Best Arrival/Departure Days? - The DIS Discussion Forums

ChristineOH · 01-07-2013, 09:35 PM

We have only taken one trip to WDW, traveling Wednesday to Wednesday. We are planning our next trip, tentatively for the last week in May. I'm thinking of flying in the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and leaving the following Saturday.
Arriving and leaving on a Wednesday (our trip was in early June) was a breeze. No lines at ME or check in. We did wait a bit for the bus to fill up before leaving the airport. We also had no issues on our way out.
For you veterans with multiple trips under your belt... have you traveled on different days of the week, and did you see a difference? Is MCO crazy on Saturdays with Disney vacationers? Is ME or resort check in a hassle?

deakam · 01-07-2013, 10:51 PM

We usually travel Saturday to Saturday. Airfares seem to be cheaper than say a Friday or a Sunday. I have never found the airport to be crazy and the only time we had to wait for Magical express was when we flew in on a Sunday. Really busy day.

I just also wanted to say that I would never, under any circumstances go to Disney over Memorial day or any other Holiday. With the possible exception of Halloween.

SimplyGoofy · 01-07-2013, 11:02 PM

I've always gone on the weekends (Saturdays or Sundays) and never had a problem. The buses fill up super-fast--I think I waited 20 minutes (or less!) on my last trip to be on my way!

(On another note--my trip is also from Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to the following Saturday! I know MDW will be a little busy--but I think we'll survive just fine. I hope!)

Wood Nymph · 01-08-2013, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineOH

We have only taken one trip to WDW, traveling Wednesday to Wednesday. We are planning our next trip, tentatively for the last week in May. I'm thinking of flying in the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and leaving the following Saturday.
Arriving and leaving on a Wednesday (our trip was in early June) was a breeze. No lines at ME or check in. We did wait a bit for the bus to fill up before leaving the airport. We also had no issues on our way out.
For you veterans with multiple trips under your belt... have you traveled on different days of the week, and did you see a difference? Is MCO crazy on Saturdays with Disney vacationers? Is ME or resort check in a hassle?

We usually travel on weekdays rather than weekends. The airfare is lower and the airport is often not as busy as a weekend day. This trip we are traveling Tuesday to Monday because we save hundreds of dollars over traveling on the weekend. My daughter is traveling from a different city on a different airline and her cheapest flights were on a Sunday.

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bookgirl · 01-08-2013, 10:06 AM

I've done two Sat-Sat and it is actually a pretty busy day. If you can do online checkin I'd suggest that. It really helped last trip. I had a Sat checkin and a Sun checkin last Oct and the online did put me in a shorter line with less fuss.

I believe Sat and Sun are the busiest to checkin at the resorts and Sat departures at the airport are the busiest.

I however will probably do a weekend check in again next time. It just works best with my schedule, which it does with most folks and that would be why it's the busiest. LOL

minnie mum · 01-08-2013, 10:57 AM

You have to do what you have to do. As a pp noted, weekends are the busiest days for vacation travel, and for check in/check out at the resorts. A long weekend magnifies this. Online check in MAY speed up the process when you arrive, providing you don't have any important room requests.

It is for these reasons that we usually avoid long weekend travel if possible and try to arrive/depart midweek.

ChristineOH · 01-08-2013, 01:49 PM

Thanks for the input, everyone! I'm going to look at airfare more before we decide. My kids get out of school early this year, the Friday before Memorial Day, and I thought we'd head right down before other kids get out of school. We could possibly push the trip from Tuesday to Tuesday, so I will look at that, but that of course isn't as easy for my husband's work schedule. I have another trip planned the second weekend in June, so I have to be back in time for that. We can't go before Memorial Day, due to sports and school, and the crowd calendar I've looked at indicates that it's about the same the week after Memorial Day as later in June. I know that specific weekend will be busy, but if we go, we will be traveling on Saturday and will probably hit AK on Sunday, hoping to be strategic. We hit the parks early and did well on our last trip. We also lucked out on weather, with five of our days being nice and only the last three being hot.
I am so ready to get this trip booked, but there is so much to look at!

