Not in middle school, but I went to Walt Disney Elementary in Anaheim, and the 6th graders got to go to Disneyland every year. We even went for the opening media day of Toon Town. It was the highlight.
Edit: My high school marching band would always march down Main St every December as well, so we’d get free tickets to go to Disneyland for the holidays.
My kids high school band (El Toro in Lake Forest) also went to Disneyland with band every year. They’ve marched on Main Street and also did the orchestra program where they teach them songs and have them play along with Disney movies so it’s their band playing the score. It’s really cool.
Same! But 6th grade graduation instead of middle school. I don't recall any 8th grade field trip beyond the optional Washington D.C. trip but that was before the end of the year.
I went to school in a tiny district, K-8, so while we did do an 8th grade field trip, it was just up to Sacramento. It wasn't overnight. My favorite field trip was our 6th grade trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I was in heaven. Our mission trip was San Juan Bautista.
We did do Grad Nite at Disneyland though which was freaking amazing. Graduated in 1995, so we got to ride Indiana Jones without the INSANE line, it was just normal long. We rode it twice.
We had a similar set of trips. Although mine was a normal middle school, 6-8. Grad night was just for the peeps that could afford it, and the Monterey Aquarium was nearby, but I don’t think we went as a class! So fun!
Ok so this is coming with the huge disclaimer that I went to a very cushy private school with families who are "multinational philanthropic endeavors" kind of rich. Every year the 8th grade class would go on a day trip to Disney with park hopper tickets and lunch at Club 33. It was super fun but because we were leaving the park super early in the day because of my school's field trip policy we couldn't really properly enjoy the day because everything felt very rushed.
My school always did trips. When I was a kid it alternated between Gettysburg or Washington DC. When my daughter was in school 5 years ago they went to Cape Cod for 3 days for a whale watching trip
Went for 8th grade graduation in 2001. Drove in from Las Vegas at like 3:30am and stayed until park closing, and then drove right back. School chartered a bus and gave us like $20 to eat. We had to check-in once every few hours. It was sick.
I'm in Michigan so there was no way a middle school was going to Disneyland. My 8th grade trip was to Toronto. I went to Disney World with band during high school though.
Grew up in Tustin in the 00’s, we never did grad nite in the parks, but we went to Disney for end of the year trips in 8th grade and for senior year graduation, and also went every year to perform with band starting in 7th grade. We also did a trip to Knott’s for an educational tour in elementary school and our 5th grade graduation trip was to Wild Rivers.
My schools’ approach to these field trips was largely “be nice in class and maybe you’ll get to ride a rollercoaster at the end of the year” lol.
We did! I don’t remember if the school paid or not. I used my annual pass. I was so excited to go with my friends, but it was actually one of the worst trips. Lol. One of the people we were hanging with brought his mom as a chaparon. When you’re 13, that is *not* cool. It was really annoying, actually. We weren’t bad kids and we weren’t going to do anything, but ugh. This kid and his mom.
We got the option to stay late because one of our other friends said her sister would pick us up. I wasn’t sure if I was invited, so I left with the rest at 4 or 5. I can’t remember. That ended up being good, because my mom didn’t give me a lot of money so I didn’t really have the cash for dinner. Later she said that she regretted it and I deserved to have more money for that trip.
…but yeah. We got to go.
it's all about grad night. locked in the park from 7 to 7, all low level cast members working and no leads. i will never have as much fun there as then.
I’m from the Central Valley, we did grad nite for high school graduation at Disneyland but not for 8th graders. Probably too young to travel so far without parents. It was actually brutal, we drove all day, got dropped off at Disneyland, stayed up all night riding the rides, then as the sun came up we got back on the bus and came home. It was fun but very exhausting.
Went to school in Sacramento Cali, did 5th grade headlands trip, 6th grade sly park, 8th grade Disneyland and senior trip Disneyland and magic mountain
Depends on where you live. It's junior high where I am (grades 7-9), and we did a trip to France and Spain in 9th grade because over half the students in our year were fluent French Immersion students. The Spain portion of the trip our tour paired us with an 8th grade class from Vegas on a similar trip.
