Universal before or after cruise- pulling kids out of school

[kpgclark]

I have a 3rd grader and a Kinder. We'll be cruising over spring break. I'd like to go to Universal for a few days either before or after the cruise. I have ressies to go from the cruise's return on Saturday over to Universal (staying on-site) and check out on Tuesday. The kids would miss school on Monday and Tuesday. Now I'm having second thoughts. Do you think it would be better to pull them out ahead of time? I'm just thinking that maybe it would be better to miss a couple of days prior to spring break rather than after. The only negative is that we'd then have less time at Universal.

Scenario one: Flight out Wednesday after school, Universal on Thurs and Friday. Saturday leave for the cruise. Return home when cruise ends.

Scenario two: Flight out Friday after school. Cruise Sat. - Sat. Upon return on Sat. leave for Universal. Universal Sunday, Monday, and perhaps Tuesday. Fly home Tuesday.

Scenario three: Don't pull your kids out of school you bad, bad parent! Go to Universal on the Saturday you get back from the cruise. Spend the night on-site. Go to Universal for part of the day on Sunday and then fly home. You are awful to even consider pulling the kids out of school!

 

[dis4me]

Go to universal whenever you think is best.It won't make much of a difference which 2 days.The 2 before though they are likely to miss less, as many classes(elementary age) do holiday activities at that time.You could never be a Bad parent you are taking your kids on a Disney cruise.LOL

 

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Senario 3 has a small ring of truth, but selective hearing can take care of that. Just so it's not a once a month thing, I think you can be a good parent and have Universal too!!! Before break would be better to miss. They'll be jumping right back into the nitty-gritty after break. Have Fun, take lots of pictures for proof to your kids that you really have done great things as a family. (You'll need this in the middle school years )

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I also think that pulling them out before the cruise would be the best option. If you go to Universal then fly home-you're going to have a hard time getting your kids up for school the next morning. You're going to be very wiped out when you get home and will need a little "get back to normal" time. Plus, as someone else said, teachers wind down before spring break. Is your spring break durning Easter? If so, then your school will probably be out on Good Friday-only making your kids miss 1 day of school. I personally don't believe in taking my kids out of school for vacation-but 1-2 days isn't going to hurt.

 

[kpgclark]

Because of when Easter falls, our spring break begins March 29th. No luck with Good Friday.

 

[Ashley24]

I also think you should go to Universal first. We did that before our April cruise and two days was plenty of time. I liked ending our vacation on a more relaxing note (cruise!) rather than with the often hectic pace at the parks. Just my opinion!
Ann

 

[Michelle]

For the kindergartener I don't think the dates matter, but talk to your 3rd grader's teacher and see what he/she thinks about the dates. In our school state testing is in the spring and you definitely do not want to miss that. The teacher should be able to let you know which week is the best to miss a couple of days.

 

[AnnaB]

Go to Universal when on the days you want. The kids are going to get more out of being with thier family then they can ever hope to learn in 2 days of school. Have fun!

 

[disneyholic family]

missing two days of elementary school is trivial and i wouldn't think twice about it if i were you...but if you are worried, the two days before vacation are better than the 2 days after.....

as for universal ....well considering my family hates universal my first inclination is to say go to the magic kingdom...
but since you're asking, 2 days for universal/IoA is plenty....especially if you're staying on property (which gives you express entrance into the attractions...so you won't need that much time to cover the parks)...i suggest doing uiversal first then islands of adventure...there's actually much more to do at universal than at IoA, so you might want to go back to universal on your IOA day....

and be sure to take advantage of the fact that you're staying on property and use express entrance....you'll be able to get through things much much much more quickly....

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi KPG. My recommendation is for Universal prior to the cruise. As others have said, your children will miss little if any school work a few days before the start of a lengthy holiday. Returning home right after the cruise allows for Sunday to be a time for family readjustment.

Remember, Disney isn't merely a vacation - it's an experience. There is much your children will learn on a 7-night cruise. They will gain insights at the various ports of call, particularly if you discuss with them what they visited any given day. Consider it a family classroom. My DS9 has now been to Key West where he experienced the Western Union Schooner (a national historic site)and was able to interact one-on-one with the ship's crew; the dear lad has been to the turtle farm, a semi-submarine and Hell on Grand Cayman along with enjoying horseback riding on the beach with Nicki; he and daddy had a blast together in Cozumel riding ATVs, kayaking and even touring the ruins of a small Mayan temple; my son has also been to Castaway Cay so he is familiar with the island-look of the Bahamas. How much more education can a DS9 stand? lol.

To ease your conscience even further, I noticed that the ship's captain allows time for a personal meeting with the children in the Oceaneers Lab who are the age of your third grader. Have your child attend this informative "seminar" and then, on sunday, let them write a few sentences on what they learned for their teacher.

Enjoy the educational benefits of both Universal and the cruise!

 

[kpgclark]

Thanks everyone! I just changed my Universal ressies for the couple of days before the cruise.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I've been having the exact same dilema! Even worse now that I realized I had not planned for the right week of spring break! So I'm having moments of feeling really guilty about taking the kids out of school!

Our itinerary ended up like this: Leaving on Friday March 28th for Orlando - taking kids out of school. Cruise on Magic from 3/29 to 4/5. Taking kids out of school that whole week (which is prior to their spring break) but they only have two full days of class (Monday & Tuesday) - then three half days on Wed thru Friday. Spending week of actual spring break vacation at Sheraton's Vistana Resort and splitting between Universal and WDW. Coming home Saturday after spring break. So I'm sure they will have homework to make up- but it will be the first time on a cruise & getting to go to mexico.

Hopefully my DS's age 6 & 12 won't be scarred for life

 

[kpgclark]

Briarfox, too bad about misplanning the date. It is difficult to take the kids out of school- you really get the "am I doing the right thing" guilt trip.

Anyhow, I'm glad you are going when you are going. We'll see you on the ship!!!!!!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

What messed me up was that our school district always has spring break the first FULL week of April. So I figured it wrong - it's the 7th through 11th. Oh well - worked out o.k. anyway. Only bad deal was I couldn't get the government rate at the Dolphin that week. So we opted to stay at Vistana instead.

Well only 8 more months to go

 

[carlamom]

I'm a 2nd grade teacher and I would rather have a child miss before a vacation than afterwards. Teachers know that kids have difficulty focusing right before a vacation, so there isn't as much crucial learning taking place. Afterwards, however, there is a lot of new learning going on. I do think that checking with the teacher first is a good idea - she might be planning a big test before the break.