By Bob Rogers Travel
Picture this: It’s a bright, beautiful November morning. Your students are performing alongside hundreds of friends, old and new, for an enthusiastic crowd and thousands of online viewers.
But this isn’t just any marching band event – the backdrop is Cinderella Castle in the heart of the Walt Disney World® Resort. Welcome to the Thanksgiving Parade of Bands by Bob Rogers Travel!
The BRT team launched this exclusive massed-band event in 2009, in collaboration with the creative minds at Disney Imagination Campus. Since then, over 70 talented marching bands have performed in this one-of-a-kind Thanksgiving tradition.
A music-filled dream comes to life
Todd and Tami Rogers are co-CEOs of the performance travel company their father, Bob Rogers, founded in 1981. Just as Bob saw that music educators needed a company that understood their unique travel needs, Todd and Tami saw a gap in the performance calendar for marching bands.
“The spark of the idea was to provide marching bands with an alternative to bowl games, while also building a unique and memorable marquee event,” explains Tami. “Our ambitions were high, but we knew that when you’re working with a partner like Disney, anything is possible.”
In 2007, the pair took their ideas to the drawing board and envisioned a new kind of event they knew directors and students would love.
“Tami and I reached out to our friends at Disney Imagination Campus and shared that we wanted to pitch them a new idea,” continues Todd. “We didn’t offer many details, since we wanted to present it in person.
“To prepare, we had our designer create storyboards, similar to the way Walt Disney would share his visions. Nervous but excited, we flew to Orlando to present it to Disney Imagination Campus leadership. Thankfully, they loved it! We began working together immediately to bring it to life.”
Nearly 20 years after those initial conversations, the Thanksgiving Parade of Bands, or TPOB for short, has become a much-anticipated holiday event, offering directors and students a performance opportunity unlike any other. Students can learn from exceptional clinicians, perform shoulder-to-shoulder with other marching bands, work with the top-notch production team at the Walt Disney World® Resort and enjoy a Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family.
A Thanksgiving Day to remember
Following a competitive application process, selected bands get a taste of all that awaits them in Orlando before they even pack their bags. The excitement begins when their custom arrangements arrive, written by Grammy-nominated composer Rick DeJonge, and continues when they welcome a distinguished clinician for a pre-trip clinic.
Then it’s off to the Walt Disney World® Resort for several days of music, new friends and more magic than this article can capture.
Most groups arrive on Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, so they can maximize their time in the Orlando area before the first official rehearsal on Wednesday evening.
During this gathering, student performers meet fellow performers from the other selected schools, playing together for the first time and collectively showcasing their months of rehearsal. They also get tips from renowned instructors and professional musicians.
The evening ends early, giving students a much-needed rest after a busy day. Early the next morning, they’re bound for Magic Kingdom® Park for a final rehearsal of the music they’ll perform for thousands of excited guests in front of Cinderella Castle.
Thanksgiving Day begins with a final rehearsal – and then it’s time for an event that’s been months in the making. The Thanksgiving Parade of Bands marches down Main Street U.S.A., takes its place in front of the spires of Cinderella Castle, and wows an appreciative crowd alongside the Gateways Brass Collective and a professional narrator, before an appearance by none other than Mickey Mouse.
And that’s just Thanksgiving morning.
The celebration continues
Following this once-in-a-lifetime performance, students are whisked to EPCOT® for a buffet breakfast at the World Showplace Pavilion and a full day of fun in the park with friends – both old and new. The TPOB experience isn’t just beloved by directors and students; it’s the perfect performance trip for family and friends to join as well. Every year, dozens of additional travelers join the selected marching bands, making this event a true family affair.
“We had many families and friends join the Morton Band for our performance,” shares Katrina Fitzpatrick, Co-Director of Bands at Morton (IL) High School, a 2024 TPOB participant. “This was great fun for all of us to share this joint moment in time. On a personal note, my husband and I were joined by lifelong friends and neighbors. It was truly a highlight of my trip to view the students’ performance with them and celebrate the holiday!”
After a day of thrilling rides, delicious snacks and picture-perfect selfies, directors, performers, family and friends gather for the evening at World Showplace Pavilion, where guests enjoy a private performance by the Gateways Brass Collective, an awards ceremony and a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.
But the celebration doesn’t end there. Guests are then treated to a private dessert party with reserved seating for Luminous: The Symphony of Us, a stunning display of fireworks, fountains and original music performed over the World Showcase Lagoon.
The remaining days in Orlando are a choose-your-own-adventure of customized itineraries for each performance group. Some choose to participate in clinics and sessions offered through Disney Imagination Campus. Most groups choose to spend additional time in the parks, soaking up as much Florida sunshine and fun as possible before heading home.
“Consistently, our students pointed to the Disney Imagination Campus Soundtrack Sessions workshop and Dance Clinics as highlights of the trip,” says Andrew Messerli, Director of Bands at Grain Valley (MO) High School, another 2024 TPOB participant. “They adored the clinicians they worked with and had a great time creating mini performances. A very, very close second was getting to play in front of the Cinderella Castle on Thanksgiving morning. It was truly a magical experience that they will remember forever (and still talk about today).”
The family vibes extend to choirs and orchestras, who often join their school’s marching band on this Thanksgiving adventure. They can enjoy performance opportunities of their own, like Disney’s long-standing Candlelight Processional for choirs, and take advantage of workshops from Disney Imagination Campus.
The timing is just right
TPOB was designed to offer marching band programs a new opportunity, at a time when most groups are out of school and ready to celebrate both the end of the competition season and the upcoming holidays.
“Thanksgiving was a positive time to travel with our students because we had just finished a highly competitive marching band season and this was a time to celebrate our accomplishments as a band family,” shares Katrina. “This was also a great time to travel because so many parents have the Thanksgiving holiday off work, so many families were able to join us in the experience. From the view of the school administration, this was an ideal time to travel because the students only missed a half day of classes.”
Andrew also felt that the timing of TPOB was a perfect fit.
“One of the biggest advantages we found to travelling at Thanksgiving was that it was outside of our competitive season for marching band, but not so far removed that we had already put marching instruments away and moved on to other tasks,” he says.
For directors and student performers alike, TPOB offers the best that performance travel can offer: an exceptional music education experience, an opportunity for family and friends to join in the celebration, and access to all the magic and professionalism that Disney is known for.
To learn more about this unique holiday event, visit ParadeOfBands.com. And to watch the 2025 Thanksgiving Parade of Bands live performance at approximately 9:15 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, November 27, visit YouTube and search “Thanksgiving Parade of Bands.”
