5th Grader Missing School for WDW?

[badblackpug]

Please check with your school district. Absenteeism policies vary from district to district. Our school district is strict. Vacations are UNexcused. We go during teachers convention week (in NJ 1st week in Nov. election day is Tues, teachers convention Thurs. and Friday. Kids have 1/2 day Mon. and off on Wed.) We leave Friday after school and return on Sunday. With a total of only 1/2 day missed.

...and I agree. You can have a good time at the world no matter when you go. With my ex, we always used to go in summer or over spring break, because his daughter, who was not a very "motivated" student and couldn't afford to miss ANY school. We always had a great time. It was a little hotter, and a little more crowded, but it was still Disney!

 

[Camster0307]

Whatever floats your boat!

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

I am taking my 2 boys out, grades 4 and 6 for 3 days before their spring break. I told my sons 4th grade teacher at back to school night last week just as a heads up, she told me no problem, just write her a note beforehand and she will give the work to him that he is going to miss. We come back on the Wed. of his spring break so he will have a few days to catch up. I haven't told my 6th grade sons teacher because he wasn't at back to school night, but I am going to go about it the same way as I did with the 4th grade teacher. This was the only way we would be able to go.

 

[Harvest02]

I was worried about this same situation because we leave for Disney in less than 3 weeks. I have NEVER taken my kids out before(I have a 5th grader and 2nd grader). 5th grade here is intermediate school, so wasn't sure how they were going to feel. I told my DS 5th grade teacher last week, and she was TOTALLY fine with it! I told her I was taking DS out for 2 1/2 days in between parent teacher conferences and fall break. She said that she would make sure that my DS got any work he needed to do ahead of time. Then she asked DS where we were going, and my DS said "Disney World! This will be my 3rd time, but first time for the Halloween party!". She was jealous and said she wanted to go with us!!! I also e-mailed my 2nd graders teacher yesterday and she also said that she would make sure she would get my DS any paperwork he needed to me at the parent teacher conference. So, not a big deal if they are only missing a few days. I know I will probably still get the nasty letter from the school district since vacation is considered an unexcused absence! Doesn't matter since we are going regardless of what the school says! They are my kids and I think I have every right to take them out as long as they are good students(which they both are!). Do what you feel is right for you!

 

[asmit4]

The idea that the district would haul our butts to truancy court for taking a week vacation to disney is laughable.

So I gotta ask, provided the student is doing well in school, and has no record of being a "problem student" what exactly is the punishment for Disney vacation parents???

I can't honestly see the court putting your kids in foster care over a disney vacation or even charging you a fine of 500 bucks or something....what exactly do they do to those "BAD BAD" parents?!

 

[momof1princess]

thank you all for your replies! i've considered going ahead and calling the school, but i don't want to be TOO overzealous, lol, DD now says she'd rather go to washington DC for spring break 2009 b/c she's never been there. ok, seriously, who are you and what did you do with my child? LOL

 

[kerry34]

Believe what you want.

We are at the parks when they open. (AM EMHs)
We hit all of the EMH rides, collecting FPs as we go.
When the parks open at 9:00 or 8:00 we head to the rides that aren't part of EMH.

By the time major crowds head into the park (10:30 or 11:00), we're on our way to our ADR. (of course they were booked 180 out)Since I book the first seating time, we don't have a long wait for a table. Before heading to the restaurant, I grab a FP. By the time our meal is over, it's time for us to walk on the next ride/show.

We spend the rest of the afternoon hitting shows and using the FPs that were collected earlier.

I always plan ADRs for the first seating time (lunch or dinner) or the last (breakfast).

I will not wait in a line for more than 20 minutes.

The only time we ever had a problem was during out 2004 Easter was when we didn't get to the parks at opening. I made that mistake once and it will never happen again.

OH, I never said my Easter trips were the same as an Oct or Nov trip. (Since I’ve never been at that time, I can’t compare them) I said I felt like I got my money's worth during our trips.

One more thing. I don't go to WDW to relax, I can do that at home for free.


It's possible to travel to WDW during peak times and still have a great time. If you don't believe me, ask all the teachers on the DIS that only travel during school break.

