We all know there are tour groups and corporate groups that visit Walt Disney World together, but there are also Performing Arts groups! Dance studios, bands, choirs and vocal groups can all book trips to Walt Disney World. They can even do special workshop classes and a public performance in Walt Disney World. All of this is done through the Disney Imagination Campus that offers lots of different options for all kinds of groups. My experience is obviously with dance and now that I am also a Disney Travel Agent I am seeing these trips from a new side, booking! So if you have ever wondered what these trips are like, this post is for you!
Resorts
You have your choice of resorts on these trips! You can stay in anything from a deluxe to a value resort depending on your parties. If you have any families of 5 you will need to stay in either Port Orleans Riverside or the Caribbean Beach resort as they have 5th sleeper rooms. Performing Arts Groups do get discounts off the rack rate but it does vary based on the resort and time of travel. Each room receives their own confirmation number that can be linked in the My Disney Experience app! Every family does not have to have the same check in/out day as long as they are all a guest on the day of the performance.
Tickets
Performing Arts Groups have special tickets prices as well that vary based on time of travel and how many days the tickets are for. Tickets typically will be the same amount of days as the resort stay but can be adjusted per family if needed. Each person will receive a hard ticket that can also be linked into the My Disney Experience app so you can manage your park reservations!
Dining Plans
While the Performing Arts groups do not have a traditional dining plan option, they do have pre paid meals! Guests will receive two meal vouchers per day that they can use at any Quick Service Locations throughout Walt Disney World. Typically it will be one for breakfast and one that can be used for lunch or dinner but you can do more or less as wanted. These meals are no joke too! They include an adult entree, sides and a drink for each person. You can do a la carte items with these as well. The meals end up being significantly cheaper than if you paid out of pocket and it is one more thing that is already paid for before you get here!
Workshops
I cannot speak to any other groups but for dance groups Disney offers some really fun workshops! These are optional add ons for your Disney Performing Arts trip and there is an age requirement as well as a minimum number of dancers to attend. Dancers can be as young as 7 years old but they do prefer 10 and older and you must have at least 20 dancers. This does add a slight increase to the package price but it is so worth it! They are taught by a current entertainment cast member and will teach the students choreography from different shows across Disney property. My dancers learned a medley that went together and included excerpts from The Lion King show in Animal Kingdom, the current Magic Kingdom stage show and a parade! At the end when they really performed it with staging and formations a special guest came out to join them…..GOOFY! He came out and did a whole section of the piece with them and stayed afterwards to take photos and sign autographs. It was so much fun and the kids were so surprised. In our workshop the cast member that taught the class also took time to talk to the dancers about the Disney audition process, how her journey with Disney entertainment started and showed them an example of a good dance resume and headshot. For our older dancers this was really great information. You will have a couple of options on times for your workshop but Disney will give you options as opposed to you telling them what days and times you would like.
Performance
How cool is it to be able to say you performed on stage in Walt Disney World?? With your name on the sign for everyone to see?? The performances are held on the Waterside Stage in Disney Springs right outside the big World of Disney store. The shows draw quit a crowd and you truly are performing for Disney World! There are rules for your performance that have to be followed, things like certain do’s and don’ts for costuming, shoes and music choices. You have to submit a video audition as well as photos of example costuming. None of it has to be set in stone when applying, they just need an idea of what to expect from you and see if you meet the technique and ability requirements. If you are booking with me I will submit all of this for you! Your show has to be at least 15 minutes and cannot be longer than 30 minutes.
Special Gifts
It’s always fun to get a little gift in Disney right?? Any studio that books with me receives a special little gift for each dancer. Disney also gives each dancer a special gift and presents the studio with an amazing Mickey trophy to commemorate their performance in Walt Disney World. These have been different over the years but are always super cool and such a nice keepsake!
Conclusion
My personal studio that I owned for 15 years did the Disney Performing Arts trip three or four different times and we loved every one! It’s such a nice combination of a dance studio trip but also a personal vacation for every family that goes. We always did one group meal together after our performance and of course the kids found each other at the resort pool too. It is usually more affordable to families to go on these trips than it is if they book a trip themselves as the resort, tickets and meals are discounted. There are some good perks for the organizers too!! Definitely something your dancers will remember forever! If you would like more info on Disney Performing Arts packages just let me know, I enjoyed planning them for my dancers and now it’s really cool to do it from the agent side and book for other studios. I know this is a little different than usual blog but I hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for reading along. And a special thank you to Kristy’s Dance Academy for letting me plan their trip and use their pictures! Have a magical day!
