Week for Spring Break 2011

[pnyltwk]

We get our kid's School Calendar's normally the year before the current school year. The calendar for 2011 came out months ago. Based on that calendar we had made reservations for a March 2011 cruise on the DREAM. We reserved two cabins (Cat 11) side by side. We used points (86) for each adult and paid cash for our two children.
Friday two weeks ago we received a call informing us that the calendar has been changed for the Spring Break vacation to the beginning of March instead of the end of March. And of course at this point comparable state rooms are not available for the new week. Needless to say I am not very pleased with this. The Disney Collection is not exactly what I joined DVC for. But our choices are very limited as to what we can do with those points now.
Anybody else dealt with this before?

 

[nolanboys]

Would your kids miss a whole week of school? Are they good students? Not in high school or upper middle school yet? I was a teacher and had no problem pulling my kids out for 4 days this year for Disney. Granted, the oldest 2 are only on 4th grade, but they are good students and the teacher was nice enough to give them their work before they left. We did most of it before we even left on our trip and they were all caught up within a day of coming back. Now, I do realize I only have a couple years of being able to do this before the amount of work missed becomes overwhelming. Depending on the age of your kids, maybe you should still keep your original plans.

And I know how frustrating it is when schools change their calendars. We were set to go the first week in June next year to save on points, but next year is the first time they get out mid-June. Figures that would happen right when we finally join DVC!

 

[pnyltwk]

We have done that in the past. The kid's will be in the eighth and eleventh grade next year. The FCAT is being given the middle of April. So that would mean that the kid's would miss the two weeks in March. I have not cancelled the reservations yet so that may still be an option for us.

 

[CADisneyMom]

I would just ask the teachers for the work that they would be doing that week and see if maybe they can get it and work on it during their scheduled spring break (if it doesn't mess up their work that would be in between). Or if they can get it before you leave, maybe they can work on it the weekend before you leave and finish it when you come back so that when they go back to school they'll have it all done.

Good luck

 

[Pixieflip]

Why on earth would a school change the calendar at this date?? I would think they could not argue with you and your previously scheduled vacation. Missing schools is a great debate, but we are of the camp that once a year, for a few days, they might miss some school and we are fine with it, even my middle and high schoolers, even with AP classes. Others have schools who will not allow it at all, but in this instance, I would argue with them to the end of time that they changed the dates on you! Do not feel bad, go, enjoy your family time - a Disney Cruise is the trip of a lifetime!

You probably won't have to argue because I'm guessing you aren't the only ones to have previously scheduled commitments. Good grief, to change the school calendar this late is just asking for conflicts.

 

[pnyltwk]

I agree completely. I do not understand why the dates would change. This is the first time that this has ever happened to us. We are going to attempt to make alternate arrangements if possible but I am not willing to spend much additional money. I just paid off the cash portion of the trip about a month ago. Guess it just figures that someone would have to throw a wrench in to the mix.

 

[spiceycat]

know it is not a DVC resort - but the Polyn is a great resort and a fun place.

also think you can use the points for concierge - is any of these places near were you live.?

so sorry this has happened to you - think would always call in the future and get the name of the person who say it was fine.

now unless your kids are a heck of alot smarter than me - would not take them out of school this close to FCAT testing.

 

[pnyltwk]

We live in Milton, Florida. We are just east of Pensacola. So it is a good drive to WDW. Yes, we have looked at the Disney Collection. We could probably get by at the Wilderness Cabins. My concern with the Disney Collection is the number of points for a nightly stay. Geez for 40 points I could be in a two bedroom Villa at most resorts any night of the week at WDW. Obviously the lesson of this story is live and learn. I am off next week for the 4th and will be on the phone daily until I find something that will suit us.

Does anyone know how I get my money back for the cash portion I have already paid if alternate reservations are cheaper or require no out of pocket? I paid $1300.00 for the kid's portion of the cruise.

 

[spiceycat]

ms should be able to refund your money - or at least to tell you how to go about it.

so sorry.

 

[spiceycat]

for the 2011 - there are also the moderate resorts for 23 points for spring break

CSR has queen beds

 

[pnyltwk]

for the 2011 - there are also the moderate resorts for 23 points for spring break

CSR has queen beds

Thanks. We will look in to that.

 

[Sheribo]

They'll have many weeks in school for many years so do it while they're young. It's one thing to get the work assignments but it's another to cover the classroom time to teach HOW to do the work. As long as you are able to teach your child what he has missed and are not asking the teacher to spend time catching them up, go for it. Have a great time!

We don't have specific rules about vacation time here in Ontario but I do understand some schools do.

 

[pnyltwk]

After about a half dozen calls to MS I finally changed our reservations today. I cancelled the cruise reservations and got four nights at the Wilderness Cabins. We stayed at the VWL a few years back and really enjoyed the resort. We are hoping this will suffice for our upcoming trip. Sucks that I had the cruise all paid for. Of course a cruise includes meals and entertainment. So I will have to use the money that I get refunded and buy tickets. The cabins have a full kitchen so that is a plus for us. We always try to eat as many meals as practical in our room to help cut down on the price of the stay. We will use points for our first two days of the trip and stay in a studio at one of the DVC resorts. That will allow us to extend our trip to six nights.
Would definitely say that I learned a valuable lesson about using points for booking a cruise. I will be hesitant to that again. Thanks to those that responded and made suggestions or expressed concern.

Mike