Just wondering....do you go the same time each year?

[PKK/MJK]

We usually go the first two weeks of August and then the following year, the last two weeks of July. That way we get to vacation at approximately the same time, but we also get the extended use of our annual passes. When possible we throw in an extra vacation--sometimes in January. This year we are going at Thanksgiving. Our youngest daughter is working in WDW on the College Program--performing in Tapestry of Nations so we will be able to spend one holiday with her.

Regarding taking the children out of school for vacations--I guess I'm really old-fashioned but IMHO, doing this frequently/regularly is a BIG mistake!! Of course, spending quality time with the family is extremely important--but so is going to school!! Parents have to emphasize the importance of education to their children. Taking them out of school for vacations frequently sends the wrong message to the kids--"School is important but vacations are MORE important." I also think the statement that "anyone can teach and reading and math" is absolutely ridiculous!! Certainly there are parents who can teach these things, but many cannot or do not have the inclination to do so. Perhaps a lucky child will be ahead when returning from vacation, but most will not--especially as they get older and school work is more difficult. Then the teacher is expected to "catch them up" because they were gone. This is really unfair to the teacher.

There is no question that quality family time where love is shared and values are taught is critically important to a child's development. But this can be done a times when it does not interfere with a child's school schedule.

Please, I'd appreciate not being bashed on this. It is just my opinion. I rarely say anything controversial on these Boards because comments can become so mean . Also--I am NOT a teacher but I have tremendous respect for those who choose to enter this extremely difficult profession.

 

[Peggy Sue]

We avoid WDW during peak periods. Our travel tends to be the beginning of May, or the beginning of December. We love the Epcot flower show and Christmas at WDW!! This year we added an extra trip for 5 nights to check out MNSSHP and the food and wine festival. I'm afraid we'll like these events so much that we will have to plan 3 trips a year! We don't like the hot/humid weather either..and early May we have been lucky (so far) and not run into any really hot weather. Our experiences with early December weather has been delightful...except for 1997, the year of ElNino..when it rained, rained and oh yes, rained! The only regret I have going at off-peak times is we seldom get to see the night time parades at the MK. We were just there 4/28 - 5/6 and the parade didn't take place.

We don't have kids..so only have to worry about scheduling our vacations at work....

 

[PamOKW]

first two weeks of August and then the following year, the last two weeks of July

Bless you. I haven't tried Disney in the summer (done FL) and can't imagine the heat. But, if you keep going back maybe it isn't that bad after all.

 

[KNWVIKING]

We always go shortly after Thanksgiving & just before Christmas.Points are cheap and we love the Christmas decorations. We also go early to mid may,after easter rush & before schools are out.Points aren't too bad,crowds are ok and the temp is usually low to mid 80's. Years ago I did Navy boot camp in orlando-August,Sept & Oct. I have no idea how people can stand to be in the parks during august heat,yet it's one of the busiest months.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

PKK/MJK...I won't bash you...I'll just disagree.

We take the kids out of school 1 week per year, at Thanksgiving, to go to WDW, and will continue to do so until we have a reason not to. I HATE hot weather, and find it hard to tolerate it in NEW ENGLAND; some people I know actually like the heat.

My DDs (7th and 5th grades) are both straight A students...mostly A+'s, as a matter of fact. My youngest (2nd grade), my DS, gets straight G's. (So did my girls in 2nd grade.) My oldest DD just won a statewide essay contest; won the Math Award when she graduated in 5th grade; has 106 average in Science so far this marking period. I NEVER have to get after any of my kids to do homework...it is their responsibility, and they handle it just fine. They are also very respectful and well-liked by their teachers.

My kids LOVE school, and never complain about going.

I don't mean to say all this to brag...a good friend of mine heard that my oldest was a "star" in school and asked me why she didn't know that. I told her because I don't care who knows it; I know how well they do, and my kids know how well they do...it's an issue of personal pride.

