Last Minute Trip - UPDATE Just got back!

[eeyoreandtink]

Saw that - maybe in October although don't know if I'm keen on the $400 price tag for my crew to go

We have tickets for next Saturday. As of right now, it is only running through the end of Feb. It is getting great reviews though so I am hoping they will bring it back. It would be a shame for what is apparently a great show to only run 6 times!

 

[ariane37]

JUst FYI, Club Villain has been sold out for quite sometime, and it's prepaid so unless someone cancels and is willing to wait on a refund that may be a no go.

Saw that - maybe in October although don't know if I'm keen on the $400 price tag for my crew to go

I hope they do keep it going and you get to see it in Oct! DH and I went to the first Club Villain on Jan. 16th and it was by far the best event we've ever attended at WDW. We had a great time and it would be a shame if they didn't continue with it. There were tons of bigwigs there and at the end, many guests (including us) gave them positive feedback and they also let us know they were hoping to continue it. If you'd like to see pictures I have some in my Jan. TR, link in my signature

On another note, I'm so glad you booked your trip and I hope you have a wonderful time!

We have tickets for next Saturday. As of right now, it is only running through the end of Feb. It is getting great reviews though so I am hoping they will bring it back. It would be a shame for what is apparently a great show to only run 6 times!

Have a great time at Club Villain! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. If you do, be sure to let management know, providing they're as visible as they were on the night we attended.

 

[smellyia]

We have tickets for next Saturday. As of right now, it is only running through the end of Feb. It is getting great reviews though so I am hoping they will bring it back. It would be a shame for what is apparently a great show to only run 6 times!

I agree. I love the villains and while we met Cruella would be great to see the rest. May be a night kids go to Sandcastle club and adults go . If they keep through October.

On another note we did talk with DD's teacher who is a HUGE Disney fan - class room is all Disney themed - and she basically said have her read and she would get her spelling test today. So no harm no foul although whether the school excuses after we get back remains to be seen. Either way, she has an allotment of 5 unexcused absences per semester so we are under that.

 

[starjazz]

We're taking out two girls out of K and 2nd next week for our trip. Our 2nd grade teacher did an awesome thing. She made my daughter a nice booklet titled "My Trip to Walt Disney World". There is a page in there for each park that has room for a photo, and then lines for writing about the park. There is also one for the hotel, and some extra pages for pictures and other stories. Its nicely comb-bound. The teacher gave it to her yesterday so she could bring it with her on vacation. What a very nice personal touch, and I'm excited about it because my daughter is looking forward to filling it in. Now THAT is a great teacher.

 

[howaboutme]

I tried to talk my wife into going during the school year (1st grade and other not in school yet) but she was adamant about it and I understand. We certainly don't judge and fully understand the benefits (cheaper, less crowds, better weather, etc). Plus, our district (Fairfax County, VA) has strict attendance policies (vacations are unexcused and a max 5 days). As a result, we're going at the end of August when it's 100 degrees, which my wife also hates... Compromises...

 

[funkyspunky871]

Middle school teacher here, and for the most part, I think it's wonderful when students get to go on vacation during the school year. As long as your children are not terribly behind or struggling, these are memories that are worth missing a few days of school to make. I just ask that parents let me know several days beforehand so I can put together a packet of the classwork/homework that your child will miss.

 

[mdoc]

I would not hesitate to take a kindergartner out of school for Disney World or just about any other family vacation. I had no problem taking my kids out of grade school for a few days, either. In high school I had to think long and hard about even a day or two, and it depended on the child. My husband is very limited in when he can get off from work, so many years if there was going to be a family vacation at all, kids had to miss some school. I know other families who can't afford to go to Disney at the times when kids are off from school, which tend to be pricier, more crowded times, so they pull the kids out. In the absence of special circumstances, I can't view it as a big deal.

 

[vinotinto]

This is such an individual decision. It really depends on the family, the child, the grade, the teacher's philosophy, and yes, the school district.

With all that in mind, *I* personally would not hesitate to pull a K kid out of school for 3 days, especially last-minute, since you already know what they are studying and it won't cause a conflict later on with testing, etc. We pulled our son when he was in K a whole week. And I consider myself pretty strict (he's now in 5th grade and, so far he has missed "0" days this year and all of our travel is within the school holidays).

