Would you do this?

[Pembo]

Band is going to Disney in the spring staying offsite at the Radisson.

Family is going as vacation and picking kid up at the end of school trip to go to Universal. (Definitely allowed by the director)

As a parent, not chaperoning, would you stay at the same hotel??? Chaperones are limited to upperclassmen, kid is a freshman.

 

[mjkacmom]

Heck no! First of all, I don't want to stay at a hotel with a bunch of crazy students. Second of all, dd14 would KILL me - this is a time for her to be off with her peers, and not have her entire family there. Her choir took a trip to Hershey, and we went a day early, and asked if she wanted to come. She was ! The bus ride there and back was 1/2 the fun. We saw them perform, and that was the only time we saw her.

 

[Rora]

Ehh.. no. Your kid would probably rather not have you there for all the same reasons mjkacmom stated.

In addition, for your own sanity, don't stay there! It will probably be louder and crazier than normal.

Have a good trip!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

For our band trips ... NO parents are allowed to chaperone. Being a teacher, I completely understand this rule.

So .... I would suggest staying where you want with your family ... and not in your child's hotel. According to my son, it is a lot of fun just hanging out with his friends and being part of all the social activities going on. If you stay at the hotel ... just running into him in the lobby could cause concern if you really aren't a chaperone. (Let him and you have a little fun without being together .)

Just my 2 cents. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[Tuffcookie]

Hi Barb! First of all, our high school band is going next Spring too!

I am so excited but Alex graduated in May so he won't be a part of it!

Our band is staying off site, as well. I would rather stay on-site, even if Alex was with the band group. I was even planning to go, regardless of whether DS was there or not, until I learned our high school did not apply to march in the MK parade. Is your school marching at MK or are they just participating in the Magical Music Days at Epcot?

TC

 

[golfgal]

Heck no I wouldn't stay in the same hotel with the band. Like someone else said, your child probably wouldn't want you there anyway on top of which, the hotel will be busy and full of kids running around which doesn't sound like a lot of fun on a vacation

 

[Hannathy]

Heck no! First of all, I don't want to stay at a hotel with a bunch of crazy students. Second of all, dd14 would KILL me - this is a time for her to be off with her peers, and not have her entire family there. Her choir took a trip to Hershey, and we went a day early, and asked if she wanted to come. She was ! The bus ride there and back was 1/2 the fun. We saw them perform, and that was the only time we saw her.

I agree 100%

I'm glad to see you plan on picking up child at the end of the trip. I see so many people on here think they are going to spend time with their child while they are on their trip. First they keep these kids extremely busy and scheduled and second what kid wants their family around on one of these trips. I know mine don't!!! That's the fun of these tripa and also what makes them great experiences-the doing it on your own.

Have fun at HPW my DD is chomping at the bit to get there however my DH has been out of work so maybe in a couple of years.( I keep telling her it will be that long until crowds are manageable!)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No. Why would I want to torture myself on my vacation. That would be the hotel to avoid.

 

[goofy!]

Band is going to Disney in the spring staying offsite at the Radisson.

Family is going as vacation and picking kid up at the end of school trip to go to Universal. (Definitely allowed by the director)

As a parent, not chaperoning, would you stay at the same hotel??? Chaperones are limited to upperclassmen, kid is a freshman.

We have been to the Buena Vista Palace for cheer competitions. Our situation is a little different in that our gym requires a parent in every room, including the 18 year olds, so as NOT to have all the cheerleaders running around like crazy like you see some cheer teams.

Another thing that is a bit different than your situation is that our kids are not allowed in Disney except to compete during "cheer time", which is Thursday through Sunday. Cheer time is competition and work, vacation is before or after if you choose.

So, that said, my family never stays in the same hotel with us. They are in the Portofino over at Universal while I stay with my daughter and niece at Disney. DH will drive over to watch her compete and then head back to Universal with the other kids. (No way were we buying a park hopper for the other kids to get into DHS just to watch 2 minutes of a cheer competition.) The minute we are released from cheer, we head over to Universal to start our vacation.

So, this long drawn out story was just to say no, my family did not stay in the same hotel as we did.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Nope. And I'd steer clear of the band and hotel except when it was performing.

Some of my best memories of high school were band events, and knowing that we were on our own without parents looking over our shoulders.

Our band director was really great -- he only had one rule on trips. The rule was that HE had a good time. Anything that got in the way of his having a good time was not to be done.