01-07-2013, 09:35 PM	#1
ChristineOH Mouseketeer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Southern Ohio Posts: 193	Best Arrival/Departure Days? We have only taken one trip to WDW, traveling Wednesday to Wednesday. We are planning our next trip, tentatively for the last week in May. I'm thinking of flying in the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and leaving the following Saturday. Arriving and leaving on a Wednesday (our trip was in early June) was a breeze. No lines at ME or check in. We did wait a bit for the bus to fill up before leaving the airport. We also had no issues on our way out. For you veterans with multiple trips under your belt... have you traveled on different days of the week, and did you see a difference? Is MCO crazy on Saturdays with Disney vacationers? Is ME or resort check in a hassle?

01-07-2013, 11:02 PM	#3
SimplyGoofy "You are not Mickey Mouse... you are a rat!" "Rat, shmat. Besides, they're tourists. What do they know?" Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Midwest Posts: 422	I've always gone on the weekends (Saturdays or Sundays) and never had a problem. The buses fill up super-fast--I think I waited 20 minutes (or less!) on my last trip to be on my way! (On another note--my trip is also from Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to the following Saturday! I know MDW will be a little busy--but I think we'll survive just fine. I hope!) __________________ 1986-Offsite ~ 1988-WDW Hilton ~ 2005-All Star Music ~ 2007-Port Orleans Riverside ~ 2012-Animal Kingdom Lodge Feb 2012 - A Savanna, A Wizard, and Oodles of Food - AKL/DxDP/WWoHP

01-08-2013, 10:06 AM	#5
bookgirl I don't eat onions-they squelch when you bite into them I don't eat raisins-they look like dried up bugs Can we say food issues? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: In a OK state Posts: 4,620	I've done two Sat-Sat and it is actually a pretty busy day. If you can do online checkin I'd suggest that. It really helped last trip. I had a Sat checkin and a Sun checkin last Oct and the online did put me in a shorter line with less fuss. I believe Sat and Sun are the busiest to checkin at the resorts and Sat departures at the airport are the busiest. I however will probably do a weekend check in again next time. It just works best with my schedule, which it does with most folks and that would be why it's the busiest. LOL __________________ DL 03/2000 Offsite WDW MK 1/2009 ASMu WDW The Rest of it 09/2011 BC & POFQ Family Trip/Solo Trip WDW FOOD & WINE/HARRY POTTER 10/2012 AoA/POFQ/ASMu WDW Mother/Daughter Food and Wine Adventure 10/2013 POFQ

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01-07-2013, 10:51 PM	#2
deakam DIS Veteran Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 520	We usually travel Saturday to Saturday. Airfares seem to be cheaper than say a Friday or a Sunday. I have never found the airport to be crazy and the only time we had to wait for Magical express was when we flew in on a Sunday. Really busy day. I just also wanted to say that I would never, under any circumstances go to Disney over Memorial day or any other Holiday. With the possible exception of Halloween.

01-08-2013, 10:57 AM	#6
minnie mum Unapologetic Disney Fan(atic) Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: WAY too far north Posts: 8,116	You have to do what you have to do. As a pp noted, weekends are the busiest days for vacation travel, and for check in/check out at the resorts. A long weekend magnifies this. Online check in MAY speed up the process when you arrive, providing you don't have any important room requests. It is for these reasons that we usually avoid long weekend travel if possible and try to arrive/depart midweek.

01-08-2013, 01:49 PM	#7
ChristineOH Mouseketeer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Southern Ohio Posts: 193	Thanks for the input, everyone! I'm going to look at airfare more before we decide. My kids get out of school early this year, the Friday before Memorial Day, and I thought we'd head right down before other kids get out of school. We could possibly push the trip from Tuesday to Tuesday, so I will look at that, but that of course isn't as easy for my husband's work schedule. I have another trip planned the second weekend in June, so I have to be back in time for that. We can't go before Memorial Day, due to sports and school, and the crowd calendar I've looked at indicates that it's about the same the week after Memorial Day as later in June. I know that specific weekend will be busy, but if we go, we will be traveling on Saturday and will probably hit AK on Sunday, hoping to be strategic. We hit the parks early and did well on our last trip. We also lucked out on weather, with five of our days being nice and only the last three being hot. I am so ready to get this trip booked, but there is so much to look at!