When would you go?

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Okay if you had a choice of 2 times to go (one or the other- not both) WHICH of these would you choose, and why?

Okay let's add that you're a family of 5.... with children ages 9, 5 and 2. If that makes any difference on when you would go. Also keep in mind we are from Texas, so HEAT doesn't bother us as it might others- but might still be a consideration? We had decided since going in Aug/Sept that we'd spend time at the water parks which we've never done..... but now we have to make a decision between TWO time frames and I can't figure out which would be best?

(also make a note before answering that we do not have any family plans for Thanksgiving...both our families either live too far away AND aren't getting together- or in the case of my family- they are all split up spending Thanksgivings now with their in-laws and such. So all we'd do at home is what we did last year- just had a Thanksgiving dinner at home alone just the 5 of us and my kids don't even LIKE most Thanksgiving dinner items. LOL)

Okay the dates are:
Aug 30-Sept 9
or
Nov 2-Dec 2 (my oldest two would actually miss less school with this option- which is why it's now something I'm considering)

I don't know what the parks will be like during either of those times- they are both listed as value to moderate (instead of peak) but those that have been during those times -or know from other's experiences- what do you think? Which would YOU choose if you had to decide between those 2 times?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Oh and please let me know any differences you might know of that might help me decide. Like if one or the other might have e-nights or when does MVMCP start? Which are the hours longer (earlier or later) or are they the same? Things like that. I really appreciate it!

 

[kdibattista]

I guess it depends... which part of Nov - Dec? If you are talking Thanksgiving then I would pass.... I'm not big on crowds and from what I hear, Thanksgiving week is CRAZY!!!!! Any other week I think would be great.... little crowds, cooler weather. We have gone the week after Labor Day and it's great.... no crowds, okay weather (still hot but not horrible) but that is still hurricane season. I'm not sure about the hours. I think any of the dates you have will be shorter hours (other than Thanksgiving week).

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Many Disers go the week after Thanksgiving into first and second week of December... We like it then as it is not that hot, even though I am from New England, I hate very hot and humid... Also, the parks are decorated for Christmas which certainly puts one in a festive mood and the crowds are not difficult to handle... We love going then and will be there this year at that time... Many Dis meets will be set around this time frame..

 

[dmonroe]

If you've never seen WDW decorated for Christmas, then I would go in Dec. I've heard that it gets pretty crowded during Thanksgiving; but before/after the holiday weekend isn't that bad. I think MVMCP usually starts on/around Dec. 1. We usually go to WDW the second week of Dec. It's great--very light crowds AND we get to see the Christmas Decorations!

 

[disneyjunkie]

I would pick the Nov. dates.

I'm thinking since you are in Texas, school starts sometime in August? I wouldn't want my son to miss any days the first week or two of school.

If you go in Nov., you'll get to see/do all of the Christmas stuff. However, only one water park will be open.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Okay sorry- missing a number there. It was supposed to show Nov 26th -Dec 2nd for the second option.

I hear ya on the missing at the beginning of school- however, for her it wouldn't be a big deal. She's an A honor roll student and catches on quickly and they don't do much more than review for atleast the first few weeks of school. Last summer we took a vacation (not to WDW that time though) the 2nd week of school and it took her only 2 days to be completely caught up with everyone else. She's also going into 4th grade though- so it's not like jr high or highschool or something which might be a lot harder to miss some like that. Still elementary and easy for her.

The water parks aren't that important to us. I mean we wanted to do that just because we hadn't before- but we definitely have plenty of water parks to choose from this summer here in Texas. LOL

We have seen Christmas decorations- our first trip to WDW was last Christmas- but we did not participate in MVMCP though- didn't even know about it then. LOL So if we did till Dec 2nd there's a chance we could do that?

We couldn't go the 2nd week of Dec. or any other time that might be "better". The dates are SET as posted.... either Aug 30-Sept 9th or Nov 26th- Dec 2nd. So any other week is not an option- those are the two choices and asking which would be better..... not any other week would be better because that's not an option for us.

So it's really busy Thanksgiving week eh? I was afraid of that.

