Any teachers going to WDW during the school year?

[BensWife]

Do you ever go during the school year? We have a trip to DLR scheduled in September to celebrate DH's and my 10th anniversary. We wanted to go on our actual anniversary, which is Sept 25th, and since that is in the middle of the week, I am going to take 4 days off. I have cleared it with my principal and we get 5 personal days a year, so I don't need to worry about getting in trouble with HR. We really want to go to WDW during Christmas time in 2015 or 2016. We have never been WDW at Christmas time, and the weather is SO much better that time of the year (went in June last year and the heat/humidity really got to me). That being said, I do not want to go during the typical "Christmas Break" time because that time of the year scares the heck out of me since it is the busiest time of the year!! I would like to go sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, where we can get the beautiful Christmas decorations but not the huge crowds. The problem is, is I just have a hard time thinking about missing a full week of work when we already get 2 weeks at Christmas anyway. I am a K-5 music teacher, so when I am gone it is not like the kids are missing core instruction, but still. Also, I can get a really good music sub and schedule my Christmas performances to before or after I would be gone, so that is not a problem. I already feel guilty about taking 4 days in Sept, but a full week when we already get 2 weeks off? I guess as a teacher, I really should stick with regular vacation times, but those are the busiest times of the year. As a teacher, how do you schedule your vacations?

 

[JennyAnne]

Nope, our superintendent is a huge jerk. They question everything, even the use of consecutive personal days. She called my friend (who had to leave the state and travel to FL to make end-of-life decisions for her father) after she had been out 3 consecutive days, wanting to know when she would return. She also wanted to let her know that if she was going to be out a 4th day (which she was) that she had to fill out FMLA paperwork and fax it back to Ohio, get a doctor's signature, etc. So yeeeaaaah.....we're leaving for Disney the day after school gets out (June 4).

 

[carlypaigesmom]

I teach Special Education. I plan on going the last week in May when school lets out. We have a PD day but I plan on getting my hours before then and saving a few days to make sure if we have snow days I can still go. I'll just make sure my paperwork is done before I leave.

 

[Mommymarie]

I teach at a private school, so maybe it is a little more flexible, but I take days off every school year to go to Disney.....I can't afford to go during peak season and I hate the crowds. I usually take just 3 or 4, but this year I am going for all 5

 

[dbramer]

Wouldn't even consider it. It is more work being gone than being in the classroom. Taking even one day off is hard enough...I could never conceive of taking four days or even a week.

We get three "personal days" each year, but they cannot be used consecutively and require 24 hour notice to the principal prior to taking it. If it backs up against a holiday, we need the district superintendant to approve it.

 

[chefmb]

I've done it the last three years (taking 3 or 4 days with my principal's blessing). DH and I have gone in December with either a nice room discount or free dining (last year was the first for FD--loved it!). I tried to schedule around important events so I didn't miss them. It is a lot of work writing sub plans(many hours!), but I love going during the Christmas season. I got over the guilt of taking off. I have found that once you do it the first time, you realize that the class survives without you! I think that doing something like this can help revive your energy and joy in teaching.

 

[kohlby]

When I was a teacher, I went to WDW three years in a row over Christmas break. I wouldn't have considered not going during a break. BUT - my students would have missed out on a lot if I was gone. I wa a high school math teacher and subs are basically babysitters. Add in that it was semester block scheduling, and I hated even to miss one day if I didn't need to. (Though I did take two days off to run the Boston Marathon one year - there really wasn't a way around that). We actually went from right after Christmas to right after New Year's - so pretty much the busiest week of the year. And we had a blast! Depsite large crowds, we had no problems doing what we wanted. We weren't even smart planners in those days - but we knew the rides well enough to plan as we went. AND we didn't have kids then so that made it really easy to deal with the crowds easily. (Several times, the parks didn't let anyone else in due to crowds, so it was definately at peak!)

I don't think you're in the position of most teachers - you can get a good sub and instruction won't have to stop when you're gone. However, since you get two weeks already near that time, then I'd think your employer might wonder why you need to take more time off. If there were something special - like your child getting getting married that week or something else you couldn't change - then it would be different. But I wouldn't do it just for lower crowds.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

5 personal days?! So jealous. I get 2 per year and can't take them consecutively without getting it approved, so no, I can't go during the school year :-(

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My 25th wedding anniversary (Dec 29) and 50th birthday (Jan 22) is coming up next year. DH and I are going to take a Disney cruise to celebrate. When I looked at the costs, we realized that it made financial sense to do the cruise the 2nd or 3rd week of January. The prices for flights and passage dropped dramatically! Also, we don't want to leave our teens over the Christmas holidays. I teach preschool at a Catholic school. I'm not the lead teacher so I won't have much prep work to do in order to take time off. Luckily, my principal is fine with my plans. I have only missed work 2 days when I've been really sick and I've taken an afternoon off twice to go to DS's big school awards ceremonies.

 

[Madame]

No personal days are allowed for us. If you are sick the day before a long week-end, Christmas, Easter etc you must have a Dr's note which costs $20 and are not given out if you are not sincerely ill. It stinks, but teachers in my school board are never able to travel during the school year. One of my friends could't even get the day before her wedding off to fly home. Yes it's that bad...