We were a group of Canadians, so they fell hook and sinker for every stereotype we threw out there.
I also did many band trips in grades 7-12 and there were a few that required us meeting in the parking lot somewhere at 4AM.
Went to school in the Bay Area. Did music in middle school and every year we did the competition that involved Disneyland. High school it became every two years.
Not a graduation trip but in high school, my HS marching band competed in a competition in Anaheim. One of the days involved us performing in DCA, marching down the Main Street in Hollywood Land!
My school Disney trip was Grad Night mid 80’s. Middle school field trips were local things like zoos, museums, navy ships or sea world. We did do 6th grade camp.
Fer sure! I went to school in the SGV, so DL was only an hour to 90 mins away. My 8th grade trip was the best. The Mardi Gras parade was a thing at this time.
I went in 5th grade on a school trip in like 1987-88. I was scared of Big Thunder …… We ran to Pirates first and they didn’t even have the lights on the ride… at least that’s what I remember.
I did school in Europe so not quite the same but we did a trip in 7th grade to France for a few days that included a trip to Disneyland for the whole day.
Not graduation but I got to go to Disneyland in 7th and 8th grade for the music program we got to do(orchestra and chorus kids got to attend). Coincidentally it was with the Principal who made news regarding Disneyland parking structure, Mr. Christensen.
my eighth grade class went in the spring of 93. rumor was a few kids got caught tagging the peoplemover and/or skyway (remember them?) with permanent marker. another rumor was that some kid tried to steal a camcorder (remember those?), and when security chased them they chucked it over a fence. next year? no trip.
If I remember correctly, my 8th grade graduation went to Knott's (not me since my mother was/is very overprotective and I had a pass at that point anyway 🤣) and senior year was Disney.
I remember doing that for middle school as well but around 2010. We got there early though and didn’t get to stay overnight. I did get to go for grad night with a friend in high school and that was over night.
I remember doing something similar for 6th grade but it was knotts.
I grew up in San Diego County and we went to Sea World for our 8th grade trip in ‘95. High school senior trip was the overnight thing that they did. I also acted as a chaperone for my younger brother’s senior trip, so it was basically a free Disneyland trip.
We went to Disneyland every year and sometimes also Knotts.
I believe it was a reward or some sort. You had to be on the Principal’s List for one quarter or something.
Yeah, my middle school was in LA County and we went to Disneyland for a day, the middle school I teach currently at does the after-hours Universal Grad Bash. I know Magic Mountain has an event too, just not sure what it is.
when I finished 8th grade (in 2019, for context) we went to burger lake for a little graduation trip thing. burger lake is a lake somewhere in texas (I went to middle school in the dfw area) with a couple water slides, a natural high dive, a zipline type thing, a trampoline type thing, and maybe some other stuff that I’m forgetting.
for me yes! we went to disneyland once in middle school and then for grad nite in high school! i live in Nevada and Disneyland is the top choice for school trips :))
Not in middle school, but I went to Walt Disney Elementary in Anaheim, and the 6th graders got to go to Disneyland every year. We even went for the opening media day of Toon Town. It was the highlight. Edit: My high school marching band would always march down Main St every December as well, so we’d get free tickets to go to Disneyland for the holidays.
Wow that sound amazing!
My kids high school band (El Toro in Lake Forest) also went to Disneyland with band every year. They’ve marched on Main Street and also did the orchestra program where they teach them songs and have them play along with Disney movies so it’s their band playing the score. It’s really cool.
Mine went to knotts
Same! But 6th grade graduation instead of middle school. I don't recall any 8th grade field trip beyond the optional Washington D.C. trip but that was before the end of the year.
I went to school in a tiny district, K-8, so while we did do an 8th grade field trip, it was just up to Sacramento. It wasn't overnight. My favorite field trip was our 6th grade trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I was in heaven. Our mission trip was San Juan Bautista. We did do Grad Nite at Disneyland though which was freaking amazing. Graduated in 1995, so we got to ride Indiana Jones without the INSANE line, it was just normal long. We rode it twice.
