I’ve taken my kids out of school for 2 trips and plan to again in May 2020. My kids are very good students and had no problem with missing a week of school. The teachers gave us a little work to do on the trip and had no issues with their work when they returned. If your daughter is doing that well, she should have no problems.
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We also took kids out of school in September-2018 (Son-9, Daughter-12). Every teacher was excited for us (or smart enough not to “whine”), and they ALL asked us about the trip at conferences in October.
My kids are average students. We had a blast.
Favorite part of all that. The PE teacher gave my daughter a book to read as a make up assignment. Guess the daily walking regiment wasn’t enough. 
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The only time I would be less likely to go to WDW than Christmas/NY would be July 4th weekend (crowds plus heat) - and I’ve been many times. It’s a serious challenge for those of us who are well-practiced in OCD planning. I fear that if they were to go they would come home as the classic WDW-hater (too crowded, all we did was stand in line, 45 minutes to get a hamburger, etc). I agree with trying to do it in early December. I can see not wanting to pull a high school kid out of class for a week, but a DS6- seriously?
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I have been a high school teacher / private tutor for 27 years and I 100% support the idea of taking a child — especially a young one — out of school for a very special vacation.
The value of shared family experiences cannot be overstated. It easily trumps anything that would be achieved at school in the same period of time.
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Enjoy! I know some teachers disagree with me, but most of us think (a) parents who worry about their kids missing school aren’t the parents or kids teachers have to worry about and (b) there’s plenty to be learned at WDW and by spending time with family.
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Honestly, I would discourage it. Even with tons of researching and planning, I don’t think a first timer would be truly prepared for Disney at Christmas. A week or two before Christmas would be so much better.
Yeah, I’ve thought about this overnight and changed my mind. Scare her. Think of the people on this board and the other big board who are experienced WDW travelers who are choosing to avoid late Fall 2019 due to SWGE opening.
Any other year I’d say - do your research and set expectations appropriately. Christmas 2019 I think is only going to be for the most brave hearted (or totally clueless).
I also vote for pulling kids - especially young ones - out for a week. We pulled them the last week before Christmas break this year and I’d continue to do so up until about 5th grade. We pulled them last year for a trip to Spain over Thanksgiving. Any sort of week like that for my kids is mostly a nothing week - no real school work is getting done so there’s very little makeup work/tests.
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Seeing the age of their daughter, I say ABSOLUTELY pull them out of school and go when crowds are low(er).
In a way, it is like this. Either you can pay thousands of dollars and get this used, old, beat up car. Or for the same exact price, you can get this brand-spanking-new car with leather seats, but you just have to buy the vehicle a different week.
I would even pull older kids out of school for a trip like this. Especially if you engage them in the planning process.
The way I plan a Disney trip is pretty much hardcore project management. There are real, practical skills I could teach a kid if I involved him or her in the planning.
I’m an academic, a teacher, and educator, whatever, but I still think that a lot of time at school is wasted or misdirected.
What childhood memories jump out at you? Don’t think. Just let your brain select them. For me, it’s when my parents took me to Canada and America when I was seven years old. It blew my mind and possibly changed my life. My biggest memory from school is probably the choir trip to France, when we visited Paris and sang in Chartres and Beauvais cathedrals. Again, mindblowing.
Other than that, what do I remember of school? I remember being bullied. I remember the parts of a plant (the stamen is something inside it). I remember corries, cwms and cirques from geography class. I can recite the opening speech of The Merchant of Venice. I can order a coke in Paris and have the waitress respond in English because it’s obvious that I’m not French, despite getting the highest grade in the public exams in French.
Sure, I really enjoyed maths, but almost none of that stuff is useful. No-one in the world uses trigonometry in their lives. Except maths teachers. Barely anyone understands trigonometry anyway.
Spending quality time with your family, working together to plan an expedition (especially if it’s overseas) is of so much worth compared with almost everything you study at school. Missing ten days out of fourteen years is a drop in the ocean.
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and think of all the science and math alone you would experience at WDW. Our oldest son spent a day at an amusement park for science/math class - I think they had one assignment…figure out velocity or something for one of the coasters
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For sure. If I were minded, I could make a visit to WDW a very educational experience.
And it’s not just the science. There’s the economics.
And then politics (Hall of Presidents), history (the American Experience, Carousel of Progress), geography and global politics (World Showcase). Biology and zoology (AK).
WDW is a university all of its own. Going there should be compulsory for school-aged kids.
Still trying to find Arendelle on the map of Norway, though. You’d think they’d make that clear!
Even if they don’t feel comfortable pulling their DD out of school, they should consider any other school vacation. Even Easter week would be preferable to Christmas, but if there’s another vacation week they can get, they should. Another option would be to pick a week that is short (i.e. holidays, teacher in service days) and only take their daughter out for part of the week.
But steer away from Christmas.