Which School Holiday?

[I Love Tigger]

Hi Everyone

We have been 4 times to Orlando, but only in term time,
in September our DD starts year 10 and we have been advised to only go in school holidays for the next two years

But when to go i.e cost, especially as Easter & Xmas are very expensive and summer is very hot and lots of rain

Would anyone consider going 1 week in June & 1 week in October or is that even more expensive

I can't stand the thought of no Florida holiday but just don't know what to do

Any ideas

Nikki

 

[BevS97]

could you miss a few days of school? We really enjoyed May - if you could go over the 1 week school holidays, you can get 9 days away without missing any school.

or you could even do the same in Feb which would probably be cheaper/cooler.

We found May to be a really nice time to travel last year.

Bev

 

[bengunn]

The end of May is Ok for year 10 but NOT for year 11 as it is just before the GCSE exams start. Same goes for years 12 and 13 for A levels.

That is why we are stuck with going August 16th to September 6th this year. Easter was out due to DDs university exams immediately after, May half-term DS had AS exams and DD does not even get half-term. Christmas just sounds too busy and we do not like to be away from the rest of our family at Christmas.

So it was summer or nothing so hot and damp here we come

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Due to restrictions on when Jane and I can take leave we have only been able to visit in August. Yes, it is hot and humid, and the crowds in the parks can be bad, especially at the end of July early August when US schools are out. On the other hand you have long opening hours and lots of extra parades, shows and entertainment. So things do balance out a little. We find is fairly easy to make the most of the weather - get to the parks early to avoid the heat, take a break in the afternoon (swimming, sleeping, shopping, etc) then return to the parks in the evening when it is cooler.

You could try the end of August - US schools return around the 15th so crowds are down, but you still have the remains of summer opening hours. Hotel prices fall around about 20th of August (WDW goes in to 'Value' season) so you should be able to get reasonably priced accommodation.

I can't see that two one-week trips would be a sensible approach given the cost of airfares (unless money is not a major consideration).

Regards

Rob

 

[UKDEB]

I agree with Rob. We visited last two weeks of August/first week of September 2000 and I can't say the crowds were noticibly different than when we've visited in May or October. The weather was not as good, but not significantly worse that it affected our enjoyment that much.

Visiting for two separate weeks (which we did last year - 11 days Jul/Aug and 8 days December) is significantly more expensive due to having to pay for airfares twice, and is less enjoyable because you feel obliged to pack more in each time. I would only consider this as a last resort option.

 

[stevechase]

we went this Easter for the nearly 3 weeks from the 3rd - 21 st April. It was not too much more, because the Americans Easter break was just ending as ours starts.

 

[Wellard Stallard]

My daughter starts year 10 in September and we have booked our trip for 3 weeks in October (to include half term week) so in effect she is off school for 2 weeks - they have authorised it. However I did say she was to be given extra work prior to the trip so she doesn't miss too much. Hope this helps.

thanks

 

[BevS97]

we are struggling with this for next year. It's Phil's final year at University and Katie's first year at school. Since it's Phil's final year, he doesn't want to miss any classes, or go to close to his finals, which I can understand.

Also, they seem to have completely different holiday schedules, so it's christmas, easter or the summer holidays as far as I can tell.

I am leaning towards Easter, but haven't got a flight yet, so I bet I struggle to find one at this late stage. (late for some, but it's very early for me to even be thinking about a trip)

Bev

 

[I Love Tigger]

Thanks all of you,


I spoke to my sister-in-law about year 10 as our nephew has just finished his, she said they have alot of exams throughout the year, plus work experience.

We also spoke to the TA who we booked with in April and he said we could expect to pay about £550 each for flights in August (we only paid £238 in April), and Easter is already booked up for 2003

We will probably speak to the school to see if they can tell us the best time to go when she will not miss anything vital, she's happy to catch up on the work she would miss, so we will have to wait and see.

Nikki

 

[Mazzy]

Hi Nikki

As you don't seem keen on the heat of August, and I would feel the same, an alternative may be to go just after Christmas. We are going out on Boxing Day for 15 nights - it does mean the children missing the first week back in January but I wouldn't have thought that that week was as crucial as say May and June, as our High School has internal exams at that time, don't know if this is standard.

Don't know about other airlines, but Virgin Holidays prices drop dramatically on Christmas Day - it wasn't as expensive as May for our trip. Might be worth thinking about. It's not easy is it?

 

[dizzydeb]

We too are going out on 28th December...we are planning on staying out of the parks till 2nd/3rd January to avoid the xmas crush...If anyone has any ideas about what would be great things to do then I would appreciate it. Its our first visit and my sons of 12 and 9 are nearly as excited as ME!