 

[StudentoftheWorld]

OP, I'm jealous of your last minute trip! I'd love to do something like that, but as the teacher, I can't miss that much school.

These types of threads are always interesting to me. As so many previous posters have said, each parent, child, and school system is different. It is difficult for anyone to make a blanket statement about what should be done. Personally, I would take my elementary school child out of school for vacation, but wouldn't in middle or high school; they would miss too much.

With that said, I always wonder just how much education any child gets at Disney. No one goes to Disney for an education.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

I would not worry about missing kindergarten. Although as a teacher, I know school districts are getting very strict with absences because they are pulling funding if your district is over a certain amount. Personally, I don't think it matters what the teacher says; whether they seem cranky about it, or say take me with you. Disclaimer - I have been teaching 16 years. We have NO say. Your school may have a policy regarding making work up, providing work ahead of time, etc. All I have to say is if you ask for work ahead of time, please make sure it gets done. Pet peeve! lol Have a great trip!

FYI We have "Jersey Week" off for the first time in years where I work. I am not sure if my kids (8th grade and 4th) will have it off. They will miss 3 days of school if need be (we always have Thurs and Friday off that week). I am thrilled to be able to go when it is not Easter or Xmas pricing and crowds and not 100 degrees. I will ask for the work to be given before and it will get done!

 

[ml sumner]

I was thinking of Wilderness Explorers, as well as the Phineas thing at Epcot when someone said Disney isn't "educational", and I thought, really?!! Our kids did WE and they LOVED it. They've already told me that they plan on getting ALL badges next time, so I know we'll be dedicating two full days to AK!

We're also dedicating two full days this trip. My 4 year old LOVED AK and collecting the badges last year. He talks about that park more than the others (yes, he is an animal lover♡)

 

[Shanti]

Don't disrupt her scheduled activities. She has school & already has a special event planned. Save Disney for a bigger trip down the road that won't be disruptive. She'll enjoy it more.

 

[bfost87]

It's your child. Do as you wish. Don't let others dictate how you raise your children or how you live your life. Some people get all uppity and righteous. Ignore these people.

 

[Minniesgal]

We always said we would never do this but you know what this year we are. We live in a strange situation and have been moved temporarily to Brisbane for work. My oldest DS is 17 and at schooling Scotland. As the Easter holidays for him and his younger brother are different weeks we have not had a family holiday since 2013. He is in his final school year and yes he has exams but he has his university place confirmed and it is not contingent on exam results and the coursework is finished.

As we can't fly him from Australia to Scotland this year at Easter he was facing 2 weeks at home alone in our Scottish house. I decided that is we take him out of school for 4 days he can have two weeks of family time in Orlando and still have a week at home to study before going back to school for the final term. We decided that 4 days of missed school was a lesser evil than no parental involvement in his life from January to June.

My point is that in life there are no absolutes. There are only decisions made within the constraints of what we as parents can do. If in your best judgement this is not detrimental to your child do it and don't look back. To me the fact you are asking the question means you are considering this seriously.

None of us are perfect parents but most of us do the best we can with the set of circumstances we have. Family holidays may not be necessary but the memories they create are important.

 

[tcherjen]

I am a teacher. Just ask ahead for makeup work ect. I wouldn't be upset if a family needed the time to travel.

 

[mshanson3121]

We're also dedicating two full days this trip. My 4 year old LOVED AK and collecting the badges last year. He talks about that park more than the others (yes, he is an animal lover♡)

Oh yes, my son already says that he wants AK to be the "very first!!!!" park that we visit when we go back.

 

[leebee]

I took DD22 out of school for at least one week a year to go to Disney, from K through 8th grade. After the 8th grade trip, she asked not to go during school anymore as it was too much work: Work before vacation, work during vacation, work after vacation to catch up on things that couldn't be "sent along" with us. I respected that and we swapped over to late August vacations (UGH HEAT) until college, at which time we could juggle her college breaks with Disney vacations. Despite the awful examples about ignoring responsibilities that we must have set, DD managed to graduate from college, summa cum laude, with double majors and double minors. She is now working full time in a profession related to her college major. No harm done, I guess. (and she's also mentioned that she's happier having experiences/memories from those trips and the $25K in college loans she took than if we'd skipped the trips and saved the money for college, so there's that, too- and as we are "cheap trippers" that $25K represents probably 15 Disney trips!)