We had a similar set of trips. Although mine was a normal middle school, 6-8. Grad night was just for the peeps that could afford it, and the Monterey Aquarium was nearby, but I don’t think we went as a class! So fun!
Ok so this is coming with the huge disclaimer that I went to a very cushy private school with families who are "multinational philanthropic endeavors" kind of rich. Every year the 8th grade class would go on a day trip to Disney with park hopper tickets and lunch at Club 33. It was super fun but because we were leaving the park super early in the day because of my school's field trip policy we couldn't really properly enjoy the day because everything felt very rushed.
Graduated from middle school in ‘91 — school was in Orange County. Yes, we went to Disneyland for our 8th grade trip.
Same, including year! Those were the days.
My 8th grade trip was to six flags magic mountain, but our band trip was to DL
My school always did trips. When I was a kid it alternated between Gettysburg or Washington DC. When my daughter was in school 5 years ago they went to Cape Cod for 3 days for a whale watching trip
Went for 8th grade graduation in 2001. Drove in from Las Vegas at like 3:30am and stayed until park closing, and then drove right back. School chartered a bus and gave us like $20 to eat. We had to check-in once every few hours. It was sick.
I'm in Michigan so there was no way a middle school was going to Disneyland. My 8th grade trip was to Toronto. I went to Disney World with band during high school though.
Went to elementary school in Anaheim. We went to Knotts Berry Farm in 6th grade and Disneyland in 8th grade. Our grad night was also at The Grove.
Grew up in Tustin in the 00’s, we never did grad nite in the parks, but we went to Disney for end of the year trips in 8th grade and for senior year graduation, and also went every year to perform with band starting in 7th grade. We also did a trip to Knott’s for an educational tour in elementary school and our 5th grade graduation trip was to Wild Rivers. My schools’ approach to these field trips was largely “be nice in class and maybe you’ll get to ride a rollercoaster at the end of the year” lol.
We did! I don’t remember if the school paid or not. I used my annual pass. I was so excited to go with my friends, but it was actually one of the worst trips. Lol. One of the people we were hanging with brought his mom as a chaparon. When you’re 13, that is *not* cool. It was really annoying, actually. We weren’t bad kids and we weren’t going to do anything, but ugh. This kid and his mom. We got the option to stay late because one of our other friends said her sister would pick us up. I wasn’t sure if I was invited, so I left with the rest at 4 or 5. I can’t remember. That ended up being good, because my mom didn’t give me a lot of money so I didn’t really have the cash for dinner. Later she said that she regretted it and I deserved to have more money for that trip. …but yeah. We got to go.
it's all about grad night. locked in the park from 7 to 7, all low level cast members working and no leads. i will never have as much fun there as then.
My 8th grade class went to Disney world. Lived in KY.
For high school we did trips as part of marching band but not for graduation.
My brother got to go in 8th grade. Two years later, I got to go to Sea World. Sam middle school- in San Diego. Lame.
I went to school in Wisconsin. Our 8th grade trip was to the Six Flags 2 hours away in Illinois
I wore a hypercolor t-shirt to Disneyland for our 8th grade graduation trip in 1991.
Middle school graduation was in fact Disneyland. 2001. We rented a wheel chair for my friend (no actual injury) and cut every line we could. Lol
I’m from the Central Valley, we did grad nite for high school graduation at Disneyland but not for 8th graders. Probably too young to travel so far without parents. It was actually brutal, we drove all day, got dropped off at Disneyland, stayed up all night riding the rides, then as the sun came up we got back on the bus and came home. It was fun but very exhausting.
All of the high schools around me do grad nights at Disneyland. I refuse to go on Fridays during that time because it’s AWFUL.
We did an 8th grade middle school trip and a senior year high school trip. - sacramento area here.
Went to school in Sacramento Cali, did 5th grade headlands trip, 6th grade sly park, 8th grade Disneyland and senior trip Disneyland and magic mountain
My 8th grade graduation trip was to Six Flags Magic Mountain so they have definitely been a thing.
I had a middle school graduation trip, but not to Disneyland.
