Great Bridge Band, WDW Parades but NO RIDES!

[MegaDisney]

The Great Bridge High School marching band can travel to Florida to perform in the Orlando Citrus Parade and in Disney World's parade down Main Street, but students won't be allowed on the rides, school officials say.

The Great Bridge band has played in both parades over winter break every four years, for the past 16 years. Their performance in the Citrus Parade is broadcast on national television.

But parents say when they applied earlier this year for a field-trip permit for the students, it was denied. Band members and their parents said they were told again last week that the trip was off.

The rejection had been based on a school division rule put in place in 2006 that bans trips to amusement parks and water parks, school spokesman Tom Cupitt said.

The rule was in response to incidents that happened elsewhere in which students were injured on park rides, he said.

Cupitt said school division officials have now decided to allow the band members to travel and perform, provided they don't go on any of the park's rides.

"They can do it, as long as once they're done with the performance, they get back on the bus and go to the hotel," Cupitt said.

He said the school division is concerned that there may not be enough supervision for the 159 students signed up for the trip. Between 35 and 40 people have volunteered to go as chaperones, trip organizers said.

Band parent Robin Berens said Wednesday that no one involved with the band had been informed of the latest change.

Whether just being allowed to make the trip is enough for students and their parents remains to be seen. Some plan to take their concerns to the School Board at its Aug. 25 meeting.

For seniors in the band, four years of work, including daily after-school practices in the fall and daylong sessions of band camp during the summer, build up to the Disney World trip, said senior Geoff Smith, who plays the trumpet.

Students, and even some parents, have worked part-time jobs to help pay for the trip, he said.

"It was my light at the end of the tunnel, my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," he said. "You're going to take a bunch of high school students during Christmas and New Year's Eve to Disney World, and tell them they can't go on any rides?"

"It would still be fun," he said. "But it wouldn't be the same."

Link to original story. (http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/great-bridge-band-can-march-disney-cant-go-rides)

[DizneyRox]

:fingers: I promise to not go on any rides! :fingers:

What is this world coming to. That's like going to a ball game and not getting a hot dog!

[Donald]

How disappointing. The kids know the tradition and work hard to get there, and then the rug is pulled out from under their marching feet! I hope the school division officials can work with the parents and students on this one. Good luck!

[GoinGoofyPlanninThisTrip]

Absolutely ridiculous. :confused:

Will they also be allowed to go to out to eat but not order any food?

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

[Funforall]

Please tell me you are not surprised. It's sad but I don't blame them. Kid goes down there, something unfortunate happens through noone's fault and everybody gets sued or pays to keep from getting sued. Make sure the blame goes in the right direction, it's a societal problem.

Sorry about the rant.

[scoot241]

Seriously? In high school, the only chaperones we had when we went to Disney were the two band directors (and I graduated from high school in 2001). As far as I know, the trips are still the same. We never had any incidents.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Good. I'm glad.

I'm tired of unsupervised kids coming into the parks, stealing, screaming, yelling, cutting lines, harassing characters.

They need more chaperones, but the problem is there are never any or they are too busy visiting the adult areas backstage. So the kids do whatever they want.

[Tekneek]

Yes, let's assume that these kids were going to be troublemakers, despite a lack of any clear evidence of such a thing. Just because you become aware of problem groups does not mean you are aware of every group at the park that is not causing problems.

[Lacy]

This just seems crazy to me! I don't believe for a minute that these kids and chaperons won't go on any rides and I think they should.

[brownie]

Sad what our world has come to, although we only have ourselves to blame. People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions instead of pushing the financial responsibility onto whoever else they can.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Bummer!
2) Sure, I understand the school board's concern about liability and injury.
3) But, they can buy special time-limited insurance for the trip.
4) This way, in case something happens,
. . . any injury costs are covered
. . . any liability claims are covered
5) I think they need to reconsider.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I wonder if the parents (band booster club) had to raise the money for the trip....if so, I think I'd have to protest that one for sure....I agree unsupervised kids could be a nightmare, but there are well behaved kids out there too.....

