Modesto students get late – or no –start to senior trip to Disneyland

Friday the 13th meant bad luck by the busload for seniors at Gregori High School, whose senior trip to Disneyland began late or not at all.

About 380 seniors arrived on campus by 5 a.m. to prepare for 6:30 departure on eight buses. Only one bus arrived on time, though, then two more about 6:45, said Principal Brad Goudeau.

As Gregori staff members scrambled to get answers – and more buses – students, parents and others took to social media to vent their feelings. “I swear we gonna get there and then end up leaving,” one student said on Twitter.

Shortly after 8 a.m., five buses had been filled and were sent on their way to Southern California, the principal said. By 10:35, seven buses total had departed the school.

In the meantime, Gregori staff members presented students with options: get a late start and a partial refund, or choose not to stick it out for a late bus, receive a full refund and go home for the day.

The school now is exploring a makeup trip next week for the busload – fewer than 45 students – who didn’t get to go, Goudeau said before hitting the road Friday to catch up with his students.

“We’ve been scrambling for five hours, doing everything we can,” the principal said, explaining that the school contracted with Adventures America to transport the students to Disneyland. The school has worked with the company for the past few years, with everything going smoothly.

“We feel horrible,” Goudeau said. “This trip is everything to them (the seniors). I’d be upset, too.”

When Gregori was able to arrange for buses from other companies, a staff member even put one on her personal credit card, he said.

Richmond-based Adventures America, which calls itself a leader in student travel, tours and trips, worked with MGM Transportation Service in North Highlands to provide buses, Goudeau said.

A customer-service employee with MGM, Christina Anderson, said MGM in turn subcontracts with several bus companies to deliver the transportation. One of those companies – she didn’t know which – “flaked” on the Gregori job, Anderson said.

Goudeau said staff and students were “in a holding pattern” for hours Friday, waiting to see if more buses were on their way. “From what they (Adventures America) knew, MGM Transportation subbed out some of the buses to other companies, and MGM was unable to contact people they had scheduled buses through,” he said.

After the initial five buses were filled and left, “we weren’t getting good answers from Adventures America, so we started contacting companies ourselves. ... The situation is that hundreds of high schools across state are all doing the same thing (senior trips), so the reality is other buses were not available.”

The principal said Gregori was very organized in arranging the trip, booking it in August and confirming it as recently as this week.

The late start to the students’ trip couldn’t be made up on the tail end, Goudeau said, in part because Disneyland will close at 2 a.m., period. It doesn’t stay open later because students arrive later.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Modesto students get late – or no –start to senior trip to Disneyland."