Early June or late August?

[kristenk]

I'm contemplating the dates for next year's trip once again. Would crowds be about the same at those times?

Specifically, I'm looking at June 7-14, 2014 or August 16-23, 2014.

[sariana]

I say June because most locals will still be in school. But I have no attendance data to support my answer.

Oops, I answered for Disneyland. You're probably asking about DWorld, right? I don't know Floeida school schedules.

[kristenk]

Yeah, I meant WDW. I probably should have specified that, huh?!

I've been trying to find this year's comparable dates on different websites that show WDW crowd level, but I need to subscribe to see it. (I'm sure I'll end up subscribing to various planning sites, but I don't want to start a year's subscription to something if our trip is in one year + one month.) I'll keep looking.

Oh, and good idea about checking Florida school schedules!

[megs4413]

According to easywdw's historical calendars, it looks like your august dates would be better by a significant amount. HTH!

[fivi2]

We are trying that week in August this year. From what I remember, the crowd calendars showed it as being less crowded (and our PIN code covered the August dates and not the June).

It will be hot, and I think hurricane season. But when we went in May it was pretty hot. I decided that after a Texas summer I would be more prepared for Florida in August...

But, either way, I think June or August will be hot and crowded!

[cntrymoon2]

But, either way, I think June or August will be hot and crowded!

ITA, either of those dates will be hot and crowded :) I wouldn't let hurricane season deter you, it's usually a non issue. Either week you should expect lots of afternoon rain showers, humidity, etc.
Local schools here don't return until the 3rd and 4th week of August, so you might miss *some* of that traffic with the August dates, but you will also see a lot of locals doing "one last hurrah" at the parks. I would say August will be slightly less crowded, so if all others things are equal, choose those dates.

[kristenk]

Thanks, guys! The heat is making me cringe but I can't find a good non-hot non-super-crowded time that works with DD's school calendar.

This school year she gets out early on 9/26 and 9/27 (Thurs and Fri) and then again on 5/22 and 5/23 (Thurs and Fri). Next year's school calendar should be about the same.

I wouldn't have any trouble pulling her out of school that week if DH was going to Europe for business and we could tag along. Or something like that that would be considered educational. I'm not so sure about pulling her out of school for a WDW trip.

[megs4413]

Thanks, guys! The heat is making me cringe but I can't find a good non-hot non-super-crowded time that works with DD's school calendar.

This school year she gets out early on 9/26 and 9/27 (Thurs and Fri) and then again on 5/22 and 5/23 (Thurs and Fri). Next year's school calendar should be about the same.

I wouldn't have any trouble pulling her out of school that week if DH was going to Europe for business and we could tag along. Or something like that that would be considered educational. I'm not so sure about pulling her out of school for a WDW trip.

We aren't in a traditional school, so my opinion isn't worth much on this issue (because no one would bat an eyelash at our school if I pulled DC out for vacation) but I honestly think people care WAY too much about pulling out elementary school kids. It's silliness to me. She won't miss that week of school when she's 48 and thinking about childhood. The memories she can make in that week with her family will be something she CAN think about at 48, though. it's a lifetime memory opportunity thing, which is as valuable as a week's worth of education to me. JMO!

[sariana]

We aren't in a traditional school, so my opinion isn't worth much on this issue (because no one would bat an eyelash at our school if I pulled DC out for vacation) but I honestly think people care WAY too much about pulling out elementary school kids. It's silliness to me. She won't miss that week of school when she's 48 and thinking about childhood. The memories she can make in that week with her family will be something she CAN think about at 48, though. it's a lifetime memory opportunity thing, which is as valuable as a week's worth of education to me. JMO!

Here in CA schools are funded based on how many bodies are in the classroom. It does not matter whether the absence is excused or not--if the child is not there, the school does not get money for that child for that day. Since running a school costs about the same whether there are 500 students there or 502 (the 2 being mine), I try not to have my kids miss school unless absolutely necessary (or to comply with school rules, e.g. re: fevers). I have had my DS check in and then leave within 1/2 hour just so he could get on the attendance. (DD hasn't started school yet.)

So the issue of missing school is going to vary by family, depending on the situation. I do feel some obligation to take into account the other several hundred students at the school when making choices for my own family. That's not to say I would not ever take out my children for non-illness, but I don't do it lightly.

But in other states, funding is totally different, so this is a non-issue.

[KrisM]

I'm contemplating the dates for next year's trip once again. Would crowds be about the same at those times?

