I have to second everyone's statements here. Just to comment on someone's comment on "creepy" empty- we were there at closing on Sept 10 ( I remember because it was my husband's birthday) and we were leaving via Frontierland into Adventureland past Pirates of the Carribean and there was no one there but us. It had rained that night and it was a little foggy and wet and it was almost creepy- like they had shut us in for the night! My daughter and I got off Splash Mountain and we were the only ones riding on the whole ride (given this was during the fireworks)- but there was no one in any boats around us- also a little creepy- but fun!
At Animal Kingdom I trekked all the way from Dinoland to the Safari to get a fastpass and when we returned to use the fast pass there was like 20 people in line in front of us- there was needless to say no need to use the fastpasses!
I guess I will be the lone voice of desent. We went for free dining in September of 2007 and the crowds levels were much higher than we expected. September is a "slower" time to go, but I would not go expecting "empty" and dead parks. The fd promo lures in more and more folks each year. Also, you have to remember that there were 5 major named storms during free dining last year, three of which were actual hurricanes, and there were still plenty of people down there. Here is our trip report from when we returned in September 2007:
We went this past Sept. from 9/14 - 9/22. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have a great time. Afterall, it is Disney World and we are Disney fanatics, but I doubt we will ever go in September again. It was crowded and very hot (I don't mean a little hot. I mean sweltering. When you came out of an air-conditioned ride and walked out in the heat it would take your breath way hot). I live in Alabama, I know what hot is and it was hot, hot hot. Did I mention it was hot?
It rained at least a little bit every afternoon we were there. On one day, without any warning, no menacing clouds or noticeable wind change, the sky just opened up and poured. It poured so hard, it was like the sky opened up and dumped a bucket of water on your head. There wasn't even time to put our ponchos on. By the time we drug everyone's ponchos out and put them on the rain stopped. We then left for our Ohana ADR looking like someone had just thrown us in the hotel pool - literally socked to the bone.
We did have awesome food on our trip. We ate at Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree, Planet Hollywood, 50's Primetime Cafe, Garden Grill, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana (best meal we had), and Crystal Palce. We had ADRs for all and always had to wait at least 20 minutes for our table. Saw them turning away walk-ups at all restaurants. Counter service was not too crowded, but we tried to eat early around 11:30 a.m.
I am a faithful fan of the UG and if it weren't for knowing about their touring plans and knowing how to utilize the Fastpasss system the lines would not have been as manageable. There was the occasion that you walked up to something in the late afternoon and there was only a 10 or 15 minute wait, but most of the headliners kept 30 minute or more waits. At MK on our last day Space Mountain had a 75 minute wait at 3:30 p.m! Now, to you Christmas week, Easter week, or July 4th people that probably doesn't sound too bad, but we specifically booked these dates for low crowds, and there were not low crowds - maybe mediumish.
When we left we had every intention of booking the Free Dining bounceback for next September that they were offering, but after the terrible heat and crowds my husband said he would happily pay the $1300 we saved on this trip and put it towards a slower, cooler time to visit.
We have previously been at the end of January into the first part of February and have also been end of November into first of December and those are the times we will be planning our future WDW vacations.
I don't want to rain on anybody's September Free Dining parade (excuse the pun), but I wanted to be honest about the heat and crowds so others will know what to expect and not be disappointed.
) the crowds are practically non existent, it's a great time to go. The one thing I didn't like, and it's totally my personal opinion, was all the Halloween decorations. Halloween just isn't my thing.
) and on Sunday at AK during the early afternoon. Everything else was a short wait -- so much so that I sometime rode a ride again to walk more slowly through the pre-ride entertainment.
But yes it was extremely HOT!!! We would definately go in September again.
