What if you don't want to take kids out of school?

[Desnik]

We have been going to WDW every year for the past 7 years. We like to go the week before Thanksgiving. DD is now 6yo and in the 1st grade. I felt guilty about letting her miss a week this year. I am feeling that this will be the last year I will let her miss school for a trip. We have to drive down from NY b/c DH won't fly. So we have to add extra days for travel so that makes short trips almost not worth it for us.

Now my question, finally,. LOL!!
If you don't want to take your child out of school and you absolutely hate crowds, when is a good time to go to WDW?

 

[newholiday]

DH & I took DS out of school the past 4yrs for about 5days ea yr - never had much trouble from his teachers - he's an A/B student

However for next yr (DS will be entering 8th grd fall 05) DS & I are going Aug 18-27. First time in the summer heat. Im thinking every other day will be a pool or waterpark day. The southern schools will hopefully have gone back to school so maybe the crowds will be less than other wks during the summer.

 

[Jacksmom99]

I'm a teacher, so we're forced to work around the school calendar. We go the 3rd week of August every year. While it's very hot, the crowds aren't too bad as the southern schools are back in session. I would love to be able to go during a really slow time.....but it'll have to wait another 25 years until I retire!

 

[BevS97]

I don't know your school schedule, but we get a week off in October and a week in Februrary -we are going next week which is half term break in October. We are actually going for 2 weeks, so my 6 year old will still miss one week of school, but I didn't want her to miss 2 weeks, so we have done it that way.

 

[Kevenswife2]

In the past, we planned ours for immediatly after the school year was over with. Last day of school was May 28 so we left May 29. That year, the busy season didn't start until June 5. Crowds were small as most schools were still in session, but grew as you got into June.

On another vacation we had the kids miss only the last two days of school. It fit into our plans better that way. Do they really do much the last week of school?

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm getting to this point of not wanting to take DDs out of school anymore...

My only choices I can think of are the end of August or the week of Thanksgiving.

I would never go during Christmas, Winter or Spring Breaks as it would just be too crowded.

My girls don't end school until mid-June so the end of the school year is NOT an option.

Doesn't leave me much.

 

[shafke]

I would go for the last 2 weeks of Aug. That was out plan initially for our next trip until we found out that our sping break is the end of April. We should be missing most of the college spring breaks so crowds will hopefully be lighter than earlier in April. The only drawback to the week we are going is that we may get some shortened MK hours due to grad nights.

 

[Brian Noble]

We get a week in February off, and that's when we usually go on the Disney Trip (last year to Land, this year to World).

If I didn't have that week, I'd go the last full week before school starts, which for us would have been the week of 8/22. Heat, but slightly reduced crowds.

But, fundamentally, you have to either accept some crowds or pull your kids out. Given the choice, I'd live with the crowds, but that's just me. I also suspect I'm in the minority among DISers.

 

[laceemouse]

I agree with Brian, kinda felt like I was the only disser who doesn't want to take the kids out. When they were younger we did it, now 2 are in jr. high. We have very competitive schools and the workload in unbelieveable. My kids are smart, oldest is in gifted classes, but our schools do a lot of group projects, experiments, classroom discussions, and other stuff that can not be made up. We usually rotate between summer and spring break. If your spring break is always Easter that would be tough, but ours is end of March so it does not always coinside with Easter so it is not so bad. Nice and cool too. In summer we like to swim, water park a lot. Next year we may do the week after Christmas. It will be crowded but we will still be able to do holiday stuff. We just went last week. The kids had a 4 day weekend for Columbus Day, we left the Wednesday prior so they missed one day. You can only do a short trip like this by flying though. We do not get an October or February break like some folks, I would kill for that!!! Next year oldest will be in high school, even missing one day will be too much. I have to say as far as crowds go, it looks like there is not much time nowadays that WDW is NOT crowded, so just do what is best for your schedule. In summer you could take some time to drive, ect. Of course, DH and I are from the south so we don't "DIE" in the heat anyway!!! Lacee

 

[myboysmom]

We haven't taken our kids out either to go on the last two and our upcoming trip. Traveling when everyone else is out of school. We believe that developing the study skills needed is very important to be successful in school and eventually dedicated in the work force as well ( I mean, would your boss really want you to take a week or more off in your companies busy season?).

Our oldest got a really nice award that we weren't expecting when he "graduated" from elementary school from the American Legion in town for only missing 5 days in 5 years (then we felt bad because 2 of the days were because we pulled him 1 day to get started on our Disney trips!).

We prepare for the crowds, and each time have been pleased that it wasn't as bad as we expected.

Just do your planning and you will be fine.

 

[FOV]

Our kids are in preschool, 1st grade and 4th grade.

This year we are going to Disney Nov. 8 - 14, which is a shorter trip than usual. We are leaving at 4pm on the 8th (a Monday) so the kids won't miss that day of school. We pick them up at school and wisk them away to the airport - very fun for them!

November 11 is Veterans day so they have that day off from school and Friday is a teacher workshop day. We will be in Disney for 7 days and they will only miss 2 days of school and we are going during the slow season. Not bad!

Last year we went to Universal the last week of June and it was great! The heat and crowds were not nearly as bad as we thought. We would definitely do it again!

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[StormalongKay]

As others have said, go in late August. It will definitely be hotter than you are used to but the crowds are really not an issue when the southern schools are back in. At least, we've gone 3x during that time frame and never had a problem although we did notice more crowds (day visitors we think) on the weekends.

