On the night of graduation, seniors will celebrate at this year’s Grad Nite, a night spent at Disneyland with their classmates and seniors from other schools.
“Grad Nite is a night at Disneyland for seniors to celebrate the end of high school and the hard work completed throughout their four years,” said Senior Dominic Riolo, who is just one of the many seniors looking forward to Grad Nite. “I finally get to celebrate my accomplishments and start a new chapter in my life by having a bunch of fun and hanging out with my friends.”
To be able to participate in Grad Nite, seniors must have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in academic and citizenship, according to the Parent/Teacher Handbook.
According to PTSA Disneyland Chair Brooke Feerick, this year’s Disneyland trip is on June 12 and extends into the early morning of June 13. “The seniors will be leaving at 6 p.m. and returning at 5 a.m.,” explained Feerick. Seniors need to meet at 6 p.m. and the bus will leave at 6:30 promptly. Disneyland closes at 3 a.m. the next day and so the seniors will board the buses and return by 5 a.m.
According to Disneyland’s website, this year, the seniors will have more time, flexibility, and room to have fun and celebrate. One of the new changes Disneyland announced is the opportunity to have a Park Hopper ticket, which will allow them to experience both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park (disneyland.com).
Seniors this year will also receive a special Fast Pass option to use; each senior receives two fast passes, which will allow them to cut the wait time while using the park. Disney will also provide a private showing of Fantasmic, a musical extravaganza where the forces of good and evil battle in Mickey’s dreams (disneyland.com).
For the sake of safety, Disney has set out guidelines of what to leave at home and what is acceptable to bring. Seniors will not be permitted to wear any clothing affiliated with a school, or professional sports team, group, club, etc. They will also not be able to wear any revealing or torn clothing or any hats and bandanas (disneyland.com).
Senior Joseph Charles is one of the many seniors irritated by such strict guidelines and thinks some of them are unreasonable and unnecessary. “They won’t let us take backpacks, but we’re going to an amusement park,” said Charles.
According to Disney, despite the strict guidelines, Grad Nite is an once-in-a-lifetime experience where seniors and their friends will get to create one final high school memory (Disneyland.com). “I’m excited to go to Grad Nite, because it’s the last activity we do with our class,” said Senior Shannon Smith. “It will be fun celebrating everything we achieved in our four years of high school.”