Humorous Username said:

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that's not a possibility for families that put education ahead

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I'm sorry, but a week long vacation with family beats the **** out of the same time spent in a classroom.

I wish you guys could see how many people I speak with that take their children out for a few days to go to WDW.

Humorous Username said:

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I'm shocked that slow times are when kids are in school. Shocked I tell you.

I'm sure we'd all like to go when it's slow, but outside of Spring Break, that's not a possibility for families that put education ahead of not waiting 30 more minutes in lines.

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Bless your heart

We took our kids out for the trip so that we could go at non-peak (first week of May). I think they missed 4 days total since we traveled out Friday evening and returned Thursday night.

My parents and my sister's family went as well. It's the only trip we've ever taken with both of our full families (we traveled with just my parents a few times), and something my kids will remember forever. It was also the last trip we took with my parents. Their age and health has gotten to the point where they just can't do big trips anymore. So I'm really glad we were able to do it, and it was well worth the missed school.

SheriffBarclay said:

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Elementary school is a joke, they can miss a few days.

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I'll be sure to tell my wife, who is an elementary school teacher, your thoughts. That will surely change her mind about pulling the kids out of school.

Humorous Username said:

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SheriffBarclay said:

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Elementary school is a joke, they can miss a few days.

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I'll be sure to tell my wife, who is an elementary school teacher, your thoughts. That will surely change her mind about pulling the kids out of school.

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Also tell her to pull the stick out of your ass.

Humorous Username said:

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I'm shocked that slow times are when kids are in school. Shocked I tell you.

I'm sure we'd all like to go when it's slow, but outside of Spring Break, that's not a possibility for families that put education ahead of not waiting 30 more minutes in lines.

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Lol, you seriously think that taking a little time off from school will damage your kids forever? Their educational state will be set back forever by going to Disney for a few days instead of school?
Man, I bet you're a blast.

Never went to Disney as a child...it didn't kill me. Am a Disney veteran as an adult....Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Paris......and Disney World season ticket holder when I lived in Florida for a couple of years. Probably been to Disney on 20 trips.

Everyone should go to Disney once in their life if they can swing it financially. If you can't, it's not going to hurt anything. However in all circumstances, it's crazy to go during the busy periods. If you can't go during a slow period...just wait until you can.

Been three times with kids. Pulled out of school all three times. Stayed at Wilderness, Yacht Club, and Animal Kingdom. Will go again in 2019 when Star Wars Land opens. Will pull my kids out again as 8th grader and 5th grader. Both kids are GT and it doesn't matter that they miss. We prep ahead with school.

We go in either September or week after TDay. Those are low times so we get free dining or 30% off hotel. We choose dining for peace of mind. We use the fast pass system and Disney app to our advantage.

It is expensive, but with a little research and effort, it can be worth it. The customer service at Disney is second to none. You have to exploit it to make your money go further, but it's there for the taking by asking for upgrades, extra food, and other things. They almost don't know how to say no.

You get out what you put in with Disney. If you don't plan ahead, you will likely be disappointed with the lines, the restaurant reservation system, the buses, everything. But all are able to be exploited with pre trip research and planning.

Humorous Username said:

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SheriffBarclay said:

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Elementary school is a joke, they can miss a few days.

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I'll be sure to tell my wife, who is an elementary school teacher, your thoughts. That will surely change her mind about pulling the kids out of school.

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This guy is serious bidness.


I keep my kids home from daycare sometimes when my parents visit.. am I a bad parent?

My wife works in a school district that has fall break the second week of October, so I plan to fully utilize this for vacations, since it doesn't seem that common.

62strat said:

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My wife works in a school district that has fall break the second week of October, so I plan to fully utilize this for vacations, since it doesn't seem that common.

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thats perfect outside of weekends due to Halloween theme

62strat said:

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My wife works in a school district that has fall break the second week of October, so I plan to fully utilize this for vacations, since it doesn't seem that common.

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Actually, if I were you I'd go specifically during the Disney Halloween stuff instead of avoiding it. They limit the number of people that they let in during these events, so it'll be much less crowded and the ride wait times will be 15-20 minutes max. We used to make a point of always going during the Mickey's Christmas celebrations because of just this reason.

schmendeler said:

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leaving on Saturday for 6 nights with a 6 and 3 year old. i'll try to report back.

