Harvard-Westlake’s beloved tradition of the ninth-grade Disneyland trip has been canceled this year due to rising costs, Student Council announced during a March class meeting.
This year’s ninth grade class was notified of the decision to cancel the trip unexpectedly, sparking frustration and surprise throughout the student body.
“I was honestly quite shocked about it because I felt like it came out of nowhere,” Rayne Witzer ’28 said. “Student council didn’t give us any warning and they kinda told us really late in the year too, especially because they knew about it a while ago. I think it was distressing that they didn’t offer another trip or anything to make up for the loss, especially since ninth grade is a much harder year than seventh and eighth.”
The previously anticipated trip had been a Harvard-Westlake tradition for over 20 years, but had to come to an end due to the rising ticket prices and related costs such as transportation.
“The trip to Disneyland has been canceled this year because Disneyland has put their prices up so much that it’s hard to ask parents to cover the cost of this,” Ninth Grade Dean Matt Cutler said. “It simply got too expensive.”
Typically, parents are asked to cover the cost of the end-of-year trips for their individual student. Cutler added that the school cares about inclusivity and affordability, and did not want the trip fee to be a financial burden on families.
Even with the end of the school year approaching, no alternative trip has been announced to replace the Disneyland trip. However, Student Council is currently working closely with the administration to solidify a plan.
