What would you do?? I need help!

[Mommy2cody]

Hey everyone! Well we are officially planning our very first trip to WDW!! I am so excited! We live in SoCal and are regular DLAND guest, but we have never been to WDW before!


Here is my question:

September (2010) or January (2011) (I know they are both far away)???

We were looking at January because of the cooler weather but I really want to be able to do everything (Pools, waterparks, fireworks, ETC) Is that even possible in January? I read the weather can really vary at that time of the year!?! And I am concerned about rides that might be down for refurbs.

September is warmer but the Halloween party is going on so that's a plus. And I am sure with the warmer weather the water parks will still be open. What about fireworks??

They are both in Value season so I am not to worried about the price, but I just want to be able to see as much as possible in case we don't make it back out there!!

Thanks for any help!!

 

[Vipper of Vipp]

Go with September (like us) so you can experience a real honest to goodness carribean hurricane!

 

[seadd67]

Wow great you will have a blast!!. I have done both, been to DL growing up here on the west coast a many of times and we have been going to DW for the past 5 years.We love DW. We have been going In March/April, the weather Is just right and the and all the rides seem to be open.The down side Is Its usuall during spring break wich means biger crowds but it seems theres always going to be something that will not jive. We are going this Oct for MNSSHP where It seems the parks close earlyer,so It must mean the crowds are smaller.What ever you chose It will be fun.Keep us posted on your planing.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Just my thoughts. We went last year the 2nd week in December~~~my favorite time to go. No crowds and the decorations are AMAZING! The only day that we had more than a 10 minute wait was the Sunday we were leaving but with that being said, too cold for the waterparks. The nights were in the low 50's and the days were in the upper 60's low 70's. We don't normally spend time in the waterparks so December is our first choice. I am thinking that January crowds and weather would be about the same without the BEAUTIFUL Christmas decorations.

Mid August through September is normally when Disney offers Free Dining which is why we are going the 2nd week in August this year. I would have rather gone in September but we are taking 2 of our grandkids and they can not miss school because of the new rule in Texas schools(if you miss 3 days consecutively without and doctor note, you are truent and subject to a fine plus you get zero's for every assignment that you miss while you are out ). September plus's are low crowds, warmer (hot) weather and free dining(if they offer it again), so with that said............

If I was choosing, I would choose September 2010! You can play in the pools, go to the waterparks, eat at some of the great Disney restraunts free and have low crowds. Plus it is sooner. Believe me, if you are a planner like me, I plan for a solid year for our trips to Disney! It will be here before you know it!

Whenever you choose to go, you will have a blast, I wish you all of the magic that Disney offers and more!!!

 

[Conan the Librarian]

September! The perfect time to go. It will be warm, but, not too warm. The kids will be in school (for the most part). Plenty to do and the perfect place to do it.

I love WDW in September.

 

[Pakey]

Hi there. A fellow Californian here with her opinions. We have went to WDW 10 of the past 11 January's. Only once in all of these trips have we had weather where it was warm enough to swim every day and that was this year. We've had some years where it was too cold to swim any day but the majority of the trips have had maybe one day where it was warm enough to swim. With the weather in Florida, you just can't plan ahead. So if you go in January, you will have to rearrange your plans on the warm day to accommodate going to the pools/water parks. In January, only one of the two water parks is usually open. That has been Blizzard Beach for most of our trips.

We've done September twice and both times it was very hot and humid. We would go to the parks in the morning and spend the afternoons at the pool. It was too hot for us to enjoy the afternoons in the parks. Then we'd clean up and go back out for the evenings for dinner/parks. There's more chance you will encounter rain in September than January but the rain never bothers us or slows us down.

January has much shorter park hours. With the 3 hour time change, we don't like to get up very early and that's tough in January because the parks close long before we are ready to call it a day. We have found that the children have had a harder time with the time change and getting up early than the adults. We've had many uncomfortably cold January days where hats and gloves have come in handy. The northern visitors think it's fine but being outside all day in 42 degrees is too cold for us!

January used to be very empty which is what prompted us to go but the last couple of years January has been just as crowded as other trips that we take there later in the year so we have decided that we are not going in January for 2010.

