Chaperoning Son’s Band Trip to DL

[nutshell]

HELLO! DLR vet here, although it’s been a couple years. I think my last trip was right before Maxpass came out. Anyway, I just volunteered to be a chaperone for my son’s high school trip to Disneyland. We’ll be there for a few days in mid-February. One day in the park will involve a performance, another day involves a workshop, and they’ll have a third evening after visiting colleges. Have you chaperoned such a trip before? Any suggestions? I’m looking forward to it but know my rope drop commando style won’t work in this scenario. Looking forward to any tips. Thanks!

 

[MagicalMicycles]

I've only been a student performer at Disneyland. Our trips were also only day trips. However, I did pick up on some of the habits of our parent chaperones. What exactly are you asking for? Fun activities for the kids? How not to seem over-bearing? I'd love to help since my favorite trips to Disneyland were our band trips.

Also, what type of ensemble is it? Marching, concert, orchestra, choir, etc?

 

[avalon451]

I just did this last May, over Memorial Day weekend. My daughter's band group performed at Fullerton College Heritage Festival (with WorldStrides). That was on Saturday morning. We got to the parks Saturday around 1 p.m., and the awards ceremony was over in Fantasyland Theater at I believe 8 p.m.- the fireworks show went on while we were still in there. Then we had all day on Sunday, 9-11.

I knew it was going to be frustrating for me as a DL vet and a planner and rope-dropper, because all of that was out of my control. We only had a day and a half. We stayed 2 miles away, took a hotel shuttle that only got us there 15 minutes before open (and of course the security lines were much longer than that). So knowing that going in, I was determined to just go with the flow, be a "walking guide map" and help the kids any way I could without stressing.

To my surprise, we got a lot done and had a ball. It helped that my daughter and some of her friends knew that I knew a lot about DL, and knew the mysteries of MaxPass, and were happy for me to just make suggestions. I had a core group of 4-6 with me most of the time, who had purchased MaxPass and were linked to my app. I started with the most obvious rides, looked at what was available next, I'd make a couple of suggestions, and go with what they felt like doing. We rode almost everything they wanted, saw parades, did HB F! seating with a couple of them.

I asked the band director if he'd like a sheet of basic tips and tricks to hand out to the kids and other chaperones beforehand, and I wrote a one-page sheet of suggestions about MaxPass, timing your non-FP rides, and what to bring (water! sunscreen! phone charger! Moleskin!). That was well received and inspired some of them to learn about MaxPass ahead of time, and purchase it once we go in the parks.

Most of all I learned that the kids were going to have a fabulous time just because they were in the parks with a large group of friends. It didn't really matter that they didn't get everything in.

I was supposed to be straight faced but I couldn't help it. And the girl behind me was not part of our group, though she was gamely going along with it, but also forgot.

 

[lalasmama]

I just did this last May, over Memorial Day weekend. My daughter's band group performed at Fullerton College Heritage Festival (with WorldStrides). That was on Saturday morning. We got to the parks Saturday around 1 p.m., and the awards ceremony was over in Fantasyland Theater at I believe 8 p.m.- the fireworks show went on while we were still in there. Then we had all day on Sunday, 9-11.

I knew it was going to be frustrating for me as a DL vet and a planner and rope-dropper, because all of that was out of my control. We only had a day and a half. We stayed 2 miles away, took a hotel shuttle that only got us there 15 minutes before open (and of course the security lines were much longer than that). So knowing that going in, I was determined to just go with the flow, be a "walking guide map" and help the kids any way I could without stressing.

To my surprise, we got a lot done and had a ball. It helped that my daughter and some of her friends knew that I knew a lot about DL, and knew the mysteries of MaxPass, and were happy for me to just make suggestions. I had a core group of 4-6 with me most of the time, who had purchased MaxPass and were linked to my app. I started with the most obvious rides, looked at what was available next, I'd make a couple of suggestions, and go with what they felt like doing. We rode almost everything they wanted, saw parades, did HB F! seating with a couple of them.

I asked the band director if he'd like a sheet of basic tips and tricks to hand out to the kids and other chaperones beforehand, and I wrote a one-page sheet of suggestions about MaxPass, timing your non-FP rides, and what to bring (water! sunscreen! phone charger! Moleskin!). That was well received and inspired some of them to learn about MaxPass ahead of time, and purchase it once we go in the parks.

Most of all I learned that the kids were going to have a fabulous time just because they were in the parks with a large group of friends. It didn't really matter that they didn't get everything in.

View attachment 346394 I was supposed to be straight faced but I couldn't help it. And the girl behind me was not part of our group, though she was gamely going along with it, but also forgot.

Yellow-shirt-girl is great--"I'll get my right arm out, but that left one is staying really close in to grab the handle!" Totally how I ride too!