 

[smellyia]

UPDATE

I meant to post this right after we got back but came home with the FLU! My whole family has been out of commission the last week. We even were vaccinated....C'est la vie.

Aside from WDW's parting gift to us the TRIP WAS AWESOME.

We stayed at the Dolphin, a first for us as BC is where we like to call Home, but discounts talk.... Ended up hiring Mr. Hinds' service as a private car as we didn't have ME and didn't want to mess around with taxi. We were at the resort by 11am day 1. Checked in and upgraded to a refurb room facing DHS, no balcony - they didn't upgrade me for free but this same room was $27 more quoted to me on the phone per night than what I actually paid. As for the resort, I was very pleased with the food selection, loved the pools (although I wonder how it handles capacity in busy seasons), convenience of location, and room decor. I felt like the sink area a bit petite, workers sub par compared to WDW resort CMs (had a housekeeper tell me NO when I asked for washcloths because we had none in our room), and the overall decor of the resort was meh. For money, location, and value, I would stay again in a situation like this, however if the cost was within $1000 of BC, GF or one of the other monorail resorts, I would have to stay Disney.

Walked to DHS after checking in and hit a few fast passes - RNRC, TOT, ST. Started my collecting of Rider Swaps to use later. Investigated Launch Bay (liked a lot) and got to meet DV in the Chase Greet - my only gripe was that the CM's at both our Chase Visa visits were AWFUL. The first one the female CM was just rude even to my DS2 who loves DV but needed some encouragement to go up to him in all his 6'+ glory. The second one REFUSED to hold my husband's phone while it was on record saying that wasn't allowed - never in all my 9 trips has someone said that - and then proceeded to ask if he could take pictures with his phone as we were walking out when he saw my DH visibly annoyed . DH, who NEVER does this, actually complained to someone official looking. I was more concerned with moving onto the resort for a nap . Walked back and napped. Grabbed a QS from Picabu - so very very convenient - and then headed back to meet Chewy and watch Symphony in the Stars - SERIOUSLY BEST FIREWORKS SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN. Like I had TEARS. The music, dialogue, music, and quality of the fireworks was amazing.

Day 2 we did MK at RD and were pretty much at the front. Got to 7D and of course they're not running. We don't have FPs after quick discussion DD and DH decided to punt to Space. We did our normal stand by touring getting through all the big guns (for us anyway) by noon. DS was tall enough to ride Barnstormer for first time so we did that 3x. We are extremely depressed the cart en route to Frontierland no longer serves corn dogs btw and went to Casey's for mini corn dogs. Kids napped gloriously the whole hop to AK and DS stayed asleep during our entry and until we hit FoLK. Hit our FPs for Safari, EE, and Dino. Headed back to Dolphin for dinner and watched Symphony from our room.

Day 3 we had breakfast at Cape May then did Epcot RD for TT then met Baymax, and rode whatever Epcot has left....walked WS and went to Germany for my salted caramel and popcorn. Went to Fish & Chips QS for lunch. Ate in the back of the England pavilion with benches and shade and THE MOST AGGRESSIVE SQUIRREL I HAVE EVER MET. There was even a CM there just supervising him lol. This animal even went to the length of climbing a bush behind DH and REACHING OVER HIS SHOULDER TO GET OUR FOOD. Bold move and I had to give the animal props for that. Took a ton of pics and let the kids nap on way back to hotel for some pool time as the weather was fantastic. Hit DHS again for FP for TOT and early Fantasmic show. DH and us got separated after the end when he went to get the stroller, but even with the delay we got up front delightful spaces for Symphony again.

Day 4 DD opted to sleep in and go to pool, but was foggy so we just had a leisurely brunch and made our way to MK at about 1 for our afternoon and evening FPs. watched the 3pm parade. DH passes on Wishes and MSEP in favor to go see SW fireworks again! So that's what we did....I'm still torn if I embrace this blasphemy.

Day 5 we did RD DHS for JTA and then standby TSMM - worked out awesome and only waited about 30min at TSMM. Used rest of our FPs and gave away rider swaps I had left over to nice people. Did some shopping then headed back to head home.

