FORT MYERS, Fla.- Hundreds of Gulf Coast High School band members boarded their planes Tuesday morning, bound for New York City. A total of about 400 people will make the trip, including students, staff and chaperons. The band will perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. Gulf Coast High School is one of only six high schools performing in the parade. The band has prepared for this trip for months and band director Justin Goff says he’s excited the trip has arrived, “We’re very excited, we spent lots of time preparing for this, the kids are excited, so I’m happy that we’re finally going.” “Everyone’s having that rush moment, like we can’t believe this is happening, it’s a long time coming,” said student Peter Noll. “It’s so exciting that the day is here, that we’re traveling to New York and we’re going to experience the parade and it’s going to be a lot of fun.” You can watch the band perform during the parade at 10:36 a.m.