Anxiety attack over this!

[vatmark]

Gosh I can't believe how much anxiety this is causing me about deciding when to go to WDW. First planned on July but after really thinking about the heat and lines decided against it. Then convinced myself that Oct 29th-Nov. 4th would be good but it involved taking the kids out of school(2nd grade/4th grade) for 4 days. Granted the kids are great students and rarely miss school the thought of them missing 4 days of school for a vacation has just been nagging at me. So now I'm thinking about going Dec17th-Dec. 23rd. The kids would miss 2 days of school which are right before their winter break so they really wouldn't be missing much of anything except maybe a school party.

So anyway how are crowds dec. 17th-dec 23rd? I really want to go when the crowds are on the lighter side. How about weather? Thanks for any info. I'm really driving myself nuts with this stuff. I just want to make sure we have a great trip with all the money we will be spending.

Annie

 

[bluejasmine]

I believe Dec would be more crowded than Oct because of the holiday season but it would be worth it IMHO because of the beautiful decorations and you can get tickets to MVMCP too. The weather will be nice though so the crowds should be bearable....

 

[grimley1968]

I hate to say it but that week may be among the most crowded weeks of the year, both because of the holiday season and because many kids are out of school by then. Also, the weather can be quite unpredictable in December. It could be 70 and sunny, or it could be 45, cloudy and windy. Sorry to be a downer, but I wanted to be as realistic as possible.

 

[vatmark]

Ahhhhhh!!!! I just can't win. Hmmm will have to rethink this now.

Thanks!

Annie

 

[bscs]

I wouldn't worry so much about taking the kids out of school. We have taken our kids out twice (missing around 5 days each time) for WDW trips. The teachers have always said that there was no problem. They realize that vacations are usually more educational than a few days of school. Just talk to the teachers before the trip they may give your child a special assignment to do. Like once my daughter was given a note book to write the temperature each day on vacation and to draw the types of clouds she saw. This helped her with her writting and her science while the class was learning about weather through books.

 

[vatmark]

Thanks bscs that does make me feel a little better if I do decided to take them out of school for 4 days. I just have to convince myself that 2 years from now it really wont matter much that they missed 4 days of school.

Annie

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Especially good if you can take them out around the end of a grading period...after any end-of-quarter things are done. There are usually a few days between the actual end of the term and when grades are due...as a teacher, that's usually a hectic time and there may be more activities that are easy for your child to miss since they're winding down before starting up again.

 

[Melissa M]

Don't stress about it. Just remember that a "bad" week at WDW is still better than a good week at work!

 

[psu1978]

Several years ago we went the second week of December. It was the best...no lines anywhere (I mean no lines at all) and all of the decorations were up. We got to enjoy Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) and the Candelight Processional. Both were fantastic. If we could go anytime of the year, either of the first two weeks in December would be my first pick. Unfortunately, I am now on the same schedule as my kids, but I cannot miss school like they can. So we are going in August this year. I know that it will be hot, humid, and crowded...but hey it's Disney, so I know we will have a magical time.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[YourMajesty]

Ahhhhhh!!!! I just can't win. Hmmm will have to rethink this now.

Thanks!

Annie

Wouldn't it be nice if we had crystal ball? It would save us tons of anxiety. Once you decide on a week then you will be stressed out trying to plan your schedule. I took my ds out 5 day in kindergarten and it seemed liked a long time to take him out. This year I'm planning around fall break so they will miss 2 days. If you are very very worried about the missed school go with the Dec week. It will be very beautiful. We have never been on "busy" week but most say they are managed by getting up early!

 

[disnut8]

FWIW, my now grown son has told me (hindsight is always great), that he never minded being taken out of school during the elementary school days. He successfully resisted it during the high school phase and had a definite problem during junior high. But during the younger years, he never batted an eye at anything (and neither did his teachers).

Christmas week will be crowded. If you go in October/November, you'll get the Food and Wine Festival which is a very nice experience. Even the youngsters will like it. Plus, they can trick or treat at Disney.

 

[vatmark]

Thanks for the reassurances. I think we will do the Oct.29th-Nov. 4th and just take the kids out of school. I'm sure they will get a big kick out of trick or treating in Disney.

This will probably the only time we take the kids out of school because once my daughter hits Junior High I will not take her out. I know my kids won't have a problem with making up missed work.

If Dec. 17th-Dec. 23rd is crowded I don't want to go then. My kids are not ones for patience and waiting on long lines.

Now I sit and wait for my quote to come back from Small World Vacations. If we can get a room at WL for the Oct-Nov dates then we are going to do it and then it's research, research and more research.

Thanks everyone!

Annie

 

[Amy&Dan]

We took our first WDW trip last October (my kids go year round and had a break). It was a great time to go. Still plenty warm enough to swim but not as bad as summer I am sure! We also did Disneyland with my whole family for an early Christmas last December. I took the kids out for 4 days, they were in 2nd and 4th grade last year just like your kids are now. It was fine, the teachers didn't mind a bit. We just needed to do a lower crowd time since we were travelling with my ailing mother. I know that experience will be remembered by my kids forever, I doubt those 4 days of school would be however. I always say within a normal amount of reason, family first! Enjoy! By the way, we always use Small World Travel and they have been wonderful. Make sure you get tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, it is so much fun. If you decide to do Halloween night definitely get tickets soon, that night always sells out from what I have heard. There is a whole thread on this event at the top of this page.