When to go? Late summer or Early Fall

So I was all set to try a September trip. I have gone many times the last week of August, which is great for lower crowds & my kids don’t go back to school until after Labor Day so they don’t miss school.

Trip I’m now planning is just dd7 & I. I was planning on taking her out of school for a week. Letting her start the first week (she doesn’t want to miss the 1st day), then going the 2nd week. She would be starting 3rd grade, she is above grade level in everything, & I have no issue with being able to catch her up. So the only problem would be if her teacher just frowned on that sort of thing. (Ok by policy).

The dilemma is that I’ve just realized that Labor Day is very late next year. 9/7, the latest it can be. So now I’m wondering again about going the week before Labor Day. Kind of torn because I was excited about super low crowds during later sept & was considering MNSSHP.

Opinions anyone?

Hi there! I am not exactly sure what you are asking. Could you clarify the question? Are you trying to decide between early Sept and late Sept? :slight_smile:

I agree with @B_squared. I’m not sure if I’m going to answer you correctly.

Is there a reason why you still can’t do your original plan? Start school 1st week and then take out for 2nd week. You’d still be in WDW in Sept. for the low crowds and would be able to attend MNSSHP. :smile:

I guess I’m wondering about crowds and taking dd out of school. Does the fact that Labor Day is so late change the crowd level? Or will it still be typical of the week before Labor Day even though it’s sept. And the age-old question of taking her out of school. How do teachers typically react in the lower grades? Is it worth trying not to take her out? I do still like my original plan better.

Is your DD’s school still starting after Labor Day next year? If so then I would imagine that the crowds during the 1st week of Sept. would be similar to the last week in Aug. because the crowd levels are usually impacted by when school starts back so if schools aren’t starting until later in September then people with kids in school will still be vacationing that 1st week of Sept. But I’ll defer to the experts on this because I do not know for certain if this is true. It’s simply a guess.

We did a late September trip last year but I cannot answer your question about taking kids out of school because I home school mine.

Hopefully someone else with more experience will chime in with their thoughts. :smile:

Hello! I can’t make any guesses about crowd levels, but Touring Plans puts out the crowd calendar for one year in advance and we’re almost to September, so you should have some initial info on that soon.

As for taking kids out of school, there are a million different opinions, but many say if it is elementary and the student is doing well and not having problems, not that big of a deal. I’ve taken my DD out of K and 1st grade for a day here and there to make a long weekend out of it. But personally, I wouldn’t miss the first or second week of school – that to me seems like crucial social time of getting to know the classroom, routine, kids, etc. Or maybe just miss a day or two, but not a whole week that early in the year… But again, just my two cents worth, since you asked. :slight_smile:

Hi, we are in a similar position with our grandson starting Kindergarten, he has done pre-school so I have no prob pulling him out. We are doing labor day arrival this year to take advantage of the lower crowds. We are also avoiding the Food and wine fest influx at the end of the month. We are considering a later visit in two years when he is in 2nd grade. Late Sep is what we are shooting for. We feel he will get introduced to his class, then we can pull him out for a week. I also plan on contacting the teacher to keep up with anything they might be working on as well as providing a few learning opportunities at Disney. I would think any time in September would work. Crowd calendar should back that up.
Best of luck planning your trip!