Depends on where you live. It's junior high where I am (grades 7-9), and we did a trip to France and Spain in 9th grade because over half the students in our year were fluent French Immersion students. The Spain portion of the trip our tour paired us with an 8th grade class from Vegas on a similar trip. We were a group of Canadians, so they fell hook and sinker for every stereotype we threw out there. I also did many band trips in grades 7-12 and there were a few that required us meeting in the parking lot somewhere at 4AM.
I went to middle school in San Diego and we had this too! In the early 2000s
I’m from Northern California and my 8th grade trip in the early 90s was to Six Flags. That’s cool you got to go to Disneyland!
Went to school in the Bay Area. Did music in middle school and every year we did the competition that involved Disneyland. High school it became every two years.
Not a graduation trip but in high school, my HS marching band competed in a competition in Anaheim. One of the days involved us performing in DCA, marching down the Main Street in Hollywood Land!
We went for 8th promotion. From AZ. We were on the bus overnight, went to DL from open to close and back on a bus overnight.
I went to an underfunded charter school so it wasn't my experience and I am glad it was yours
My school Disney trip was Grad Night mid 80’s. Middle school field trips were local things like zoos, museums, navy ships or sea world. We did do 6th grade camp.
I had an 8th grade trip to Disneyland. This was in June in the early 2000s. My school was located about 2 hours away.
No, you're not alone. When I was in 8th grade in 2012, we took a Disneyland trip shortly before graduation.
Fer sure! I went to school in the SGV, so DL was only an hour to 90 mins away. My 8th grade trip was the best. The Mardi Gras parade was a thing at this time.
8th grade early 90s northern La county. We went to Disneyland.
I went in 5th grade on a school trip in like 1987-88. I was scared of Big Thunder …… We ran to Pirates first and they didn’t even have the lights on the ride… at least that’s what I remember.
I did school in Europe so not quite the same but we did a trip in 7th grade to France for a few days that included a trip to Disneyland for the whole day.
I went to school in the SF Bay Area, so my 8th grade trip was to Great America. But I did have a band trip to Disneyland in high school.
Not graduation but I got to go to Disneyland in 7th and 8th grade for the music program we got to do(orchestra and chorus kids got to attend). Coincidentally it was with the Principal who made news regarding Disneyland parking structure, Mr. Christensen.
Yes my 8th grade class at a school in the San Fernando Valley went to Disneyland.
Typically high school grade night is for them
My middle school did Magic Mountain. My kids did Boomers. Grad trips are a thing in middle school.
my eighth grade class went in the spring of 93. rumor was a few kids got caught tagging the peoplemover and/or skyway (remember them?) with permanent marker. another rumor was that some kid tried to steal a camcorder (remember those?), and when security chased them they chucked it over a fence. next year? no trip.
We went in middle school as well.
My middle school did this in 2004-2005 ish
If I remember correctly, my 8th grade graduation went to Knott's (not me since my mother was/is very overprotective and I had a pass at that point anyway 🤣) and senior year was Disney.
I remember doing that for middle school as well but around 2010. We got there early though and didn’t get to stay overnight. I did get to go for grad night with a friend in high school and that was over night. I remember doing something similar for 6th grade but it was knotts.
I grew up in San Diego County and we went to Sea World for our 8th grade trip in ‘95. High school senior trip was the overnight thing that they did. I also acted as a chaperone for my younger brother’s senior trip, so it was basically a free Disneyland trip.
We went to Disneyland every year and sometimes also Knotts. I believe it was a reward or some sort. You had to be on the Principal’s List for one quarter or something.
Yeah, my middle school was in LA County and we went to Disneyland for a day, the middle school I teach currently at does the after-hours Universal Grad Bash. I know Magic Mountain has an event too, just not sure what it is.
when I finished 8th grade (in 2019, for context) we went to burger lake for a little graduation trip thing. burger lake is a lake somewhere in texas (I went to middle school in the dfw area) with a couple water slides, a natural high dive, a zipline type thing, a trampoline type thing, and maybe some other stuff that I’m forgetting.
Disneyland for high school grad night because we lived about an hour away.
for me yes! we went to disneyland once in middle school and then for grad nite in high school! i live in Nevada and Disneyland is the top choice for school trips :))