Well, if we go at that time- it would be only me and my oldest daughter I think (possibly the whole family- but not sure)- so then it might not be a big deal if it was "packed". I don't know- for some reason I think I'd rather not deal with packed parks with the whole family but it not be as bothersome if it was just me and her? I guess because we wouldn't have the 5yr old that can't ride some rides and the 2yr old with the stroller/not able to keep going as much (more breaks, naptime, etc.) ?? Am I wrong in thinking that?

I really appreciate all your help in this decision! It's a toughie for me!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I hear ya on the missing at the beginning of school- however, for her it wouldn't be a big deal. She's an A honor roll student and catches on quickly and they don't do much more than review for atleast the first few weeks of school. Last summer we took a vacation (not to WDW that time though) the 2nd week of school and it took her only 2 days to be completely caught up with everyone else. She's also going into 4th grade though- so it's not like jr high or highschool or something which might be a lot harder to miss some like that. Still elementary and easy for her.

Oh and to add to that- if the entire family was going on either trip instead of just me and my oldest daughter- then the August trip might be an issue because of school- because my 5yr old son would be starting kindergarten. So that wouldn't be cool for him to miss right at the beginning of his FIRST real year of school (not counting private preschool he went to this year). Hmmm...

 

[tink2]

I've been twice during Thanksgiving week, so I'll share my experiences. Our trip was from the Sunday before Thanksgiving unitl the Sat. after- putting us in the parks Mon-Fri. Monday-Wednesday of that week were very managable- crowds were moderate. Thanksgiving was crazy at the MK, but with EE and FastPass, we accomplished a lot. The park got more crowded as the day went. We spent Friday at a different park- not MK. They were not that bad. However, we were not in a park on a weekend. I am a teacher and one of my students went for a 3 day weekend this past Thanksgiving. His mother came back saying she would NEVER go during this time again! She said the waits were at least an hour for everything- two and three for big attractions. Since your dates look like they begin Thanksgiving day and continue through the weekend, I'd consider crowds an option. Sounds like your school only gets out Thurs. and Fri. of that week? We luckily are out the entire week and allows for better crowd control.
Good luck deciding!

BTW- I think MVMCP begins Dec. 1 or 2?

 

[laceemouse]

We have been both of the times you are thinking about. Don't look at my current location LOL we are actually from the south. I was raised in south Louisiana. It is really hot and humid in August, however, the start of December can be pretty darn chilly. We definitely were not able to swim when we went in early December and swimming is VERY important to us. Disney water parks are the best!! That being said, the Christmas decoration are gorgeous and everyone should see them at least once. I am not sure about the Christmas party dates but you can check that. Our oldest is finishing her first year of Jr. High and I can tell you we will not be taking our kids out of school for vacations ever again. She is very smart, in gifted classes, but that means they just pile on the work even more! Our school district is very much against kids missing for anything other than illness, and even then the teachers do NOTHING to help with what you missed! You have to get it all from another kid which is not always easy. Weigh all the facts and decide what is best for your family. Most of all, HAVE FUN!!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Ugh, I'm so sorry. I had my dates wrong when I corrected it! Sorry.
It's actually Nov 24th- Dec 2 if we go at that option.
Also things have changed -I think. Because DH is not exactly thrilled about going again and said he'd rather not go. I'm almost positive it is because the time we went together was Christmas and it was so crowded PLUS we only did WDW parks for 4 days (and now I know that is NOT enough- then we did Universal for 3 days with one day "rest day")- plus we didn't know a darn thing about WDW because I didn't find this board until after we got back.... and now I have been once by myself on a pretty long trip and have ofcourse learned a lot here on ways to save money, get more out of our trip, stay onsite/etc. So I really think he'd have more fun this time- but then again I don't want to force him to go and have Mr Grumpy with us the entire time.

But if he goes- the whole family goes... including my 2yr old that is constantly asking to go again, see princesses again, etc. Although I know she'll get over it and probably not even realize where we have gone to and we WILL take her again in the future when she's older..... my 5yr old son is going to have a fit if I go and just take our oldest daughter with me. But if we took him (he's short, btw) then there are lots of rides we can't ride since DH isn't there to do the parent swap like we did on most rides last time! (and he wasn't happy about not being able to ride a lot of rides last time either- well a lot to HIM.... although it wasn't actually THAT many he couldn't ride- I think he's barely over 42" now so he could ride a few more- but my oldest who would be almost 10 is already tall enough to ride almost all the rides I think.... are there any that you have to be over 54"? Because I think she's 55" now.)

