from the parks, to the performances, etc. He had the most interesting information about the parks and the surrounding area. He had been in the college program so the kids were very interested in hearing his experiences. Not sure what tour company the choir director used but it was the same one for WDW and for DC and both trips were really well done.

 

[Julylady]

I think a lot has to do on how well planned the trip is. If it is planned by people who know Disney well it can be great. If not, a disaster. My nephew was in the high school band when they were invited to perform at the Magic Kingdom during Spring Break. We already had a family trip planned for the same week. We gave him the choice and he chose to travel with the family. He said 9 days/flying compared with 3 days/bus it was a no brainier. The band spent 4 days on the road (coming and going). They only ate fast food for the entire trip. The trip leaders didn't want to bother with fast passes, so they had to wait in line for every ride (remember, this was Spring Break!!!). But for kids who would never otherwise get a trip to Walt Disney World it is better than nothing! If I were you, I would try to influence the planning knowing what you know about Disney.

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH and I chaperoned DD's band/choir/orchestra trip. We stayed in a high rise hotel and experienced chaperones slept in front of the elevator doors to keep kids from other schools from invading our floor. The kids had park hopper passes and could go anywhere they wanted. The airline was very good about allowing the kids' instruments as carry-on luggage, as well as the huge trophies the school received in the competition.

 

[Mrs.Milo]

Thank you so much for all your replies, Disboard rocks!

 

[ahutton]

This will be one heck of an adventure for sure. Maybe I should volunteer with her orchestra next year so I can use all those years of Disney skills for the powers of good, and then be ready to do it all again when DD2 comes through!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Our son's high school did this almost two years ago. We went over Thanksgiving break. They stayed at Pop. We stayed with our younger two at Beach Club. We went to all the parks on the day they went and went to their performances but did not chaperone since we had two younger.

The whole music department went so our band and orchestra played in Downtown Disney, and the marching band kids marched through Epcot. Our choir sang in the Candlelight Processional with Gary Sinise. Super cool!

Our school used a Music Travel Company - very organized. They gave them meal vouchers for all meals except Thanksgiving night. On that night they had a dress up Thanksgiving meals at one of Coronado Springs banquet rooms - even Mickey and Minnie came!

 

[VillainFavs]

This will be one heck of an adventure for sure. Maybe I should volunteer with her orchestra next year so I can use all those years of Disney skills for the powers of good, and then be ready to do it all again when DD2 comes through!

One of my sons became known as the "Fast Pass King" down there! Because of us going a bunch of times and him understanding how the whole system worked, he was able to coordinate his whole group of friends--from 8-12 depending on who came or went--for rides together. And even knew to break them down to smaller groups and overlap staggered FP times! They were able to get 4th, 5th, even 6th or 7th FPs on some days. And this was the week after Easter so not a quiet time. Those Disney skills definitely came in handy!