Here right now CROWDED for Sept.

[TheRider]

Where did the crowds come from? We hit MK and Epcot today. Here is what we saw. We arrived at MK around noon and saw that the crowds were the worst so far and we arrived last Tues. Splash Mountain hit 60 minute waits. I saw that Peter Pan was 40min. We decided just to head over to Epcot hoping that maybe just the crowds were at MK but I guess not. TT was 60min with Soarin at 50min. Spaceship Earth was 5 along with Nemo. There was no wait for Journey. Maelstrom was 20min but after dinner at China at 7pm, it was only 5min.


We fly out tomorrow at 5pm and hitting MK prior to that.. Hoping the crowds are a little better.

[anewvance]

BFF and I could not believe how crowded it was this past weekend. So much for quiet Sept.

[TinkerbelleMom]

Two words...Free Dining!!!

[LMO429]

Originally Posted by TinkerbelleMom

Two words...Free Dining!!!

Free Dining Promotion/Halloween Decorations/MNSSHP and Food and wine festival coming up = crowds

also the original poster mentioned he got to the park at noon at the bigger attractions had long waits..I think getting to the rope drop is key for not having to worry about crowds.

[starstruck93]

Yes ,we were there last week (9th - 15th) and it was fine on the 10th and 11 but it gradually got more crowded as the week went by. Our last day (the 14th) it was terribly crowded, could'nt walk down Main st. without bumping into someone!

[NC State]

I agree about the crowds. I was there last week and I have never seen September so busy! Never again for us, too hot and too many people!

[Ktharee]

How is it that people who are there the same time have EXTREMELY different opinions on the crowds? Just about everyone else has said the rides have been walk-ons for all of September. I really don't get it.Glad I'll be seeing for myself in two days.

[DisneyStiles]

Originally Posted by Ktharee

How is it that people who are there the same time have EXTREMELY different opinions on the crowds? Just about everyone else has said the rides have been walk-ons for all of September. I really don't get it.Glad I'll be seeing for myself in two days.

I have to agree - I really appreciate people posting crowds, temperatures etc. yet it does seem odd to get so many different takes on the crowds. We'll be there on Friday (Sat. in parks) so I guess it will be what it will be and we will have a blast either way!

[FozzieFan]

Originally Posted by Ktharee

How is it that people who are there the same time have EXTREMELY different opinions on the crowds? Just about everyone else has said the rides have been walk-ons for all of September. I really don't get it.Glad I'll be seeing for myself in two days.

I think people go down with different ideas of what a quiet park is. Quiet is a relative term... September is much slower than other parts of the year, I think some people hear that though and think they'll have the whole of Disney World all to themselves.

Face it, never gonna happen.

I was down for my birthday last year (Sept 3rd just after labor day last year) and was talking to a manager at Epcot before rope drop. He was telling a group of us about how the two weeks following labor day monday are THE SLOWEST time to go to the World and we were all really lucky we picked the week we were there (also there between hurricanes last year.) That day I think soarin had a posted wait of 5 minutes until about 11:30 when it shot up to about 45 minutes in all of 10 minutes.

The afternoon in a park 11:30-3ish is going to have the longest wait times of the day. Even though September is quiet, it's still important to have a game plan, expect to see other people and wait in a line now and then, or choose to go back later if you have something against lines.

[HopperFan]

This is my 4th year this same time frame in September and this is the least crowded I have ever seen it. Parking lots are virtually empty (I am staying on property but prefer to drive to parks). MNSSHP not crowded at all. Arrived last Wed and staying until next Sunday. Today arrived at MK at 11 and by 5 had done plenty and decided to break at hotel before dinner at EPCOT. HM, Pirates, Buzz - all walk on.

The biggest surprise today was when checking in for lunch at CRT they took two walkups. One seated immediately and one told 20 minute wait.

[FozzieFan]

Also the wait times listed by the OP are right along the lines of the crowd calendar of the unofficial guide.

Avoid the mid day crowds, go back to your hotel and enjoy the pool!

