2 weeks during summer or 1 week during school year?

[HenDuck]

Hi All.

I am planning on taking DS to WDW sometime in the next year to so. He would be in the 2nd or 3rd grade at the time, depending on when we go. He is an excellent student at a very accomodating school.

I would pull him out of school to take him to WDW for his birthday, which is in the fall. So we would probably go in late September. However, I cannot stomach letting him miss more than one week of school. That's just my limit on skipping school for Disney.

OR we could go for 2 weeks during the summer months, probably early June or mid to late August.

What would you do? Take off during the slow season and have about a week in the parks, or go during the summer and take about 12-13 days and fight the crowds?

Oh, and we live really, really far from WDW, so we don't have the option of driving down there often. We HAVE to fly.

Just wondering what other people's thoughts are...

(P.S. Not looking for a debate on whether it's ok to take your kids out of school ...thanks!)

 

[BANNISTER]

I'd take the 2 weeks...just to have more time. Plus with Disney MYW tickets it costs just dollars to add additional days once you get past a 5 day ticket or so. We always go June or July because that is when our kids are out of school. Just by gaining information on these boards you probably can plan ahead and stay a step ahead of the crowds. TourGuide Mike is excellent for planning out what parks to hit on what day. Have a magical time whenever you decide to go.

 

[marconat]

I agree that 2 weeks would be good too, you would probably get to see in those 2 weeks what you would in one week in the off season in Sept. it's hard to say, I have traveled both in a very busy season and a slow time of the year.. and I prefer the slow time (well as slow as Disney can be, it's still pretty busy). But I enjoyed it more, I took the kids out of school for 9 days and had a blast... it's easier to do while they are still in elementary then high school. But it's your choice, either way, you'll have fun. Check out the allearsnet site for more suggestions.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I vote for two weeks.

Crowds aren't too bad in August.

By going in August, you won't have to worry about making up missed assignments.

 

[daisyduck123]

I vote for 2 weeks also. We would love to have 2 weeks for 1 vacation in Disney. I also would not want my kids to miss 2 straight weeks for Disney.

Instead, we pulled them out this year for an 8 day trip in January & a 9 day trip in May!

 

[HenDuck]

I agree with what you all have said. I kinda like the idea of having two weeks. That way we won't feel rushed. Also, my DH loves late park hours at night (and DS is a night owl too, just like his dad... )

I think if we only had one week, we couldn't go to Sea World or Kennedy Space Center, and I'd really want to take him to those places too.

I think as long as we are all prepared for crowds, we can manage it. We have done DL at spring break, so we know how to "work it".

Thanks so much for your helpful responses!

 

[dancin Disney style]

How about missing the last week of school (the kids don't do a lot anyway) and adding in the first week of summer vacation to give you 2 weeks? This would also give you a bit of a jump on the rest of the people taking their kids to WDW for summer vacation.

I think you will have a more relaxed vacation if you are not trying to cram a ton of things into just 1 week.

 

[marconat]

Of course 2 weeks at Disney is the best... I have never stayed there for 2 weeks straight, but I will in Jan, from Jan 1 to the 15, so the kids will miss 6 days of school. but right after Xmas, they don't do much... and I could not go between Xmas and New Year's. Does anyone know if it's very busy at Disney after New Year's?

 

[nicolemomof4cuties]

We have 4 children and we decided that we would take them 9 days-8 nights in November. My older 2 will only miss one week (5 days) of school but we are using the preceding and following weekends to gain 4 extra days. We are going November 11-19. We could fly out on November 10 and have 9 nights but I wasn't really keen on that sooo.... But any way, we have went in the Summer and di not like the crowds. Our kids prefer the mellowness of November. I hope you guys have fun whatever you choose!!!!!