[GrumpyFan]

1) Bummer!
2) Sure, I understand the school board's concern about liability and injury.
3) But, they can buy special time-limited insurance for the trip.
4) This way, in case something happens,
. . . any injury costs are covered
. . . any liability claims are covered
5) I think they need to reconsider.

While it may sound sad and unfortunate, I think there may be a bigger, possibly better reason as to why the decision was made.

Unfortunately, it may be out of the school's hands. The board or county of the school has to approve and fund the purchase of such insurance, and many systems right now are worried about how or if they will have enough money in the budget for running their busses all year. The last thing the board wants or needs is to have to go to the taxpayers and ask for a more money just so the kids can have ride some rides at Disney World.

[DisneyBabies]

If they are really that worried about liability if someone gets hurt, have all parents AND students sign a liability realease form. It can clearly state that if the students go in the parks and do anything other than play in the band and they get hurt the school, its administration, the school district, etc are not responsible and can not be held financially responsible (and they wouldn't have to buy insurance for the trip). If they don't sign, they don't go as part of the school group. If they go anyway, the school still wouldn't be responsible for them since they were not part of the band group.

I just don't think a few people should be punnished for what others do. When I was in school we didn't get punnished for the disrespect for others. We had to sign a behavior responsibility form that clearly stated what was expected of us and if we broke the rules, it also stated the consequences of that so no one could come back later and complain that they didn't know what would happen if they broke "one little rule". We had trouble on the first trip we took after we signed the forms and once the administration proved that they would take the actions that they informed us about, we never had a problem again.

[IamBelle]

wow! my marching band went to WDW 2 yrs ago and they were allowed to go on everything!! i dont think that is fair to the students!

[Mousemates]

My daughter's high school band marched in Epcot earlier this spring and had no such limitations...(thou our chaperone to student ration was a bit lower than the 4:1 of the poster's school...seemed lots of folks were interested in a disney trip, figure that).

WE had no disciplinary issues, had a great time and there were many in our crew who felt like the person in the article....


It was my light at the end of the tunnel, my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

Band kids work hard, sacrifice a lot of free time and deserve a little something at the end of the year. Maybe the school simply needs to have a plan in place where kids aren't turned loose to roam the parks, but must stay in small groups with an adult chaperone.

[ParkMan]

Sounds like a bad idea done for what they thought were the right reasons.

This seems like a perfect setup for a commercial about out of touch school board members during their next election. Their school board members have to realize this.

I have to suspect this won't stand. It sounds like the kids are paying for a part of the trip - I can't imagine the parents of the kids will allow this.

[Grizz16]

As long as they're on their own time after completing school business, I see no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to ride the rides.

But this is the nanny state America in which we live.

[tinklover]

I must say isn't this the exact reason schools send out permission slips to be signed by teh parents? I mean come on I went with my marching band in 93 and we marched the world showcase and then left but we had a day in the parks we got to choose a park we wanted and we went . we also knew that this was a school trip and we had to act as if we wer ein school . if a student wer eto get caught doing something like say smoking they would get a day in detention or suspension once we got back just as if we were in school. I can see why the board members are fearful because anything can happen but let the kids have fun sheesh . it is not fair of them to say they can go but can not ride rides.

[disneyfan328]

My daughter went to FL twice with her band. Once to Universal and one to go on a cruise. While they were allowed to go on everything they did have to have chaperones and the ratio was 4 or 5 kids to one adult. For our trips we always had a travel company that the school dealt with and there was trip insurance that we as the parents had to pay for either by fundraising for it or paying cash( as we did for the whole trip). School districts and boards ect make up these rules without sometimes thinking of the outcomes for the students.

Our school district will not allow us to fly. So for whatever their reasoning is our kids have to stay on a buss for about 20+ hours to make it to FL and miss more days of school than if they were allowed to fly. They say its safer. I can say that on one said trip one of the busses got a flat tire which in turn delayed all 3 buses for almost 4 hours. Our kids were stuck on the side of the road in the middle of no where. Also on the same trip one of the busses was in an accident and several studens including the band director were hurt ( nothing to serious but enough to warrant a trip to the hospital )

I think that they are dangers involved in any trip, and its all a matter of which is the lesser of the evils. I don't feel it fair that these kids have worked hard enough and have enough dedication to get picked for the televised Citrus Parade but don't feel confident enough in their student to allow them to ride rides?