 

[jmrbc9900]

I've taught both private and public with limited personal time (2-3 days), can't do b2b days off without permission and personal time says for things that can't be scheduled during school hours, not vacay. If we do one day we just tell them day and they don't ask questions so I don't tell. Got stuck one time due to weather so had to take sick day and email lessons in; tough trip . We do long weekends first two weekends in December - we pick the weekend with better rates. I take off Friday or Monday depending on schedule . Fly out after school thursday, play fri, sat, most of Sunday and take late flight home Sunday. Shift schedule if we do Monday off.

All stuff going on; we can usually do candlelight processional and party if we want. Great trip to get in mood of holidays without getting in trouble or having to explain or plan too much.

 

[tportugal]

Nope. Summer months it is for me, too! We're actually leaving in 11 days and will be there for the 4th of July. It's also the only time my husband could take vacation time.

 

[GeorgeG]

This is kind of related, I think.

In recent years we've seen "spring breaks" spread out over several months so there's no specific time to avoid the crowds associated with them. While spring break used to be a college thing, it seems to have become common with middle school and high school levels, as well. It's been many years, but I don't remember spring breaks in high school. Is this something all schools have now?

 

[oliviaik]

I try to schedule my vacations during summer months. However, it is quite annoying that the cheapest times of year are unavailable because of it. I did, though, go on a cruise a couple of years ago and took a week off. In that situation, though, the cruise was planned before I was hired. I didn't get paid for three of the days, but they allowed me to go. Actually, I think my district is pretty lenient about taking off and usually allow it, but they don't necessarily like it. So, I mostly try to avoid it. Now, my mother-in-law has been considering a family vacation during the school year. If that happens, I will request off. She has ALS and this will likely be the last family vacation we take with her, if it even happens at all. I won't feel bad about that.

 

[juliebug1997]

I have taken two and three days of my five personal days (I also get five sick days) in years past. I took two days for DLR in 2012 and took three days for WDW in Nov. 2011.

I turn 40 in November and would really like to be there on my birthday, so we'll have to see if we end up then or go for a long weekend in early December instead. Some day, I'm going in October for the Halloween Party. I need to see the Headless Horseman.

 

[Tricia732]

Wouldn't even consider it. It is more work being gone than being in the classroom. Taking even one day off is hard enough...I could never conceive of taking four days or even a week.

We get three "personal days" each year, but they cannot be used consecutively and require 24 hour notice to the principal prior to taking it. If it backs up against a holiday, we need the district superintendant to approve it.

I agree. I have always found it a huge hassle to take off work, so when my kids were young, our 2 WDW vacations were in the summer. Now that I am retired and can go anytime I want, guess when I am going? Next week, so that my nieces' children don't have to take off school.

 

[SillySallySews]

Teachers deserve a break too. You're celebrating 10 years of marriage, and that's a pretty big deal! If your principal has approved it and you know your kids will be in good hands, you should go and not feel guilty.

 

[DisMomme]

DH & I have gone down in November. I usually take 1 or 2 personal days around the long weekend. Most of the Christmas decorations are up, Osborne Lights are on and the MVMCP usually has it's first event. I have never gone for more days, it would be frowned upon.

 

[mellyf]

In my district, we get two personal days and they can be taken consecutively, although not before or after a holiday (or holiday weekend). Quite a few years ago, my husband and I went in January. We went over MLK weekend, and I took two personal days and one day without pay. At that time, my principal let me count the day without pay as *next* to the weekend. So we flew down Friday, and I had Monday, Tuesday (my day w/out pay), and Wed/Thur (my personal days). It was wonderful! We've always been rope droppers, so at that time in January, it was practically empty. We rode ToT four times in a row.

However, that was (yikes!) 18 years ago. My district has changed quite a bit. There is no way that we get days w/out pay for anything other than something really out of the ordinary. So...we've taken a couple of Disney vacations over spring break, Christmas break, and summer. The first time we did spring break, it was fantastic. At the time, I think there must have been more schools that still kept spring break tied to Easter, and Easter was a month later than our spring break. However, the last time we did spring break, it was very crowded.

I would love to go in the fall some time. Another teacher and I went for a long weekend in October and I LOVED Food & Wine. I'd love to take my husband at some point, but he is a farmer...and fall is his busiest time. So double whammy there.

So...a long-winded way of saying that if I *could* go at a different time, I would, but it's just not possible in my district.

 

[kbmartin]

I wish more than anything that I could go to Disney during a less crowded time, but August it is for DH and me. I'm going into my fifth year of teaching and have never even taken a personal day, so I don't actually know how it works in my district (a very large one). I would love to go in October (but we no longer have teacher's convention), November, or March, but if I were to take some personal days it would have to get latched on to an existing break, and my district always makes our breaks over holidays, ruining the idea of going during the "off-season." (Spring Break, for example, was connected to Easter this year, as late as it was. Boy, was that a tough period to get through without breaks - January to late April!)

I almost wish - in a way - that we would switch to year-round schooling. I need the summers for my sanity, but at least the breaks would be during some off-times for vacations.

Disney is certainly my light at the end of the tunnel... when I feel like I just can't do one more day with my rowdy, incredibly immature freshmen, I think about taking the boat from POR to Downtown Disney, riding Rock n' Roller Coaster, and having a Thanksgiving-type meal at Liberty Tree Tavern... *sigh*