[TheRider]

I agree on the conflicting reports. We rented a car this time and used that as a gauge. We got pushed farther and farther back. We tend to treat DW as a way to splurge and off-set that by hauling around the park. I am 6'4 and my wife is 6', so with a stroller and a large stride, we blow past everyone almost on a power-walk around the park, so we went around and around all of the parks and took notice of crowds. It was more than last year when we went around the same time. Now I have friends that left the day after Labor day for 4-6 days and the crowds were much lower. The free dining plays a big part. We saw this by comparing off-site hotels from when we first booked in May. We looked at the Doubletree in Downtown Disney for 130 a night and now it was 70 a night and AVAILABLE early last. The off-site places were empty. The first day last Tuesday, we got provisions by there and stopped at Joe's Crab shack by Downtown Disney and we were the only ones there... for 1.5 hours... We also hit places west down Route 27 and the hotels and restaurant parking lots are a ghost town. We checked in last Tues and at check-in, they said CSR was 75% full. BTW, they are so accomidating there and upgraded us free of charge (it was our 10-year ann.) We even changed rooms from our Cabana's 8a to Casitas 3a on the 1st floor due to an allergic reaction from the 1st room. (our view now is spectacular even though we were 75feet from the main pool at Cabanas. We are on 3127, which is a PRIMO spot

[Robbinsgirls3]

Well, we just got back and the crowds are better than I ever saw last time. We had very few waits, except the normal ones in Fantasy Land like always. But when we went to HS it was practically empty. We were back by the Star Wars ride and we didn't see anyone at all walk by while we were eating at Back Lot for 15 minutes! That is amazing! The other parks were not as clear, but still not a bad wait wherever we went. The buses were empty all day long and so were the boats over to resort.

We stayed at Swan and Dolphin as a walkin guest for $100 a night! We had horrible experience in off prop hotel, and called S&D the next day and moved right on in. They even got our luggage sent up to our room by noon! It was not busy at any of the resorts we went into either, Contemporary was a ghost town, and S&D was quiet. I'd go this time every year if it wasn't so darn hot! Even with the free dining, I was able to get Chef Mickey and Ohana ressies one week out, and that's saying something!!
cool2:

[PrincessTiffany]

There have been a number of "When In September Are You Going?" Polls over the last several months and every one of those polls said this would be the busiest week of Free Dining.

[minniemeplus3]

Have to agree with everyone. We were there last week Sun 13th-Sat 19th. We had 5:20 ADR's at Ohana's on Sunday and it was packed. We ran into some friends who had been at MK that day and said the crowds were the lightest they had ever seen. However, Monday at MK was crowded...not like summer but more than usual for Sept. I think it was probably because of EMH. We rode BTMRR and waited about 15 minutes. When we came off, the wait was up to 30 minutes. This was around 10:30. Didn't check SM. (don't like gettin wet that early). After lunch PP and WP was 40 min and 30 min. so we got FP's for PP and moved on. We were traveling with Grandma and grandpa so we tired out fast. We left the parks early each day and because of ADR's, never returned. Epcot was next day and we grabbed FP's early for soarin. Return time was 10:30. Not bad. Standby was 40 min.TT standby was 30 min so we got FP's and rode after lunch.

Wed was DHS and AK ( no grandparents) Walked on RnRRC 5 times. No Wait TOT No wait! TSM 30 min wait. (10:30) FP return 2:05. went over to AK.(3:00) rode EE a couple of times. posted wait was 20 min. FP's all gone. Decided to ride....took 30 min. Rode again in the single riders line. Waited about 10 minutes and all 4 of us ended up on the same train!! Crowd was lighter here.

Thurs was back to AK. Crowds were heavier.waits were not unreal though.

all of our TS restaurants were full while we were eating. Ohana, Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon, HDDR, and Captains Grill.

I think one reason some of the rollercoaster lines are shorter is because there are not as many teenagers there. Tons of toddlers and small children. So I said all of that to say that the lines weren't too bad but the crowds were.
(sorry for the long post)