crowds during Dis marathon weekend (jan9?)

[wildernesslodgelover]

My seasonal passes are going to expire Jan 13 for myself, my DD6 and DH. I want to squeeze in one more trip, because then I will probably not renew my passes until next Oct or Nov. We always try to go in Jan to celebrate DD's Bday but this is her first year in kindergarten, so I cannot pull her out of school for a bunch of day like I did back when she was in preschool.

So here is my dilema. The first weekend of Jan is still holiday rates, plus my seasonal pass is not good during that time (blackout dates.) The next weekend is the Dis marathon. Does this affect park attendance a lot? We purposely go in January to avoid crowds, but now I am worried! Any insight to what that weekend would be like is greatly appreciated!

 

[maryliz]

Originally posted by wildernesslodgelover
We always try to go in Jan to celebrate DD's Bday but this is her first year in kindergarten, so I cannot pull her out of school for a bunch of day like I did back when she was in preschool.

Is this because your school district doesn't allow it? How much work could a child in Kindergarten actually miss? We live in Ontario, and I laughed and laughed when a newsletter came home from our principal "asking" us to try not to schedule vacations during school times ... IMHO I feel that family time is very important, and as long as my child can catch up on the work, I see no problem. Now the teachers may not be totally cooperative about putting together a package, but I'll certainly take the risk. I just cannot understand anyone having a problem with a child in kindergarten!

We'll be there at the same time as there is a group of us doing the 1/2 marathon. I've heard from a friend who's been that the parks aren't much more noticably busy. Go and have fun ... after all, it's important that you squeeze just one more little trip from your passes

Mary Liz

 

[lap3]

Originally posted by maryliz
Is this because your school district doesn't allow it? How much work could a child in Kindergarten actually miss? We live in Ontario, and I laughed and laughed when a newsletter came home from our principal "asking" us to try not to schedule vacations during school times ... IMHO I feel that family time is very important, and as long as my child can catch up on the work, I see no problem. Now the teachers may not be totally cooperative about putting together a package, but I'll certainly take the risk. I just cannot understand anyone having a problem with a child in kindergarten!

The public school that my DS5 goes to doesn't say that it's ok to miss school because of family obligations. However, they suggest that parents be more involved in their child's education. So, it's more like active parent participation is almost required because we're reinforcing what is learned during the week. We love it this way because we know what our child is learning and we see how much he is learning everyday. Plus, it provides us with the quality time for family interaction. So, for us, we wouldn't want to take him out of school.

 

[TaurusSES_Sport]

You said:

"The first weekend of Jan is still holiday rates"

Thats not true, the value season starts Jan 1

Our family is going from the 1st-6th and got a great deal!

Just thought i'd let you know.

 

[PratersloveDW]

Originally posted by TaurusSES_Sport
You said:

"The first weekend of Jan is still holiday rates"

Thats not true, the value season starts Jan 1

Our family is going from the 1st-6th and got a great deal!

Just thought i'd let you know.

This is true! Also, this is when the special for rooms starting at $55 a night starts. It goes through Feb. 16. The Winter Special ($55/night) is for the value resorts; however, when I was on Disneyworld.com, under the Winter Package (be sure to look up 'rooms only') I found some great deals! Animal Kingdom was starting at $132 and you may even be able to get the AP rates on top of this!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

maryliz-Believe me, I agree with ypu 100%, but Kindergarten is the beginning of elementary school and they REALLY frown upon it. I know at public school (my DD goes to a private christian school) a trip to Disney is an UNEXCUSED absence. You basically have to lie. I do not know what the rules are at this particular christian school, but I do not want to get caught in a lie or ask DD to lie. I will admit...part of my problem is that I am worried what "other" people may think. I do not think her missing 4 days of school is a big deal, but lots of people do.

Praters and Taurus...REALLY? hmm, I could have SWORN the CM said that value doesn't start til Monday the 3rd and I did not quiz him on that, cuz it made sense to me. Honestly, i would be scared of crowds THAT weekend, too, since schools are still out AND it is value season. I will call again and look into it.

Lap-I do agree...I try to be as active as I can in her education!

Oh, and maryliz-Thanks for the heads up on the marathon weekend!

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

fellow lush, if you were my mom and wanted to take me out of school for a few days to goto WDW..id say wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

My family use to pull me out of school for a week or two to goto Peru, and to do that I would take with me a bunch of work to do over my trip. When I got back, I would take all the tests the other kids did to make sure I was up to par.

If you really want to do this for your DD, I say go for it. Talk to the teacher and tell her its a special treat for all of you. Throw in something about how you can't do this any other time because of work and stuff. Let her take some makeup work that she can do on the way to orlando and back...and make sure she studies hard before she goes back to class.

Maybe I'm spoiled, but I see no problem in this.

...and heck...Epcot is sort of educational.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

ahhhh...if you were my kid, I'd...I'd....well, never mind. I have a feeling you would spend a lot of time GROUNDED! LOL, jk, of course!

