Head is spinning! I've given myself too many options...

klitteral2009

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
429
I need sage Disboard wisdom...

We're a family of 5 who usually vacation to WDW once a year in late January. Love the low crowds, make due with the crazy weather, and usually manage expectations about what is running and whats down for maintenance. We didn't get a trip at all in 2016 and so I'm now trying to plan for 2017...here's where I've made myself crazy.

I cannot pick a week! Usually we go late January. This year my eldest DD is in high school so I'm questioning pulling her out for the vacation. Shes a pretty strong student and as long as her teachers would work with us about being able to make up work and such, I don't worry too much. However, I've not dealt with them thus far over any planned absences so thats an issue of concern for me. Spring Break week for us is the first full week of April. I've heard this is a horrible time to go and would hate to be miserable. I'm an over planner and we can usually change plans on the fly with little to no problem since we've been several years and just enjoy being there and using FP on our favorite rides.

I've also looked at the last week of February, and as far as crowds, it looks to be the same as our usual week but perhaps a little warmer with less refurbs.

Give me your opinions! What would you do? Have you been during early April/spring break?
 
While I would never take a high schooler out for a vacation, talk to your DD and see how she feels about it. She will know how it is at her school. Is it accepted or do they give the kids a hard time. Does she feel like she can make-up the work, or will the school give her a 0 for all the missed work. See what she thinks. What we would do is take the first week of summer vacation. Ours was usually the last week of May or the first week of June and it was still a good time to go.
 
We have been once over spring break, it was a long time ago, I just remember hot and crowded.

Definitely check with the school regarding attendance policies. If vacation is allowed, and your daughter won't be taking zero credit for missed work, check with her about how she feels about missing a full week and if she feels like she can make up the work in the time allotted. In out schools it's a day for a day, so if they miss a week they have a week to make up the work, but bear in mind that will include doing the regularly assigned work while doing the make-up work.

You might also want to look into weeks where she may have a day or 2 off, but not full weeks so that she may only miss 2 or 3 days as opposed to a whole week.

Like last week my kids were off Monday for Columbus Day and then Tuesday and Wednesday for Yom Kippur.
 
I agree with PP about finding a short week. The past 2 Januarys we have gone MLK week. It was "busy" on MLK day and the Tuesday after, but not like it is in the summer or spring break! I would also look at the school calendar for any random days off that other school districts may not have (like a teach in-service days). I would also ask the teachers for the work that she'll be missing AHEAD of time. She can try to complete work during the travel time. I went to Europe in 3rd grade and my teacher gave me a packet that I was able to complete on the plane!).
 

I need sage Disboard wisdom...

We're a family of 5 who usually vacation to WDW once a year in late January. Love the low crowds, make due with the crazy weather, and usually manage expectations about what is running and whats down for maintenance. We didn't get a trip at all in 2016 and so I'm now trying to plan for 2017...here's where I've made myself crazy.

I cannot pick a week! Usually we go late January. This year my eldest DD is in high school so I'm questioning pulling her out for the vacation. Shes a pretty strong student and as long as her teachers would work with us about being able to make up work and such, I don't worry too much. However, I've not dealt with them thus far over any planned absences so thats an issue of concern for me. Spring Break week for us is the first full week of April. I've heard this is a horrible time to go and would hate to be miserable. I'm an over planner and we can usually change plans on the fly with little to no problem since we've been several years and just enjoy being there and using FP on our favorite rides.

I've also looked at the last week of February, and as far as crowds, it looks to be the same as our usual week but perhaps a little warmer with less refurbs.

Give me your opinions! What would you do? Have you been during early April/spring break?

Spring Break will be much busier than late January.

That said, you may have no choice but to go during Spring Break. It's really tough for kids in high school to miss a week of school for the most part. My honor roll child would NEVER have gone for that even if the school had been okay with it because she would have been worried about falling behind. This is especially the case if your child's school has block scheduling....with the block scheduling at our local high school, even one day out is a lot because the classes are 88 minutes long instead of the traditional 40 or 45 minutes. And in our area at least, late January is the time that mid-terms happen.
 
In most cases, I wouldn't suggest planning on a whole week out for a high schooler. Is the last week of Feb a school break? If so, I'd do that week. The crowds shouldn't be all that bad then. Many schools that get a Feb break do it President's Day week. A lot of other schools have their Spring break in March making the end of Feb a pretty good time to go. I haven't looked up where Easter falls this year but I have had several friends go that week before. (The first full week of April is always spring break where I am). Even when Easter fell in the wrong place making that week crowded, friends told me it wasn't nearly as bad as they expected and they were able to manage with the crowds quite well. Since you are experienced at touring Disney, you can probably find a way to make it work. Now - if you had said Christmas break, then I would have suggested something entirely different!

Edited to add: I just looked up where Easter falls this year. It will not effect the crowds for your trip. It still won't be end of Jan crowds, but it should be quite manageable.
 











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