could i have some advice please

[uktigger]

we are close to booking our 3rd trip to disney and i am unsure of which time of year to pick due to reasons i'll outline below

now i have a holiday on hold till the end of today for 20th aug-3rd sep i looked at this time frame so that we did not have to pull the kids out of school (eldest will be in year 11 and youngest just starting year 7)but with this i am worried about the the weather i.e heat, humidity and the rain(the reason for the rain is we will be getting wed and don't want to be rained out)and also the crowds

if we pick to go in october we would go including the half term week and the boys would only miss 5 days of school,i do prefer going at this time becuase you don't really get the the humidity and the rain (altough i know it can still rain at this time of year) my dilema with october is that eldset will be year 11 and would he miss too much like exams and things? i didn't worry about pulling them out of school too much when they were younger but it's certainly different as they get older
sorry for the long post and i've proberbly bored you all by now but i really am not sure what to do any advice?

eve

 

[wilma-bride]

Hi, I really hope this doesn't turn into a whether or not to take your kids out of school argument However, that said, in year 11 I wouldn't take them out of school. GCSE work is done over the full course of 2 years. As he will be slap-bang in the middle of that (with exams probably a few months later), I wouldn't recommend it. I have never been in August but you can still get rain in September/October (albeit possibly less chance). I doappreciate why you wouldn't want to risk the rain if you are getting married but the rain doesn't tend to last all day anyway (usually comes in fits and starts). The best thing you could do is discuss it with the school and see whether they would have any objections to you taking him out of school in October.

You will probably get lots of conflicting advice though

 

[disneyholic family]

we are close to booking our 3rd trip to disney and i am unsure of which time of year to pick due to reasons i'll outline below

now i have a holiday on hold till the end of today for 20th aug-3rd sep i looked at this time frame so that we did not have to pull the kids out of school (eldest will be in year 11 and youngest just starting year 7)but with this i am worried about the the weather i.e heat, humidity and the rain(the reason for the rain is we will be getting wed and don't want to be rained out)and also the crowds

if we pick to go in october we would go including the half term week and the boys would only miss 5 days of school,i do prefer going at this time becuase you don't really get the the humidity and the rain (altough i know it can still rain at this time of year) my dilema with october is that eldset will be year 11 and would he miss too much like exams and things? i didn't worry about pulling them out of school too much when they were younger but it's certainly different as they get older
sorry for the long post and i've proberbly bored you all by now but i really am not sure what to do any advice?

eve

i can't answer the school question but i'll throw in my two cents about august/september...
it's true that it's still very hot and humid and that it can rain....
although when we were there last year, it didn't rain at all (but it was very hot and humid)...

the crowds (or lack thereof) will be great from the 20th of August until the end of August....the beginning of September will increase a bit due to labor day weekend (labor day is a monday holiday falling on the first monday of september)...but even those crowds usually aren't that bad...

to avoid the rain can you make your plans for mid-day?.....when it does rain it usually seems to rain in mid to late afternoon.....before that you won't be 100% safe, but it will be a bit safer...

 

[UKDEB]

October is getting busier and busier, whereas the end of August/beginning of September should see a big reduction in the heavy summer crowds as US kids go back to school mid-August.

We went during the last two weeks of August and first week in September in 2000 and I was pleasantly surprised at the level of crowds. We did have quite a bit of rain - almost exclusively during the evenings. However, although it was hot, it wasn't unbearable. We went once during July and had several days of not-stop rain and overwhelming heat.

The last time we went in October (2002), the crowd levels were noticably greater than previous October trips. We'll be there again this October, so it will be interesting to see what the crowds are like - from everything I read, I'm expecting it to be busier still. October used to be my favourite time to go, but having to pay the inflated prices for flights has put me off. I would choose November over October. Our girls are grown up now, so we don't have the school holidays consideration.

All that said, with careful planning, the crowds shouldn't be an issue whichever time you choose.

Too much rain definitely takes some of the pleasure out of Orlando holidays for me. Statistically, of course, you are likely to see more rain in August than October, but, in my experience, the weather out there is just as unpredictable as ours.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We are restricted to August because of the school holidays and my wife being a teacher and are going again at this time in a few months time.

It is hot yes and does take you a few days to adjust, however from the middle of the month the US schools return and the crowds are much lighter.

If you are sensible and visit the parks at cooler times of the day, ie first thing in the morning and later in the evening then it's not a bad time to go, you just need to pace yourselves a little - take shelter in the air conditioning stores and rides etc
Plan plenty of rest days.
The rainfall tends to be afternoon storms that often only last 30 minutes or so.

Although I would say October is possibly the ideal time to go with the kids having 6/7 weeks or so off in the summer holidays personally that is when I would go.
The only reason I would choose October is if you find the high flight prices of the summer months a bit too much to pay.
You cannot guarantee you will not get rainfall at most times of the year in Florida, and you are almost as likely to get rain in October as in August.

 

[gilld]

I agree that anytime in Year 11 is far from ideal. Mine always had tests around that time and Mocks slightly afterwards. But you know you children and their schools - I don't really think anyone can advise you. We've never had that much rain in August - we've been 3 times then - certainly never every day.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[juliebro]

Have you though of going at Easter? Although it's very busy, the weather is usually great - and most schools tend to take a 2-week break at Easter.

Julie

 

[mushumadness]

we are taking my nephew out of year 11 from september 14th till the 30th, we arnt worried about it as there are no exams in september, no revision classes or anything, in his school they dont start to prepare for the gcse till after christmas, so they dont overload them.

dont worrk about missing five days, when i did my gcse exams a guy in my form sat his two weeks before us as he was going to jamaica on holiday.