[Melanie]

From Virginian-Pilot:


Chesapeake parents sound plea for band's Disney trip

More than a dozen parents, including some from other high schools, spoke before the School Board on Monday night to ask that students in the Great Bridge High School marching band be allowed to perform at Disney World and to ride the park's attractions over their winter break this year.

"Please, I beg of you," said Alan Walker, who is a band parent at Grassfield High School. "Do not let this slip away from Chesapeake."

For more than a decade, the Great Bridge marching band has made a trip to Orlando, Fla., every four years to perform in the Citrus Parade, which is broadcast on national television, and in Disney World's parade down Main Street.

But this year, parents say, when they submitted their application for a field-trip permit, they were denied.

School administrators had concerns about the safety of students on the rides and about whether they would have adequate supervision in the park, school spokesman Tom Cupitt said.

A school division rule, put in place in 2006, banned trips to amusement parks and water parks.

Students would be allowed to travel to Florida to perform but would not be allowed to go on park rides, Cupitt said.

In a meeting with school officials last week, parents said they were told there needed to be more educational aspects to the trip.

Trip organizers submitted a revised itinerary Monday afternoon that included a trip to the Kennedy Space Center and educational activities at Epcot in Disney World.

Later Monday, dozens of students and parents, many wearing band T-shirts, attended the board meeting to show their support for the trip to Disney World - with students allowed to go on rides.

"Honestly, do we have to do everything because of an SOL?" said Grassfield High School band parent Melinda Russell. "Kids should be able to enjoy just being a kid."

The School Board went into closed session to discuss the issue and had not made a decision by deadline.

"We recognize that this is a very important issue to you," said board Chairwoman Sheila Hill-Russ. "It is to us as well."

[John]

Good. I'm glad.

I'm tired of unsupervised kids coming into the parks, stealing, screaming, yelling, cutting lines, harassing characters.

They need more chaperones, but the problem is there are never any or they are too busy visiting the adult areas backstage. So the kids do whatever they want.


What a HORRIBLE attitude to have. And you work there? Wow. May I point out to you that Disney Corporate reads these boards regularly. Be careful what you post.

The dumbing down of america continues with decisions like this. We're trying to take away any chance anyone can ever get injured anytime, anywhere. Lets just take all the fun out of our kids lives why don't we. We'll sit them all in a padded classroom and shuttle them to and from school in bubble cars.

Ugh.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

John, I'm not saying they can't have fun as kids.

Their parents can take them on vacation to Disney World. They can have fun then. If they are there for a school-related trip, then that is their priority. Not rides. Heck, in my college we still take trips to Disney, Sea World, Universal and all their special events. But you know what? We have to dress as professionals and we go for the sole purpose of learning the operational issues of how to set-up, breakdown, and control situations. We don't go on rides or see shows. We are there to learn.

Also, having worked there, I can easily say this with confidence - the vast majority of the teams, groups, and bands that go to Disney cause nothing but trouble. I've dealt with them, I've seen them, and if you've ever worked there, you'd understand what I am talking about.

For every 20-30 students, there is usually one chaperone. And they spend most of their time in the teacher's area backstage on Main Street. They set up a time for the groups to meet back up to get ready for the parade or to leave. And when the cat's away, the mouse will play. The children will act differently when they are with just their friends and no parents or teachers are around them. It's called peer-pressure and trying to be "cool." Let's face it - it's a normal part of being a teen.

What do you think the kids do the rest of the time? They go on the rides, sure. But their approach to it is the problem. They often cut in front of other Guests, because a few of them are waiting in line and the next thing that happens is a few people grows to 15 people. They also do inappropriate things not meant for a family park. They are usually the ones throwing things into the attractions, trying to climb out of the rides, making out (or worse), sticking the gum on the walls as they pass. I remember when my friend told me how one school's group jumped out on Peter Pan's Flight and took off Wendy's dress in one scene. More recently, we had to evac Pirates because 12 people had jumped out of the boat and into the scenes.

