Taking Youth Group to NoJ 2015 - Any Tips?

[Sarah & Brian Waterbury]

Never planned a trip with a church group and with minors that do not belong to me before and need your help and advice. I've been a number of times, with this being the longest span since my last trip of 2+ years. This year I am planning on taking my youth group of 5 teenagers to WDW for NOJ. We are hoping to grow our group, but we know that may not be possible to grow where we will have a bigger traveling group. We watched Matthew West perform online through StageHop.com during a monthly event last year, his song "Do Something" is our theme song, and that got our teens excited. We are trying to fundraise and not have to make the students pay, because honestly, my students are not made of money. We want to make the most of our money and still have a great time.

We hope to grow our group and grow the attendees on the trip, so we can get a discount (among other obvious reasons). To get the group discount on 10+, do they have to be the same tickets? Like, if we buy 7 2-night tickets and 4 1-night tickets, will we get the group discount? We were thinking of offering discounted tickets to members of the church to see if we can reach the minimum in case we cannot grow. If we have to have 10+ of the same ticket, we know to offer only the 2-night tickets. We are part of a small church, so we're not sure how else we will reach the total.

Traveling there, we plan on using our own vehicles so we do not have to rent a van. My DH is in the middle of receiving a settlement from an auto accident, so we're in the midst of buying new vehicles. Though, in case our group grows, and we rent a vehicle, any advice? The thought crossed my mind of renting from one of the companies that will pick up/drop off the vehicles to you. So we would rent the van to drive there on Friday, no vehicle on Saturday, and rent one coming back on Sunday. Is this worth the thought? Or will it be easier/cheaper to go another route? I've never planned a field trip before or rented a car for travel before.

I have never taken a group of teenagers to the parks on my own before. I have chaperoned Grad Nite several times and a science trip to Epcot from working at a high school. But both trips the students were allowed to separate and go their own ways. Because we are planning on taking a small group, and we are the ones that will be holding the money for the food, we're planning on sticking together. Any advice on taking teenagers to the Magic Kingdom for the NoJ events? We plan on doing the important must ride rides on Saturday when they let us in early (we won't be arriving until around 8 on Friday night). Any rides to avoid? Any must-do NoJ activities?
I also, have not been to Magic Kingdom since the expansion of Fantasyland. The last time we were there, there were walls behind Dumbo and Toon Town was closed off. It's been forever! So many changes! What is a must do for teenagers in the new areas of MK? Any advice is welcome!
Another new thing I have no idea about is the new FastPass+ and the MagicBands. These things excite me! We are planning to stay at a All-Star Resort. Can you make FP+ reservations during special events? If you only have special event tickets can you even get FP+ and the Magic Bands? I know barely anything about these two new things.

I took over a dead department a little over a year ago and I'm trying to give the kids we have now the great things that I had in the Youth Group when I was younger. I don't feel as if I should wait until we grow. That's no fun for the kids we have now. That's how I loose my kids to groups that have fun things going on. I really want to make this a great trip and show the kids what we can do each year. We plan to do NoJ this year, and RtU next year, and alternate each year after that. I don't want to get there, and realized I wasn't completely prepared. Please help!

 

[WhispyPixie]

Have been a Children's Ministry Director for many years and now work with Youth. We take 30-45 teens consistently to events like NoJ. Here are some thoughts and/or suggestions..

• Fundraising is great, Church wide garage sales, Dessert Talent Shows, Car Washes..are all fairly helpful.
• Usually to get a group discount, your tickets do indeed need to be the same. Eg. 10 tickets to Magic Kingdom Encourage the teens to invite a friend or fill out the open spots with chaperoning adults or if worse comes to worse, invite a family in your church to "do Disney" on their own. That way you meet your quota, but they don't have to stay with you in the parks.
• We rent a 12 or 15 passenger van from a rental company. If your church insurance does not cover damage, make sure you get the insurance. We keep our vans with us as you never know when a kid might get sick or you need a supply of something immediately. We also keep snacks and a cooler of drinks on the van to help the kids with their costs and always play a quick visit to the van mid-day.
• If you are planning on staying together, as a group decide the must do's and make sure each teen helps in the planning and selecting of things. I would also give each teen their own money and the logistics of everyone wanting the same line for the food selections would be a nightmare. If they are middle schoolers and you want to hold the money for them, that is cool, but let them each order and pay for their own stuff. It helps them to be independent as well. Kind of setting them up for success.
• I don't think any of the rides are NO DO's, but keep in mind you may not all get on the same wave for a ride, like Space Mountain ..it may take 2 rides to accommodate your party. Most importantly if you are trying to keep them all together, before you enter a ride, preselect a "we will meet here" at the exit of the ride. This will help with keeping the kids together.
• Fantasyland is awesome. Beast's Castle, 7DMT, Ariel etc....Half the fun for teens is to "pretend" they are too old for them. Turn all of it into a game and they will love it.
• Yes, you can get FPs during special events. They don't need a Magic Band ($12.95) if they are trying to save money. Their FP reservation will be loaded onto their room key for AllStars. Have the kids bring a lanyard with a plastic pouch on it for easy access. One thing to think about it, that one person needs to make ALL THE party's FP's at the same time, otherwise you won't all be together. You can set up your MDE account and link each person to your account for ease.
• Lastly, teens are all about "making memories". You will have a great time with them if you just plan a little and don't get stressed with all the little things.

If I can help in anyway please let me know! Good luck and God Bless!

 

[msb578]

On the topic of FP: there's no FP during MNSSHP or MVMCP. Is this different for NoJ?

 

[Sarah & Brian Waterbury]

Thank you WhispyPixie. You gave me more to think about. I have just started planning, so all of that was a great help!

 

[WhispyPixie]

In doing a little research..it is unclear, but I don't think FP is open for NoJ....a call to WDW will confirm.

 

[Sarah & Brian Waterbury]

I was thinking more or less a FP+ for the earlier part of Saturday when they let us in the park early. They let us in at 4, event starts at 7:30. We want to make the most of that time without missing any shows.