 

[simba928]

We stayed at the Radisson when I went for band and we had a BLAST! We had our own wing of the hotel so there wasn't a big concern about noise (though our band director would have absolutely killed us if noise was an issue, even if there weren't any complaints from other guests).

My parents did not go to Disney my first year. The second year my dad and brother came down for a few days and my mom came down for a day to watch me in the parade (it was planned that they would all come down for a long weekend, but my grandfather was in the hospital and ended up getting worse while I was down there so she decided she had to stay though she promised me she would come watch me in Disney my senior year so she did). They stayed at one of the all stars I believe. My brother's first trip was last year and my parents and I went down and met up with some family friends and we stayed at the Omni. Speaking from the kid's perspective, DON'T stay at the same hotel. Your kid will constantly be worried about bumping into mom and dad and will they feel obligated to hang out with you rather than their friends. I love my parents, but I would have hated if they stayed at the same hotel and I know my brother and all of our friends would have felt the same way.

 

[aspinc2001]

I recall long, long ago (1988) when I was a freshman and our band played at Disney World. Our group also stayed offsite and I honestly don't recall which hotel my parents stayed at because I only saw them at our performances. They would have been wise to stay elsewhere because our hotel was noisy and crowded with other school groups.
It was my first trip to Disney and I think they were sad that we didn't really experience it as a family but I'm sure they enjoyed it as a couple. Looking back as an adult, there's NO WAY I would have stayed at the same hotel. I'd just end up embarrassing my child by telling his/her friend to quit screaming, running, etc... Not very fun for parent or child. I hope you all have a great trip!!!

 

[Amy]

No way! I'm a former band mom (my baby starts college this month!), and a veteran of 2 band trips to WDW. You and your band member will both have much more fun if you stay at different hotels and don't see each other except for performances.

Do you really want to stay at a hotel with a bunch of loud students, many of whom you know? This is a chance for your son/daughter to have a great time without mom and dad around. And yet, you'll have the "comfort" of knowing that you're there just in case your son/daughter gets hurt.

If we happened to see our DS's in a park, communication was limited to "hi, you having fun, do you need any money" and that was it. They wanted to be with their friends, not mom and dad. And yet we could be proud parents as we watched them march down Main Street before the afternoon parade. And they DID appreciate all the pictures I took of their performances.

 

[1stluvispooh]

No As a parent I feel that my job is to give my kids wings and by you being in the same hotel you are clipping them. The only reason I would be there is for my Aspie. If I wasn't chaperoning then I might be in the same hotel just in case. But then again she did a girl scout camping trip beautifully without me! I of course slept with the phone in my hand!

 

[ndelaware]

Band is going to Disney in the spring staying offsite at the Radisson.

Family is going as vacation and picking kid up at the end of school trip to go to Universal. (Definitely allowed by the director)

As a parent, not chaperoning, would you stay at the same hotel??? Chaperones are limited to upperclassmen, kid is a freshman.

Is this a high school band?

And the only chaperons are high school upperclassmen?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Is this a high school band?

And the only chaperons are high school upperclassmen?

Yeah, that took me a minute. I think what OP meant was only the parents of upperclassmen can be chaperons.

 

[npmommie]

For our band trips ... NO parents are allowed to chaperone. Being a teacher, I completely understand this rule.

Just curious why no parents for chaperones? I recall way back when I was in marching band all the chaperones were parents.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I would stay at anothere venue while the child was doing the band trip. and yes then I would when that WAS over collect my child and go to universal for a few days.
realistically why would I pay for airfare twice. if I have already paid for my child to go. if I delay thier return to faciliate a family trip, thats my choice.

I would never interfere with the forementioned school/band trip though.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I would stay at another hotel and steer clear of the band when not viewing a performance. For three reasons:

1. It is unfair for your child. This is your child's chance to grow a bit and enjoy some independence for you and your watchful eyes. Even if your child WANTS you there (doubtful even if they say they do) they need the chance to grow and experience this type of things without you (actually such a child probably needs the experience most of all--I have one such child).

2. The image you send to the teachers (band leaders) and chaperons is that you do not trust them or your child and that you are a busybody.

3. As many PPs have said--WHY would you want to stay with all the teens

 

[Tracy Savage]

I already have this planned out and my son isn't going for 2 years!. His school stays at the All Stars. DH will go too, but I hope to stay at the Poly! Close enough if needed but not overbearing.