 

[skuttle]

Just remember that the trip is about the group of kids. Not you, not you and your child, but the group. My husband is a teacher and takes a group of kids to WDW every year. His biggest complaint is the parent chaperones that try to make it like a family vacation with their kid, when it's really about the group. Of course you use your knowledge to help them get the most out of their day(s), but just don't forget it is THEIR trip.

 

[MagicalMicycles]

Just remember that the trip is about the group of kids. Not you, not you and your child, but the group. My husband is a teacher and takes a group of kids to WDW every year. His biggest complaint is the parent chaperones that try to make it like a family vacation with their kid, when it's really about the group. Of course you use your knowledge to help them get the most out of their day(s), but just don't forget it is THEIR trip.

That's very true. I totally agree.

OP, as much as you want to have fun with your child and their friends, sometimes kids just want to be alone. The best thing all of our chaperones did when they were assigned a group of kids was just take down their cell phone numbers and make sure the kids have yours and then just leave them alone. The best strategy is to have the parents work in shifts of two or three. Those couple parents will stay at the front of the park for a couple hours, then it switches so they can have fun. That way the kids know where they can go if there if they are needed and it keeps a constant stream of parents around the park in case of emergency.

I guess I'll give you some activity and fun tips too, especially on the bus and hotel. Suggest these to the band director. One of my favorite things was fake itineraries. These are time schedules of every student and what they might be doing in the park at certain times of the day based on their personalities. (Ie: 1:54 pm, John and Tim are seen wandering around Toontown asking every CM where Bugs Bunny is "since he was in Roger Rabbit."; or: 10:30 am, Mary is sharing fashion tips with the princesses). The best things about those were the "body counts" parts where usually a Disney Villain is policing the park looking for the rambunctious students. (Ie: 5:16, James is seen handing out posters for Universal Studios. Jafar sees this and throws him in the Cave of Wonders. Cave of Wonders count: 3).

Also, be sure the kids know about Disney Jail. Remind them that it's real and that if they get caught and thrown in there, that it's their problem and you won't bail them out. For those not familiar, Disney has a couple of holding cells used for rowdy guests who need police escorts off property or for ill-behaved teenagers during Grad Nights and school functions. Some kids don't believe it but it's real. I was never thrown in but I know it happened at my Grad Night.

 

[avalon451]

Yellow-shirt-girl is great--"I'll get my right arm out, but that left one is staying really close in to grab the handle!" Totally how I ride too!

LOL, that's my daughter

 

[avalon451]

OP, as much as you want to have fun with your child and their friends, sometimes kids just want to be alone. The best thing all of our chaperones did when they were assigned a group of kids was just take down their cell phone numbers and make sure the kids have yours and then just leave them alone. The best strategy is to have the parents work in shifts of two or three. Those couple parents will stay at the front of the park for a couple hours, then it switches so they can have fun. That way the kids know where they can go if there if they are needed and it keeps a constant stream of parents around the park in case of emergency.

As far as this goes, I suppose every group does it differently. I liked the way ours did it; each chaperon had a group they were responsible for-- doing room checks at night, keeping tabs on them during the day's activities. We each had group texts with our group of kids. At set times during the day, we sent out a reminder that we needed a visual check in. They took a selfie of themselves and whoever they were with (and the few kids without cell phones stayed with somebody who had one), with a brief description of where they were. Then when everybody had checked in I relayed to the band director, "My group all checked in."

Several of our chaperones didn't hang with the kids, but some, like me, apparently had a fan club. Our parents frequently checked in with each other via the group text, and shared pictures of what they were doing. Several of the parents had a friendly competition going on how many steps they'd amassed on their fitbits for the day!

 

[MagicalMicycles]

As far as this goes, I suppose every group does it differently. I liked the way ours did it; each chaperon had a group they were responsible for-- doing room checks at night, keeping tabs on them during the day's activities. We each had group texts with our group of kids. At set times during the day, we sent out a reminder that we needed a visual check in. They took a selfie of themselves and whoever they were with (and the few kids without cell phones stayed with somebody who had one), with a brief description of where they were. Then when everybody had checked in I relayed to the band director, "My group all checked in."

Several of our chaperones didn't hang with the kids, but some, like me, apparently had a fan club. Our parents frequently checked in with each other via the group text, and shared pictures of what they were doing. Several of the parents had a friendly competition going on how many steps they'd amassed on their fitbits for the day!

Yeah, like I said, was only the student. Most of our parents knew all of the kids in their group anyways because they volunteered for everything. This sounds like a good amount of security though. Let me ask, do you guys tape the hotel room doors? On our trips that was always a thing to use duct tape around the doors past curfew to see that nobody left in the middle of the night (if was just for show, the tape was able to be broken in case of emergency).

