Disney Y.E.S. Program

[Granny square]

If they were to change the purchase rules then they would have to deal with classes opening and closing, filling etc.

 

[torinsmom]

I imagine the high dollar classes and tours are more personalized and engaging than these classes. The first one my son took was boring to him and my nephews. It had an 8-15 year age range and my BIL said it was geared more towards the younger kids. Last year, he said the class was a little better, but mainly because they got to ride Space mountain before the park opened. They separated him and his friend into different groups, which kind of made it not as fun. They had been looking forward to doing it together.

I second the hope that they will remove the non-refundable deal on the tickets. It is a risk otherwise and the discount is not as much now, so the risk may not be worth it.

 

[Granny square]

I don't get that people want disney to pay them to take a class.

In fact people are complaining about a class that disney paid them around $150 per person to take Depending upon ticket selection!

 

[MickeyP]

Disney charged really high fees for the classes they had with the disney institute. It is a privilege to take these classes. Unfortunately some people saw them as a discount program rathe than an opportunity.

I have to disagree about the "privilege" part. I couldn't believe how long it was for a class that was meant for 6 year olds. She kept losing their attention and it was so hot out that they started to get cranky.

 

[Granny square]

You didn't read that it was a three hour class?

 

[cel_disney]

You didn't read that it was a three hour class?

I think that this is a little unfair. Everyone knows that it's a 3 hr class - but most 3 hr experiences I have had in my 20 years of schooling are not in the 90 degree heat with o place to sit, with people I don't know, and no bathroom breaks.

We enjoyed our class this year and would definitely take another one but I think you are being a bit unfair to this poster. It's well documented here that much like college - some instructors and some curriculums are better than others.

With the pricing structure change, I think that we will be more choosy on the classes we sign up for - only doing it if its one that 'fits' us - our interests and our vacation. To me, that will be the big change between this year and the future.

One thing I am surprised about s that they charge for the chaperone to attend the class. Maybe it's different in other classes but that seems odd to me as chaperones really got nothing from the class we took in September. It's not like they are included in the activities?

 

[MickeyP]

You didn't read that it was a three hour class?

Yes, I absolutely did. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know when kids have had enough "learning". I also agree with cel_disney, an instructor can make or break the experience.

 

[LadyBeBop]

A three hour class for six year olds with no break? I have never been in any kind of class without some kind of break after about 90 minutes. Not in college, not in professional training. Never.

 

[Granny square]

You knew going into it that it was a three hour class. If your child wasn't up to it you shouldn't have signed up.

We just took a restroom break when we needed one. No big deal.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Ugh! Really? Give it a break already!

Try something like HAPPY THANKSGIVING for a change!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Granny square]

Lol, chill. Just saying enjoy life and go pee when you gotta.

Happy thanksgiving to you too.

 

[shalom]

I'm not so sure I consider them a privilege.

I don't agree with the term privilege, either. It was a great opportunity; it's still a good one, if it's a good fit for a particular family.

We've taken two classes. One was okay, the other was downright boring.

The classes have gotten pretty mixed reviews, seems to me. All the ones I've looked into, anyhow, pretty even split between those who enjoyed it and those who were bored.

With the pricing structure change, I think that we will be more choosy on the classes we sign up for - only doing it if its one that 'fits' us - our interests and our vacation. To me, that will be the big change between this year and the future.

Yah, that's kind of where we're at. This time there wasn't anything that fit our schedule, so I decided against it -- at the former price, I would have been more willing to fiddle with our schedule to fit it around the class instead of wanting the class to fit my schedule.

With the mixed reviews and lower discount, the potential time cost is too high for me. A three hour class the kids enjoy is one thing; three hours out of their park day for a class they find boring is quite another. I thought the former discount was terrific, but at this point I kind of wish we could just pay fifty bucks a class and feel free to bail if my child's bored an hour and a half in.