Let me just add that my DH will be off of work all of the holidays and he really does not think he could take off right after that, in mid January. He has his own business so you might think, "Well, sure he can...he is his own boss!" But it is almost worse. He is a contractor and many jobs will be put on hold over the holidays so he cannot really tell clients to keep the stuff on hold til mid January. I just wasn't thinking straight when I made the ressies (I just cancelled thm today *WLL wipes tear from her eye* I even had...on Friday Jan 14th, a PS for that $200 Princess Tea thing at the GF> I was SOOOO EXCITED! Fortunately I never told DD.)

I can see going to another country to visit family, but I guess I just feel selfish, cuz I know that "I" want to go to WDW...probably more than DD, if you can believe that! And I am sure you can! I have a guilty conscience. But thanks for the encouragement.

Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

[lap3]

Originally posted by wildernesslodgelover
maryliz-Believe me, I agree with ypu 100%, but Kindergarten is the beginning of elementary school and they REALLY frown upon it. I know at public school (my DD goes to a private christian school) a trip to Disney is an UNEXCUSED absence. You basically have to lie. I do not know what the rules are at this particular christian school, but I do not want to get caught in a lie or ask DD to lie. I will admit...part of my problem is that I am worried what "other" people may think. I do not think her missing 4 days of school is a big deal, but lots of people do.

Lap-I do agree...I try to be as active as I can in her education!

It's interesting to see how much my son loves school because we're so involved with his education. In other schools, I've seen(former teacher here) use school as a daycare. This is the one thing we do not want to do! My son loves that we "learn" together so he enjoys school so much. Sorry, I'm getting off topic here but my point is that you should keep your child in school and only go on vacation when it coincides with your child's school.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

lap-I know you are right. i just feel like she will not miss much in kindergarten. But I do not want to send her the wrong message. I want her to place importance on learning and school and I am afraid I will be sending the wrong message if we take her out for a "luxury" trip...not a "necessity" trip.

Thanks for your input!

 

[lap3]

Originally posted by wildernesslodgelover
lap-I know you are right. i just feel like she will not miss much in kindergarten. But I do not want to send her the wrong message. I want her to place importance on learning and school and I am afraid I will be sending the wrong message if we take her out for a "luxury" trip...not a "necessity" trip.

Thanks for your input!

Will this trip send her the wrong message? Probably not. I would suggest speaking to her teacher for her input as well. When I was teaching several years ago, I appreciated the fact that they came to me for advice. If they were gone for a week, I would say ok BUT, I would also give them a weeks worth of homework to do. That way, they'll be with the class when they return and won't be behind.

 

[jaysmom4285]

wildernesslodgelover - in response to your original question about crowd levels on marathon weekend, we were at WDW in 2002 and 2003 on that weekend. Crowd levels in the parks were very low the week leading up to the marathon. On the day of the race itself (those years it was Saturday, I think this year it's Sunday), there was a little traffic congestion in terms of driving among parks because of all the race activity, but it wasn't a major inconvenience. The race winds through each park in the morning, and there can be some foot traffic congestion there as well because the CM's hold people back or redirect them to be sure the runners can pass unimpeded. But that clears up almost as soon as the majority of the runners leave that park, so it's a very temporary situation. In sum, except for the morning of the marathon itself, it seemed to us to have little effect on crowd levels or one's ability to tour.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Thanks jaysmom! Good to hear from some one who has "been there, done that!" Maybe we will just go to a different park that morning.

 

[maryliz]

The full marathon runs through all 4 theme parks. Starts at 6AM and they have 7 hours to complete the course. The 1/2 marathon only goes through Epcot (but between 6&7AM) and then MK. Based on the time requirements, all runners for both 1/2 and full will be through MK by the time it opens at 9AM. I would definitely take on-site transportation that morning.

Mary Liz

 

[erinz]

I think it really comes down to the school and the teacher in terms of letting a child out for a week.

My DD, my DH and I went to WDW the second week in Dec 1999 and she missed a week of kindergarten. The teacher basically said "your assignment is to have as much fun as you can". That week was one of the best in our lives, the weather was perfect and the crowds were very low. We will have those memories forever.

Again, when my DD was in the 4th grade, we took her out again for the second week in Dec. Her teacher thought it was a great idea and there was no problem getting all the work together for the week for her to take. She got all her work done, and again, we had an absolutely perfect time. And more precious memories....

She is in 5th grade now, and we might do this trip one more time before she goes into Junior High. Then, it will only be during school vacations.

So I guess we are lucky in terms of our DDs school. I know there are schools who would discourage it. But her education wasn't interrupted in the slightest sense. Her scores remained the highest in her class.

We have 18 yrs with our children and then they are gone. A perfect vacation together is the most priceless thing in the world.

Just my opinion.....

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Sheesh, erin...you almost brought a tear to my eye! I am not being sarcastic...that was very well put.

I made ressies for the weekend of the 7th, 8th and 9th...Friday thru Sunday. We will probably let her miss school on Friday so we can leave nice and early. Unfortunately, the only FL res rates I could get were for the ASM, which I do not care for. I would like at least a moderate! So I will work on it. I also made a PS for the "My Perfectly Princess Tea Party" (or whatever it is called...the one in the GF.)

Thanks to everyone for their opinions (don't stop now, keep em coming!) I really like how the threads can evolve from crowds on a certain weekend to the moral dilema of kids missing school!