 

[Mommy2cody]

Thanks guys! I knew you guys would help! I think we are leaning towards Spetember....I would LOVE to do December, but that month is already pretty crazy for us as it is!!! I do have a question though...when Disney does offer free dinning, do you have to book there package or can you ad it to any package?? ( I was on Disney's website and they were showing this years free dinning but they were only offering 5 day pacakges, we want to go for a little longer then that, would we still be able to get it if they offer it??) It is not a deal breaker though!! Thanks guys. I am already in planning mode....I was up until 2:30 last night looking up info!!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

When i went in April/May we loved it! light crows and weather was great!

 

[JT's World]

Thanks guys! I knew you guys would help! I think we are leaning towards Spetember....I would LOVE to do December, but that month is already pretty crazy for us as it is!!! I do have a question though...when Disney does offer free dinning, do you have to book there package or can you ad it to any package?? ( I was on Disney's website and they were showing this years free dinning but they were only offering 5 day pacakges, we want to go for a little longer then that, would we still be able to get it if they offer it??) It is not a deal breaker though!! Thanks guys. I am already in planning mode....I was up until 2:30 last night looking up info!!

You are able to get the Free Dining packages for up to 10 days.

I think you will like September as a choice. If you come later in the month, you can possibly catch the beginning of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival, as well as, the Magic Kingdom's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Both are fun events to catch.

As mentioned by another poster, if you wanted to use the pools during your trip, September weather in Florida is much better than January for that.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[DonaldTDuck]

DisneyWorld tends to have refurbs more spread out through the year than DL, so there may be closures both times, but not as many things at once. There's always a waterpark open, and for the most part, there's some good weather in Jan. This past Jan, we went to WDW Jan 4-12, and I wore shorts every day. I've been in September about 5 times and always have temps in the 90s and have seen 100 degree days with 99% humidity. Free dining is the big draw of September and can be from 3-10 nights. They show 5 on the website as an example, but don't make that clear enough. Either time is great, and Jan often has deals that are pretty good. This is was pay for 4 get 3 free, plus a $200 gift card. Made the price within $100 per person of free dining. Just pick one and go and have a great time. You'll miss the Matterhorn, but EE will more than make up for it.

 

[Mommy2cody]

Thanks everyone! We have decided to do January 24th through 31st (2011, I know it is far away but we are scrimping and saving so that gives us extra time!!) We decided to go with the flow and just be flexible. If we do get a warm day we will take advantage and go to the waterpark if not it's okay! We just do not do well in the heat or humidity so that was a big factor! Thanks everyone!!

 

[squirrel]

You can have 14 nights with Free Dining. You need to make it a package by buying a min of a one day ticket. You can only get a max. of a 10 day park ticket or AP if you want more days.

Keep an eye out in April for the Free Dining. You can book a room and then when Disney announces FD then change your pkg or room reservation.

 

[wdwdork]

Just my thoughts. We went last year the 2nd week in December~~~my favorite time to go. No crowds and the decorations are AMAZING! The only day that we had more than a 10 minute wait was the Sunday we were leaving but with that being said, too cold for the waterparks. The nights were in the low 50's and the days were in the upper 60's low 70's. We don't normally spend time in the waterparks so December is our first choice. I am thinking that January crowds and weather would be about the same without the BEAUTIFUL Christmas decorations.

Mid August through September is normally when Disney offers Free Dining which is why we are going the 2nd week in August this year. I would have rather gone in September but we are taking 2 of our grandkids and they can not miss school because of the new rule in Texas schools(if you miss 3 days consecutively without and doctor note, you are truent and subject to a fine plus you get zero's for every assignment that you miss while you are out ). September plus's are low crowds, warmer (hot) weather and free dining(if they offer it again), so with that said............

If I was choosing, I would choose September 2010! You can play in the pools, go to the waterparks, eat at some of the great Disney restraunts free and have low crowds. Plus it is sooner. Believe me, if you are a planner like me, I plan for a solid year for our trips to Disney! It will be here before you know it!

Whenever you choose to go, you will have a blast, I wish you all of the magic that Disney offers and more!!!

