WHEN TO GO?

SandyinMonterey

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
We usually go to WDW every Easter holiday. Would like a change and considering Thanksgiving week 2019 or December 2019 (probably after Christmas). Thanksgiving falls late next year, the 28th, and I'm wondering how the school(s) are going to handle that. I can't imagine they'd NOT have off the week of but my nerves are rattled a little because this school year they have made a lot of changes to the calendar...took away days off, etc. I've been there Christmas Eve/day years ago but that was before we had our child. Yes, crowds will be crazy. So, when would you go and why? TIA!
 
Honestly I'd wait to see when we have an opening date for Star Wars, and until that time, stick with Easter.
 
We usually go to WDW every Easter holiday. Would like a change and considering Thanksgiving week 2019 or December 2019 (probably after Christmas). Thanksgiving falls late next year, the 28th, and I'm wondering how the school(s) are going to handle that. I can't imagine they'd NOT have off the week of but my nerves are rattled a little because this school year they have made a lot of changes to the calendar...took away days off, etc. I've been there Christmas Eve/day years ago but that was before we had our child. Yes, crowds will be crazy. So, when would you go and why? TIA!

Our school's Thanksgiving break has always been that we are from Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) until the Tuesday after. It doesn't matter what the date is. However, you might want to ask why things were changed this year--did the state change the required number of days or hours? If so, the changes may carry over into next year.
 
Our school's Thanksgiving break has always been that we are from Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) until the Tuesday after. It doesn't matter what the date is. However, you might want to ask why things were changed this year--did the state change the required number of days or hours? If so, the changes may carry over into next year.
This school year they’ve switched around teacher development days. They’re usually coupled with weekend(s) to make long weekends of about 4-5 days. March has been taken away & we already planned a long weekend @ WDW so my daughter will now miss school & she will not like that. When we moved here 2 years ago, Easter Break was before Easter & kids went back to school the day after Easter Sunday. But it hasn’t been like that again. Since Thanksgiving is so late next year, im wondering if it will impact Christmas break because now they’re closer together? I’ve tried calling the school & county but get no answers, just leave messages. I don’t think the schedule was changed because of required number of days, I’m pretty sure they just decided to switch things.
 
This school year they’ve switched around teacher development days. They’re usually coupled with weekend(s) to make long weekends of about 4-5 days. March has been taken away & we already planned a long weekend @ WDW so my daughter will now miss school & she will not like that. When we moved here 2 years ago, Easter Break was before Easter & kids went back to school the day after Easter Sunday. But it hasn’t been like that again. Since Thanksgiving is so late next year, im wondering if it will impact Christmas break because now they’re closer together? I’ve tried calling the school & county but get no answers, just leave messages. I don’t think the schedule was changed because of required number of days, I’m pretty sure they just decided to switch things.

Not sure what part of the country you're in, but it's REALLY early to get next year's academic schedule in these parts (the northeast). Those aren't voted on until sometime in spring. But ours follow a defined pattern.

If you can tolerate the heat, August is a decent time as far as crowds are concerned. The later, the better. Especially next year when everyone who is interested in Star Wars will be postponing their trips until after star wars.

I went Christmas/New Years once. That was enough for me...
 
Not sure what part of the country you're in, but it's REALLY early to get next year's academic schedule in these parts (the northeast). Those aren't voted on until sometime in spring. But ours follow a defined pattern.

If you can tolerate the heat, August is a decent time as far as crowds are concerned. The later, the better. Especially next year when everyone who is interested in Star Wars will be postponing their trips until after star wars.

I went Christmas/New Years once. That was enough for me...
I live in the Southeast. Schools starts early August here. Hate the heat. We're still in the high 80's today. Yesterday we hit 90. We're DVC and need to make our reservation(s) almost a year in advance.
 
Book both Christmas and T-Day 2019 and cancel one once you know the true school holidays. Once you cancel one of the trips the deposit money will be either refunded to you by check or credit depending on how you paid. You might even be able to have the deposit transferred to the committed trip.

ETA: The above is how it works for non DVC. No idea about DVC policies unfortunately.
Stayed @ Poly last Christmas for about 2 weeks into the New Year. Spend the time planning your trip's parks and there is a good time you'll enjoy yourself despite the crowds. We did MK only early mornings and then got out which made it more enjoyable when staying at a monorail hotel. Choose a second park for the day depending on FPs, ADRs, and parks' hours of operation. Might have been helped by the fact that we are from NYC and used to crowds.
 
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I've been over Christmas twice. Once was the actual holiday, when the days leading up to it were tolerable, but starting day after was very crowded. Once starting the day after through New Years, crowded is an understatement. It is the busiest week of the year there. Like, wall to wall people early in the day at Epcot on 12/31.

We did Easter in 2016. Never again. It used to be tolerable, but it was pretty insane.

We used to go the last two weeks of August a few times, low crowds and often a shower to cool it off during the day. Like that time for sure, but you say your kids are in school.

Can you go right when school gets out? Here in the Mid Atlantic, they go through mid June at least! So early June or late May is often a good time to go.
 
I was going to suggest going in late may or the first week of June if your kids are out of school by then. We have recently been forced to adjusted to this schedule for vacations or the week between Christmas and New Years. We also live in the south, school starts in early August for us too. I also have two in college who like to take summer sessions and a High School age athlete who competes in the summer. We have found leaving as soon as our High School kid takes her last final exam tends to work best for us as colleges typically get out in early May and they have a few weeks off before the summer terms start. With one kid in High School and two kids in different colleges they never have the same spring breaks anymore. We have found we like WDW in late May because it's the least crowded time we can get a family vacation in. The weather is not as bad as the thick of summer either.
 

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