Question for those that have gone with their marching band?

[bdiddy]

If you have been with your kids or your kids have gone with their marching band.....are the kids given individual tickets each day or do they enter the park as a group?

Just trying to figure out if my daughter will be able to link a ticket on the app so she can get fast passes.

We got their detailed itinerary today and for instance their day at AK is split with HS. They’ll be at AK at 9:30 and have to leave at 3. I’m thinking they are going to be so rushed and will spend so much time waiting in lines if they can’t get fast passes at all.

And from what I remember if she can link her ticket, she should be able to add the girls in her group right? And book fast passes for all of them right?

 

[tamuexpress]

Our kids got individual tickets when they went at spring break in 2017. They were able to add them to their MDE and schedule FP on the app. My DD can’t remember if she added others tickets to her MDE, but that should work. We are headed back for another round of marching in the parade at MK this March.

 

[bdiddy]

Our kids got individual tickets when they went at spring break in 2017. They were able to add them to their MDE and schedule FP on the app. My DD can’t remember if she added others tickets to her MDE, but that should work. We are headed back for another round of marching in the parade at MK this March.

Thank you so much! I’m having a hard time getting any kind of answer out of the band directors and chaperones. I’m just going to set her up an account and show her what to do and hope for the best!

This is her first year in the band and first trip down there so we are all excited! We are going as well on our own because no way am I missing her March down Main St!

 

[bgirl29]

I believe it is really up to your band director. At least that is my guess. My son went with his orchestra and his director handed them out each morning. My daughter went with her choir and she had her own ticket the entire time.

 

[d-train]

I have taken my choir several times. At 100 days out I asked my TA for resort confirmation numbers and park ticket numbers. They told me park tix have already been ordered and I will have both set of numbers a few weeks before the 60 day mark for kids to set up MDE accounts for fast passes. It has worked this way since MDE, and before MDE, I had hard tickets in my mailbox a couple weeks prior the 60 day mark. If they have a good TA, then it is the directors choice. Honestly, I don’t understand what ticket they would hand out each morning. When we get to the resort, every kid is issued a magic band to access the ticket and their room. No hard tickets anymore.

 

[Robo]

No hard tickets anymore.

Maybe you mean. "No hard tickets anymore used by music group guests."

And, for many of them, that may be true.

But for clarity, there are very much still "hard tickets" used at WDW.

Not to say that any particular music group will or won't have MB or hard tickets, (and that can be very influenced by the resort accommodations used by the group)
but plastic RFID tickets are used by the thousands every day at WDW.

 

[d-train]

Maybe you mean. "No hard tickets anymore used by music group guests."

And, for many of them, that may be true.

But for clarity, there are very much still "hard tickets" used at WDW.

Not to say that any particular music group will or won't have MB or hard tickets, (and that can be very influenced by the resort accommodations used by the group)
but plastic RFID tickets are used by the thousands every day at WDW.

That is exactly what I meant. For my last handful of trips with my music group, we did not have plastic tickets - only confirmation numbers and magic bands.

By the way - be sure your child takes a picture of their confirmation numbers, and the number on their magic band for when (not if) it falls off and needs to be replaced at guest services. That will make this incident a 10 minute fix verses a much longer situation standing in guest services in the park...

 

[bdiddy]

That is exactly what I meant. For my last handful of trips with my music group, we did not have plastic tickets - only confirmation numbers and magic bands.

By the way - be sure your child takes a picture of their confirmation numbers, and the number on their magic band for when (not if) it falls off and needs to be replaced at guest services. That will make this incident a 10 minute fix verses a much longer situation standing in guest services in the park...

Thank you for that advice! I’ll make sure she does that!

 

[bdiddy]

I have taken my choir several times. At 100 days out I asked my TA for resort confirmation numbers and park ticket numbers. They told me park tix have already been ordered and I will have both set of numbers a few weeks before the 60 day mark for kids to set up MDE accounts for fast passes. It has worked this way since MDE, and before MDE, I had hard tickets in my mailbox a couple weeks prior the 60 day mark. If they have a good TA, then it is the directors choice. Honestly, I don’t understand what ticket they would hand out each morning. When we get to the resort, every kid is issued a magic band to access the ticket and their room. No hard tickets anymore.

Did your group stay on property? Ours isn’t so I was under the impression they won’t be getting magic bands. Isn’t that an on property thing only?

