Discouraged & Need Advice

[Iralyn]

Like others, I have found that the winter school break flights rarely go down in price to popular destinations like Orlando. Because school breaks vary between locations, I have friends who have found better prices connecting through other cities. For instance for our March Break in Toronto/Ontario, my niece connected through Calgary (I think she stayed overnight at a friend's place) to get a more reasonable price for her flight to Cancun and other friends saved about $2000 (really!) for their family by driving to Montreal to depart for their flight to Cuba. Just something to consider if it is reasonable from your location.

As for whether it is 'safe' to book...it depends, I guess. Our break is quite consistent plus it is already determined for 2020 though I'm not sure how widely published it is. Maybe ask a teacher in your district if they have the confirmed dates for the 2020 break. They likely have by now even if it hasn't been shared with parents.

 

[seashoreCM]

Any way you could have your kids do some extra schoolwork before your vacation and during your vacation? If a storm delays you, those days were really not part of your vacation so the kids should have no qualms about doing schoolwork then.

Then only a small amount of schoolwork would need to be made up when you get back home.

 

[have2getaway]

Like others, I have found that the winter school break flights rarely go down in price to popular destinations like Orlando. Because school breaks vary between locations, I have friends who have found better prices connecting through other cities. For instance for our March Break in Toronto/Ontario, my niece connected through Calgary (I think she stayed overnight at a friend's place) to get a more reasonable price for her flight to Cancun and other friends saved about $2000 (really!) for their family by driving to Montreal to depart for their flight to Cuba. Just something to consider if it is reasonable from your location.

As for whether it is 'safe' to book...it depends, I guess. Our break is quite consistent plus it is already determined for 2020 though I'm not sure how widely published it is. Maybe ask a teacher in your district if they have the confirmed dates for the 2020 break. They likely have by now even if it hasn't been shared with parents.

Montreal is less than 2 hours away. I did find a direct flight to Orlando for a much more reasonable price, but we would all have to get passports. Mine has expired and DH and the kids don’t have one either, so we would have to factor in that cost.

 

[cmarsh31]

True! But if we travel the Weds. during break week to the following week, we will lose our cushion when we return, as the kids would miss a couple days at the end of the trip.

That's the tough decision of school breaks - in order to go when it's less busy, you have to risk the cushion. We just go Sat - Sun. Higher flights, but no school missed unless we have issues getting back.

 

[debster812]

I can't speak to NY, but in MA, our Feb & April vacations are always the 3rd week of the month. Always. It might be worth a quick call or email to your Superintendant's office to see if they will tell you if it's going to be same the week.

 

[have2getaway]

Like others, I have found that the winter school break flights rarely go down in price to popular destinations like Orlando. Because school breaks vary between locations, I have friends who have found better prices connecting through other cities. For instance for our March Break in Toronto/Ontario, my niece connected through Calgary (I think she stayed overnight at a friend's place) to get a more reasonable price for her flight to Cancun and other friends saved about $2000 (really!) for their family by driving to Montreal to depart for their flight to Cuba. Just something to consider if it is reasonable from your location.

As for whether it is 'safe' to book...it depends, I guess. Our break is quite consistent plus it is already determined for 2020 though I'm not sure how widely published it is. Maybe ask a teacher in your district if they have the confirmed dates for the 2020 break. They likely have by now even if it hasn't been shared with parents.

Thank you! That’s a good suggestion. I’ll reach out to one of their teachers and ask.

 

[have2getaway]

So, there are good rates for either going 2 days early or even better airfare rates for flying 2 days later, as in the day after President’s Day, but the strange thing is the hotel rate. The hotel cost is more if we travel the day after President’s Day than if we travel and arrive before. Any idea why? I would have thought it would be the other way around?

 

[pixiedustedme]

The past 2 trips to Disney, we pulled our triplets out of school for our vacation. The first time they were 7, and the second time they were 9. It worked very well in terms of costs and crowds, especially since they all our special needs kids with sensory issues, but it was a struggle the second trip for one of our sons who had been moved to a regular classroom. We were not prepared for the amount of make-up work he would have this year. We also weren’t prepared for Storm Harper, which delayed our return by 3 days, and meant they all missed 7 days of school instead of just 4.

Our next trip, we vowed not to pull them out. We are finding the hotel costs much higher, but manageable, but the airfare for the February break is way higher than early January. Perhaps I just need some encouragement and to be patient? Will the ridiculously high airfares go down if I wait a bit longer? Should we stick to our guns and not pull them out school and just hope and pray we will be able to find cheaper airfare down the road? For those who have done both or either, pulled your kids out of school and/or went over a school break, how did you find the costs compare? Is it possible I am just jumping the gun and the rates will come down? TIA

As a teacher and a mother of a child with high-functioning autism, I recommend that you not pull the kids out of school for vacation.

Go during the summer. Flights are more reasonable in summer than during school year breaks. Resorts are reasonably priced at that time, with lots of discounts available, and the parks are relatively uncrowded in summer, except during July 4th week.

 

[bumbershoot]

Even with the express we waited 45+ minutes for some of the rides like the Harry Potter ones and the Minions one.

Minions will almost always be longer than you want because of the two pre-show rooms. Once any sort of line shows up in EP there it gets obnoxious. Far better to do Minions during early entrance and be among the first.

The hotel cost is more if we travel the day after President’s Day than if we travel and arrive before. Any idea why? I would have thought it would be the other way around?