I also have tremendous respect for teachers, and volunteer at my kids' school. Both my DH and I go to the parent/teacher conference, which occurs shortly before our trip, and reassure the teachers that we are both concientious parents, and although our kids are very responsible, we will be sure to pay special attention to make sure they accomplish all their make-up work.

By the time we go on vacation, the teachers know my kids, know how well they do, know that they're well-behaved and respectful, and responsible enough to catch up when they get back (the town has a policy of not allowing them to get the work beforehand).

I think I've taught my children quite well the importance of school and an education. If they didn't do as well as they did, I might feel differently. And kids change...if, for any reason, this doesn't continue to work out, we will take the appropriate steps for our family.

 

[DVCDAVE]

We usually go the third week of March, when our kids are on spring break. This year we are adding on Thanksgiving, and we will leave on the Wed. before after our kids get out of a 1/2 day of school.

 

[Geubux]

You tell em maryann. Why is school not important to me? All school teaches is how to work for someone else and sit in your cubicle and make someone else money. I want to teach my kids how to get along and inspire others. I want to show them that you can get a career doing something you love, not just something to make the almighty dollar. Hey, money is not important, but I rank it up there with oxygen.
I see a lot of people at workplaces that act like 2nd graders, yelling and trying to intimidate people to get them to work. I want my kids to learn from me to motivate, positively, other people and bring out the best in them. When they vacation with us, it is never just a party, it is always a teaching experience. I make sure I tell them my strategies and then listen to their questions and comments. besides, my wife used to be a teacher, and trust me, she is multiple times better than my dd's fifth grade teacher this year. My dd would have done better spending the whole year with us. Of course, she would not have been able to work on her people skills. Some of you are even wondering if I have people skills. My wife wonders too.a

 

[ILuvDVC]

Since my son is in school now, I've been going during Spring Break and either the week before Christmas or the week after. So....I'm there around the same time every year. But, I also have little solo trips I take during the school year <vbg>

 

[baileybrad]

we change our stays based on many different factors.

 

[akdisneyfan]

We always go to WDW about the same time every time, the first couple of weeks in December. There are several reasons for going at that time for us
1) The Christmas decorations are up and everything is so beautiful.
2) It is not crowded at all so we get to do more than we would at busier times.
3) We are from Alaska and the temperature at that time of year is very similar to our summers up here. Last time we went we were practically the only ones at Blizzard Beach, too cold for everyone else - 68 degrees!
We have four children, 2 in high school and 2 in elementary school, but have had no problem taking them out of school at this time. Most of the teachers look on a trip to WDW as a learning experience and will substitute a special project for a couple of assignments.
If you like to try different times of the year, I would definitly recommend the first couple of weeks of December, you'll love it!
Kim

 

[chris1gill]

In the past we've mixed it up a bit April, May, September & December... We are planning from here going forward to go the first couple of weeks of December for 2 weeks & then maybe late October or early November for 2 weeks... giving us two vacations on our AP's.... I don't do Florida heat too well, so it's very doubtful we'll ever go May through September again....

 

[StephenKay]

Hi Rosemary,

We have generally gone in Sep to avoid the summer crowds and it's easy to get leave in the military then, but we shall now be alternating between Sep then Jul the next year to avoid getting on the wrong side of DD teachers.


Stevie KAY
Inverness
Scotland

 

[Candace]

I have been in every month except October and December. The cooler times are preferred, but this year we are going in July because my son is now in a very demanding and difficult high school (his choice). His father and I are going back alone (for the first time) over a long labor day weekend, which will be just as hot, probably. We have gone as many as 5 times in a twelve month period, but this year not as many. I would like to try early December sometime because Thanksgiving is soooo perfect, weatherwise, and also October, I bet it is great too. Maybe within the next 41 years I will!

 

[Denine]

We pretty much always go in October over our wedding anniversary. Our other trip/s of the year vary, anywhere from January to May. This year it was January, May and October. It all depends on what we can work out.