 

[hmdavid]

My twins went with their band last spring. They did not receive their ticket info until a couple of weeks before their trip. They stayed off property, and contrary to to the post above, they did have hard tickets as only a few had magic bands. Hope your daughter has a great time!!!

 

[bdiddy]

My twins went with their band last spring. They did not receive their ticket info until a couple of weeks before their trip. They stayed off property, and contrary to to the post above, they did have hard tickets as only a few had magic bands. Hope your daughter has a great time!!!

Thank you! Even having the tickets a few weeks before is better than nothing! I think I’m going to call our tour company to see if they can tell me anything since no one from the band has gotten back to me.

 

[gharter]

Our group stayed off property and were given their tickets just before they entered the park each day.
Our daughter had been many times, and asked about the tickets so she could get FPs. No luck.
Once her group got tickets, she got her group together on MDE, made FPs. Her group got to do far more than most of the other groups.

 

[J. Galt]

My daughter’s band went last Spring Break. They stayed off property and also only received the tickets a couple of weeks before they left (which was a nightmare for FP scheduling). I was able to link her ticket to her magic band.

 

[bdiddy]

My daughter’s band went last Spring Break. They stayed off property and also only received the tickets a couple of weeks before they left (which was a nightmare for FP scheduling). I was able to link her ticket to her magic band.

Was that a magic band from a previous trip?

How old can the bands be to still use them? She has one but it’s from 2015.

 

[d-train]

Did your group stay on property? Ours isn’t so I was under the impression they won’t be getting magic bands. Isn’t that an on property thing only?

We did stay on property. If you stay off property, no magic bands. You will have hard tickets. Does your director collect them each night and pass them out again in the morning? Seems excessive. All days are loaded on the one card. If they bought individual single day tix for each day, what a waste of money just to be able to control who gets what when. So much extra work every day, and wasted time. Oy!

Even if they are staying off property, they can purchase their own magic band, connect it to their MDE. Enter the tix code into MDE to access the whole set of passes, which takes to meaning of turning them in and getting them back in the morning. The magic band will access the tix, once the tix are in MDE, do FP reservation for every day, you have access to modify them, access for ADR stuff, etc, etc. once the codes are registered to you MDE account, and you bought the magic band, no need for the hard tix. Keep the photo of your hard ticket just in case. Buy the cheapest MB, $15.00ish, so worth it if you are off property.

 

[Robo]

Was that a magic band from a previous trip?

How old can the bands be to still use them? She has one but it’s from 2015.

For the purposes of park entry and FP use, old MBs can be used "forever."
(No internal battery power required for those uses.)

 

[MinnieMSue]

My daughter went with her band but only 1 day in the park after they were done competing at Outback Bowl. They didn’t stay on site and were given their hard ticket at ttc when they got off busses. No prescheduling FP or anything. In fact most if not all didn’t get any because they didn’t have MDE. They were there on 1/2 and a 10/10 crowd level but had a blast anyway. They had to meet after taking monorails to enter park together and went separate ways. They couldn’t march or perform in the park because they only spent 1 day there as we live in a very poor area. Tonperform in the parks you have to have a two day ticket now. Our kids could barely afford 1 day.

 

[CAQDaddy]

Wait a minute. When I went with my youth orchestra we didn't get any FP's or MB's. We only got a paper ticket the morning of. Well, it was
1983

 

[jefngeo01]

Our school went after Christmas/NYE 2018 - Band, Choir and Orchestra, close to 300. Each student received their tickets via a "plastic card" like a credit card more than 30 days out. They stayed offsite so were only able to book FP 30 days out. Each student was encouraged to download the MDE app and link their "ticket number" off their card to their app. The directors had the students take a picture of their ticket with their phones, and when 10 of the students lost their tickets during the trip, the picture made them easier to replace.
Each student used their individual card to enter the parks each day.

 

[Robo]

Our school went after Christmas/NYE 2018 - Band, Choir and Orchestra, close to 300. Each student received their tickets via a "plastic card" like a credit card more than 30 days out. They stayed offsite so were only able to book FP 30 days out. Each student was encouraged to download the MDE app and link their "ticket number" off their card to their app. The directors had the students take a picture of their ticket with their phones, and when 10 of the students lost their tickets during the trip, the picture made them easier to replace.
Each student used their individual card to enter the parks each day.

Whoever arranged your trip was WDW-savvy and on-the-ball!
They did all the right things with adequate lead-time.
Congrats!