November vs. June?

[samacita]

We are struggling (still!) with the decision of when to take this 1st Disney trip with our kids. Waffling between long Veterans Day weekend this year and 1st week of June, 2014.

Kids will be DD7, DS3, & D?4 mos in Nov., and 8, 4, & 1 in June. I appreciate everyone who weighed in on my previous Baby vs. Toddler thread, and we've decided baby would make for much easier trip. But...that's not our only deciding factor... Here are some other pros/cons.

Nov:
- Only have time for 4 days in parks
- Weather would be better than June
- Would have to take DD out of 1 day of school (which is *hard* for us to feel ok with)
- Commits us to flying, no option to drive
- Is only 6 mos away - exciting!
- Warm enough to swim? Questionable
- Crowds not too bad, but have to be in parks on weekend days, which are busier

Jun:
- Could drive and save airfare
- Have more scheduling flexibility so trip could be longer
- Crowds not bad and we could avoid weekends
- No missed school for DD
- Hotter weather, but could enjoy pools
- DD would be 8 for her 1st trip!! Is that too old??
- It's far away...long time to wait
- Could celebrate all 3 kids' birthdays in WDW

Which would you pick?

 

[DSNY4ever]

How much longer of a trip would you get by going in June? One more day in the parks or 3-4 more days in the parks? The weather would make me lean toward November, but a longer trip would make me lean toward June.

 

[samacita]

How much longer of a trip would you get by going in June? One more day in the parks or 3-4 more days in the parks? The weather would make me lean toward November, but a longer trip would make me lean toward June.

That's a good question. We wouldn't have huge school/work restrictions, so the length could be pretty open ended. We would be limited more by cost than number of days for the June option. I really don't know the answer!! We're low-key travelers, so having more time to enjoy the pool, resort, etc might be nice even if we don't end up with many more park days.

 

[deuceswild10]

Yeah, the big question is how much more time will you get. If it's only one day I would go in November, probably lower crowds! Also, as an elementary school teacher I would tell you, don't worry about DD missing one day! It's fine!

 

[pixiedustmomma]

When would you be going in November? We have gone the past two years in November and taken our oldest out of school for a week. We went the week after Thanksgiving. We decided to go during that time because the weather would be cooler for the girls and the crowd level was low. Our schools do not have a restriction about taking out for vacation and we only had to take our oldest our for four days.

I really enjoy going in November after Thanksgiving. They are all decorated for Christmas. This past year was the first year my DD5 could ride some of the bigger rides and the lines where not very long. We would actually get a fast pass and then hop in line for the ride. The morning they where filming the first part of the Christmas parade we were able to ride everything in the Magic Kingdom that DD5 could get on all before noon. That is nice. The longest we waited in line was at Soarin and that was a hour and thirty minutes. Also Toy Story Mania.

We have not gone as a family during the summer yet. I did live down there and work for Disney. We would only go to the parks at night. It does get busy but if you are staying longer you can go to the water parks or relax by the pool during the hottest part of the day. Remember to use the fast pass system.

I would think about how the kids would handle the heat and how they will deal with waiting in line. The good news about some of the Rides in Magic Kingdom is that they have a little play area in the lines for kids. It can be really helpful and at the same time not so helpful. Getting my girls to stop playing in the circus area of Dumbo took a little work.

Whatever you decide remember to relax and have fun. Don't over plan your first trip, you won't get to see everything and Disney is always changing so you will be coming back!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

M oldest was 11 for her first trip and we too worried about that being too late. She loved it.

I would vote for June. More time + less expense + school's out + you want pool time. Other than he fact it's further off, I don't see a downside.

 

[blessedby3]

I would take DD out for a few days and go in Nov. She is still so young and wont miss so much that she couldnt make up. We have pulled our kids out all the way through 12th grade for a week at a time.
November is our favorite time to go for sure. We were able to swim no problem. The Christmas decorations were up and the weather was great and the crowds were low (we went the week after Thanksgiving)
We have also gone in June and had a great time. We are heading back in June 2014 again, but it is definately much hotter. Our DS will be in college this fall and we cant take him out as we did in high school. We now have to go during his breaks and summer.
If your trip cant be extended in Nov...then I would go with June to get more time at WDW

 

[samacita]

Our Nov dates would be 11/6-11. We feel very strongly about not taking her out of school. If it were a different school, we may feel differently, but we are investing a lot of ourselves into providing her the opportunity to go there - it just wouldn't make sense to then decide we can teach her just as well with worksheets at home. I don't judge anyone who makes this choice, and maybe we will even feel differently about it someday, but for now, it's not something we feel comfortable with. I will also be pretty fresh off of maternity leave and won't be able to take much time off from work in Nov. That's another limiting factor on our dates.