(Yes, I know that there are teachers here that are lucky enough to travel while school is in session.)

ITA!!! I have been during all different times of the year, even Christmas Day when the crowds were just nuts and I believe with the proper amount of planning you can have a wonderful time. Generally we go in April during my kids spring break from school. Crowds are never a problem for us because we get to the parks at opening and utilize fast passes as well. No problems. Also Christmas night in the MK was very crowded but we had a wonderful time. We stayed for EMH and didnt leave the park until 2am. It is Disney....it is fun no matter what time of the year it is!!!

 

[badblackpug]

The idea that the district would haul our butts to truancy court for taking a week vacation to disney is laughable.

So I gotta ask, provided the student is doing well in school, and has no record of being a "problem student" what exactly is the punishment for Disney vacation parents???

I can't honestly see the court putting your kids in foster care over a disney vacation or even charging you a fine of 500 bucks or something....what exactly do they do to those "BAD BAD" parents?!

In our district the penalty for a 1st offense truancy is a court hearing and a$750.00 fine. 2nd and repeated offenses involve jail time.

YOU may find it laughable, but some school districts are very strictly enforcing truancy policies. I would strongly suggest that the OP and any parent unsure of school policy check it out before making any decisions

 

[Minniemouse07]

ITA!!! I have been during all different times of the year, even Christmas Day when the crowds were just nuts and I believe with the proper amount of planning you can have a wonderful time. Generally we go in April during my kids spring break from school. Crowds are never a problem for us because we get to the parks at opening and utilize fast passes as well. No problems. Also Christmas night in the MK was very crowded but we had a wonderful time. We stayed for EMH and didnt leave the park until 2am. It is Disney....it is fun no matter what time of the year it is!!!

See here's the thing... I'm on vacation, so I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn every day. We are traveling to WDW for 8nights/9days in early December. We have three days where we are scheduling to be either at opening or early EMH...the rest of the trip we are either taking our time or skipping parks altogether! With two young children, I can't and don't want to hit the parks commando style. We like to take our time and tour the parks in a relaxed way. There is NO way for us to enjoy a full out family trip this way at peak park capacity.

So we are taking dd (6yo) out of first grade for a week for our trip. We plan on pulling her out of school again when she is in 4th grade for a planned DCL cruise, and possibly ds who may or may not be in kindergarten yet.

I'm not opposed to extra trips during the more crowded times... I'm taking dd for her birthday in July of '08... but not for our family vacation.

My vacation is just that... a vacation. I don't want to come home from it more tired than when I left!

 

[kerry34]

See here's the thing... I'm on vacation, so I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn every day. We are traveling to WDW for 8nights/9days in early December. We have three days where we are scheduling to be either at opening or early EMH...the rest of the trip we are either taking our time or skipping parks altogether! With two young children, I can't and don't want to hit the parks commando style. We like to take our time and tour the parks in a relaxed way. There is NO way for us to enjoy a full out family trip this way at peak park capacity.

So we are taking dd (6yo) out of first grade for a week for our trip. We plan on pulling her out of school again when she is in 4th grade for a planned DCL cruise, and possibly ds who may or may not be in kindergarten yet.

I'm not opposed to extra trips during the more crowded times... I'm taking dd for her birthday in July of '08... but not for our family vacation.

My vacation is just that... a vacation. I don't want to come home from it more tired than when I left!

Everybody has preferences while on vacation. Some people like to take the slow approach and some people like to be busy. My point was that it is not impossible to enjoy yourself no matter what time of the year it is, the crowds shouldnt dictate your enjoyment. Just simply agreeing with the previous poster.

 

[asmit4]

In our district the penalty for a 1st offense truancy is a court hearing and a$750.00 fine. 2nd and repeated offenses involve jail time.

YOU may find it laughable, but some school districts are very strictly enforcing truancy policies. I would strongly suggest that the OP and any parent unsure of school policy check it out before making any decisions

I 100% agree that this parent should contact the school. I was taken out of school for 2 weeks each year, 1 for a skiing vacation and the other for a beachy/florida vacation and our private schools in the area have no issue with it whatsoever. Our public school system has a "30 day policy"...meaning 30 days absent and you can be held back a grade but they have no issue with a 5 or 10 day family vacation.

