The end of the year senior class trip to Disneyland has been anticipated by many students finishing their last year of Cal High hoping to end their high school years with a bang.
A trip to the “Happiest Place on Earth” is seemingly the perfect place to celebrate their achievements throughout their four years at Cal.
Although many students are looking forward to the trip in May, the many provisions and expenses are an unfortunate price to pay in order to attend this trip.
Registration for the trip costs $499, according to a flyer sent in an email to students and families from International Student Tours GradWeek, the company hosting the trip.
That’s a lot of money for a one-day trip when seniors must wake up at the crack of dawn to ride a bus from Cal to Anaheim. and after the trip ends at 2 a.m. the next day, students and chapterones get back on the buses to go home.
The fact that the trip is only a day long is a severe let-down since students sacrifice their sleep for a 24 hour trip.
Although the trip comes with the advantage of Park Hopper tickets that costs up to an additional $65 per ticket for the privilege to visit both Disneyland and Claifornia Adventure to only to be given a single day is more of a waste than an exciting perk.
Why be offered a benefit to better enjoy Disneyland when this enjoyment only lasts for a day?
The trip also includes a Disney Grad Nite Private Event for the students, which grants them exclusive access to the California Adventure park from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.. The events offered are forcefully shoved in the span of a day.
For the GradWeek coordinators to expect students to have enough energy to enjoy the event after spending nearly a day in the park from their arrival, poorly overlooks student wellbeing.
How students are being asked to pay for the trip is proving to be more a problem than an incentive to go on the trip. Students can either pay the upfront price of $499 or pay in installments over several months, starting with a $100 nonrefundable deposit in September and continuing with a $75 payment on the first of each month from November to March.
This payment method, especially with the nonrefundable deposit, is not a lenient way for students and their parents to pay for this event. The initial non refundable deposit is simply a forceful agreement to compel people to remain committed to their decision of going to Disneyland, regardless if they change their mind or are suddenly unable to attend.
The limited capacity of students who can go on the trip is another restriction. The buses used for the trip can hold 45 people each. Once all the buses are full, any remaining students are waitlisted.
The problem with this is that if the trip does end up overbooked, then many waitlisted students who signed up may miss out on the trip, which is a disappointment for them and their parents who paid for the trip.
To get the most fun out of the trip, the GradWeek organizers should lengthen the trip to allow seniors more time to enjoy the park the next day while still having enough time to return to campus on the scheduled time.
Not only will this let students enjoy their trip for a longer time, but it will help make the most of all the expenses required. In addition, guaranteeing a reliable form of transportation will be one less thing for students to worry about.
Lowering prices must also be considered. This will allow more students the opportunity to participate in this event other than just the students whose parents are willing to pay $500 for their senior student to enjoy a single day of fun and a potential bus ride.