Disney Trip

9/25/18

Hello everyone,

I hope that the school year continues to be off to a good start as we head into the month of October!

Before that, however, just a quick reminder that the first Disney payment and registration is due on Thursday, September 27th. If your child is planning to go, it is imperative that they meet this deadline.

In case you have not yet seen the documentation that we sent home with the students, you can find a PDF on Mr. Abrahamson's website, bit.ly/gmhschoir. This packet contains all of the information that we know at the present time. When dealing with a trip like this, some details unfortunately will not be available until later - for example, Disney does not schedule our exact Performance Times until 6 weeks before the trip. Please know, however, that we will always update you with important information as we receive it.

Three important points to keep in mind right now:

1. Please do not make checks out to GMMA as indicated on the original packet – this was a typo. Please make all checks for this trip written out to “GMHS Disney Trip.” We apologize for any inconvenience this change to the directions may cause. If you already gave a check to us that says "GMMA", it should be ok, but please make the change moving forward.
2. There are two forms of registration – electronic and paper. The paper one is part of the packet linked above, and the electronic one is located at Mr. A’s website: bit.ly/gmhschoir. Even if your child is not in choir, Mr. A's website is the hub for all electronic registrations.
3. Music teachers are NOT collecting registrations from individual students – they go to a blue box in the main office where we will gather them all up each time a payment is due.

Some questions we’ve received:

In which hotel will students be staying?

We will be staying at one of Walt Disney World’s All-Star Resorts (or similar accommodation). Our official hotel booking will not occur until after our travel company receives our first trip payment.

What is the approx. agenda (which parks on which days)?

The final official itinerary cannot be planned until we receive our performance times from Disney. We will be holding a meeting in February for students and parents which will contain this type of information. For the meantime, you can get a good sense of what the trip will look like by looking at the "Basic Itinerary" located in the information packet.

There are 5 park days, but only 4 parks? What will you do?

Our plan is to go to each of the 4 amusement parks (one park per day) and revisit whichever park gets the least amount of time due to performances, travel time, etc. We have opted NOT to go to the water park because of the chance of colder/rainy weather in early March.

My family is planning to travel to Disney at the same time as the GMHS Music Department. Can my child stay with our family instead of the school?

While families are welcome to plan their own trips to coincide with the GMHS Music Department trip, students who are on the trip must all stay with the school for the duration of the trip. Students are not allowed to go to a different park and may not stay at a different hotel. Families, however, are welcome to meet us in the park that we are going to each day. The only exception to this may be for flights (see question below).

My child does not need round-trip air transportation because my family is planning to "add on" to the beginning or end of the trip. Do we still have to pay the full $1400?

It is not recommended that students travel separately from the school trip, however, we understand that some families want to extend their trip before or after. Unfortunately there is no way for us to provide a "one-way" plane ride, so if you are providing your owntransportation to Florida, you must provide your own round-trip ticket. If you are not flying with GMHS, your trip cost will be reduced by the final $350 payment and therefore your total cost will be $1050.

If you are planning to fly separately from the GMHS trip, you must notify Mr. A, Mr. C, and Mr. L THIS WEEK! Otherwise a plane ticket will be booked for you and you will be required to pay the full $1400

How do I use my fundraising account balance?

For account balances and directions on HOW to use your account balance, please visit - http://gmmusic.org/student_accounts.html. You may submit "Attachment A - Student Account Payment Request Form" in lieu of, or in conjunction with a check to make any of your $350 payments. You may not use your fundraising balance until it is posted on the website. For example, if you are fundraising for Yankee Candle, you won't be able to use that for your first payment because the fundraiser won't be over yet. Once the amount that you earned is posted by GMMA at gmmusic.org, then you will be able to use it towards a future payment.

What type(s) of ID will be required or accepted, as it relates to airline travel / RealID

Identification needed for travel: Our understanding is that Pennsylvania was granted another “REAL ID” extension until October of 2020, so we thankfully will not have to worry about acquiring passports for our flights. Students who will be 18 or older when we leave will need their driver’s license— or other form of government-issued photo ID— to pass through airport security. They should carefully keep this ID on their person while traveling. Students who will be 17 or younger when we leave will not be required to show ID to fly. For safety and travel purposes, we will most likely be compiling a binder of photocopied ID cards for everyone flying with us. This ensures that we have a “back-up” plan ready to go in case a difficult situation should arise. Students 17 and younger may use school ID if they do not possess a government-issued photo ID card.

Can I pay for the trip up front?

You are welcome to "over pay" at any time, as long as the required balance has been met at each of the deadlines. Also, please do not "over pay" if you are planning to use fundraising money, because it will be very difficult for us to issue a refund if you end up paying more than the required total amount.

What fundraisers are available?

We are winding down our Yankee Candle and Strike up the Bands fundraisers - both of these are due on 9/28. If there is any year to take advantage of these fundraisers, this is the year! GMMA is also planning a "sub sale fundraiser" and possibly others. We are also looking into the possibility of a candy fundraiser later in the year – more to come on that!

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any further questions or concerns – thanks!

GMHS Music Teachers,

Mr. Abrahamson, Mr. Cusano, Mr. Leonowitz