Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Late February, March, and early April are dicey. Crowds ebb and flow according
to spring-break schedules and the timing of Presidents Day weekend. Besides being
asphalt-melting hot, July brings throngs of South American tourists on their winter
holiday.
So,parents,whattodo?Ifyourchildrenareofpreschoolage,definitelygoduring
a cooler, less-crowded time. If you have school-age children, look first for an anom-
aly in your school-year schedule: in other words, a time when your kids will be out of
school when most schools elsewhere are in session. Anomalies are most often found
at the beginning or end of the school year (for example, school starts late or lets out
early), at Christmas, or at spring break. In the event that no such anomalies exist, and
providing that your kids are good students, our recommendation is to ask permission
to take your children out of school either just before or after the Thanksgiving holi-
day. Teachers can assign lessons that can be made up at home over the Thanksgiving
holiday, either before or after your Walt Disney World vacation.
If none of these options are workable for your family, consider visiting Walt Dis-
neyWorldtheweekimmediately beforeschoolstarts(excludingLaborDayweekend)
or the week immediately after school lets out (excluding Memorial Day weekend).
This strategy should remove you from the really big mob scenes by about a week or
more.
The time that works best for kids is the week before school ends. Because grades
must be finalized earlier, there is often little going on at school during that week.
Check far in advance with your child's teacher to determine if any special exams or
projects will occur in that last week. If no major assignments are on the child's sched-
ule, then go for it.
Incidentally, taking your kids out of school for more than a few days is problem-
atic. We have received well-considered letters from parents and teachers who don't
think taking kids out of school is such a hot idea. A Fairfax, Virginia, dad put it thus:
My wife and I do not encourage families to take their children out of school in
order to avoid the crowds at Walt Disney World during the summer months.
My wife is an eighth-grade science teacher of chemistry and physics. She has
parents pull their children, some honor-roll students, out of school for vaca-
tions, only to discover when they return that the students are unable to com-
prehend the material. Several students have been so thoroughly lost in their
