Taking my band - any tips?

[GTIDMB]

I'll be taking my marching band to the world Feb 17-21. I've been to WDW plenty of times and know my way around well, but I've never been in charge of a group. Any tips from anyone who has taken a group of teenagers? Any dos or don'ts that you've discovered that you think would be helpful would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[erstwo]

^^^ Yeppers. I've heard of that. Never had it happen to me, but I've heard of it. How do kids get so smart? When I was in high school I would have never thought of that!!!^^^

That's why I never relied on tape alone. I told the kids I would tape their doors, but I also used the "paper strip" (which I stole from my HS cheerleading sponsor - she used match sticks from restaurant matchbooks to achieve the same thing.) You put a small piece of paper in each door - I chose a different location every night - eye level, knee level, etc. Stuck in the paper (sometimes had to fold it to make it stay) and then also taped the door. I only had to do the paper strip for the rooms that didn't have chaperones though.

They can pull off the tape, but they'd be hard pressed to get a small piece of paper out of every door without waking everyone up/ letting everyone know who was out of their room.

Of course there's probably a way around that too........ I just got lucky!

ETA - Man this thread has brought back some great memories! Thanks!

 

[GoochDSA]

Having been to WDW with both my Jr. High orchestra (12) and with my travel camp (14), I'll tell you that the door taping is a big one. The last thing you need (and your school needs) is to have a bunch of high school students roming around a resort, in and out of each others rooms. I've seen and heard things, long story short you don't want to put ur job into jeopardy.

Also, if you are going with a group you should be able to charter your own Disney transportation that will show up when you want it to and take you to wherever you are looking to go.

 

[bkgrim]

Good Luck

I just returned from taking my marching band to Disney. This has been band trip 10 for me and Disney trip 35 for me so by now I have this down.
We stayed at all star Music again and the high school kids loved it (202 of them)
We get them up at 6:00am meeting at 650 with chaps and 7:00 meeting with students. Breakfast at hotel and off to the parks on our own buses.
I have never had a student check in time at a park. Never had a problem.
Each student is given 12.00 in Mickey Money for each meal each day in the morning. What they do not spend on food, they can cash in or buy something.
We close the parks out each day, go to the hotel swim, rooms, eat and post chaps at all three spots. (we pay for our music association officers to go as chaps) Lights out at 11:00 (each chap has a set of little ducklings" that they are in charge of. All students had cell phones. They call chaps with problems and if they can not solve - I get the call.
We brought in outside security from 10:30pm t0 6:00am and the doors were taped with security tape. No problems! Run the kids from morning-noon - night keep them tired at all times. We tell them its a lot cheeper to sleep in Ohio - they paid for the trip - so we give them it all.
During the day - we would see many of the students in the parks.
Any more questions or if you need help -- let me know.
We start planning the next trip now for Jan 2012 Taking the band again on a cruise ship to peform. We love this!!!

 

[Eyekimore]

About the FastPass question- Guess that shows how old I am. There was no FastPass when I went! LOL Good point!

 

[bkgrim]

Make sure you collect the students room keys if you are staying on property
Make sure Magic Music Days Tickets are not hopper passes. They should not but check with them.
If you are not staying on property, next time you are down with your group have your travel agent price staying at All Stars. With everything cost wise - it was about the same price as staying off site and you get the "Mickey" by staying on property.
Our kids loved All Stars - have not been in the hotel for years. We stay in Animal Kingdom Lodge in summer and Christmas with the family so there was an adjustment for my family - but still nice hotel.
If you go to downtown disney with your group on your buses - plan on parking down but Cirque at the end. They would not allow our buses to stop and let the kids come off and spend money. This was a big problem for us. We just wanted to stop for 3 minutes at T-Rex area to throw the kids off and then the buses were going to move back to the hotel. We will remove this from the next Florida Trip.
Good Luck in your performance:sohappy:

 

[wolf359]

Lots of good advice in here already, and I already feel a little late to the party, but...

