GradNite Frequently Asked Questions

NO! Whether a student attends another school or not, regardless of if that other school is also traveling to GradNite. They cannot attend the GradNite trip/event with another group because the parks will not allow students to attend who are not officially registered with that school or a non-senior graduate (e.g., sophomore, junior, etc.). Many of these trips are school sponsored and for liability reasons (in addition to the requirements of the park) this means that students must attend that school. There are no exceptions to this rule.

You will receive your confirmed trip itinerary approximately 2-3 weeks before your departure date. Please note that the itinerary must get approved by the bus company and head chaperones first before it can be sent out, so this can take some time. The trip itinerary is sent via email to both emails listed on the traveler’s account. Therefore, it’s critical there are two emails listed on an account which are emails that are checked regularly.

Typically, most groups will be departing between 3AM-4AM on the morning of their departure date. The reason for this is to be able to spend the most time possible at the park and get the full Grad experience!

Not always. Depending on what your trip itinerary looks like, you may be dropping off your bags at the hotel before entering the park. If this is the case, please note that you still must be ready to go to the park when you arrive and that there will not be a time in the itinerary to be changing and getting ready to go to the park.

The Organizer/Teacher is the one in charge of rooming, and it is up to them how they want to go about doing the group’s rooming. That process will not start until after the Final Payment Date (3/1) and is due by April.

The rooming requirement for the groups who are overnighting in a hotel is quad occupancy (4 per/sharing a room, 2 per bed). But if there are not enough students in a group to make a full room, then we will not charge additional occupancy fees. *However, in the rare case that a traveler (or parent of a traveler) requests to be in an under-occupancy (triple, double, or single) room for special reasons, there will be a per-person occupancy fee charged to the travelers in that under-occupancy room (note: since each trip is specific to each school/group, we would have to request the occupancy rates at that time). Also, Co-Ed Rooming for this program is not permitted!

Travelers are welcome to bring their toothbrush, deodorant, change of socks/shirt/etc., in their bag, but please note that they are responsible for carrying these items. The parks have lockers where your items can be stored if needed. Six Flags Magic Mountain has lockers available for all-day rental along with both Universal Studios and Disneyland.

• Universal Studios has three different lockers that typically cost $8, $12, and $15. Please use the link and refer to #8 for further details: https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/faqs/services
• Disneyland has lockers in Disneyland Park, California Adventure Park, and between parks. We recommend using the lockers between parks or the lockers in California Adventure as the GradNite event takes place in California Adventure. Lockers for all-day use typically cost $7 for a Small and $10 for a Large, which can fit two backpacks. We encourage students to buddy up with a friend(s) to help split locker fees. Please use the following link for more Disney Locker info: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/locker-rentals/.
• There are several bathrooms within the parks that they can take care of whatever hygienic needs they feel necessary, and the lockers are very accessible to hold any items they may not wish to carry.

Should an injury occur, the parent will be contacted, and it will be up to the head chaperone and parent if the injury/situation is extreme enough whether the traveler is to be taken to the ER. If the traveler has purchased the separate/optional trip insurance through the USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services website (855-874-0156 or customercare@travelinsure.com) advised to travelers upon registering; then they will be able to file a claim with the insurance company (USI) once they return home to request for those expenses to be covered (note: the traveler must keep all receipts and give them to the insurance company).

Email! Therefore, it is pertinent to have two valid emails on the account (one for the traveler/student and one for the parent/guardian), so that all the information sent out regarding the trip is received by the participant. We highly recommend refraining from using a school email as this may not get checked as often as a personal one—use whatever emails are most frequently checked. Invoices are sent out once at the beginning of each month, and the months closer to the trip’s departure date will hold even more detailed information about what your destination is requiring, what to expect, your itinerary, etc. We highly recommend that every traveler follows the monthly payment plan or that you utilize the auto-billing option to ensure you maintain an Active status/spot on the trip.

Trip dates will be finalized once the destination you are going to (Disney, Universal, or Six Flags), confirms the availability for the date requested by your group; this typically takes place between late September–November. Once the destination notifies GradNite of a group’s confirmed date(s), we will then send out a notice to those travelers with an updated invoice showing their firm date(s).

Yes! We expect all our travelers to behave as civilized, respectful travelers, and if a particular traveler or group cannot manage themselves appropriately, they will be removed from our program at their own expense. ISTours/GradNite requires that all travelers abide by all laws and regulations set forth by the state, bus companies, parks, and hotels while on their trip. Rules and regulations are specific to each destination and this information is sent out before the trip departure.

If you no longer plan to travel, the student/traveler or parent/guardian will need to submit their official “cancellation” request in writing by either mail or email (notice must come from the same email address that is listed on the traveler’s account) and must also include Traveler ID Number (account #), First & Last Name of the traveler, and state their request to “cancel”. Once your cancellation request is received and processed, the traveler will be cancelled from the trip, and cancellation penalties (e.g., non-refundable deposit if cancellation is received before 3/1 or no refund if cancellation is received on or after 3/1) will be applied, per the Terms & Conditions of the trip.  If any refund is owed after the applied cancellation fee (per the terms and conditions), the funds will be issued back to the traveler listed on the account. Refunds are issued within 4-6 weeks (or 6-8 weeks if cancellation occurs on or after 3/1) of the approved cancellation date and returned in the same method they were received (i.e., credit card payments = credit card refunds and check or money order payments = a check refund). GradNite is not responsible for misdirected refunds due to a change of address, closed bank accounts, or transactions processed on pre-paid credit cards or gift cards. For full cancellation details and trip policies please refer to the terms and conditions.

If you (student/traveler) are on the WAITLIST, please be advised that this is due to limited space availability. Travelers must still pay the required deposit to be added to the Waitlist, unless registering on or after the Final Payment Date (3/1), then you will be required to pay-in-full, plus a late fee to be added to the Waitlist. GradNite will notify you via email with a confirmation on whether or not space becomes available. However, this could happen within a week of registering, or this could happen up until 2 days before the trip’s departure date, depending on ticket and bus availability. It is up to each individual whether or not they want to continue to remain on the Waitlist until a spot becomes available.

If you are on the Waitlist and would like to cancel. The student/traveler or parent/guardian will need to submit their official “cancellation” request in ‘writing’ by either mail or email (info@istours.com) (note: the email notification must come from the same email address that is listed on the traveler’s account) and must also include the Traveler’s ID Number (account #), the First & Last Name of the traveler, and state their request to cancel. Travelers who cancel while on the Waitlist are eligible for a FULL refund of what they had paid to be added to the list.

YES! This is peak time for people cancelling because they did not pay in full. If our automated system has you as next on the Waitlist, but you have not paid your account in full, then the system will skip over your account and go to the next person on the Waitlist who HAS paid in full on the list.