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Made it back with everyone still alive. Had a good time but don't need to do it again any time soon. Honestly we both felt that we liked California better. Things are more concentrated with only two parks and you aren't sequestered on "property". I'd rather do 3-4 days in Anaheim then 2-3 beach/So Cal days.

I was at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this past season. Great experience with a lot of Disney characters that only appear during special events. You also receive a lot of candy....good candy!

Be sure to dress up!

Just want to give a shout out to lil99chris. As a result of this thread I contacted him last Monday night around 9 to see what he could do for a big trip for 9 in December. I was on a super tight deadline as I had tentatively secured rooms by renting vacation club points and those rooms would be expiring about 130 the next day. He replied to me that night and replied to my midnight reply about 5am Tuesday. We spoke briefly about 8am and by 10am I had several options and we ended up ditching the vacation club rental for one of them. I needed to have everything squared away by 130 due to the other rooms and he was incredibly responsive and patient when we were having network problems at the office that made email and filling out forms nearly impossible, and on top of that I was in meetings almost all morning that made it even more difficult to communicate.

This will be our second Disney trip, last one being 2 years ago when I had a conference in Orlando (this time we are taking our nieces/nephews and their parents). I say that to point out that I understand how Disney "works", fast passes, dining reservations, park hopper etc but still found his services to be invaluable. With Disney, being on top of things like military room discount availability and fast passes is absolutely critical and I simply don't have the time to do all that.

I look forward to planning the rest of the trip with lil99chris!

My family of Five (2 adults, 3 boys ages 4, 7, 8) just returned from our first trip to Disney World. We arrived late on Monday, and flew back home on Sunday morning. We spent all 6 nights at the Disney Yacht Club. The location was great as it was a nice 5 minute walk to Epcot. Tuesday we were in Magic Kingdom, Wednesday at Epcot, Saturday at Animal Kingdom. The total cost of our trip was around $6,000 for Disney alone (Costs broken down below).

We also went to Legoland which was fun for my Lego loving boys on Thursday. Everyone but me went to Kennedy Space Center on Friday.

Overall it was a fun trip and I'm glad I went. I didn't get the whole "Disney Magic." To me, Disney is a very well put together glorified amusement park (especially Magic Kingdom). The workers at Disney seem to be happy to work there and enjoy their job. They were usually smiling all the time and waving to you as your ride headed away and came back to the station. I think Disney does a great job of advertising to get people to go.

The planning ahead with dining reservations, fast passes and having to have a decent plan every morning before entering the park quickly got frustrating. I have no desire to go back anytime in the near future. I have several friends that go multiple times a year and don't get the appeal of multiple return trips. I know I didn't see everything there is to see or ride all the rides. I certainly don't really have a desire to spend that much money again to see things I might have missed. I'd much rather spend that same money on a trip to somewhere else. To each their own. Thanks for everyone that helped plan this trip.

Disney
Hotel $1800
Flights $1200 (+$100 for parking at airport)
Park Entrance Fee $1330
Rental Car + Gas $225
Meals $900
Snacks for the week (Bought at Target after arrival) $55
Souvenirs $250

Legoland $325 (Buy One Get One Free)
Lunch $50
Parking $10

Kennedy Space Center $200
Lunch $30
Souvenirs $120

Arm. Leg.

Surprised the Yacht Club was only $300/night.

Yacht Club @ $300 is a steal.

It was the discounted rate for the conference I attended. Standard Room of course.

In my opinion, Disney is completely worth every penny. We save before we go so no new money is spent on the trip. We go at off times to get a free dining promotion, and we share counter service credits to make them go farther. We buy some memorabilia but not a bunch.

I understand why some people have a problem with the overall cost. If I were spending money at the park on meals, I'd probably be a little miffed too. With free dining, I've never looked at the menu prices. I've never paid attention to ticket prices as we go for at least a week, and by then, the per day price gets pretty low.

If you are going to constantly look at costs during and after the vacation, Disney likely isn't for you. You have to make peace with it before you go, in my opinion, so you can enjoy yourself.