To be honest, when I first read up on the former discount, I kind of wished we could just pay for the class in the first place, so I guess that's always been in the back of my mind. Maybe I never was a good bet for the Y.E.S. program.

 

[Granny square]

I saw/see it as a privilege because it was an opportunity that we as homeschoolers couldn't be a part of. I like learning and my kids do too. I liked Epcot the best when it first opened, took be walking behind the seeds tour every year, etc. it is just the way we are wired. So where some are losing 3 hours, we are gaining an experience. How many people like us lost out on a class because the people who were just putting in time or not even bothering to put in the time signed up for a discount.

So, maybe with the changes the priorities will straighten themselves out and the people who actually want to learn an participate will be allowed the privilege to do so, and the others can look for other bargains.

 

[shalom]

I saw/see it as a privilege because it was an opportunity that we as homeschoolers couldn't be a part of.

If I remember rightly, it was always available to homeschoolers who were in a large enough group. We are not big joiners, but I still know of two local homeschool groups that would qualify, and enough fellow homeschoolers to make up a group large enough to go. So I don't think Disney ever privileged public or private schoolers over homeschoolers.

I do agree that individual enrollment makes it a lot easier for homeschoolers in some ways.; OTOH, enrolling as a group gives you more control over when the class is scheduled, so it depends on what aspects are most important to someone.

 

[Burnedout]

You are so right. it was available. In general, homeschoolers don't roll in quite the same manner as school groups, but it was available to those that do.

 

[wendow]

Really disappointed to see how small the discount is now for the YES classes. My dd's and I took a class this past September and while it certainly was interesting, it's not something I would do without the hefty discount. It is just too much precious vacation time to give up, a bit of a hassle in getting our tickets and the risk involved with booking tickets that couldn't be changed if you aren't getting much back in return. I priced our same tickets through the YES program for 2013 vs. Undercover Tourist and the YES tickets are about $100 less. We saved almost $500 this past September on our tickets. I'm so thankful we were able to take advantage of the program before they changed their pricing.

 

[Granny square]

You are so right. it was available. In general, homeschoolers don't roll in quite the same manner as school groups, but it was available to those that do.

Exactly. That was what I was trying to say.

 

[shalom]

the risk involved with booking tickets that couldn't be changed

This is one of the things that loomed larger for us with the price change. We like having the ability to add park days while in Orlando. Still, our major concern was paying for the park days and then not being able to get to the class due to weather or health issues (the one we were most interested in was the first day we'd be in Orlando -- in January...), and then that ticket money is gone! Or if the delay wasn't for the whole vacation, but you missed your class, you'd have to pay Disney's regular cost, I think it is, but if my tickets won't expire until activated I don't have to worry about it at all. Saving a good chunk of cash justifies a bit of fretting, but at this point I'd rather have regular tickets and no worries.

Apparently it's not too difficult to get some of the paid-for tours while you're there, if so inclined -- Behind the Seeds is one people report being able to sign up for the day of -- so we're thinking we might go that route. Or maybe we'll actually commit to one ahead of time.

Some of the paid-for classes are pretty schedule-inflexible, too (the trains one is always way early), but some are offered throughout the day; and some of them pretty pricey (Dolphins -- which is on par for most places offering that sort of thing, actually), but $60-$70/person is most common, I think, while Behind the Seeds is considerably less (around $20. IIRC). So if the idea of classes at Disney sounds good, but the Y.E.S. program isn't as appealing as it once was, that may be another option for some.

 

[Granny square]

Behind the seeds is a great tour.

 

[5by5]

I know the discount has been severely reduced but I think it is still worthwhile if you: have 4 or more people, are buying longer multi-day tix, and getting Premium tix. Granted, that narrows it down a bit!

For example, a family of 2A and 4C(all over age 14, parents not attending class), buying 6 day Premium passes, would save the following:

UT 6 * $366 = $2,196
YES (2 * $359) + (4 * $241) = $1,682
Savings of $514

Did I miss anything?

Tony