While I cannot stress enough having at least one face-to-face check-in each day, I've found in this day of cell phones they can really help stay connected. Make sure the trip leader has EVERYONE'S cell number, and all chaperons have the cell number of each student in their group. I would make having a cell phone MANDATORY for each person attending the trip, even if it's a $10 TracPhone bought specifically for the trip.

Also, Disney has a system set up to help group leaders that's really cool. Disney has a recorded message "hotline" they update whenever any student comes to First Aid with an issue. By calling the "hotline" from time to time you can insure that no "major" problems have taken place.

Collecting tickets each day in the parks might save some headaches, but also prevents students from using FastPass. I would suggest letting them keep tickets during the day, but please take the extra time to record the pin number on each ticket. On out last trip we have several tickets that either became demagnetized, wet or lost completely and having the code number from that particular ticket greatly sped up the replacement process.

Also, I would recommend looking into the Disney Performing Arts workshops over (or definitely in addition to) doing a parade/in-park performance. The clinics give a much more useful and musical experience. The "That's Instrumental" clinic gave our group a three-hour, personal, hands-on musical experience that was far more interesting, fun, and relevant than being stuck on an out-of-the-way stage playing to no-one but the parents and chaperons.

 

[pintraderpayee]

DH (#1 math teacher and best school bus driver ever!) and I take a group of students from our high school every Easter. We participate in the Youth Education Series program. Since we travel on a school bus, the students have to be circumspect about packing so I provide a detailed packing list, a checklist for a day in the parks, and hold a meeting before leaving to tell kids the following: school rules still apply, duct tape is ALWAYS used at the hotel (off-property, by the way), Yes, we have to take the class, be respectful especially of visitors from other countries, families with small children and the CMs, budget your money, do not lose, leave, wet, or mutilate your parkpass, do not leave money in room, and NEVER go anywhere alone even if it IS Disney!
Here are my two lists I give to students:

PACKING LIST FOR DISNEY TRIP

Pack in soft luggage (it will be in the seat with you)
pillow
blanket
MP3 type audio w/headphones
meds
sunglasses
toothbrush & paste
flip flops (if planning to go to BB or TL)
girl items
curling iron or straightener
deodorant, lotion, perfume
swimsuit
cell phone AND charger
underwear
socks
long shorts, pants, or capris (you do not want your legs
to touch in hot weather when you are doing tons of
walking)
sleepwear
shirts (no inappropiate pix or words-WDW will ask you to
leave or turn it inside out)
tennis shoes (not brand new)
back pack
sunscreen (light skinned black and white chillins)
money (keep in pocket or wallet---NOT back pack-
budget, budget, budget!)
plastic card holder for parkpass (you will use the same
card for all 5 days of our visit to WDW)
camera, batteries
list of emergency #s

CHECKLIST FOR EACH HOTEL ROOM
(To be checked daily prior to departure for WDW)

money
park hopper pass
camera (extra batteries)
room key card
sunglasses
sunscreen
girl items
snacks for back pack
bottled water (drink mix pouches)
cell phone with Mr. and Mrs. P's #s
Have a magical day!

This does not include my permission slip or itinerary, but you get the idea. Hope this helps. Have a great time.

55 days until we are ºoºrlando bound on two school busses full of teenagers for 930 miles of smiles:hammer::sohappy:

 

[GTIDMB]

Thanks everybody for your info. We leave early tomorrow morning and we'll be at the world until Sunday. I think at this point we're pretty well organized and ready to go. You were a big help with some of the finer details. Thanks again!

 

[go3epcot]

Thanks to all who contributed to this list! I am a high school teacher bringing a small group of students and adults (16 students and 4 adults) to WDW for the Youth Education Series in early December! These are some fantastic guidelines to follow. Most of these have been for large groups however; I am wondering if smaller groups present any different concerns. We are flying from Rochester, NY December 1st and returning on the 5th (Wed - Sunday). I would appreciate any further advise- I am a Disney World veteran, but first-timer at leading a student trip! Thanks...

 

[mickeysshoes]

I recall reading a story about taking a band to Dinsey on Allears.net..might want to seach over there and read that for more helpfuly tips!!!

 

[go3epcot]

Thank you- I will!