Discouraged & Need Advice

[Darcy03231]

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.

I saw that, but in a follow-up post she posted: "I found a flight we could live with, but it would require leaving on a Wednesday evening and coming back the following Wednesday. It’s a very late arrival—after midnight, and it also means the kids would miss 2 days of school. My thought is, 2 days is better than 5 days, and we could use the days when we return to complete the work for the 2 days they miss. DH suspects the rates will drop. Any thoughts?"

I was just trying to point out that it may end up being more than two days if she runs into weather issues, which aren't uncommon when traveling during the winter months.

 

[Nancyg56]

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.

My nieces traveled from Montreal last December and the original flights were perfect. Non stop as well as awesome departure times. Well, the return flight changed and they ended up going from having a full departure day to an early morning departure, and no way to change flights because that airline had limited days and choices.

I saw that, but in a follow-up post she posted: "I found a flight we could live with, but it would require leaving on a Wednesday evening and coming back the following Wednesday. It’s a very late arrival—after midnight, and it also means the kids would miss 2 days of school. My thought is, 2 days is better than 5 days, and we could use the days when we return to complete the work for the 2 days they miss. DH suspects the rates will drop. Any thoughts?"

I was just trying to point out that it may end up being more than two days if she runs into weather issues, which aren't uncommon when traveling during the winter months.

SO many things can affect travel times. I always prepare for the worst so that we are not blindsided.

 

[Darcy03231]

My nieces traveled from Montreal last December and the original flights were perfect. Non stop as well as awesome departure times. Well, the return flight changed and they ended up going from having a full departure day to an early morning departure, and no way to change flights because that airline had limited days and choices.



SO many things can affect travel times. I always prepare for the worst so that we are not blindsided.

You and me both. On our last trip earlier this month (not WDW) we missed our connecting flight, even though we had over 2 hours between flights, because of weather in Miami (thunder & lightning). We ended up having to spend the night and fly out the next day.

 

[focusondisney]

I saw that, but in a follow-up post she posted: "I found a flight we could live with, but it would require leaving on a Wednesday evening and coming back the following Wednesday. It’s a very late arrival—after midnight, and it also means the kids would miss 2 days of school. My thought is, 2 days is better than 5 days, and we could use the days when we return to complete the work for the 2 days they miss. DH suspects the rates will drop. Any thoughts?"

I was just trying to point out that it may end up being more than two days if she runs into weather issues, which aren't uncommon when traveling during the winter months.

I took that post to mean they would leave before the kid’s break starts. So they will miss Thursday & Friday, return the Wednesday of their break. So they will still have Thursday - Sunday as a cushion before they need to return to school. And they will have those days to make up their school work. The 2 days she talks about them missing are at the start of the trip, not the end.

 

[Darcy03231]

I took that post to mean they would leave before the kid’s break starts. So they will miss Thursday & Friday, return the Wednesday of their break. So they will still have Thursday - Sunday as a cushion before they need to return to school. And they will have those days to make up their school work. The 2 days she talks about them missing are at the start of the trip, not the end.

Ok, that makes more sense!

 

[sam_gordon]

There is NO rule on what airfares will do. Just because Joe Blow on the internet says "I ALWAYS find the cheapest price at 'x' date" doesn't mean that will work for you. The airline, departing airport, arriving airport, time of year, and day of the week ALL factor into prices. So, yes, prices might go down, or they might go up.

While I would be looking at prices now (so I know a good one if I see it), I would not book until the school calendar is out. It would be my luck that even though they've done the same thing for the last 15 years, this would be the year they change it. I'm not willing to take that chance.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It would be my luck that even though they've done the same thing for the last 15 years, this would be the year they change it. I'm not willing to take that chance.

Yep! Happened in our district this year. Our spring break has ALWAYS been over Easter. This year they decided that going forward spring break will always be the first week of April regardless of when Easter is. There were lots of upset people who had already planned Easter spring break trips.

 

[have2getaway]

I saw that, but in a follow-up post she posted: "I found a flight we could live with, but it would require leaving on a Wednesday evening and coming back the following Wednesday. It’s a very late arrival—after midnight, and it also means the kids would miss 2 days of school. My thought is, 2 days is better than 5 days, and we could use the days when we return to complete the work for the 2 days they miss. DH suspects the rates will drop. Any thoughts?"

I was just trying to point out that it may end up being more than two days if she runs into weather issues, which aren't uncommon when traveling during the winter months.

We would leave the Weds. before break and get back several days before they return to school. This way we have a cushion at the end of our trip in the even there is a delay.

