Shocked

[Mickey Fliers]

I totally agree. We just got back from a 9/26 - 10/3 trip and we were STUNNED by the number of people there. Seemed like summer. Every park, everywhere there were people. We used to go right after labor day when the parks were empty. I'll have to do that again because this was insane. It's one thing if you expect it, but after 2 years of super low crowds and no indication of high traffic, we were dumbfounded. We still had a great time but the crowd level was off the chart.

Wow. We were there the same week and had a completely different experience. I thought the crowds were very, very light. Yes, HS studios was busy around TSM, but the rest of the park was fabulous. The only other time I felt it was crowded was at Epcot on the first F&W afternoon.

 

[tiki23]

We were there last week and it was the most crowded September we've seen in 10 years, by far. Full buses, etc. Lots of international travelers. We even rope-dropped and avoided EMH days. MK on Friday wasn't too bad, but DHS and Epcot were busier than we remember them. Looks like the Sept/Oct "secret" is out...

Last year we were there over the opening weekend of Food & Wine. Parks were very busy.

This year, my Dsis and I went a week earlier - arrived the 15th and left the 22nd - parks were empty! I have pics that just astounded the rest of my family; middle of the afternoon in MK and Epcot practically deserted, walk-ons for almost every attraction.

We skipped Fantasmic! and DHS on F! days so that surely helped. The only night we had that was crowded was the night we went to the ELP.

ETA: We were able to switch our dining around pretty much at will - I know being a party of only 2 helped, but even the restaurants were slow.

Next year, go before F&W starts if you can!

 

[avincent09]

First week of Oct and the park is Packed. I can't believe the number of kids here. What happened to school?

I live in East TN and all the schools are out for fall break this week. There are 10 people at my work alone gone to Disney World. I am the only one I know that is planning on going in Dec. and not this week.

 

[CdnCarrie]

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Maybe some people are combining their vacation with that.

 

[DizBelle]

You can absolutely teach things at WDW, but unless you are getting a copy of the lesson plan for that week you can't be sure you are replacing everything that was taught. If there was nothing that I had to worry about replacing I would have a serious problem with that. I have said it before on the DIS, but it bears repeating. If my child were in a school where I could take them out for a week and they would miss nothing of importance, I would be finding a new school because a week with nothing learned is absolutely unacceptable. I have no problem with pulling my child out and working with her on the material she missed, but if she were gone for a week and there was nothing to make up and no concepts missed then would definitely be questioning what was going on at school.

DING! DING! DING! Here's someone with a clue.

If school is teaching concept A. Then concept B which builds upon A. Then concept C which builds upon B. How well do you think a child will get concept C if they missed concept B?

 

[maddiesdaddy]

DING! DING! DING! Here's someone with a clue.

If school is teaching concept A. Then concept B which build upon A. Then concept C which builds upon B. How well do you think a child will get concept C if they missed concept B?

I guess no one is allowed to get sick either. Pretty strict and steadfast attitudes about missing Concepts A-C.

As any involved parent should be, if your kid was sick or if you took them away for a magical childhood experience, partner with the teacher, discuss in advance, get the work and work with your child. I can easily teach my child that -ck comes after a soft vowel and -k comes after a hard consonant so that she's ready for the next concept. Not only is it an amazing bonding experience to be a part of that with your kid, it's just the way to work around things that are unavoidable, like sickness, and things that shouldn't be avoided, like magical trips to the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Ding Ding Ding. I think there are a lot of great, diverse, and well thought out points made by people here...all with clues.

 

[sam_gordon]

I love the folks that say "my kid will learn more on vacation than at school". So why send them to school at all? Take them to work with you. Keep them home and go grocery shopping, teach them chess, whatever.

Those who have said "it's up to the individual family" have it exactly right. Those who say it's more important to have family time are no different than those who say school is more important. Some families can't schedule vacations except during school, some simply take off for lower prices/crowds. To each their own.

I am also shocked at all the "My kid gets all A's and has for the last 20 years!" (yes, I'm exaggerating). My kids also get all A's, but that doesn't factor in to our decision not to pull them out of school. I feel school is the kids' primary responsibility and showing them you can skip out on your responsibility is not a good lesson to teach. That's simply my OPINION. (puts on flame suit).

 

[bakenatj]

I think mabye they have it more right than we do. Personally, I think that if attendace laws were more strictly enforced and academis standards were higher them mabye it would contribute to graduating more students actually capable of being contributing members of society and fewer that end up reliant on public assistance because they are incapable of supporting themselves. IMO compulosry education is vital to creating a self supporting work force. I see the result of failure to attend school or to care what is being taught every day in the form of functionally illterate 17 year old high school freshmen. It really scares me to think that this is what we are putting into the work force, and it is really more common than anyone realizes. It is NOT an isolated incident, but a prevailing trend. More and more children are leaving high school undereducated and no one is doing anything about it for fear of stepping on someone's toes by saying "your kid needs to be in school, and needs to make an effort to learn something"

I disagree with you. You are asking the government to do the job the parents are suppose to do. If we had good parents and a strong family structure this wouldn't be an issue. You can't expect every child to be a 3.5 or higher GPA, just not realistic. There are jobs for those who aren't intellectually strong, problem is our society is lazy.