People’s vacations vary widely. Maybe your vacation period isn’t as popular to book as later.


And know that that week/month can be literally freezing and involve winter storms. I’ve gone for Princess the last 4 years, and the weather has varied widely.

Unless you’re going to wait for southwest, book when you see a price that works, book it, and don’t look back.

If you’re waiting for southwest, only look at prices later if you’d be able to use the credit. And it’s only usable for a year after the initial booking.

 

[have2getaway]

Minions will almost always be longer than you want because of the two pre-show rooms. Once any sort of line shows up in EP there it gets obnoxious. Far better to do Minions during early entrance and be among the first.



People’s vacations vary widely. Maybe your vacation period isn’t as popular to book as later.


And know that that week/month can be literally freezing and involve winter storms. I’ve gone for Princess the last 4 years, and the weather has varied widely.

Unless you’re going to wait for southwest, book when you see a price that works, book it, and don’t look back.

If you’re waiting for southwest, only look at prices later if you’d be able to use the credit. And it’s only usable for a year after the initial booking.

Thank you! I just learned that the week of President’s Day is also Mardi Gras week, so that could be some of it.

 

[Woodview]

Does it really Have to be a Universal & Disney trip ?

Is there another Theme Park near where you live or at least a less stressful trip to try ?

Maybe a Swim Beach vacation ( River or Ocean )

Try and think outside activities .

 

[Iralyn]

Does it really Have to be a Universal & Disney trip ?

Is there another Theme Park near where you live or at least a less stressful trip to try ?

Maybe a Swim Beach vacation ( River or Ocean )

Try and think outside activities .

I don't think she wants a snowy, cold vacation. Any theme parks will be closed for the winter during the February break. And, most likely, any warm destination will have similar high-priced airfares at that time.

 

[have2getaway]

Does it really Have to be a Universal & Disney trip ?

Is there another Theme Park near where you live or at least a less stressful trip to try ?

Maybe a Swim Beach vacation ( River or Ocean )

Try and think outside activities .

Well, we just did that over spring break. We went to the Smoky Mountains in TN.

 

[have2getaway]

I don't think she wants a snowy, cold vacation. Any theme parks will be closed for the winter during the February break. And, most likely, any warm destination will have similar high-priced airfares at that time.

Thank you! Yes; unfortunately, I live an hour from Lake Placid, and honestly our winter is long and cold. It gets to -30 below. The break to warm weather in February really does rejuvenate.

 

[Mainemama]

It sounds like your AP is limiting when you travel this year. In future years, I would recommend going in the summer for cheaper flights and hotels and no school missed. Missing 1 or 2 days is definitely better than a week. Missing the day before break is also better than the day after (I am a teacher— better to miss celebrations or pre- break assessment in my opinion than new learning.) another thought, though... could you go over Xmas break? I have found flights then cheaper than February break from the Northeast for the last several years. We have flown say on 12/25 and 12/30 cheaply. It means a different kind of holiday and a shorter trip, but no school missed. I can’t miss any school, so we are always limited to Saturday or Sunday flights during Feb. break. They have been way too expensive for us since 2015.

 

[have2getaway]

It sounds like your AP is limiting when you travel this year. In future years, I would recommend going in the summer for cheaper flights and hotels and no school missed. Missing 1 or 2 days is definitely better than a week. Missing the day before break is also better than the day after (I am a teacher— better to miss celebrations or pre- break assessment in my opinion than new learning.) another thought, though... could you go over Xmas break? I have found flights then cheaper than February break from the Northeast for the last several years. We have flown say on 12/25 and 12/30 cheaply. It means a different kind of holiday and a shorter trip, but no school missed. I can’t miss any school, so we are always limited to Saturday or Sunday flights during Feb. break. They have been way too expensive for us since 2015.

Thank you! We are definitely considering Christmas break. We are limited with using the AP’s, which is part of why we are considering. It is helpful to know when is better to have them Miss if we decide to go that route. I’m hoping it won’t come to that.

 

[Darcy03231]

Keep in mind when traveling from the Northeast during the winter months you could be delayed due to weather if your children missing school is a concern. One year during our February school vacation we were stuck for an additional three days because of a blizzard.

 

[focusondisney]

Keep in mind when traveling from the Northeast during the winter months you could be delayed due to weather if your children missing school is a concern. One year during our February school vacation we were stuck for an additional three days because of a blizzard.

Yep, the OP posted in her original post that is exactly what happened the last trip & was an issue for her kids making up work. That is what she is trying to avoid.

We also weren’t prepared for Storm Harper, which delayed our return by 3 days, and meant they all missed 7 days of school instead of just 4.

 

[AngiTN]

How about this - keep watching airfare....I do find they go down around the two month mark. There are also deals around Cyber Monday sometimes. Feb is a long way off and not all airlines have released tickets for that.

If you can't get your vacation (and flights) to work out at a reasonable price by 2 months out, postpone it to later in the year. Summer is often a little cheaper AND less crowded these days.

Same here. I use Hopper to help track but now I've learned to grab it without Hopper. 2 months is when the fares on the legacy carriers drops.
I wouldn't even dream of buying airfare for a Feb trip right now, unless I saw something exceptional. I'd assume it's going to go down

 

[AngiTN]

We live in upstate NY (close to Canada), and we found a couple days in January were too hot there. I don’t think summer would work for us.

If you found any days January too hot then yeah, I'd stay far, far away in summer.