Walt Disney World
August 30 - September 6, 2008
UPDATES:
-- We currently have
216 travelers registered for this trip.
-- The following
educational programs have been confirmed: How Things Move, Physics
Energy and Waves, American Story, Wild by Nature, and Showbiz Magic.
See our Educational Programs page for
dates and times. Several other programs are close to being
confirmed. Subscribe to our Traveling Homeschoolers
mailing list for timely updates.
-- We can now get
8-day group tickets which include six plus passes. If
you're planning to stay more than a week, you may want to choose the
8-day tickets.
-- Please see our
Important Things to
Know page for more updates.
What we're doing...
We're going back to
Disney World in August/September and we hope you can join us this
time! Depending on which ticket you choose, you'll enjoy five or
eight days in the
theme parks, four or six passes to the water parks and/or Disney Quest, and
behind-the-scenes educational programs for our children in grades
K-12. (Note: 8-day, 6-pass tickets are now available for those
who are planning longer stays.)
I chose Labor Day week
for several reasons: it's traditionally one of the least crowded
times of the year, parents won't have to take as much time off from
work since Monday is a holiday, and Disney will offer free
dining again during this period (more about that below).
You can choose your own
arrival date, but you must plan your arrival in time for your
children to attend the educational programs. I'll try to schedule
all of them toward the beginning of the week, but I may need to
schedule them later if Disney doesn't have program availability on
those days. (The Cirque du Soleil Showbiz Magic program will be
later in the week since we'll need to attend a performance prior to
participating in the educational program.)
The only time you'll be
tied to the group is when your children participate in the
educational programs. Otherwise you're free to roam Disney World at
will, either alone as a family or with others - your choice. We have
an optional "meet and greet" scheduled for Wednesday, September 3rd
for the kids (and adults!) to meet each other.
The registration
deadline for this trip is July 5.
Transportation & Hotel...
You'll need to make your
own travel and hotel arrangements for this trip. Disney doesn't
offer good group discounts for their rooms, so I've opted to let
everyone choose their own hotels based on their preferences and
budgets.
Disney's least expensive resorts (the Values - All
Star Music, All
Star Sports,
All Star Movie, and the new
Pop Century) will cost $82 per night, plus 12.5% tax for
Pop Century, and 13% tax for the All Star's. You may be
able to get a discount off the full rate, but you won't be able to
take advantage of Disney's free dining offer if you get a room
discount. You can also get cheaper rates off Disney property, but
again, you won't be able to take advantage of Disney's free dining
offer if you stay off-property.
Group Park Tickets & Fees...
Group park tickets
(including registration fee) are $175 per person (3 years
old and up) for our normal 5-day/4-pass tickets. Disney's new
eight-day/six-pass tickets are $195 per person (3 years old
and up). This fee includes:
w a registration
fee (this fee helps to cover the costs involved in
coordinating this trip and supporting this website).
w a 5-day or 8-day park
hopping ticket - you'll be able to visit all four Disney
parks as often as you'd like for five days or eight days (they don't have to
be consecutive days). You may hop between multiple parks on the
same day.
w four or six "plus"
options – you can visit
DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Park,
Blizzard Beach Water Park, and/or
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park four or six times in any combination. These
can be used any time during your stay. They don't have to be used
during your 5 or 8 park days.
w one educational
program for students in grades K through 12.
Our park tickets are
substantially less (around $150 less each ticket, depending on
where/when you purchase) than regular park tickets with similar
features. One restriction we have, however, is that the number of
parents and guests with tickets must be equal to or less than the
number of students with tickets. That means that we can purchase
these deeply discounted tickets for parents, grandparents,
older/younger siblings, relatives, and friends only if they don't
exceed the number of students in our group.
Tickets will be assigned
on a first-come, first-serve basis, with priority going to parents,
siblings, and grandparents first, so register early for a better
chance of getting educational tickets for the "extra" guests in your
party. I'll let you know how the guest-to-student ratio is holding
up as we go along. (Keep in mind children under 3 get in free and
don't require tickets.)
Tickets will be mailed
at least a month before our departure date and will be valid from
August 23 to September 13. The non-expiration option cannot be added
to these tickets.
Cirque du Soleil La Nouba
Performance...
I'm reserving seats at a
discounted price ($45 per person 3 years and older) for the
Wednesday, September 3rd, 9:00 pm
Cirque du Soleil performance. If your family would like to
attend this performance, please indicate this on your registration.
I will add the price of tickets to your payment confirmation email.
NOTE: Students who register for the educational program that
explores the behind-the-scenes components of Disney's Cirque du
Soleil must watch this show prior to attending the
corresponding educational program (which will be held later in the
week, during morning hours). I highly recommend this educational
program if you have children in grades 6-12. We enjoyed it the most
out of all of the programs Disney offers in their education series.
Refunds...
If you need to back out
of the trip after paying for your tickets, I'll work with you to get
your money back for your group tickets (less the registration fee)
by trying to arrange for another family to take your place (from my
waiting list of families who register after the deadline). I can't
guarantee a refund if I have no families on my waiting list. Last
minute drop-outs were a problem with previous trips, nearly
forcing us to cancel due to dropping below the level required for
group discounts. Please be sure you really want to go before
registering and paying - there's no guarantee you'll get your money
back if you cancel.
Interested in going
with us? Please access the following links for more information and
to register:
Disney's Free Dining Offer
Important Things to Know (updated on
5.7.08)
Disney Youth Educational Programs
Registration Form
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