I am from Texas and we have our WDW vacation planned for Sep 19-27 this year. We had heard the same thing regarding Texas truency laws. However, we talked to a very respected teacher at our kid's school and she said it wasn't a problem. Just let their teacher know a couple weeks in advance. Granted, our kids are (will be) 2nd grade and kinder. Do you have a link to the new rule? Thanks!!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

September. Being from SoCal, I don't think you'll mind the heat at all. You'll love the low crowds.

January is too cold for me, and I'm from a more temperate part of hte country.

In January, the number of rehabs isn't super extensive, but there will probably be some. More important, I don't find the parks fun when it's 35 degrees outside. One water park is ALWAYS closed at that timeof year, both will be closed if it's too cold. Evenif teh water rides within the parks ARE open, who wants to get soaking wet when it's 50?

You MIGHT - key world - might get warmer daytime weather in January, but you almost certainly will NOT get warm night weather in January. That measn at the very least, you have to carry warm clothes around with you, or go back to your room to change- or stay in your hotel at night.

Here's a good idea for you: try a search of average weather temps by city and by month (Orlando, or Lake Buena Vista). That should be easy to fine. It will give average highs and lows for each month, plus record extreme temps for each month.

September also have somewhat short hours, but the short lines pretty much make up for that.

 

[mnlibzi]

Congradulations on booking your first WDW trip! I bet you will have a great time!

mnlibzi

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks everyone! We have decided to do January 24th through 31st (2011, I know it is far away but we are scrimping and saving so that gives us extra time!!) We decided to go with the flow and just be flexible. If we do get a warm day we will take advantage and go to the waterpark if not it's okay! We just do not do well in the heat or humidity so that was a big factor! Thanks everyone!!

I think you'll enjoy it! September is a little less crowded overall, but a lot hotter. And being a SoCaler, you may not be quite ready for Florida heat. (I lived in Calabasas for 4 years before moving here - 110 in Cali was not nearly as bad as 95 in central Florida...the humidity is indescribable!).

January can definitely fluctuate as far as weather goes - but usually doesn't rain much, no tropical activity, and temps are most likely to be in the upper 70's most days, and upper 50's to low 60's most nights. You may see some oddball mid-80's days or some oddball mid-50's days, and nights can creep into the 70s or 30s on the rare days. Humidity is way down either way, so it tends to be pretty pleasant.

Crowds are still low in the last week of January...they pick up a bit around MLK weekend, then fade back again. I go often to WDW since I live down here in Florida - but the last week of January is one of my most common and favorite times to go. If you fish through my galleries, you can find pics taken in Januaries in 06, 07, 08, and 09...the dates are under the photos - might give you an idea from the way folks are dressed, or the sun & sky conditions, what you might expect.

 

[SPOERLX3]

I am from Texas and we have our WDW vacation planned for Sep 19-27 this year. We had heard the same thing regarding Texas truency laws. However, we talked to a very respected teacher at our kid's school and she said it wasn't a problem. Just let their teacher know a couple weeks in advance. Granted, our kids are (will be) 2nd grade and kinder. Do you have a link to the new rule? Thanks!!

I don't have the link, I'm sorry, we were actually given a paper copy from our Principle when this exact thing happened to my daughter last December We actually had the all clear from the Vice Principle at my daughters High School prior to our trip. She was Sr. honors student with a 3.83 GPA. We were taking her because of her success in school and since she was going off to college and she had accepted a position as a camp councelor at Sky Ranch, the summer didnt work either. Spring break was off since she had school functions that she was committed to during her spring break and most of Christmas would be spent traveling to see family so we made special arrangements to take her out the week before Christmas break for a trip to Disney World. We took our trip, had a great time, took our 2 week Christmas break and when we got back we got hit with truency. She was counted unexcused absence, she was given straight zero's for the week and we fought all the way to the top unsuccsessfully. It took my daughtes GPA from a 3.83 to a 3.59, took her out of the honor society and the level of academic scholarship that she would have been awarded at the university she had chosen and committed to dropped by $4,000. So unfortunately we learned about the Texas Truency law 1st hand. I do not agree with it, especially if you have made special arrangements but I will tell you that I lost all respect for the administrators at my daughters school since I felt they should have told us before we went instead of giving her the green light to go. I am sure that being in high school is totally different than in elementary, I just hope that no one has to experience what we went through. Oh yeah, I forgot to include that my daughter had not missed 1 day of school her entire 13 years of school until that trip.
I believe that the truency law was put together to prevent so many kids that are skipping and that their parents don't give a hoot but unfortunately it punishes the good kids too.