 

[have2getaway]

I took that post to mean they would leave before the kid’s break starts. So they will miss Thursday & Friday, return the Wednesday of their break. So they will still have Thursday - Sunday as a cushion before they need to return to school. And they will have those days to make up their school work. The 2 days she talks about them missing are at the start of the trip, not the end.

Yes! This is exactly what we are doing. We will get back several days before school resumes.

 

[Nancyg56]

Yes! This is exactly what we are doing. We will get back several days before school resumes.

DOes your school ever change the length of break? If our kids lose too many days the Spring break is shortened, and generally at the back end.

 

[have2getaway]

DOes your school ever change the length of break? If our kids lose too many days the Spring break is shortened, and generally at the back end.

I did get the schedule finally. Yes! The school may shorten a break, but it is usually the April break that is shortened if they do.

 

[Nancyg56]

I did get the schedule finally. Yes! The school may shorten a break, but it is usually the April break that is shortened if they do.

APril for us as well. February is already down to 2 days.

 

[quandrea]

Can you go during summer? We did that a few years ago and it was fine. We got to the parks early while it was not too hot, back to the resort mid day when it was hottest, and back out for dinner and the evening. We also don't go during school and it worked out great.

My sil is a teacher and this is what they do. She finds airfare easier to manage and she isn’t trying to shoehorn a trip into a short break. I’ve done August myself the last two years and really enjoyed it.

 

[brockash]

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

We've done both and I work at a school and at those ages I'm totally pro pull them out. We always pulled them until high school, but even this past year (oldest is a junior in hs) we pulled him for a week. It's fine... yes some years there was more makeup work than others but I wouldn't hesitate taking them out again provided it wasn't during mid terms finals etc.

 

[Disneypro1]

We always pull he kids out of school for our May trips to DL or WDW. So much better than the busy summer. 7 days out of school isn't an issue.

 

[PerfessorZ]

Once our family got the Disney bug, I knew I needed to find a cheap way to fly to Orlando - driving from NY ate too much of our vacation time. I read some travel expert blogs and learned how to earn a lot of Southwest points (credit card bonuses, shopping portals, companion pass, etc.). In the past 3 years, our family of 4 flew to Orlando 3 times and California once, just using points. SW flies out of Albany, too, which should be doable for you. If most of the schools in your area have the same winter break, you’ll need to jump on airfares the day they’re released. And with SW, if you purchase a ticket with points and that flight becomes cheaper, you can request the points be refunded to your account.

 

[sam_gordon]

We always pull he kids out of school for our May trips to DL or WDW. So much better than the busy summer. 7 days out of school isn't an issue.

For your kids maybe. Age, temperament, and school policies can affect whether kids missing school for vacation is an "issue" or not.

 

[have2getaway]

Once our family got the Disney bug, I knew I needed to find a cheap way to fly to Orlando - driving from NY ate too much of our vacation time. I read some travel expert blogs and learned how to earn a lot of Southwest points (credit card bonuses, shopping portals, companion pass, etc.). In the past 3 years, our family of 4 flew to Orlando 3 times and California once, just using points. SW flies out of Albany, too, which should be doable for you. If most of the schools in your area have the same winter break, you’ll need to jump on airfares the day they’re released. And with SW, if you purchase a ticket with points and that flight becomes cheaper, you can request the points be refunded to your account.

We definitely have been trying to earn points as well, but for us, we already had $150 United Vouchers to use towards our next trip (something United gave us after we were delayed due to Storm Harper. We ended up purchasing the tickets for Feb. and the boys will miss 2 days and have a cushion when we return. The credit card points we earned will completely cover our hotel stays at Universal and we plan to exchange points for cash to cover the days at Disney. Agreed with the expense of travel these days you have go find helpful ways to meet the cost.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Any way you could have your kids do some extra schoolwork before your vacation and during your vacation?

It's fine to ask, but understand the teacher may (need to?) refuse. Might be better to discuss with the teacher/s earlier in the year.

 

[Darcy03231]

We always pull he kids out of school for our May trips to DL or WDW. So much better than the busy summer. 7 days out of school isn't an issue.

Based on the school policy where we live it could be. In our district it's up to the teacher if they want to give/accept make-up work. If they don't the child gets zeros on everything missed. My neighbor is a teacher and she'll give it out when the child gets back. They have as many days as they were out to get it back to her and she won't stay after school for help other than her regularly scheduled day. It can also be compounded by the fact that starting in middle school (6th grade) our children change classes for subjects and have at least four teachers a day.

We took the kids out when they were in elementary school, but it just got too hard for them when they hit middle school.