Anyway, the trip with just her sounds like we would have a lot of fun. But I know we'd have more fun as a FAMILY this time too. I suppose I could calm my son down about it a BIT- by promising when he's tall enough to ride all the rides I'll do a special trip with just him and me- PLUS he and his dad can do something special just the two of them this summer (like a camping/fishing trip or something). So he might be okay with it.... but now with it probably just going to be me and my daughter- I have to rethink about when to go and all that. Probably WOULD be best to go on the Nov/Dec trip since she'd miss a lot less days of school for that. Even though it will be busier- it will be easier to deal with that with it just being me and her running around... rather than pushing a stroller, dealing with either diapers or constant bathroom breaks (she is just now potty training- unsure how she would be at that time) and Mr Grumpy along for the ride also. LOL Plus ofcourse with the youngest- we'd need to do naps (ie: less time in the parks or atleast less time riding rides and such- plus DH has to be in bed early- me and my oldest tend to stay up much later- yada yada. I'm rambling now.

I guess what I'm saying is that on one hand I'm okay with just me and my oldest daughter going on a trip together .... but on the other hand I think we'd have more fun as a family trip than we did the last one (which was our first)- but convincing DH of that is probably not worth it. It's a gamble on whether he'll be MrGrumpy the entire time. *sigh*

Still trying to decide which time- but leaning more towards the Nov24- Dec 2 trip if it's just going to be us two. I hear ya on it being "chilly" (atleast it was to me) because we were mildly chilled at times in the Dec trip and I was REALLY cold some days/nights in my trip last Jan. But we have lots of water parks here and it's probably not going to be THAT big of an issue if we miss out on that because it's too cold for US to want to do that on this trip.
Also have to figure this out soon because I might need to change our reservations for the resort AND we had picked ASSp this time -mainly for my son. If he's not going- might as well change that too.
Will the new value resort be open by Nov 24th? Are they taking reservations for that yet?

 

[Maridw]

We have gone every year since 2000 just after Thanksgiving. There are a couple reasons we like going at this time.

1. The weather - Everytime we have gone we usually have maybe 1 real cold day, but the rest of the time it is great, not too hot, not too cold. It does cool down after dark, but a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt or light jacket it about all you need.

2. Right around Thanksgiving they are putting up all the Christmas decorations. So besides the magic of WDW, you have the magic of the Christmas holidays. There is the MGM Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights, MK MVMCP, Epcot Christmas around the World and the Candlelight Processional.

We have gone in November and gone to Blizzard Beach. When we go, we usually get there on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. We have been there for 3 to 7 days. We always use Fastpass and take advantage of the EE days. Usually if you go the end of November, they don't have E-ride nights as they are starting the MVMCP.

If I had the choice between Aug/Sept and Nov/Dec - I would definitely take Nov/Dec. In fact we have booked to go Nov 28 to Dec 4. We are staying at the All-Star Sports resort.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks again for all the info!
Oh and if we do go at that time- we'll be right there with ya at All Star Sports! LOL

Actually I posted this on another thread- so I thought I'd put it here too for the benefit of those that have read this thread and might read it again:
I'm actually trying to sweet talk DH into doing BOTH trips that I'd mentioned on the other thread- the entire family on one trip and then me and my oldest daughter on another trip a couple months later. If we can swing that- then the "family" trip won't be "commando style" trying to do as much as possible- since I know me and my oldest would be going again soon. Make sense? It just seems like all our "family vacations" (even to other places- not just WDW) don't really feel like vacations. I'm sure it's partly that way for all larger families with young ones- it's more work than vacation! but maybe if we know I and my oldest are going again not too long after- we can take things easier, not so rushed, not trying to cram so much in that trip, etc. I think the problem is that I want to get my money's worth (and so do my older two children- go go go is our motto. LOL) But with the younger one holding us back and DH NOT being the commando type- we end up all stressed to some degree..... working too hard at vacation is no fun. LOL

We'll see what we end up doing.....