Family “Made to Feel Like Criminals” Because Kids Skipped School for Disney Vacation

It is by no means news that a Disney vacation has become unbelievably expensive for many many Disney fans. A complaint that arose most prominently during former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s time and then has remained constant even with the return of Chapek’s predecessor and now successor, Disney CEO Bob Iger, going to a Disney Park—whether one at Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida or Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California—has become out of reach for many families who once enjoyed the chance to immerse themselves in the Disney experience.

Because of this, many families have found ways around the pricing issues by going in the off-season, i.e., they take their kids to Walt Disney World during the school term, seeing as it saves them thousands of dollars.

Read More: Cheaper Disney Vacation or Education: The Ultimate Parental Dilemma

But most recently, one family was actively penalized by their school for taking two Walt Disney World trips during the school term. Paul Benson and his family are from Redcar in North Yorkshire, and in order to take an affordable Disney vacation, he took his family to Walt Disney World in September of 2018 and 2022.

Benson’s children’s school fined them £480 in total for two trips to Disney World in Florida; moreover, the primary school “ostracized” their children, and the family was made to feel like going on holiday was a “criminal activity.”

The 35-year-old father told Metro, “It wasn’t so much the fine that bothered us, but because of the fine, it meant it was a criminal activity to be able to spend time with our family.”

Benson continued, speaking on the lack of equality when it comes to vacationing, “My wife said to me it feels like only the privileged people can have a holiday—the super earners who can afford to go. It’s not an equal opportunity.”

The school even escalated the issue to the local councils, informing Benson that it “informed Redcar and Cleveland Council about the unauthorized holidays.”

Taking the time to go on a family vacation is certainly reasonable, but one can’t help but question why so many families have to have their children skip school in order to be able to afford a Walt Disney World vacation.

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