Disney World - The Online Guide

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2003
(UK customers)

School Projects

Hey, we think the best time to visit Disney is during the school year when it's not so crowded. Mrs. Osterwaltz back in Geometry II might not agree. If you'll be missing school for the trip, here are some ways to make it easier. First off, tell your teachers and coaches up front about the trip, instead of springing it on them the day before you leave.

Some weeks are easier to miss than others. If you're gone during exam week or when the school has planned standarized testing, or you're missing a major game, your make-up work each night of the first week you're back.

You can also to do a special project based on your trip.

Here are some suggestions:

At Epcot, the greenhouse tour in the Land pavilion is full of information on space-age farming, and marine biology is the theme of the Living Seas pavilion.

Do a plant study of the Cretaceous Trail in the Animal Kingdom, which traces the botanical evolution of plants that have survived from the Cretaceous period.

The Conservation Station in the Animal Kingdom is the park's research hub, where students can tour veterinary labs, use the Eco-Web to get information on Conservation organizations, and watch interactive videos about endangered animals.

Missing Geography class? Or foreign language? Head over to Epcot's World Showcase, where you can experience the architechture, history, music, and food of eleven countries. The pavilions are staffed by college-age students from the nation represented, so you can try out your French or German on a native speaker. (Don't worry- they're trained not to laugh when you say things like ""I am a pencil"" in Italian, and they all speak perfect English in case your Spanish falls apart.) The cast members are always eager to talk to park guests---especially if you look for someone who is working a shop or drink stand that doesn't happen to be crowded at the moment---so you can even do a short interview about how life in the United States is different from the way teenagers live in their home country. Buy an Epcot Passport, and get it stamped in each country.

Missing English class? Offer either to keep a journal of your trip or to interview someone about what it's like to work for Disney.

Math is a bit trickier, but it should be easy to come up with a series of math-based problems, such as: If 49,000 people visit Walt Disney World on a typical day in March, and a third of them are children, and one-day tickets are $46 for adults, and $37 for kids, how much money does Disney take in that day on admissions alone? Or figure how many miles a day a Test Track car covers, or how many pounds of human flesh go down Runoff Rapids at Blizzard Beach in a typical hour.

Thanks to '9sbty01@green.ipsd.org' for submitting the tips above.

My high school Spanish teacher assigns the same extra-credit project for every school break. We were supposed to take our textbook with us and take a picture of ourselves and our textbook in interesting situations or places. I made a great posterboard full of pictures of my Spanish book and I at Disney world. (A person who is skilled at digitally enhancing images on their computer and has a few well posed photos can do this without lugging their book around...I have a picture with my book safely cradeled in my arm while in line for the Dinosaur ride at AK, when in fact my book never made it through the gates.) Some fun ideas include on It's a Small World, in front of any precautionary sign (especially for Spanish--most are in English and Spanish), at the World Showcase (you might even get a picture with yourself, the book, and a castmember native to a country where your language of interest is spoken.) This project is easily adapted to other subject areas.

General Tips:
Let your teachers know about your trip about a month in advance and ask if you can get assignments for the period you will be gone. You may even want to write and have your parents sign a note. Your teacher may not have planned that far ahead yet, so ask again two weeks before your trip. The last two weeks before you leave will be busy, but not busy enough. You may find yourself daydreaming about your trip, and lose track of time. To fill more time, work on any assignments you've recieved now. Most people don't want to get stuck doing homework at Disney, and they won't want to be caught off guard with a lot of homework the day they get back (which happens to be the day before they have to go to school). If you can, do homework on the plane (especially reading) or in the car (some people get motion sick when they read or work in the car, so be careful, and stop as soon as you get a headache or feel queasy). If you do have to do work at Disney, do it in small chunks (30 min-1 hr), and during down-time at the hotel. Don't bring any homework (not even an assigned novel to read) to the theme parks--that's the place to have fun, and not worry about your homework. (The only acception would be if you're doing a special report on one of the parks, or are doing the photo project described above). Have fun!
'HooShotJR'

Do you have any ideas to add to this page, or any stories about missing school to go to WDW? Email me.

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