I am sending this information to you so this will hopefully put us all on the same page as we look to our trip to Disney World in a few weeks.
After investigating the issue of full uniform vs. polo shirt/shorts, I found that bands cannot march in the Magic Kingdom parade if they are not dressed in full uniform, due to the VERY strict standards that Disney has for all bands that perform there.  If we wore the less formal attire, we would be marching at Epcot instead of the Magic Kingdom.  I have also been told by Bob Rogers Travel that the parade at Epcot is thrown together, and we would probably be the only group in that parade, therefore meaning a smaller audience.  Also this would create a complete change of itinerary for the entire trip.  I understand that we have parents that have already purchased tickets for the Magic Kingdom based on the itinerary that we presented months ago, and these cannot be changed without incurring further expense. I want our students to have the best possible experience that they can have on this trip, and the Magic Kingdom parade is the “full-on Disney production” when compared to the Epcot parade, according to our travel agent with Bob Rogers Travel.
Therefore, I have decided that the students WILL be wearing their FULL UNIFORM for this performance.  We will be marching at 10:00 a.m. and the parade route is only 30 minutes.  I will personally make sure that the students receive water before, during and after the parade.
The uniforms will be clean and ready for the trip.  PLEASE MAKE SURE that your child will have the following:
**SOLID Black shoes are required.  This means that the shoes can have NO color on them. There are a few pairs of used shoes available in the band room if this would create a financial burden for anyone.  Shoes must be approved by me before leaving on the trip.
**Students are required to have black gloves. These are available for purchase in the band office if your child needs a replacement pair.
**We are still collecting money for the T-shirts that the students will be wearing AS A GROUP on this trip.  The cost is $8 and checks may be made payable to We B Ink.  This money, along with copies of front and back of Health Insurance Cards, and the Health History Form, must be turned in by MONDAY, MAY 14th.  We B Ink is waiting for me to give them the checks before they start to process this order.  I still have a number of students that have not turned any of their paperwork or money for their T-Shirt.
**We must have a current health history form AND copies of the insurance cards on file before the students are allowed to leave on the trip.

Percussion students who have never had a uniform before will be fitted for one right after the memorial day parade.  It is imperative that your child be at the Memorial Day Parade, and be available for fitting at the High School right afterward, this should not take more than an hour or so. We have 10 percussion students going that have never had to wear a full uniform, and we need to have time to get their pants hemmed.  If you cannot make this parade, you must contact me ASAP.
Students who already have their uniform will need to try it on on May 24^th right after our Marching Band Rehearsal.  If there are any issues we will get them fixed on the 28^th, after memorial day parade.

I hope that this email does not cause too many problems, and you understand the difficult decisions that I have had to make in the past few days.  I originally applied for the Disney parade back in October and based upon our application of photos and videos submitted, we were selected to be able to march at Magic Kingdom, and this is truly an honor.  Many bands fight tooth and nail to have the opportunity to march in this parade.  I want our students to have the best experience possible, and I’m sure they will have memories from this that will last a lifetime.

Please contact me should you have any questions at all.
I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Springhill Suites Orlando at Seaworld

10801 International Drive

I called Bob Rogers Travel today and spoke with Candace, our representative from the company. I asked her a couple of different questions while on the phone with her. First of all, I asked if there were any additional students that were not originally signed up for the band trip, and they have decided they now wanted to go, would they be able to? She has informed me that if there was a student who wanted to go, they would still be able to, but they would have to pay full price for the trip package the day that they signed up to go. So if you know anyone who is interested in attending the band trip, they need to get in contact with Candace at BRT, within the next two weeks.

Secondly I asked Candace about the group wearing a t-shirt while performing in the parade, and told me that due to Disney regulations, we are not allowed to wear a “t-shirt” because it’s not classy enough, but we could however wear a polo with khaki’s. She also informed me that our parade is at 10:00 am, and she did not believe that our students would be overheated if we wore the full uniform. I think that the white polos would work for the parade with Khaki’s, however I do still think that we should go ahead and purchase the t-shirt for when we go to the park on the first day, and we could all have on the same color, which makes sense for group travel. When I traveled to Taiwan this summer we wore red polos that said “SIUE WIND ENSEMBLE”, and we had to wear it every time we had free time.

I hope this helps answer the questions that were not addressed at the meeting. Here is our check list of information that you need to get to me.

1. Health History Form (jchsbands.com, link on the right side of the website)

2. Copies of front and back of Health Insurance Cards

3. T-Shirt Money and Size, please make the checks payable to Webe Ink for $8.

Talk to you all soon,