In what has become a Tamaqua tradition, its high school marching band is headed to Florida for a performance at the happiest place on earth.

The band flew out of Philadelphia on Tuesday night destined for Walt Disney World, where it will perform at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in a parade at the Magic Kingdom.According to band director Mark Beltz, Tamaqua has been making the trip off and on for over 30 years.“The band used to participate in the bowl games down there and when that dropped off, we started performing at Walt Disney World about every five years,” he said. “They will be out in front of the parade at Magic Kingdom and its really a great experience for the students.”For many, if not all of the students, it is the first time they’ll have performed on such a large stage.Practice for the Disney routine starts early, according to sophomore Elizabeth Stahl.“Pretty much as soon as the school year starts, we start working on it,” she said. “I’ve never performed in a Disney setting so I’m excited and really looking forward to it.”Like Stahl, senior Gavin Seip said he feels the band is more than prepared for its moment in the spotlight.“We’ve been practicing since marching band season so although none of us have really done anything this big before, we’re ready,” he added.While work on the routine started in the fall, fundraising begins several years in advance.Fundraisers included fruit, pizza, pie, and candle sales just to name a few.Beltz said it takes just shy of $300,000 to pull the trip together.Junior band member Carson Schoener views the trip as a chance to get Tamaqua’s name out on a much larger level.“We are pretty pumped to show people what we have to offer,” he said.The band will be in Florida through Saturday.