From WDW to DL With Love - January 06, 2011 part 2

[JenKatt]

Amen. The '08 EBPC was... well, it was pretty intense. I think the entire ship was sold out in a matter of hours from the time they started taking reservation - I was up at some insanely early time in the morning and was glad to get in. Had a category 11 and was glad to have it - no upgrades, no category 12 discounts, and very limited availability even at the paid in full date.

I'm quite confident our ship will sail with most or all cabins full - if only because they will discount if necessary to fill the ship. But given the time of year and school schedules, I would expect a repeat of what you describe from the WBPC - and am looking forward to that very much.

EBPC cruises were always crazier from the WBPC cruises, mostly due to scheduling. THE WB cruises were in May, whereas the EB cruises were in August. August is an easier time for families to travel. Our WBPC cruise had so few kids, they opened the kids clubs to the adults. (I think they may have done that again on the next WBPC. I expect this cruise to be very similar kid wise. However, I agree with the lot of you that this cruise won't sell out. January is a much harder time for people to take long vacations.

 

[Poohbug]

Well thanks everybody. Now I don't know if I should cancel and see if rooms get cheaper or not.

I am waiting to hear from DS school principle to see if he can go on this cruise or not anyway. If the school is not going to let him make up the school work and tests, I will probably have to cancel anyway.

 

[TDC Nala]

I think Disney's eliminating Category 12 in 2011. The lowest category cabin will be 11C.

 

[Okraskin]

Well thanks everybody. Now I don't know if I should cancel and see if rooms get cheaper or not.

I am waiting to hear from DS school principle to see if he can go on this cruise or not anyway. If the school is not going to let him make up the school work and tests, I will probably have to cancel anyway.

Drives me crazy that a school principal might stop you from taking a trip that would give your kids an amazing education. I'm sure that they believe passing out worksheets all day would be much more valuable then going through the canal. Unfortunately you would not be alone if they said no. I wish you luck!

 

[DCLtravler]

Well thanks everybody. Now I don't know if I should cancel and see if rooms get cheaper or not.

I am waiting to hear from DS school principle to see if he can go on this cruise or not anyway. If the school is not going to let him make up the school work and tests, I will probably have to cancel anyway.

Please forgive me if I invaded your space, but I looked at where you are located and checked your state policies on student absences. Wisconsins is listed under wis. Stats. 118.15 (3)(c) and states that a parent can pre excuse a child for any reason for up to 10 days. With weekends and MLK day, you should be good. Oh, and the school is required to allow make-up work.

 

[Poohbug]

I am trying to be very nice and humble with the school. They are usually good about absences but this will be a long one. I am not worried about DS#2 as he does not even receive grades yet but DS#1 does and I don't want him to get failing grades for the semester.

Also-he will miss at least 11 days of school-around here we don't have MLK day off. I really don't know why except for the fact that there is not much diversity.

I agree that sailing through the Panama Canal is an experience that would be worth more than 11 days of school. I'm sure that no one at the school has ever done it. I am hoping things will work out.

 

[ILuvDVC]

I'm quite confident our ship will sail with most or all cabins full -

I just got my confirmation today! We (my sister Lorrie and I) are booked in cabin 2643 and so happy to be going... We booked on Monday, and from what I was told there weren't many cabins to choose from!

Darla

 

[WDW Princess 71]

I just got my confirmation today! We (my sister Lorrie and I) are booked in cabin 2643 and so happy to be going... We booked on Monday, and from what I was told there weren't many cabins to choose from!

Darla

Welcome! Nice to see another sibling travel party- I am sailing with my brother Mike. Can't wait til the cruise!

 

[KayR]

Well thanks everybody. Now I don't know if I should cancel and see if rooms get cheaper or not.

I am waiting to hear from DS school principle to see if he can go on this cruise or not anyway. If the school is not going to let him make up the school work and tests, I will probably have to cancel anyway.