Keep in mind, that a lot of this backlash about family vacations has to do with the almighty dollar. There are some school districts that are even asking parents of truant kids (due to vacations) to pay the $$$ the school loses. The schools get a certain amount of $$ per day for each student. If the student is gone for 5 or 10 days, the school misses out on 5 or 10 days of $$$.

Honestly- while 750 is a ton of $$, I'd just as soon pay the fee than I would go during a crazy time for vacation. At least I would be standing up for my right to do as I wish with my children.

I find it completely laughable that in a lot of states- kids that are homeschooled get to show up for 2 tests a year to make sure they are "at grade level" and don't have to show up for class or have any truancy laws but when we decide to send our kids to school we get fined for 1 family vacation. Such a joke.

 

[Minniemouse07]

My point was that it is not impossible to enjoy yourself no matter what time of the year it is, the crowds shouldnt dictate your enjoyment.

I totally take the crowd level into account when planning a family vacation, and yes it CAN dictate the enjoyment of a family that prefers to not attack the parks commando style.

You are right, everyone expects different things from their vacations... which translates to everyone being tolerant of other people's choices.. if they prefer to travel at low crowd levels and pull their children from school, or to only travel during school holidays and deal w/ the higher crowd levels.

 

[Camster0307]

See here's the thing... I'm on vacation, so I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn every day. We are traveling to WDW for 8nights/9days in early December. We have three days where we are scheduling to be either at opening or early EMH...the rest of the trip we are either taking our time or skipping parks altogether! With two young children, I can't and don't want to hit the parks commando style. We like to take our time and tour the parks in a relaxed way. There is NO way for us to enjoy a full out family trip this way at peak park capacity.

So we are taking dd (6yo) out of first grade for a week for our trip. We plan on pulling her out of school again when she is in 4th grade for a planned DCL cruise, and possibly ds who may or may not be in kindergarten yet.

I'm not opposed to extra trips during the more crowded times... I'm taking dd for her birthday in July of '08... but not for our family vacation.

My vacation is just that... a vacation. I don't want to come home from it more tired than when I left!

I'm with you Minniemouse07! But, as I said earlier, whatever floats your boat! Let them go at the busier times; means the parks will be EVEN less crowded when we go!

But, I agree with everyone - it is Disney and you feel the magic no matter what time of year!

 

[disneyjunkie]

It is Disney....it is fun no matter what time of the year it is!!!

See here's the thing... I'm on vacation, so I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn every day. We are traveling to WDW for 8nights/9days in early December. We have three days where we are scheduling to be either at opening or early EMH...the rest of the trip we are either taking our time or skipping parks altogether! With two young children, I can't and don't want to hit the parks commando style. We like to take our time and tour the parks in a relaxed way. There is NO way for us to enjoy a full out family trip this way at peak park capacity.

That's the great thing about Disney. There's no right or wrong way to do the parks.

My style won't work for you. Your style won't work for me. Yet, we can both visit the parks and have the time of our lives.

 

[kerry34]

I totally take the crowd level into account when planning a family vacation, and yes it CAN dictate the enjoyment of a family that prefers to not attack the parks commando style.

You are right, everyone expects different things from their vacations... which translates to everyone being tolerant of other people's choices.. if they prefer to travel at low crowd levels and pull their children from school, or to only travel during school holidays and deal w/ the higher crowd levels.

We definately do not do commando style touring, its a killer. We do get up early but I dont generally consider getting up early to equal commando style touring. We take our time through the parks as well. Why rush through everything anyway then you are bound to miss things. For my family Disney isnt a relaxing type vacation....we go to the beach for that. When we go to Florida we are there to tour the parks so that is what we do. I will say that we used Tour Guide Mike this past April and didnt wait in any line more than 10 minutes which was really nice. My kids were thrilled because they couldnt believe they got to ride ToT five times in a row, which they have never done on any trip before. I was happy because I went expecting BIG crowds and we really didnt have any to deal with. Of course everybody said it was due to my hard work planning but I had to give the credit to Mike on that one. I just followed his lead.