The new SW offerings are great and if they are an inkling of whats to come I CAN'T WAIT!!!! Launch Bay could use expanding. We didn't watch the videos but will in October. M&Gs were awesome. Kylo Ren wasn't there yet but we are stoked we got DV. The new JTA script was fun, but I missed some of the ad libbing some of the vets did like that crazy haired blonde woman who was always so dang witty. DD got to fight Darth Maul!!!! I can only assume 7Sister was taking a nap. Overall great trip and even with this horrible virus I'd go again! Funny enough DD has only been to school 3 days in last 2 weeks due to snow days

Runs off to continue planning October for our RP/CR/BC stay!

 

[caliope]

UPDATE

I meant to post this right after we got back but came home with the FLU! My whole family has been out of commission the last week. We even were vaccinated....C'est la vie.

Aside from WDW's parting gift to us the TRIP WAS AWESOME.

We stayed at the Dolphin, a first for us as BC is where we like to call Home, but discounts talk.... Ended up hiring Mr. Hinds' service as a private car as we didn't have ME and didn't want to mess around with taxi. We were at the resort by 11am day 1. Checked in and upgraded to a refurb room facing DHS, no balcony - they didn't upgrade me for free but this same room was $27 more quoted to me on the phone per night than what I actually paid. As for the resort, I was very pleased with the food selection, loved the pools (although I wonder how it handles capacity in busy seasons), convenience of location, and decor. I felt like the sink area bit petite, workers sub par compared to WDW resort CMs (had a housekeeper tell me NO when I asked for washcloths because we had none in our room), and the overall decor of the resort meh. For money, location, value though I would stay again in a situation like this however if the cost was within $1000 of BC, GF or one of the other monorail resorts, I would have to stay Disney.

Walked to DHS after checking in and hit a few fast passes - RNRC, TOT, ST. Started my collecting of Rider Swaps to use later. Investigated Launch Bay (liked a lot) and got to meet DV in the Chase Greet - my only gripe was that the CM's at both our Chase Visa visits were AWFUL. The first one the female CM was just rude even to my DS2 who loves DV but needed some encouragement to go up to him in all his 6'+ glory. The second one REFUSED to hold my husband's phone while it was on record saying that wasn't allowed - never in all my 9 trips has someone said that - and then proceeded to ask if he could take pictures with his phone as we were walking out when he saw my DH visibly annoyed . DH, who NEVER does this, actually complained to someone official looking. I was more concerned with moving onto the resort for a nap . Walked back and napped. Grabbed a QS from Picabu - so very very convenient - and then headed back to meet Chewy and watch Symphony in the Stars - SERIOUSLY BEST FIREWORKS SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN. Like I had TEARS. The music, dialogue, music, and quality of the fireworks was amazing.

Day 2 we did MK at RD and were pretty much at the front. Got to 7D and of course they're not running. We don't have FPs after quick discussion DD and DH decided to punt to Space. We did our normal stand by touring getting through all the big guns (for us anyway) by noon. DS was tall enough to ride Barnstormer for first time so we did that 3x. We are extremely depressed the cart en route to Frontierland no longer serves corn dogs btw and went to Casey's for mini corn dogs. Kids napped gloriously the whole hop to AK and DS stayed asleep during our entry and until we hit FoLK. Hit our FPs for Safari, EE, and Dino. Headed back to Dolphin for dinner and watched Symphony from our room.

Day 3 we had breakfast at Cape May then did Epcot RD for TT then met Baymax, and rode whatever Epcot has left....walked WS and went to Germany for my salted caramel and popcorn. Went to Fish & Chips QS for lunch. Took a ton of pics and let the kids nap on way back to hotel for some pool time as the weather was fantastic. Freaked then hit DHS again for FP for TOT and early Fantasmic show. DH and us got separated after the end when he went to get the stroller, but even with the delay we got up front delightful spaces for Symphony again.

Day 4 DD opted to sleep in and go to pool, but was foggy so we just had a leisurely brunch and made our way to MK at about 1 for our afternoon and evening FPs. watched the 3pm parade. DH passes on Wishes and MSEP in favor to go see SW fireworks again! So that's what we did....I'm still torn if I embrace this blasphemy.