As for how long in June, I really don't know. I don't think we'd have the stamina for 10 park days. Just not our style (I think). But four seems pretty short, and makes me wonder if we would feel rushed (which we want to avoid). Maybe 5-6 days? I'm still not sure...

Thanks for your input everyone! Please keep the advice coming!!!

 

[jennylyn_b]

June. Veterans weekend is very crowded and with only four days crowds will be a major factor. I would go when the weather is made for the pools and you would have much more time.

 

[tajz90]

We used to go every year the 1st 2 weeks of June. Great time. Not too hot. Parks weren't that crowded. The levels really picked up the last two weeks of June in our experience.

We were never disappointed. We've never been in November, so I can't compare, but we only visit at Christmas time now. We love the decorations.

 

[cheer25mom]

The only thing that would make me go in June is if you were getting like double the time. You can go faster and stay in the parks longer in November becuase you do not have the heat to contend with. We go rope drop to fireworks in November with no problem. Not so much in June. The heat is opressive, nad we have to take a midday break.

 

[samacita]

What do you think is a good length of time for a trip with these ages? We don't feel the need to see *everything*. How many days do you all spend in the parks?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

The only thing that would make me go in June is if you were getting like double the time. You can go faster and stay in the parks longer in November becuase you do not have the heat to contend with. We go rope drop to fireworks in November with no problem. Not so much in June. The heat is opressive, nad we have to take a midday break.

I think that has a lot to do with where you're from and how you handle heat/humidity. We went top drop to close 3rd week of June every day last year with zero problems. But Summers are typically hot and humid here in MO, so we're used to it.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

In November you will get to see the holiday decorations.

But if this is a once in a lifetime trip, go when you can stay the longest, so you can soak up the atmosphere instead of worrying about rushing.

 

[tajz90]

I think that has a lot to do with where you're from and how you handle heat/humidity. We went top drop to close 3rd week of June every day last year with zero problems. But Summers are typically hot and humid here in MO, so we're used to it.

I agree. We are from Texas and think June is cool the first part of the month. Of course, we go in August and don't have issue.

 

[tlh0726]

For me, the answer would be June

Warm weather
Less clothes to pack and laundry to do
Love the waterparks in the afternoon

 

[quagmire0]

We went second week in June (4th-11th) in 2011. I thought the crowds were more than manageable and never found the weather to be overbearing. We did use touring plans (gathered from various sources and then customized by my wife and I the night before) and milked the fastpasses and child swap as much as possible - and we had a great time. I'd say the only two places where I got a little annoyed were at Animal Kingdom (Got tired of the hilly terrain, it was, by far, the best workout I got of all the parks) and Hollywood Studios (just thought the layout made it seem more crowded than it actually was). Other than that though, no problems. We had a 4yo and an 18mo at the time. Going back the 9th-16th this year with 6yo/3yo/1yo.

 

[Timandalicia]

We are struggling (still!) with the decision of when to take this 1st Disney trip with our kids. Waffling between long Veterans Day weekend this year and 1st week of June, 2014.

Kids will be DD7, DS3, & D?4 mos in Nov., and 8, 4, & 1 in June. I appreciate everyone who weighed in on my previous Baby vs. Toddler thread, and we've decided baby would make for much easier trip. But...that's not our only deciding factor... Here are some other pros/cons.

Nov:
- Only have time for 4 days in parks
- Weather would be better than June
- Would have to take DD out of 1 day of school (which is *hard* for us to feel ok with)
- Commits us to flying, no option to drive
- Is only 6 mos away - exciting!
- Warm enough to swim? Questionable
- Crowds not too bad, but have to be in parks on weekend days, which are busier

Jun:
- Could drive and save airfare
- Have more scheduling flexibility so trip could be longer
- Crowds not bad and we could avoid weekends
- No missed school for DD
- Hotter weather, but could enjoy pools
- DD would be 8 for her 1st trip!! Is that too old??
- It's far away...long time to wait
- Could celebrate all 3 kids' birthdays in WDW

Which would you pick?

Missing school a con? You want to enjoy a pool in June, you can do that anywhere. Terms like "not overbearing" and "manageable" don't sound appealing to me. Having done both, November is perfect. Without a doubt.

 

[cheer25mom]

I think that has a lot to do with where you're from and how you handle heat/humidity. We went top drop to close 3rd week of June every day last year with zero problems. But Summers are typically hot and humid here in MO, so we're used to it.

I'm from the Deep South and still don't like it!!!

 

[samacita]

Missing school a con? You want to enjoy a pool in June, you can do that anywhere. Terms like "not overbearing" and "manageable" don't sound appealing to me. Having done both, November is perfect. Without a doubt.

I'm sorry, but I don't follow you. What do you mean about "not overbearing" and "manageable"? Can you please elaborate?