Another thing you don't consider is the population differences between European countries and the USA. That type of system might have some benefits in small countries, but in a country with the population we have here in the USA it would cost far to much. One reason why Social Security and other forms of welfare don't work and are going bankrupt.

We are way off topic for the subject here so this is the last I will post on this topic.

 

[drcandon]

Not way off topic, I have read on this board over and over again for years that mothers are going to take their children out of school - no matter what they miss....

Also other notable quotes - we really can't afford it this year , but I just can't miss Mickey, so I am taking the kids out of school anyway...

Another notable one ...yes, my husband might loose his job , but that is up in the air right now, so we are going anyway..I just can't miss my yearly Mickey visit..

Another really intelligent one - this is my first visit for my new born to Disney, she is only XX months old she will really enjoy it...sure... right, the next bottle, breast feed or pacifier holds more excitment to that child...

So just who is the visit for????

I could go on and on....

Slightly back on topic, in our school district in Canada, the teachers will no longer prepare extra lessons for your absent kids ( they used to), it is now, you miss it , you make it up, or loose out...kids are under enough pressure at school without this foolishness...

Don't think I am a Mickey grinch, if I miss my visit to Mickey land I get cranky, BUT, these visits are when I can afford them and I don't loose my job because of it..So, maybe only every couple of years ( flights are not cheap from Canada). Go ahead flame me if you like, but what ever happened to common sense.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

I'm always curious what people's perception of "Crowded" is...would anyone mind posting/or would the post starter have a picture to post? Thanks!

 

[bakenatj]

I'm always curious what people's perception of "Crowded" is...would anyone mind posting/or would the post starter have a picture to post? Thanks!

I was wondering the same thing???? It can seem crowded in the parks, especially MK, but wait times aren't very long. I remember thinking it looked packed but the most we were waiting was 10 -15 minutes. Not bad.

 

[SEC]

It is Fall Break in Ky and I have several friends who are at Disney now.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

That's a bummer about crowds. We will be there next year at this time.

I'll ignore the OT comments about taking kids out of school. I'll just say different states/school districts have different rules and how do you know they won't have the lesson plan on what is being taught while the kids are out of school. I know I will have it.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

I agree that common sense should prevail.

Common sense tells me that each situation is different. As the person ultimately responsible for the raising of my children, I do believe that I can take the responsibility on myself to make an appropriate decision.

Do kids learn more on vacation than at school? I would hope not. That doesn't speak well for the education system. Can they have experiences that enrich their lives and teach them? Yes.

Our kids were taken out of school many times (including high school) for family vacations. When they were in high school, we discussed it with them, they helped decide and accepted the responsibility to keep up.

I have always found the teachers in our schools accepting of our decisions and never felt that they had a problem with it.

On another point, both kids were actively involved in school sports and when I count the number of classes they missed for hockey, football, cross country, lacrosse, band competitions, I think it far exceeds the family vacation time and those were school sanctioned and promoted events.

Everyone's situation is different. We really shouldn't berate anyone on their choices as we haven't walked in their shoes.

 

[princessmom29]

I disagree with you. You are asking the government to do the job the parents are suppose to do. If we had good parents and a strong family structure this wouldn't be an issue. You can't expect every child to be a 3.5 or higher GPA, just not realistic. There are jobs for those who aren't intellectually strong, problem is our society is lazy.

Another thing you don't consider is the population differences between European countries and the USA. That type of system might have some benefits in small countries, but in a country with the population we have here in the USA it would cost far to much. One reason why Social Security and other forms of welfare don't work and are going bankrupt.

We are way off topic for the subject here so this is the last I will post on this topic.

This is exactly what I am talking about when I say that most people don't get the dept of the problem. I am not talking about looking to graduate everyone college ready with a 3.5 GPA. I would just like the majority of high school graduates to be qualified to make change at McDonalds or read simple instructions. That is not happening on a HUGE scale! More and more students are leaving high school without the BASIC skills needed to hold down ANY job! Social security and welfare are going bankrupt under the weight of those who cannot or will not support themselves. Yes, if we all had parents that care this wouldn't be happening, but the reality is that there are many more parents who don't care out there than parents that do. I am arguing that if someone doesn't step in and insist that children get enough education to be self sufficient welfare and social security WILL collapse under the weight of those they support. It is not because we have too many people, but becuase we have too many people incapable and unwilling to be self sufficient.

 

[princessmom29]

That's a bummer about crowds. We will be there next year at this time.