Specifically, I'm looking at June 7-14, 2014 or August 16-23, 2014.

Here are the levels from Touringplans for Jun 7-14, 2014:


Sat, June 7, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-07)
7 out of 10
MK EP AK
HS



Sun, June 8, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-08)
7 out of 10
MK EP
HS



Mon, June 9, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-09)
7 out of 10
EP
AK



Tue, June 10, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-10)
8 out of 10
HS
AK



Wed, June 11, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-11)
8 out of 10
EP
MK



Thu, June 12, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-12)
8 out of 10
EP
MK



Fri, June 13, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-13)
8 out of 10
HS AK
MK



Sat, June 14, 2014 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2014-06-14)
7 out of 10
MK EP
HS




Here are the dates for August 17-24, 2013 (same week, but this year)


Sat, August 17, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-17)
9 out of 10
AK
HS



Sun, August 18, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-18)
7 out of 10
AK
HS
Summer Break Ends


Mon, August 19, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-19)
7 out of 10
EP HS
AK



Tue, August 20, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-20)
7 out of 10
MK AK
EP



Wed, August 21, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-21)
6 out of 10
MK EP
AK



Thu, August 22, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-22)
6 out of 10
EP HS
MK



Fri, August 23, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-23)
6 out of 10
EP
HS



Sat, August 24, 2013 (http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar/date/2013-08-24)
6 out of 10
MK EP HS
AK

[KrisM]

We aren't in a traditional school, so my opinion isn't worth much on this issue (because no one would bat an eyelash at our school if I pulled DC out for vacation) but I honestly think people care WAY too much about pulling out elementary school kids. It's silliness to me. She won't miss that week of school when she's 48 and thinking about childhood. The memories she can make in that week with her family will be something she CAN think about at 48, though. it's a lifetime memory opportunity thing, which is as valuable as a week's worth of education to me. JMO!

Part of the problem of missing school is the disruption for everyone else. Sure the missed kid can get caught up - because the class/teacher catches them up. My kids complain at times that they rarely have everyone in class, so there is always some backing up to fill them in on the books being read, projects being worked on, etc.

[kristenk]

I swear I just typed a response to this and submitted it. Ugh.

I agree with you, Megs, about the issue of what DD will remember when she's older and I don't have a (big) problem pulling DD out of school for something special. WDW doesn't fall into that category for me. My problem is that I know that we COULD do a WDW outside of DD's school calendar. Granted, it would be more crowded and hotter, but it would basically be the same trip!

[megs4413]

Part of the problem of missing school is the disruption for everyone else. Sure the missed kid can get caught up - because the class/teacher catches them up. My kids complain at times that they rarely have everyone in class, so there is always some backing up to fill them in on the books being read, projects being worked on, etc.

that actually sounds like a classroom management problem to me. Again, JMO! Kids miss all the time for legitimate reasons, especially when you have a class of say 25-30. If it's disruptive to the classroom, it seems like you need to have a technique in place to manage that as the teacher. Not sure what the right answer is, since I have not managed a classroom before. I wonder how that gets handled at our school....our classes are quite small (capped at 16.)

I understand the funding issue. I still don't think it's a particularly compelling argument, but that's JMO.

[megs4413]

I swear I just typed a response to this and submitted it. Ugh.

I agree with you, Megs, about the issue of what DD will remember when she's older and I don't have a (big) problem pulling DD out of school for something special. WDW doesn't fall into that category for me. My problem is that I know that we COULD do a WDW outside of DD's school calendar. Granted, it would be more crowded and hotter, but it would basically be the same trip!

Oh I agree! I always tell people there isn't a "wrong" time to go to WDW. You do it when you can. I was speaking more generally about the angst involved in making these choices for parents. If it comes down to being able to go or not being able to go, I think you ought to go. If it doesn't and you can make the adjustment, then so be it. You can have a great trip at any time of year!

[KrisM]

that actually sounds like a classroom management problem to me. Again, JMO! Kids miss all the time for legitimate reasons, especially when you have a class of say 25-30. If it's disruptive to the classroom, it seems like you need to have a technique in place to manage that as the teacher. Not sure what the right answer is, since I have not managed a classroom before. I wonder how that gets handled at our school....our classes are quite small (capped at 16.)

I understand the funding issue. I still don't think it's a particularly compelling argument, but that's JMO.

