"This one time...at band camp...."

"I went to Disney World and didn't get to ride anything!"

As a person who just finished chaperoning 300 band kids on a trip throughout Europe, this article interested me a lot.

According to the story, 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 school officials won't allow students to go on any of the rides.

Supposedly, the school district has a ban on trips to amusement parks and water parks. The rule was made in response to incidents that happened elsewhere in which students were injured on park rides.

If you ask me, the kids are more likely to get hurt in their hotel rooms than at Disney World. During my time as a chaperone, I had to guard against balcony hopping, illegal drinking, liasons between members of the opposite sex and a dozen other things. But I was never worried that the kids would kill themselves at a theme park.

If I were a band kid, I would hate to march down Main Street USA and then keep marching right out the exit without ever experiencing one ride. What a rip-off!

Is this overkill? Does the school system have a point? What do you think?

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