I'll ignore the OT comments about taking kids out of school. I'll just say different states/school districts have different rules and how do you know they won't have the lesson plan on what is being taught while the kids are out of school. I know I will have it.

I said UNLESS you have the lesson plan, not that no one would. The OP I wastaking about said that their grandchild learned more playing chess that at school. I highly doubt chess is part of the K lesson plan. It didn't sound like they had made the effort to find out what was being taught while they were gone. That doesn't mean that everyone won't.

 

[Sugar Jones]

What it comes down to is that every family situation is different. And we have no right to judge one another.

I have no problems pulling my kids out of school for a family vacation, but I respect the fact that there are parents that would never do that. Whatever works best for your family is the priority. For some of us a family trip in September is our only option, and it's not due to crowd size. I would never base my vacation time on crowd size alone.

At the beginning of each month we are given a list of what the kids are working on in each subject in their classes. It's not hard to make up some worksheets and have them caught up and prepared for school when they return. My ds had a math test the second day back from our trip. He was prepared and got 94% on it. The teacher asked him if he wanted an extra day or two (very nice of her, and not at all expected), but he said no he was prepared.

We were there from Sept.19-25th. I found MK on the 19th to be very busy, but we got there after supper and it was EMH night. Epcot on Monday was not at all crowded. We walked on everthing. Tuesday at MK was not bad at all. Minor waits if anything.

Wednesday at AK was IMO pretty busy. We waited 90 minutes for Kali River Rapids, and about 50 mins for the safari. Everything else was moderate. It was really hot though so I think that made it seem worse.

Thursday at HS IMO was very busy as well. Probably due to Fantasmic that night, and people like me who didn't get a hopper.

Friday MK was not too busy. Minor waits again. Nothing more than a 20 minutes if I remember correctly, and some things were walk on's. However by the afternoon it was pretty busy, and it was raining. All the outdoor rides were shut down due to lightning so the indoor rides had longer waits.

Next trip (hopefully 2012) I will pay the extra for a hopper I think. Then if I happen to choose the wrong park I can just switch!

Sorry I kinda went off topic with all that didn't I?

 

[DizBelle]

I guess no one is allowed to get sick either. Pretty strict and steadfast attitudes about missing Concepts A-C.

As any involved parent should be, if your kid was sick or if you took them away for a magical childhood experience, partner with the teacher, discuss in advance, get the work and work with your child. I can easily teach my child that -ck comes after a soft vowel and -k comes after a hard consonant so that she's ready for the next concept. Not only is it an amazing bonding experience to be a part of that with your kid, it's just the way to work around things that are unavoidable, like sickness, and things that shouldn't be avoided, like magical trips to the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Ding Ding Ding. I think there are a lot of great, diverse, and well thought out points made by people here...all with clues.

There's a difference between having to miss school due to illness and missing school because you chose to not go at that time.

Missing school should be due to an unavoidable situation. Not because you chose that time to vacation.

If your schedules can't all line up to go at the same time, (e.g. "my job doesn't allow me to take time off during the summer or when the kids are out of school"), then I guess you just don't go away on extended length vacations. You make your family time after work/school and on the weekends or whenever your time off does coincide. You don't have to go away somewhere to have meaningful and valuable family together time.

 

[RMulieri]

REASON #500 why I love the Disboards..We go from talking park crowds, to talking about taking kids out of school , to criticizing parenting skills to debating the education of the USA vs. Any other country..LOL

 

[tinkerbell313]

We were there from Sept.19-25th. I found MK on the 19th to be very busy, but we got there after supper and it was EMH night. Epcot on Monday was not at all crowded. We walked on everthing. Tuesday at MK was not bad at all. Minor waits if anything.

Wednesday at AK was IMO pretty busy. We waited 90 minutes for Kali River Rapids, and about 50 mins for the safari. Everything else was moderate. It was really hot though so I think that made it seem worse.

Thursday at HS IMO was very busy as well. Probably due to Fantasmic that night, and people like me who didn't get a hopper.

Friday MK was not too busy. Minor waits again. Nothing more than a 20 minutes if I remember correctly, and some things were walk on's. However by the afternoon it was pretty busy, and it was raining. All the outdoor rides were shut down due to lightning so the indoor rides had longer waits.

Next trip (hopefully 2012) I will pay the extra for a hopper I think. Then if I happen to choose the wrong park I can just switch!

Sorry I kinda went off topic with all that didn't I?

We were at AK on Thursday (the 23rd)...we were able to ride Kali Rapids three times in a row without getting off...this was around 10:30am. We had not wait for the Safari. Primal Whirl had no wait early afternoon. Dinosaur had a 10 minute wait at 2pm. We also walked into Lion King, Nemo and Bugs Life with no wait and perfect seats. The 23rd was coinsidered a good park day for AK.