They steal from the stores, usually jewelry, charms, clothes. It happens all the time, especially common during events like Grad Night and Night of Joy.

They harass the characters, often jumping on them, pulling on their costumes and clothes, pushing them, yelling at them, hitting their heads. I've known a lot of people who've worked during times when groups are in and they hated it.

However, it also becomes a safety issue. If they get hurt, it's not just simply "getting injured." It's a liability to the school for not having proper supervision, to Disney for letting them go on the rides without supervision, and you know that will just be an excuse for another person to sue Disney because hey, it's Disney's fault their child got hurt because he was stupid enough to try to jump out of the car on a ride.

And yes, I know that not all of them do these things. But you know, when the majority create the problems, the innocent suffer as a result. Don't blame me for the school's not letting them go on rides. Blame their peers for being the idiots who broke the rules before them.

I wouldn't have a problem if the adults actually stayed with the children and made sure the rules were followed and enforced the safety procedures. However, if and when the adults go with them, they are usually just as bad, if not worse than the kids by encouraging them to skip past lines and join their group already with 10 or more people.

[pink]

The children will act differently when they are with just their friends and no parents or teachers are around them.

It's sad that they can't have fun at DW but at the same time I agree with you. :mickey:

[Mickey91]

You really can't peg all the problems with unruly kids to just groups. I've watched many a child being supervised cause as much if not more damage to either property or other's nerves than any of the groups I've seen. Really the biggest nuisance as a guest has been having to listen to the incessant cheers and chants. And being nearly run over by a FAMILY who thought they needed to link arms and span the entire walkway.

I'm not saying that there are no problems with groups. But, many a child on a "family" vacation is allowed to roam unsupervised. And, many of those cause lots of problems. Also, many of them are perfectly fine, responsible young people. It isn't fair to lump all school groups together and say they are horrible and you hope they don't come.

[BriarRose]

I think a CM who has witnessed bad behavior over and over from such groups would probably know what they are talking about. There are "bad seeds" everywhere, and while not every kid is bad, sometimes the good ones have to suffer for what the bad ones do. Kind of like how you must go through security everytime you fly on a plane. I would really like to bring more than 3 oz of shampoo and conditioner on the plane, but I can't because a few people tried to make a bomb. Or it would be nice to not have to take my shoes off going through security, but too bad for me. Or getting my purse checked everytime I enter one of the parks. I would never bring ingredients to make a bomb or hide explosives in my shoes or weapons in my purse, but someone did and will probably try to again. So I suffer for what a few "bad seeds" do.

Okay, personal rant over.

My point is that I follow the rules because someone else made it necessary for the rules to be in place. It's inconveinent, but necessary. If kids prior to this group hadn't misbehaved, this wouldn't be an issue. So unfortunately for these kids and the kids in the future, they have to suffer for the "bad seeds" that came before them.

[DisneyBabies]

From what I read in the articles, it wasn't these kids or those who came before them who caused trouble. The school board made its decision based on the experiences they heard about from other schools and decided to make sure it didn't happen to their kids. That is great in theory, but is completely unfair and is an unsuitable punishment for a school of kids who aparently have't had any problems of their own.

[mcjaco]

^ I was going to say, this sounds like a reaction to the teen that decided to jump the fence at Six Flags Over Georgia. A poor decision on his part, led to him losing his head.

[Puppy Mom]

Most of the rules and decisions in life are made based on prior experience. We all have to follow rules and do things certain ways because of the prior behavior of others.

It is unfortunate that these kids are being disappointed, but hey, at least they know how the world works now.

If the parents REALLY want the kids to ride the rides, then maybe they can get enough adults to go as chaperones to make sure the kids don't get out of hand.

[John]

I am honestly shocked at how many of you here are ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because some renegade groups of teens acted poorly, we need to punish all teens in the future.

