Have you done WDW the last week of October and what did you think?

[jenniferma]

Hi-- we are considering booking a trip around my DD6's bday -- October 26- November 2nd. Our school is very strict with days off and we have two vacation days the 1st and 2nd of November for PTC. Also I figure the 29th (Friday) will be a waste with Halloween parties etc..so they would only miss 2 days of school on these dates.

Did you think it was extremely crowded? How was the weather? Would you go again in late October?

thanks!
jen

 

[ToddyLu]

DH and I were there 10/28-11/06 in 2009. The park was not crowded to us. The MNSSHP was crowded on 10/29 but not as bad on 10/31--go figure. It was terribly hot this year. We really enjoyed our time there and would go that week again in a heart beat. It is 12/01-12/10 for us in 2010. We did use FP for Soarin and maybe another ride or two. Everything else we just waited in a brief line.

I am curious as to why you think the Halloween Party is a waste. It is a great time for the kids to wear their costumes and trick or treat. The characters are great, decore very festive, you get to see HalloWishes....if fact we really like it better than the Christmas Party. It would be great for a 6 year old...male or female. Just wondering........have a wonderful time

 

[jenniferma]

I am sorry-- I wasn't clear at all-- I meant the kids' Halloween parties at their school the Friday before Halloween-- October 29th! We just moved to a new school and the whole day was pretty much wasted with a party and parade.. no biggie, just figure it's a good day to miss school (and the kids don't mind missing it for Disney!)

sorry about being unclear. I do that a lot!
Jen

 

[ToddyLu]

I see--Have a great trip Jen.

If you have never been to MNSSHP it really is worth it. The tickets go on sale in May and even though 10/31 sells out, the crowd was very manageable we thought.

 

[ToddyLu]

If you decide not to go to MNSSHP...from what I understand you can see the Headless Horseman when he starts his ride from Wilderness Campground stables. I have heard that he rides at a full gallop to MK from there and back again. He is terrific and really starts the parade right. Gee I could just go on and on and on.....

 

[jenniferma]

thanks! my DD8 would LOVE that, she loves horses! I am looking at dates-- do you think the MNSSHP would be held on the 26 (tues), 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st?

I think we are planning on doing the party.. we loved MVMCP. What night would you recommend going.. I was thinking the 28th?

thanks again!
jen

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We were at WDW Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, 2009. The crowds were low and it was very easy to get on rides with minimal or no wait time. Only exceptions were the big rides like Toy Story Mania -- but we did fast pass and that was great.

The MNSSHP Halloween Party was an absolute blast! Do it! The only down side was the parties were every other night... so Magic Kingdom closed at 7pm unless you had a party ticket. If I go again during this time, I'd get tickets for 2 party nights. But... being at the Polynesian, we had a great view of the MNSSHP fireworks right from the beach outside our patio (Tahiti Building).

We planned to do the other parks on some of the days when there was a MNSSHP at night.... but Magic Kingdom is our favorite.

The weather was warm, close to 90 most days.... It was wonderful... a bit hot, but not to the point of being a problem. I think it is not usually quite that hot the last week of October... and I also hear the amount of rain is less then compared to earlier in Oct. or Sept.

 

[joy13]

We have done Disney that time of year twice and love, love, love it!!!!! The party is amazing and the weather is great. We were there this past year and had about 2 minutes of rain. As others said, it was hotter than usual this past year, but the time before it was perfect - low 80's! We stayed at POP Century and on Halloween - they had their own party by the main pool and had some trick or treating, so we didn't even need to go to Downtown Disney (we did the party earlier in the week). The parties tend to run on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Halloween of that week, this year they had a party on Nov. 1st also.

 

[ToddyLu]

My vote would be a party on a Tuesday night, then Thursday my second choice. You want to stay away from weekends if possible. Halloween was more comfortable to us than the Thursday Night we went---it was very hot. Anywho, I also vote for doing the party twice if you can. We always do the hard ticket events twice when we go.

 

[phisigprincess]

We were there for a wedding the 22-25th and the crowd levels were really managable. The weather was great and MNSSHP was fantastic! I'd definitely recommend booking then.

 

[MinnieLee]

Halloween week is our favorite time of year to go - this year was our lucky "13th" trip. We leave the Friday before whenever Halloween is and stay for 10days. The MNSSHP is great but Halloween night is a sell out. As pp, the headless horseman does come galloping down about 15 minutes before the parade starts. The parade and fireworks are great. It is fun looking at so many people (adults and kids) is costumes and there is trick or treating for everyone. The characters are "in costume" and there are alot of little extras. Great time. We have also done the haunted carriage ride at Wilderness Campgrounds. The past two years has been the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with an appearance of the headless horseman at the end following you to the bridge. DH is a big headless horseman fan so he loves it.

There is also trick or treating at DTD on Halloween evening and Boardwalk has a party out on the green near the boat dock with a DJ, surprise guests and other activities. Also, some of the resorts have a pumpkin carving competition between the different departments at that resort. You get to vote on the ones you really like. Some of them are amazing.

Weather is low to mid 80s. No humidity or afternoon thunderstorms. Nights are mid-low 70s. This year the first three days of our trip this year it hit 89 was that was a record. Crowds are really not bad at all. Don't forget you also have the Food & Wine at EPCOT during this time but Friday and Saturday nights are packed.

Have fun!

 

[izzie-wizzie]

We were there last October 20 oct - 2 nov, and it couldn't have been better for us

Yeah TSM and Soarin were always queues but that was as bad as it got - and FPs were easy to get hold of.

We found going to MK on a day when there was a halloween party at night - that the park was soo quiet! I guess this is because people weren't going to MK on the basis the park would close early - so if your happy leaving early (and obviously if you want to see Wishes returning another non MNSSHP night) - i would recommend it. We were walking on to pretty much everything (even Splash Mountain) all day!