What we can do in our school/state is have our children do independent study (ISP) through the school. It only works for absences of 5 or more days, but the child is still counted as being at school and the school still gets funding for the student. They may have to write a project when they get back or keep a diary, but it is usually something simple and manageable. I will say that my kids are ahead of where they need to be academically so I am not worried if they miss schooling. Life and travel is a school too!

It is worth seeing if that option is available in your area.

-Kay

 

[sak0526]

Welcome! Nice to see another sibling travel party- I am sailing with my brother Mike. Can't wait til the cruise!

My 2 DD went on a 4 day just over a year ago together. They apparently became known as "The Sisters" and made lots of aquaintences. I found it quite amusing to hear about. I'm sure wondergirl will make some comment on all this too!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Good Moring

I am looking for advice for ca peeps.


We have 2 night post cruise before we catch a flight from lax at 2pm.

Any suggestions, my cousins is being annoying and ignoring my e-mails, no doubt too bust to spend 2 mins e-mailing me back and Im thinking might not stay with him.

I wondered about san diego, ALan made me think about it when he mentioned it last week.
I dont want to stay in la as Ive been before, what will the weather be like?

Have a good day everybody.

 

[aan1701]

Lynne. San Diego will be just about the same as it will be here. Just so you know the drive is about 2 hours. Well back from my day at DL. So after club 33 we went over to a closed DCA and saw the new World Of Color show. They are doing full run throughs now nightly. Incredable show. The colors are amazing.

 

[danfromca]

What we can do in our school/state is have our children do independent study (ISP) through the school. It only works for absences of 5 or more days, but the child is still counted as being at school and the school still gets funding for the student. They may have to write a project when they get back or keep a diary, but it is usually something simple and manageable. I will say that my kids are ahead of where they need to be academically so I am not worried if they miss schooling. Life and travel is a school too!

It is worth seeing if that option is available in your area.

-Kay

Do you happen to know what grades that applies to? Does it also apply to high school?

 

[granmaz]

I am trying to be very nice and humble with the school. They are usually good about absences but this will be a long one. I am not worried about DS#2 as he does not even receive grades yet but DS#1 does and I don't want him to get failing grades for the semester.

Also-he will miss at least 11 days of school-around here we don't have MLK day off. I really don't know why except for the fact that there is not much diversity.

I agree that sailing through the Panama Canal is an experience that would be worth more than 11 days of school. I'm sure that no one at the school has ever done it. I am hoping things will work out.

You might have to make a case for the whole cruise being educational!! Most kids will be in the kids clubs on PC day and not at all interested in the canal much at all!!!! Depends on the kids themselves, their parents and the preparation done on the children I suppose.

On the '08 PC cruise I seem to remember an ex teacher running 2 homework clubs(for a small payment), and also some parents really going into projects for their children to do. Some families got together onboard I think to share work ideas. I could be wrong, but I think some children gave a presentation on their return. Now that might help your case with the school.

There are children's pages on the Panama Canal website that gives ideas.

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/persona/k/index.html

 

[granmaz]

There are children's books on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Panama Canal&rh=n:4,k:Panama Canal&page=1

 

[DCLtravler]

Do you happen to know what grades that applies to? Does it also apply to high school?

It applies to all grades in CA. You just go to your schools front office and ask for an IS contract. They will direct you from there. I commented about this last week, but the jist is that the nice thing about an IS over asking for work directly from teachers, is that the teachers cannot add on to the work when the child returns. The contract becomes ALL work for the time the child is gone. It may be a lot, but at least you will have Christmas Break

 

[DCLtravler]

Good Moring

I am looking for advice for ca peeps.


We have 2 night post cruise before we catch a flight from lax at 2pm.

Any suggestions, my cousins is being annoying and ignoring my e-mails, no doubt too bust to spend 2 mins e-mailing me back and Im thinking might not stay with him.

I wondered about san diego, ALan made me think about it when he mentioned it last week.
I dont want to stay in la as Ive been before, what will the weather be like?

Have a good day everybody.