Day 5 we did RD DHS for JTA and then standby TSMM - worked out awesome and only waited about 30min at TSMM. Used rest of our FPs and gave away rider swaps I had left over to nice people. Did some shopping then headed back to head home. Overall great trip and even with this horrible virus I'd go again! Funny enough DD has only been to school 3 days in last 2 weeks due to snow days

Sounds like you had a great trip and many wonderful memories!

 

[DisDadDVC]

UPDATE

I meant to post this right after we got back but came home with the FLU! My whole family has been out of commission the last week. We even were vaccinated....C'est la vie.

Aside from WDW's parting gift to us the TRIP WAS AWESOME.

We stayed at the Dolphin, a first for us as BC is where we like to call Home, but discounts talk.... Ended up hiring Mr. Hinds' service as a private car as we didn't have ME and didn't want to mess around with taxi. We were at the resort by 11am day 1. Checked in and upgraded to a refurb room facing DHS, no balcony - they didn't upgrade me for free but this same room was $27 more quoted to me on the phone per night than what I actually paid. As for the resort, I was very pleased with the food selection, loved the pools (although I wonder how it handles capacity in busy seasons), convenience of location, and decor. I felt like the sink area bit petite, workers sub par compared to WDW resort CMs (had a housekeeper tell me NO when I asked for washcloths because we had none in our room), and the overall decor of the resort meh. For money, location, value though I would stay again in a situation like this however if the cost was within $1000 of BC, GF or one of the other monorail resorts, I would have to stay Disney.

Walked to DHS after checking in and hit a few fast passes - RNRC, TOT, ST. Started my collecting of Rider Swaps to use later. Investigated Launch Bay (liked a lot) and got to meet DV in the Chase Greet - my only gripe was that the CM's at both our Chase Visa visits were AWFUL. The first one the female CM was just rude even to my DS2 who loves DV but needed some encouragement to go up to him in all his 6'+ glory. The second one REFUSED to hold my husband's phone while it was on record saying that wasn't allowed - never in all my 9 trips has someone said that - and then proceeded to ask if he could take pictures with his phone as we were walking out when he saw my DH visibly annoyed . DH, who NEVER does this, actually complained to someone official looking. I was more concerned with moving onto the resort for a nap . Walked back and napped. Grabbed a QS from Picabu - so very very convenient - and then headed back to meet Chewy and watch Symphony in the Stars - SERIOUSLY BEST FIREWORKS SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN. Like I had TEARS. The music, dialogue, music, and quality of the fireworks was amazing.

Day 2 we did MK at RD and were pretty much at the front. Got to 7D and of course they're not running. We don't have FPs after quick discussion DD and DH decided to punt to Space. We did our normal stand by touring getting through all the big guns (for us anyway) by noon. DS was tall enough to ride Barnstormer for first time so we did that 3x. We are extremely depressed the cart en route to Frontierland no longer serves corn dogs btw and went to Casey's for mini corn dogs. Kids napped gloriously the whole hop to AK and DS stayed asleep during our entry and until we hit FoLK. Hit our FPs for Safari, EE, and Dino. Headed back to Dolphin for dinner and watched Symphony from our room.

Day 3 we had breakfast at Cape May then did Epcot RD for TT then met Baymax, and rode whatever Epcot has left....walked WS and went to Germany for my salted caramel and popcorn. Went to Fish & Chips QS for lunch. Took a ton of pics and let the kids nap on way back to hotel for some pool time as the weather was fantastic. Freaked then hit DHS again for FP for TOT and early Fantasmic show. DH and us got separated after the end when he went to get the stroller, but even with the delay we got up front delightful spaces for Symphony again.

Day 4 DD opted to sleep in and go to pool, but was foggy so we just had a leisurely brunch and made our way to MK at about 1 for our afternoon and evening FPs. watched the 3pm parade. DH passes on Wishes and MSEP in favor to go see SW fireworks again! So that's what we did....I'm still torn if I embrace this blasphemy.

Day 5 we did RD DHS for JTA and then standby TSMM - worked out awesome and only waited about 30min at TSMM. Used rest of our FPs and gave away rider swaps I had left over to nice people. Did some shopping then headed back to head home. Overall great trip and even with this horrible virus I'd go again! Funny enough DD has only been to school 3 days in last 2 weeks due to snow days

I'm glad you decided to go. Sounds like a great trip!