Maybe, but if the teacher is reading a multi chapter book and reads a chapter a day, some kids have no idea what's going on when they miss the first 5 chapters. I'm not sure how that's management. Maybe the teacher only reads when all 22 kids are there? Seems like very little reading would go on. Or, a math test is taken and 4 kids are out either sick or on vacation. Those kids still have to take the test, right? The rest of the class is now learning the next session and some kids are on the old session still. Waiting for all kids to be present to take a test seems like a very difficult thing to do.

I think by the time you lose a kid to sick and then more vacation, there are very few days with every kid there. A friend had the principal call her because her son missed 13 days of 1st grade last year. Sure 8 were sick, but 5 were vacation. That averages to 1 day a week for 13 weeks, or once a week through Thanksgiving. That is one kid. Mine missed 5 or 6 days due to sickness. If all 22 kids average 8 days absent a year, that's a total of 176 days, which is more days than we are in school. Clearly, some overlap, but not all.

[kristenk]

Kris, thanks for the info from touringplans. It seems as if August might be doable. What do the two columns stand for?

Off to check historic info on weather.com! :)

[KrisM]

Kris, thanks for the info from touringplans. It seems as if August might be doable. What do the two columns stand for?

Off to check historic info on weather.com! :)

Sorry... first column is best parks and second is parks to avoid.

[gummibear]

Just a note - I recall reading somewhere that WDW likes to close attractions for refurb in August. Probably too early to know what will be closed August 2014, but something to look into...

[gummibear]

I can't seem to find where I saw that bit about August refurbs. But here's a couple of refurb calendars. One site said refurbs are common in Jan. The Aug bit I read a while back stood out to me cuz I thought it was odd. Maybe unreliable odd, who knows.

http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/closures
http://allears.net/tp/rehabs.htm

[kristenk]

I didn't think about refurbs. Thanks!

Right now, it looks like the August dates might be a little better than the June dates. DH's birthday and my birthday are around that same time frame, so it might be fun to do have birthdays at WDW. :)

Weather wise, there doesn't appear to be too much difference between early June and late August, at least according to historical data on weather.com. For our dates, the Aug average high and low are both 1 degree higher than the Jun dates. That doesn't seem like a big difference. Is there anything else weather-wise that I should take into consideration?

[cntrymoon2]

Weather wise, there doesn't appear to be too much difference between early June and late August, at least according to historical data on weather.com. For our dates, the Aug average high and low are both 1 degree higher than the Jun dates. That doesn't seem like a big difference. Is there anything else weather-wise that I should take into consideration?

You can expect very similar weather. As someone mentioned upthread, you are potentially in hurricane season in August but that is almost always a non issue. Don't plan a trip around it.
Refurbs go on all throughout the year, dependent on crowd levels, budgets, and project development schedules, I don't think you'll notice more being down in August vs. June.
One other point I forgot to mention- water parks are significantly less crowded in late August vs. June, so you might want to consider BB or TL!

[kristenk]

One other point I forgot to mention- water parks are significantly less crowded in late August vs. June, so you might want to consider BB or TL!

Are they really?! I think the water parks might be one of DD's favorite parts of our trip, so that's good to know. Why are they less crowded then? Any idea?

[cntrymoon2]

People are going back to school by the 3rd week of August. Some families who visit in August are planning shorter visits and less likely to spend a day away from the theme parks to do a water park. June and July are peak water park months- they are packed then! By the 3rd week of August, local schools are in session again, so you don't have local crowds. No camp field trip crowds, etc.

[citymama]

Is there a way to get crowd info for DisneyLAND? We were thinking about a Carsland visit, possibly the week of Aug 19 THIS year. Not sure if most schools will be back in session by then or if it will still be really crowded.

[gummibear]

TouringPlans has a DL crowd calendar. http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/crowd-calendar

It's a preview and doesn't show the next 30 days for non-subscribers, but currently non-subscribers can see Aug 14-Sept 13.

People here (http://www.cafemom.com/group/188/forums/read/17999176/Anyone_have_the_crowd_calendar_for_DisneyLAND_Goog le_keeps_showing_me_Disney_World) say TP can be off on its predictions, esp. in winter months and esp. since Carsland opened. FWIW.

[ilfaith]

I say June because most locals will still be in school. But I have no attendance data to support my answer.

.

Florida schools typically get out the first week of June and resume in mid-August. As for hurricane season, it actually starts June 1st, although the bulk of storms hit late summer into early fall. I would lean toward your August dates. Either way it's going to be hot.