Alan's right, the new show is very cool...If you want to leave the LA area, there are some beautiful places that are closer than SD like Newport or even some of the areas in OC. If you don't mind the drive, you could also head north instead of south and go to Santa Barbara. There are some lovely wineries there now and it's about the same distance as SD from San Pedro. In Long Beach (near where we dock) there is a great aquarium. It isn't Sea World, but the area down there is very nice and it is very close. Another option is to check out events in the area. With the Staples center and the stadium, there may be something going on that you would want to see like a concert or game. "Hair" will be showing at the Pantages Theater at that time, so you can catch a matinee of that as well--and then wander down Hollywood Blvd OR you could try to catch a taping of some game show...so many options and I didn't even talk about shopping!!!
CA weather is a bit unpredictable at that time, but you can expect it to be cooler during the day (usually 50-70) and possible rains. You should be comfortable in jeans and sweatshirts or light jackets (unless there is a cold front coming in--which is rare and short-lived).

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Alan's right, the new show is very cool...If you want to leave the LA area, there are some beautiful places that are closer than SD like Newport or even some of the areas in OC. If you don't mind the drive, you could also head north instead of south and go to Santa Barbara. There are some lovely wineries there now and it's about the same distance as SD from San Pedro. In Long Beach (near where we dock) there is a great aquarium. It isn't Sea World, but the area down there is very nice and it is very close. Another option is to check out events in the area. With the Staples center and the stadium, there may be something going on that you would want to see like a concert or game. "Hair" will be showing at the Pantages Theater at that time, so you can catch a matinee of that as well--and then wander down Hollywood Blvd OR you could try to catch a taping of some game show...so many options and I didn't even talk about shopping!!!
CA weather is a bit unpredictable at that time, but you can expect it to be cooler during the day (usually 50-70) and possible rains. You should be comfortable in jeans and sweatshirts or light jackets (unless there is a cold front coming in--which is rare and short-lived).

Thanks, I did not have a clue what the weather was going to be like, I did wonder about long beach for the 2 nights, thats where we are picking up hire car, We have been to santa barbra and really loved it, but never below la.
I will check out newport, thanks very much.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Good Moring

I am looking for advice for ca peeps.


We have 2 night post cruise before we catch a flight from lax at 2pm.

Any suggestions, my cousins is being annoying and ignoring my e-mails, no doubt too bust to spend 2 mins e-mailing me back and Im thinking might not stay with him.

I wondered about san diego, ALan made me think about it when he mentioned it last week.
I dont want to stay in la as Ive been before, what will the weather be like?

Have a good day everybody.

I love Newport like others have said, but of course I'm partial to SD since I lived there from 2004-2007. If you do SD, I recommend visiting the beautiful Hotel del Coronado on Coronado island, stunning place! Also, La Jolla is the best- just north of San Diego--beautiful restaurants at La Jolla Cove overlooking the Pacific and the bluffs, stunning to anyone not from the area. Of course there is always the zoo and Sea World but my favorite things to do in SD revolve around being outdoors and taking in the spectacular ocean views and sunsets!

 

[DCLtravler]

Thanks, I did not have a clue what the weather was going to be like, I did wonder about long beach for the 2 nights, thats where we are picking up hire car, We have been to santa barbra and really loved it, but never below la.
I will check out newport, thanks very much.

Lynn,
I thought you meant that you were taking the extended cruise which would give you a very short time off of the ship, which is why I mentioned a lot of nearby areas. If you have two nights, SD would be a great place to go. In addition to the other things mentioned, Balboa Park is a lot of fun and you could easily spend the day there going to all the museums (science, natural history, Japanese gardens, Railroad, car, etc). Seaport Village is also a lot of fun. I don't know if it will still be going on, but you can also go giant squid fishing (and when I say giant, I mean GI-ANT)--I have never seen anything like it in my life!!
Silly me, one other place I forgot to mention is Catalina island--Very outdoorsy (hiking, biking...) and you can take the boat from San Pedro (where we are docking)--Can't believe I forgot that one!!