 

[nutshell]

As far as this goes, I suppose every group does it differently. I liked the way ours did it; each chaperon had a group they were responsible for-- doing room checks at night, keeping tabs on them during the day's activities. We each had group texts with our group of kids. At set times during the day, we sent out a reminder that we needed a visual check in. They took a selfie of themselves and whoever they were with (and the few kids without cell phones stayed with somebody who had one), with a brief description of where they were. Then when everybody had checked in I relayed to the band director, "My group all checked in."

Several of our chaperones didn't hang with the kids, but some, like me, apparently had a fan club. Our parents frequently checked in with each other via the group text, and shared pictures of what they were doing. Several of the parents had a friendly competition going on how many steps they'd amassed on their fitbits for the day!

I like the approach. I might get Maxpass for my son’s group. Maybe that will get me a fan club. Lol!

 

[nutshell]

Yeah, like I said, was only the student. Most of our parents knew all of the kids in their group anyways because they volunteered for everything. This sounds like a good amount of security though. Let me ask, do you guys tape the hotel room doors? On our trips that was always a thing to use duct tape around the doors past curfew to see that nobody left in the middle of the night (if was just for show, the tape was able to be broken in case of emergency).

Wow.

 

[avalon451]

Yeah, like I said, was only the student. Most of our parents knew all of the kids in their group anyways because they volunteered for everything. This sounds like a good amount of security though. Let me ask, do you guys tape the hotel room doors? On our trips that was always a thing to use duct tape around the doors past curfew to see that nobody left in the middle of the night (if was just for show, the tape was able to be broken in case of emergency).

Duct tape around the doors? LOL, no. That's a thought, though. Our group probably didn't need it, but I could see how it would come in handy. Our band director said, "The group we've got are all basically good kids, I don't expect any trouble from them. There are some who couldn't come that would have been a problem, though."

 

[MagicalMicycles]

Duct tape around the doors? LOL, no. That's a thought, though. Our group probably didn't need it, but I could see how it would come in handy. Our band director said, "The group we've got are all basically good kids, I don't expect any trouble from them. There are some who couldn't come that would have been a problem, though."

Yeah, it was weird. I always wondered what the hotel staff thought about it. I doubted that other schools or school organizations did it.

 

[Snabbit]

Yeah, it was weird. I always wondered what the hotel staff thought about it. I doubted that other schools or school organizations did it.

My school actually did this too! It was just a piece of scotch tape, though. If it was broken at any time during the night (unless it was an emergency of course) that room would get in trouble because it would be known that someone left. I think it was just a way to scare us kids into not running around the hotel at night haha.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

My school actually did this too! It was just a piece of scotch tape, though. If it was broken at any time during the night (unless it was an emergency of course) that room would get in trouble because it would be known that someone left. I think it was just a way to scare us kids into not running around the hotel at night haha.

Yeah, my sons' band teacher did this too.

 

[MagicalMicycles]

Yeah, my sons' band teacher did this too.

So my school wasn't the only crazy one!

 

[mich311e]

So my school wasn't the only crazy one!

My son's school, too.

I chaperoned my son's band trip 2 years ago. It was fun but I didn't try to plan anything for them. It was me just tagging along to whatever they wanted. Our school went 2 days and on the second day they don't even require the kids to stay with a chaperone, just "selfie check in" every few hours and meet up for lunch & dinner gift cards. So I pretty much did Disneyland solo that day and only saw my kids at mealtime and for the parade - because I saved a nice spot for them by IASW.

I did type up a small list of meals at quick service restaurants they could get for less than $15, because that was what their meal gift cards had on them. My son liked that idea.

Then last year my son went on the trip but I did not chaperone. My husband and I went to Disneyland at the same time and saw them throughout the day. My son just had a blast spending time with friends going from attraction to attraction. They had nothing planned and still managed to ride the big ones. Before we went we talked about getting MaxPass for their second day but it would have been too hard to organize. Most teenage boys don't plan ahead too well. I tried to save a good spot for them for Paint the Night and that kinda backfired because they wanted to sit with a different group of friends, but they ended up coming back and sitting by us.

So my advice is to go with the flow, the trip is about the kids. Have fun!

 

[hjgaus]

TAPE ON HOTEL DOORS!!! So funny!! I did not have the pleasure of doing this BUT heard ALL the stories!! OH THE BAND MOM MEMORIES!!! LOVED BEING A DAY TIME CHAPERONE !!! DL were always day trips for us !!! ONLY 1 trip for WDW but unfortunately not a chaperone for this one OR GRAD NITE @ DL !! NEVER had any issues with group of kids being on time at meet up place! Enjoy the trip!!