What a load of hogwash. Just for a few minutes, think back about what it's like to be young. And don't give me the "it's different now" thing - it doesn't play. How'd you like it ADULTS if a group from your town or neighborhood acted poorly at WDW and as a result, they say, no one from town X or company Y can come again and ride the rides. You can look but you can't go on anything. Sorry, the people before from your company were real pains - they were rude to guests, jumped in line and generally were disruptive. We're sorry - but that's the way it is. Going to Disney is a privledge and yours has been revoked. It's better that way anyway - because life is full of dissapointments like this anyway. You might as well get used to it. The sins of your neighbors..... Preposterous!! An Outrage!!

This is the way the world works? Not THIS World. Maybe the real world has it's share of dissapointments, but real life has it's rewards as well. You work hard, you travel to disney to compete or display your talents, you get rewarded by a nice day in the park.

Finally - as a cast member, I am sure after you see a few school groups, you focus on them and single out their bad behavior - when it exists among all ages. Kind of like when you buy a new car and suddenly realize, there are hundreds more like it on the road. As a percentage of overall guests if one was REALLY watching, you'd probably find those behaving badly aren't much more frequent than the general population as a whole. Because they are in a large group, it's certainly more noticable.

Kids are kids. And Disney is all about kids. Even if they are teens. As a parent with one teen and a preteen, I wouldn't want my kids to go to Disney and not be able to experience it because some high school group somewhere else acted like a bunch of dults.

[Bringonthemouse!]

I agree with John. While I know some teens can be unruly, disobedient, disrespectful, etc, many are the complete opposite, they just don't stand out as much as the misbehaved and therefore go unnoticed. The parks are full of great teens right at this very moment and nobody even knows they are there!! I believe the ratio of "good" teens is much higher than "bad" teens, unfortunately, as a society we tend to remember the bad over the good.
I think this group should be able to experience Disney the way we do, rides, shows and all..... full of fun, laughter and great memories. Isn't that what Disney is all about?? :twocents: I realize my post is slightly off-topic and that it is a safety related issue for this group, but as the mom of a fantabulous 16 year old girl, I felt the need to defend the innocent. (Now if I could only get her to pick her dirty socks up off the floor she'd be darn near perfect ;))
I'll get off my :soapbox: now. :blush:

[Ian]

I, too, agree with John. I'm never a fan of punishing the many for the infractions of the few.

[lockedoutlogic]

kids....especially teenagers.....have blurred the lines so horribly of what it acceptible and what is not that it is difficult not to mistrust them.....

i'm not that old....but even the difference of 15-20 years in what is "allowed" and not has changed drastically....

I don't think that there is much harm in a high school band bombing around disneyworld....

but judgement has changed alot....and since i don't have to deal with the reprecussions....i'll allow those that do to make their own choices without my criticisms

[kakn7294]

I also am not in favor of punishing the many over the acts of the few but let's face it, that's how this country operates. Corporations, schools, the TSA, police departments, and the like all have rules in place that "punish" the masses because of the stupidity and bad behavior of a one or a few people. While it seemed a bit harsh, I can understand Jessica's attitude if she's witnessed this type of behavior on a routine basis. I recently lectured my DD13 on what her behavior had better be like when she went on a recent band trip to a local amusement park. She's a good kid but she is a kid and sometimes they misbehave whether intentional or not.

As far as this particular band, I do feel badly for these kids if they have demonstrated good behavior in the past. They shouldn't be punished for others infractions.

[biodtl]

I understand where Jessica is coming from, but I agree with John that we shouldn't lump together all kids and teens because of the poor behavior of a few. On our last trip, there was a group of teens staying at AS-Mo with us, and more than once helped us while getting on and off the bus with the kids and a stroller, gave up their seats, etc. It would stink for a nice group like that to be punished for no reason.

I think it's like airlines in the news - you hear about the bad stuff like crashes, but not about the thousand of flgiths that land safely. In this case, you hear about all the bad groups that cause trouble, but you don't notice the thousands of nice. polite kids that pass through.