May v longer Aug trip

[ewasilau]

Starting to worry about kids missing school in May, and simultaneously wishing for a longer trip.... Would you go for 6 days/5 nights in May (9-14), staying at Yacht Club, or 9 days/8 nights in early August (7-14), staying at Boardwalk? We are 2 adults and 3 kids ages 10, 12 and 14. Price difference is approximately $1000 (longer trip costs more, but rate per night is lower, actually). Pros/cons? I think cost to make change would be minimal... (though kids would likely hate having to wait)

 

[blabadie]

If it were my family, I'd go for the longer trip and not miss school, especially with kids beyond early elementary. Actually, I would pretty much always choose the longer trip although I realize early May would be the more pleasant time to visit. Ideally, I like to allow 2 days each for MK, EP, and AK and one day for HS (not including travel days) so we don't feel forced to go without afternoon breaks to recharge.

 

[2kidsForMe]

If you wait until August you can see The new Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios.

 

[Tomh]

We go in August every year, for 2 weeks. It is a fine time to visit, and I feel that longer trips are more enjoyable.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

August....
TSL
Longer
No school

 

[Disneylover99]

Longer trip
Lower cost per night
Kids not missing school
TSL

Weather may be nicer in May

My priority would be the kids not missing school. That's the deal breaker for me.

 

[yaya74]

August. Enjoy your trip!

 

[holden]

If it were me, I’d prefer the kids not miss school. My kids get very stressed when they have lots of work to make up.

 

[Joyful2018]

Aug, cause i also like a few lazy days after a trip to recoup and not have to rush the kids back to school

 

[pd1138]

We have done May and August. Weather is much better in May, however we prefer August since the lower resort rates allow us to stay longer! Now that our kids are in school we also prefer August since they do not have to worry about school or making anything up. We went in May when they were preschoolers and early elementary.

 

[NickC]

We had a similiar decision to make, and we chose August.

 

[1911]

our local school district has summer break down to 8 weeks now which makes it hard for us to coordinate our vacation times,we normally go in august but this year our work schedules just would not allow it so we chose early may and will pull our daughter out for a week.
We will be making it an "educational trip" by including one day at Kennedy space center which she can do a report on for school.

 

[ewasilau]

Thanks for the input so far. Next I have to ask my husband what he thinks! (he knows I'm debating the switch, he just hasn't chimed in yet) Downside of August is that I only get 1 week of vacation all summer, so then that's it - whereas if we go in May we can take a road trip or something in August.

Does anyone know if I would have to pay a fee to Disney to change the trip? I have the May trip booked but just with a $200 deposit. I thought I might be able to change it without losing deposit if I call. My only fee then would be to re-bank my frequent flyer miles (I think $250 for all 5 tickets) and then will have to rebook flights, which are available.

By the way, what's the difference in crowds between early-ish May and early-ish August? We have only been in late January and late-ish August. (I think Aug 16th-24th, five years ago) We can't go any later in August than the dates I set forth (Aug 7-14 - it's a Tues to Wed, to maximize weekday time as opposed to weekend time, but I'd have to work the next 3 days after returning.) UT gives the May dates yellow (except Sat.) and the August dates are red, except for the last 2 or 3. I think it's 6s versus 8s. I don't mind the heat as much as the crowds. We would use FP+ of course, but we want to do more than 3 rides/day without waiting hours. And we had our FPs set up perfectly for May, of course....