Patrick Dailey has been working with Super Holiday Tours since he first started working as a band director, at Ardmore High School. Now he’s at Arab High School in Alabama, and they recently went on their first trip together!
Dailey and his band students recently traveled to Washington, D.C. for the nationally televised Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, a trip he’s been looking forward to for years. We caught up with Dailey to ask how the trip went and what challenges he overcame.
How did you first time traveling with Arab High School go?
Yes, I traveled several times at my previous school but this was my first time traveling as Director of Bands at Arab High School. The planning and the actual trip were fantastic! But a nightmare scenario happened before we even left our campus. We had two bus companies cancel on us. The first company canceled three weeks before our trip and the second company canceled 10 hours before we were scheduled to leave. Super Holiday had their whole office working on our trip.
Casey was in constant contact with me and they were able to successfully line up a third bus company to take us from Alabama to Washington DC. Incredibly, we were only delayed 8 hours from our original departure time. Super Holiday worked tirelessly and never mentioned the possibility of canceling our trip. I’ve always been impressed with Super Holiday’s care for their clients, but our travel this year only verified my beliefs. Super Holiday is amazing!
Why did you pick the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in D.C. specifically for traveling?
I’ve wanted to participate in this parade since I was in high school. My alma mater actually participated in this parade the year before I started marching in 1999. I’ve always heard from other directors how great the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade is and they were all correct. The parade was planned and operated incredibly well and everyone working with the parade was friendly. The NCBF Parade production was top-notch! The television coverage and video production were amazing! This was a definite plus for my students!
Do you have a highlight from the parade?
The parade was great! The weather was perfect for a parade, sunny and the temperature was in the high 60s. Having the opportunity to see my students march in front of the White House was probably my favorite part of the parade. The parade was just over a mile long and there were people everywhere! Even the people on the parade route were friendly and we received lots of thank you’s for participating! It was the best parade experience I’ve ever had.
What do you think your students gained from the trip?
My students loved the trip! Being in our nation’s capital is always memorable and I know my students made life-long memories from this trip. They had time in the National Mall, they visited Smithsonian Museums, the Holocaust Museum, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetary, Stephen F. Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum, and an illuminated memorial tour. This trip was packed with things to do and my students were completely exhausted at the end of each day from visiting so many different locations.
How did Super Holiday help make this trip happen? There any challenges they helped overcome?
SH ensured that our biggest issue, buses, was not a concern for me. Once we got to DC, SH made sure our trip operated smoothly and just as planned. They ensured that our group was able to get where we needed to be when we were scheduled to be there. I didn’t have to worry about anything. The care for our group’s trip was beyond what I ever expected. SH could have easily canceled our trip due to circumstances outside of their control, but they truly wanted our group to have a memorable experience. I am forever grateful for their efforts on our trip. They have earned a great reputation over the many years they’ve been operating and I see why they’ve been successful for so long.
Is there anything you learned from this trip, mainly about traveling in today’s world?
I realized how quickly things can change in today’s travel business. If you don’t have a reliable group travel company, your trip is in jeopardy of not happening. I’m thankful to have Super Holiday as my group travel company and I’ll be using them until I retire. Thank you for making our trip happen Super Holiday Tours!