We did what we'd sworn we'd never do - booked during a school break

[JediBonas]

Ever since the kids hit middle school we've been doing long weekends at Disney because we can no longer take them out for a full week. When we were discussing possible trips a couple on months ago my daughter got very upset and we finally got out of her that she would like a more relaxing Disney trip. When we do our long weekends we are go-go-go the entire time. We get on every ride they want multiple times and go to all the parks but we don't ever do sit down meals or Disney Springs like when we took full week vacations. So we were left with having to go during a school break or summer (several of us are super sensitive to heat so that's a no-go). My husband's first thought was April break, then discovered that's Easter as well, so I checked flights and hotels and was able to get decent rates for both for Feb 18 - 24 (they'll miss one day of school), realizing it would be busy with break and not realizing it's also marathon weekend. Oh well. This will be their 12th visit to Disney (they just turned 13), so they've seen and done everything, hoping we can have a more relaxing experience then the last few trips. My daughter's checking out restaurants we haven't eaten at and we plan on visiting some of the other resorts. Hoping to be able to book some experiences they haven't done, maybe the Broadway show at Epcot.

 

[BrianLa]

Ever since the kids hit middle school we've been doing long weekends at Disney because we can no longer take them out for a full week. When we were discussing possible trips a couple on months ago my daughter got very upset and we finally got out of her that she would like a more relaxing Disney trip. When we do our long weekends we are go-go-go the entire time. We get on every ride they want multiple times and go to all the parks but we don't ever do sit down meals or Disney Springs like when we took full week vacations. So we were left with having to go during a school break or summer (several of us are super sensitive to heat so that's a no-go). My husband's first thought was April break, then discovered that's Easter as well, so I checked flights and hotels and was able to get decent rates for both for Feb 18 - 24 (they'll miss one day of school), realizing it would be busy with break and not realizing it's also marathon weekend. Oh well. This will be their 12th visit to Disney (they just turned 13), so they've seen and done everything, hoping we can have a more relaxing experience then the last few trips. My daughter's checking out restaurants we haven't eaten at and we plan on visiting some of the other resorts. Hoping to be able to book some experiences they haven't done, maybe the Broadway show at Epcot.

We are in the same boat as you with kids in school and not wanting them to miss more than a day or two here and there. We very rarely go for less than a week and find that even with the parks more crowded than non-school breaks (Spring/Easter break was our trip every year) we plan and schedule "nice" sit-down restaurants, resort time, time at Disney Springs etc. Once the FOMO wore off after the first couple trips to WDW, we have found it much more relaxing and more of a vacation. We have no problem seeing a 50 minute wait for the Jungle Cruise and just walking by saying we will get it next time. In fact I am doing what I swore I would never do, we are going for 7 days after Christmas over New Years totally prepared (maybe "totally" is a stretch) for the crowds but looking forward to spending NYE in the parks. We already know that we won't get on as many rides, or Quick Service will no longer be Quick so we booked a lot more ADRs and plan more things away from just the rides.

 

[JediBonas]

We are in the same boat as you with kids in school and not wanting them to miss a day or two here and there. We very rarely go for less than a week and find that even with the parks more crowded than non-school breaks (Spring/Easter break was our trip every year) we plan and schedule "nice" sit-down restaurants, resort time, time at Disney Springs etc. Once the FOMO wore off after the first couple trips to WDW, we have found it much more relaxing and more of a vacation. We have no problem seeing a 50 minute wait for the Jungle Cruise and just walking by saying we will get it next time. In fact I am doing what I swore I would never do, we are going for 7 days after Christmas over New Years totally prepared (maybe "totally" is a stretch) for the crowds but looking forward to spending NYE in the parks. We already know that we won't get on as many rides, or Quick Service will no longer be Quick so we booked a lot more ADRs and plan more things away from just the rides.

Thank you, hearing this helps me feel better about this trip!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more