 

[Frances999]

Personally I wouldn't take my children out of school during year 11 (regardless of how well they were performing), but that is mainly because I know that their school would not allow it.

We loved going in August - yes it was hot, yes there were a few short thunderstorms, but overall it was probably the best time we have ever been (much better than Easter). The parks have such a great atmosphere, many don't close to 1am with EMHs and the weather is gloriously hot and sunny. I would recommend August without a doubt.

when i did my gcse exams a guy in my form sat his two weeks before us as he was going to jamaica on holiday.

I'm not so sure about that. He could have told you all which questions appeared. In fact, I am 100% sure that the exam boards do not allow people to sit the same exams at different times - they all must be sat on the same day at the same time.

 

[uktigger]

thank you to everyone who have given me their opinons

wilma bride, i'm glad that didn't turn into 'a take children out of school debate' i also thought the work would be done over a course of time

ukdeb,the rain would take the pleausre of disney away from me as well that is what worries me with august i suppose you could say i'm too used to oct/nov

johnny,the price difference is only about £470 not really that much too worry about

gilld,the mocks were another reason we were looking at not pulling him out knowing now that they are around this time will make me not want to pull him out

julie,can't do easter need time to pay for the holiday and aslo the wedding side of things
thank you again for trying to help me out i think it will have to be august and i'll just have to grin and bear the rain i'll just have to do lots of forward planning

eve

 

[gilld]

Personally I wouldn't take my children out of school during year 11 (regardless of how well they were performing), but that is mainly because I know that their school would not allow it.

We loved going in August - yes it was hot, yes there were a few short thunderstorms, but overall it was probably the best time we have ever been (much better than Easter). The parks have such a great atmosphere, many don't close to 1am with EMHs and the weather is gloriously hot and sunny. I would recommend August without a doubt.


I'm not so sure about that. He could have told you all which questions appeared. In fact, I am 100% sure that the exam boards do not allow people to sit the same exams at different times - they all must be sat on the same day at the same time.

They do allow you to sit them on different days. My frineds son had 4 GCSE exams on one day - an impossibility timewise as two of them clashed so I agreed with the school that as a responsible person, he could be delivered to me straight after his second exam and I "babysat" him and delivered him to his teachers next day to sit the exam he should have taken the previous day.

I also know of someone who was had an emergency appendicectomy at the exam time and was allowed to sit them a couple of days later - under supervision naturally.

 

[Netty]

we have been twice, last week august-1st week september (before i worked in a school) and to be honest it was quieter in those 2 weeks and we had hardly any rain at all. if it did rain it wouldnt last long, just a quick down pour and that was it- unless of course if we happened to be in epcot, as everytime we go to epcot it thunderstorms

 

[Frances999]

They do allow you to sit them on different days. My frineds son had 4 GCSE exams on one day - an impossibility timewise as two of them clashed so I agreed with the school that as a responsible person, he could be delivered to me straight after his second exam and I "babysat" him and delivered him to his teachers next day to sit the exam he should have taken the previous day.

I also know of someone who was had an emergency appendicectomy at the exam time and was allowed to sit them a couple of days later - under supervision naturally.

These two circumstances are completely different to what Anna described. Under your first example, the person was supervised - so that they could not discuss what questions would appear. As for your second example it is true that the exam boards do allow "special circumstances" but typically if you are ill during the exam season, you are given your predicted grade.

If the child in your first example was not supervised then the school did not stick the exam board regulations.

 

[Miffy2003]

Eve, I think you would still have a fantastic time and I agree you are wise to think of your actual wedding itself in terms of the rain etc.

I like Beth's idea about getting married at mid day, or maybe even earlier? I have been in August 3 times and never remember it raining before lunch. Having said that, I guess you always run the risk of rain for a special occasion - it chucked it down at my wedding in September (in the UK)

 

[uktigger]

ah miffy you always come back and say such lovely things i have been thinking of an early wedding so that we can go off later in tne evening and have some fun

eve

 

[gilld]

These two circumstances are completely different to what Anna described. Under your first example, the person was supervised - so that they could not discuss what questions would appear. As for your second example it is true that the exam boards do allow "special circumstances" but typically if you are ill during the exam season, you are given your predicted grade.

If the child in your first example was not supervised then the school did not stick the exam board regulations.

I wasn't suggesting they were the same circumstances, rather that they do allow you to sit exams on different days in special circumstances. I had to go to the school and sign a form agreeing that the child would have no outside contact AT ALL until I delivered him to the appropriate exam and they DID have exam board approval. I don't think a holiday would be considered special though - quite rightly so.

 

[UKDEB]

everytime we go to epcot it thunderstorms

When we were at Epcot in January, we were commenting on how we always get beautifully sunny weather at Epcot (even if it was a bit cold in December, 2004). Maybe that's why it's our favourite park!

 

[scojos]

as one of many teachers on this boards, and sorry to repeat what you have probably heard before, my professional stance would be to say that under no circumstances should any child in year 11 take time off, course work is completed in bits and drabs in all subjects to avoid pressure points at any one point...
saying this, my god youre getting married, how fab!! any school would make an exception for that.. explain to your childs teacher where you are going and why, offer to ensure any work outstanding is completed before or during the holiday and im sure everything will be fine.i hope you work everything out, and for the record we are going in august too..
ps could you not get married at sunset? how romantic would that be??

tracy

 

[UKDEB]

Such a shame that grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax are not afforded such importance as tests and exams.

 

[Miffy2003]

(even if it was a bit cold in December, 2004).

Wasn't that the sad truth! And it got so much colder after you left


The sun always shines at Epcot though, I agree