Just 92 coveted tickets were available to Oakland University students for Student Program Board’s spring break trip to Disney World. 

Many were willing to do just about anything to get one. This included spending hours waiting in line, staying out in the cold and sleeping on the floor of the Oakland Center.  

This year, the lucky ticket holders will be traveling to Orlando, Florida for Spring Break. For $395, the cost of tickets include transportation to and from Orlando, lodging at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort and a three-day Park Hopper pass to Disney World.  Students could also purchase a one-day park pass to Universal Studios for an additional $65.

Liz Iwanski, SPB’s coordinator for the trip, says they work really hard to make these prices available to students.

“We work very hard to find the best prices for every aspect of the trip as well as getting group rates,” Iwanski said.  “SPB then supplements some of the cost to make this wonderful, educational and fun experience available to as many students as possible.”

Many Oakland students seemed to appreciate the effort considering what they were willing to do to obtain tickets.

Anthony Rice, freshman, got in line at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 19.  The tickets officially went on sale at 9 a.m. the following morning.  

“I have never been to Florida before or Disney World for that matter,” Rice said.  “I am really excited for the trip.”

Rice and his friends spent the first eight hours of the wait outside in the bitter cold.  

“(We spent) from four to midnight in the cold,” Rice said.  “(We) brought blankets (and) wore layers.”  

Once the clock struck midnight, students attempted to sleep on the tile floor of the Oakland Center basement.

Iwanski says that this is not the first year that students have camped out for the tickets for the spring break trip.  

“People have camped out before for many trips,” Iwanski said. “In my recent memory, people have waited out for New York tickets, New Orleans tickets and Chicago tickets. However, this might have been a record breaker for sellout time.”

After hours and hours of shivering, card games, homework and many other things to keep him and his friends entertained, Rice acquired ticket number 25 to Orlando, Florida.  

Rice seems very confident that the trip will have been worth the wait.  

For more information on Student Program Board’s trips and events, find them on Facebook or GrizzOrgs.