 

[llp479]

We usually go in February over Lincoln's B-day. Living in the Land of Lincoln, our school district takes this holiday instead of President's day. They always add a teacher's institute either before or after, and with Valentine's Day parties, I figure my dd's only miss 2 1/2 days! They will be in second grade next year so I figure we can do this for a few more years, then will probably end up going in June, or take advantage of a couple of those four day weekends built into the school calendar. Our district doesn't let students make up anything missed while out of school for "vacation purposes".

 

[poopie]

So far we have always gone in Jan/Feb.

Great weather
Small crowds
Value season

Now that we have DVC we will go late Jan/early Feb
this next year and the 1st 2 weeks of Jan next year so we can use our passes for 2 years.

Hoppng to sneak in a trip for Star-Wars weekend or MNSSHP or the food and wine thing at Epcot of the Osborne lights.

Rachael
inkbounc

 

[MaryJ]

I totally understand your point of view. We have never taken our daughters out of school for more than part of a day. We believe that education is too important. My youngest daughter is now in high school. We have twins in college. Our high school offers a rewards program for perfect attendance. Students are allowed to exempt themselves from up to 3 finals in any class that they have perfect attendance for the semester. We use a block scheduling system at our school, so she has 4 classes one day and 4 different classes the next. I have had to schedule orthodontist appointments during her study hall so that she could be present for a class that she might want to exempt. This is too big a bonus for my daughter to give up by taking a vacation.

 

[KaraKW]

PKK/MJK...

I totally agree with your quote...

"There is no question that quality family time where love is shared and values are taught is critically important to a child's development. But this can be done a times when it does not interfere with a child's school schedule. "

Spending quality family time together and getting a quality education at school are not mutually exclusive events. In other words, you can do both! Why should you take away valuable learning opportunities at school when you can achieve the same "family time" by working within the constraints of the school schedule? I appreciate the value of all that families have to offer, but why can't that be done during school breaks?

As a teacher, I find it frustrating when SEVERAL of my students take vacations at or around the same time. I'm expecting to "get their work together" (this is MORE TIME CONSUMING than parents would think!) and then "catch them up" when they return, because believe it or not, students are not part of the enriched learning activities and projects that the class works on as a cooperative group. Often, the work the child does on vacation gives an overview, but does not delve into the deeper conceptual work that we develop in school. I am amazed by how much parents expect out of teachers these days! And by the way, while I am sure it doesn't apply to many of your on the DIS boards, there are many, many parents out there who are NOT imparting morals and values to their children. That is why my district has a "character education" curriculum. I think it is sad, indeed, that it is now up to the teacher to teach children about being decent and caring human beings.

 

[RussDog]

I agree with PKK/MJK and KaraKW!

As a high school computer teacher, I teach many AP (advanced placement) courses (i.e., computer programming, artificial intelligence and robotics). These courses qualify for college credit. Because of the demanding nature of my course content (sparse matrix, fractals, linked lists etc.), many students are not able to work on this independently, and very few parents are able to help them.

Frequently, I have students who are pulled out of my class to go on vacation. Because their parents can't help them, I am expected to stay after school on "my time" and catch them up on a week's (and sometimes more) work. I do not mind doing this when the student is out for a legitimate reason (i.e., illness, death in family, etc.). A vacation, however, is not considered by my district as an "excused absence."

I can anticipate that many people will say that I'm a teacher and it's my job to "catch students up" to help them understand the work. My response is it's a parents job to use good judgement and parent responsibly. This means reserve your trip to see Mickey Mouse till school is out for the summer.

 

[SusieJ]

Gee, we sure are predictable. Our daughter is still in school so we find Teacher's Convention towards the end of October the best time for us. Although the evenings are always comfortable, sometimes even downright cold, the days can range from beautiful to hot and humid. Never had a problem with rain, though. (Must have been due to pixie dust!) Crowds are never a problem either.

(136 more days until this year's October trip!)

Susie
Greendale, WI