 

[wdwdork]

I don't have the link, I'm sorry, we were actually given a paper copy from our Principle when this exact thing happened to my daughter last December We actually had the all clear from the Vice Principle at my daughters High School prior to our trip. She was Sr. honors student with a 3.83 GPA. We were taking her because of her success in school and since she was going off to college and she had accepted a position as a camp councelor at Sky Ranch, the summer didnt work either. Spring break was off since she had school functions that she was committed to during her spring break and most of Christmas would be spent traveling to see family so we made special arrangements to take her out the week before Christmas break for a trip to Disney World. We took our trip, had a great time, took our 2 week Christmas break and when we got back we got hit with truency. She was counted unexcused absence, she was given straight zero's for the week and we fought all the way to the top unsuccsessfully. It took my daughtes GPA from a 3.83 to a 3.59, took her out of the honor society and the level of academic scholarship that she would have been awarded at the university she had chosen and committed to dropped by $4,000. So unfortunately we learned about the Texas Truency law 1st hand. I do not agree with it, especially if you have made special arrangements but I will tell you that I lost all respect for the administrators at my daughters school since I felt they should have told us before we went instead of giving her the green light to go. I am sure that being in high school is totally different than in elementary, I just hope that no one has to experience what we went through. Oh yeah, I forgot to include that my daughter had not missed 1 day of school her entire 13 years of school until that trip.
I believe that the truency law was put together to prevent so many kids that are skipping and that their parents don't give a hoot but unfortunately it punishes the good kids too.

I'm really sorry to hear about your bad experience. You definately got a raw deal. Sounds to me like an administrator pulled the "I'm doing this because I can" card.

I already made my reservations so I guess we'll see what happens. I have to admit I'm really worried now.

 

[SPOERLX3]

I'm really sorry to hear about your bad experience. You definately got a raw deal. Sounds to me like an administrator pulled the "I'm doing this because I can" card.

I already made my reservations so I guess we'll see what happens. I have to admit I'm really worried now.

You know, that was Dec 2007 and it's over and in the past. Thank the Lord! My daughter said that if she had the choice of doing it again, even knowing the consiquences, she would not change a thing. The sad thing is, there was another girl (one of my daughters best friends) that was there the exact same time that we were and her mom got a dummy doctors note and she got off scott free by being dishonest. My daughter just finished her Freshman year with a 3.89 GPA on the Deans List with Honors while playing a collegiate sport. So we know that the 3.59 that shows on her HS transcript was just a blurp. LOL! It was hard on her at the time, but I told her to hold her head high and be proud of what she accomplished, it is ashame that some administrators do pull that card because of they have a need to be in control.

With your kids being in 2nd and K, I would not worry. I truly believe that the truency law focuses on Middle School/High School children more than elementary. I also believe that every district and school handle it differently and if you have approval, I say go and have fun. I have even heard of other districts encouraging it and giving the kids assignments focusing on things they can learn in DisneyWorld.

Go have fun and I wish you all the Disney magic on your trip!!!

 

[BarbieGal457]

I'm a little late to the party, but I think you'll enjoy January! The past two years I've gone the first/second week, and have been blessed with beautiful weather and low crowds. I was definitely nervous before the first trip, but it turned out so wonderful I booked another one right away! The days were high-70s to mid-to-high-80s, and the nights were in the 60s. Being from Philly, it was a beautiful change. Some nights I did wear a sweatshirt and long jeans, but not all. The wait times were nothing (walked straight onto BTMRR and <10m for Splash!). It may seem far away now but you'll have a blast! We did get to see all the fireworks, parades, and swim a lot too! We could have done a waterpark but we simply didn't have the time (I got very ill for a day and was out of commission).