Disney’s YES Program
One of Disney’s best-kept secrets is their Youth Education Series (Y.E.S. for short). The Youth Education Series is meant for school-age children (age 5 though 18) to part-take in an accredited educational class held inside one of Walt Disney World’s theme parks! There are over 20 classes students may part-take in ranging in a variety of subjects from physics, to history to animal science (and more!)
One of the best benefits of participating in Disney’s Youth Education Series is deeply discounted tickets for the whole family!
Our Experience (September 2015)
WDW Hints had the pleasure of organizing a YES trip in September of 2015 (and we’re going again in September of 2016 – details here!) We offered 3 classes that students could participate in. Most students chose one class, but several took two! Here’s an overview of each class and what we learned!
How Things Move
How Things Move is a physics class meant for Kindergarteners through 2nd graders as they determine the 
types of energy that cause specific attractions to move. Our students rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Goofy’s Barnstormer, and the People Mover at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Each student was able to design their own rollercoaster using the types of energy and motion they had learned about and experienced. Due to their young age, our students were accompanied by one parent. This class lasted about 2.5 hours and the kids enjoyed it so much, we’ll be bringing it back for 2016!
Principles of Animal Behavior
This animal science course was geared towards 2nd through 7th graders and took place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The students did a great job observing animal habits and survival skills while riding Kilimanjaro Safaris! Many of our students were very involved in answering questions in order to collect clips… which in the end, determined who would become our Alpha leader. This is another popular course that we’ll be offering, once again, in 2016!
Discovering the American Spirit
Our middle school and high school students sure got to discover the American Spirit by going up ON STAGE of the Hall of Presidents for an up-close look at all of the audio-animatronics (that was the highlight for me!) Students prepared mini-presentations of the early American days, learned about the gold rush (& rode BTMR), completed a few hands on activities, watched the Hall of Presidents show, and concluded with a ceremonial ringing of the Liberty Bell in Liberty Square.
Parents & Grandparents Loved it too!
Not only did our students have a great time… but here’s what a few parents (and grandparents) had to say:
Thank you Terri for your willingness to provide this educational experience for these children. Bailey had such a good time while learning [and] she had a great time. ~Diane
Thank you SO much, Terri! My girls had a wonderful time, and our family had a great first experience at Disney World! Thank you for helping make that happen for us!!! ~Janine
So much fun! I learned as much as the kids did and made some new friends! ~Lynn
Join Us in 2016!
We’ve got plans for another great educational trip for September 11 – 17 of 2016. If you’ve got a school-aged child or grandchild, we would love for you to join us! All details can be found here: https://www.wdwhints.com/y-e-s-trip/
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