Every August it seems the rates drop at the Disney resorts and the airfares get cheaper and cheaper. I often tell families who budget to go then! But this past August/Sep I watched hurricane after hurricane hit and wondered if my strategy was sound.

If you can't fly, though, I would think you are really limited to visiting during summers and school holiday periods.

 

[LovePug]

We won't be pulling our DD out of school much longer and, since I'm obsessive about Disney , I've been thinking of how we're going to handle it after, maybe, next year. We go twice a year because we have the APs. We went the first week my DD was out of school this year and I realized we could've left a couple of days earlier because she did absolutely nothing but have parties during that last week . Next June we're leaving a bit earlier. The crowds weren't awful, during our June trip, at all. Later in the month is when it really picks up. Our second trip will probably be for Thanksgiving week or the week before/of Christmas because they do absolutely nothing in class before Christmas break either.

 

[swilphil]

Bravo to all of you for not wanting to take your kids out of school!!! As a teacher, I'd also say one or two days right before or after a break or long weekend isn't bad either. We go during the summer, and yes the heat is bad but we go early and return to the parks in the evening.

 

[Disneyof3]

I know what you all mean but if you can't afford to go in peak season then off season is your only option then I would go. Also we have no break up here in Canada until our spring break. We did it last year for the first time and took son 7 out of school in January for 1 full week. We left on a Friday and returned the following Monday. I let the teacher know way in advance and told her I expected my son to take work with him. Basically I demanded homework. There was no problem and his marks stayed the same. This Feb. I'm taking him out for a extra 2 days and again expect homework going with him. We also end up going after to my inlaws and he does it there and on the long drive there and back.

As long is it is okay with the teacher and there marks are good going into your trip, I see know reason for the absent.

another opinion.

 

[PlutoPony]

Yeah - I too thought I was alone in not taking kids out of school to go to WDW! For me, it's becoming not how much school time they miss, but WHAT they miss in school. Not everything can be made up by doing a worksheet and reading the textbooks, especially as they get older. DS already misses a day/week when he's pulled out for a GT program and even with teachers planning around that (there are several taken out) we are noticing some things that he's "glossing over" when making up the day...we'll see how this works out over time.

We did go in late August this year and other than the heat, it worked out very well. We adjusted our expectations as to how much we could get done (because of heat not crowds), and spent afternoons at the pool (no hardship). REALLY appreciated staying on site at a monorail resort as it made coming and going MUCH easier. Overall I'm comfortable with the trade-offs we make in this regards - and that's all that matters frankly

Beth

 

[jel0511]

We're basically stuck to July or the usual school breaks here. DD is a Cheerleader and practice starts August 1st, so she can't miss a week or more of that. We go in July, and have been for the past 3 years. We love it, and the heat isn't much worse than it is here in the Northeast. We start early, and usually head back to our resort around lunch. We take a nap and/or dip in the pool, and then clean up for our evenings. We also go for two weeks during the summer, so we can take this more leisurely pace, and the heat isn't a problem. We do have a week in November (gotta love those NJ public schools) that we get 3 half days and then 2 days off. We usually reserve that week for a Caribbean trip, as that is another place we like to go. That's it for us, and once DD reaches Middle School, we won't be going away that week in November anymore. We'll be tied down to the school calender than..... Oh well.... Only a few more years of reasonably priced vacations, and then I have to start paying through the nose!!!

 

[Desnik]

Thank you all for your advice!
I looked at the school calendar and we don't have any winter or fall breaks. We have a spring recess which is during Easter(last week of March 2005) School ends June 23rd and starts again first week of Sept. I'm thinking last week in Aug!

I also wanted to say that I am a firm believer in family vacations and their importance. If you have to take your child out of school because their is no alternative to spend quality time as a family, then I'm all for it. I believe that within reason parents have a right to do that. With that said, for me my DD is in 1st grade and 6yo. She loves school and really loves to learn. She was really upset that she would miss so much school! She said she doesn't want to miss so much learning and has even asked if she can stay behind!!

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[jaccceee]

We took the 7pm flight after school and went during a week that had a staff development day.Then of course, the weekend.

 

[mulanrouge]

I too, am trying to find a solution to this very problem. However, our situation goes a step further. My ds is in grade 3, and my dd is in pre-school (no problem w/that one). My dh and I want one more trip (which we know will be our last for quite some time). We have had one vacation in 7 years (last October to WDW) which was a great time to go.

Our problem you ask? Aside from working around ds's school schedule, we have to work around our schedule. My husband and I are both self-employed. I am a wedding planner, so pretty much the summer's are not an option for me (we live in Canada, and that is our busiest season), but any other major holiday is also taken up with my weddings. My husband starts to get busy around the end of March and all the way into October.

I don't know how to plan a vacation with all of these different schedules. Right now, it looks like the best time to go would be in February. We have a teacher's convention Feb 17 & 18 and then the weekend and then Family day on the 21st. Which means 3 "school days" they won't be missing (we want to go for two weeks). HOWEVER, I have heard that is also President's week in the U.S. and the crowds are unbearable during this time. Since this is our last memorable vacation for quite some time again, I want to be able to go when we will enjoy ourselves and not have to be fighting crowds everywhere we go.

WHAT TO DO? Any suggestions?