A girl from Oz booking her first trip - a few Q's

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hi all, I've finally convinced my DH to make the trip to DL, our first time there, in fact our first OS trip ever. We are taking our 11 yr old and 7 yr old. These are my questions:-

We were planning on arriving Monday 28th September and leaving Sat 3rd Oct (5 nights).

1. Will the fireworks only be on the Friday night while we are there? And if so, would be we better to arrive a day later and leave a day later so we have 2 nights there in case the fireworks need to be rescheduled?

2. Is the weather this time of year t-shirt weather or starting to be cold?

3. How far in advance do I need to make PS bookings? And do they need to be made for only the full service restaurants? Am thinking definitely Blue Bayou, a brekky and a lunch at Rainforest Cafe, ESPN zone one night, Carnation Cafe for a breakfast and maybe a lunch, Cafe Orleans for a lunch, House of Blues for a dinner......would I need PS's for these places? (can you tell I'm obsessed with food, haha)

4. Is Fantasmic on only on weekends too.

5. What are the crowds like during these dates, fingers crossed there are no major events but if there are, please tell me so I can mentally prepare

6. I think Haunted Mansion will be back up by then (correct me if I'm wrong) but the Halloween parties won't be on yet will they?

7. Are there usually many rides down for refurb at this time of year?

8. I assume the park hours will be shorter at this time of year, which isn't a big deal as we are early risers and DH and kids are early to bed peeps so we will make the shorter hours work for us.

Okay I know i probably have a million more questions, but for now these ones will be a great start.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I love this board and am so excited to finally be planning something instead of just reading about everyone else's plans.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

I will try and answer as many as I can:

1) Yes, fireworks would be on the weekends only

2) In my experience it's been nice enough for shorts/t-shirts during the day, but a light jacket or sweatshirt and/or pants at night.

3) You can book PS 60 days in advance. I don't know how House of Blues or ESPN Zone work, but Rainforest Cafe is a separate number (not sure how far out you can book for them)...everything else you listed I would get a PS for. You may not absolutely have to have them, but it would be nice to.

4) I believe Fantasmic will only be on the weekends.

5) I can tell you that Gay Days is the first weekend in October. I have never been during this time, but have heard that it is busier.

6) Can't help with this one.

7) There are usually some rides down for refurb in the off season.

8) I believe in the past the park hours in September have been 10-8 with longer hours on the weekend.

 

[maryr1oz]

How exciting!! The US will be a great trip for your first OS as the language and alot of the culture are similar - although be ready for the food
Hope i can help you out...

1 - Usually by the end of September the Fireworks are down to weekends only.
2 - The mornings are usually overcast but not all that cold, during the day it should be lovely but once the sun goes down it will get a little chilly.
3 - You can make 'priority seating' times at Rainforest and ESPN Zone, which means you will be seated in order a table comes availble from whatever time you have requested - usually only a 15-20 minute wait if that!
4 - Even when we were there in early Sept last year Fantasmic was only on during the weekends.
5 - Gay Days can make things considerably more busy than a normal weekend in October, but during the week you should have low crowds. It's a great time to go because the weather is a good change for us Aussies and the crowds are low.
6 - The 2009 Halloween dates are 25th Sep to 1st November and says the Haunted Mansion will be kitted out for those dates as well. It also mentions the trick or treat parties but says check back in Fall for the actual dates.
7 - There might be one or two rides down, but since you haven't been before you will still have plenty of things to keep you interested and busy!
8 - In our Sept experiences on weekdays at DL the hours were 10-8, with Magic Morning beginning at 9. CA was 10-6. On the weekends DL was 9-10 and CA was 10-6.

If you think of anything else just ask - you guys will have such a fantastic trip - particularly if the dollar keeps nudging upwards...

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Sounds like fun! Be prepared for crowds towards the end of your trip due to Gay Days and UEA (Utah school break ~ we're headed to WDW during UEA!!) Although it looks as though several UT school districts will have a fall break later in Oct. so UEA crowds might not be as big this year.

Here are the calendars from last Sept. & Oct.
http://www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200809.asp
http://www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200810.asp

We visited late Sept. 2 years ago and it was quite warm almost uncomfortable.

Fireworks, Fantasmic & the Electrical Parade (if it's running) will probably only be on weekends (Fri Sat & Sun)

 

[kylieh]

We were there the same week last year, and it was 35-40C each day, and on the humid side I think we needed a cardy for one night only. DH, DD and I each purchased a Mickey Sloppy Joe. Any excuse!

 

[keptwoman]

The Trick or Treat Parties start on the 2nd of October. They also have one on the 3rd. Going a day later would allow you to go to the fireworks one night and a ToT party the other night, otherwise you will have to choose.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks Kayla'smom, lots of great info here. Thanks for the heads up about the Gay Days being that weekend. I did a bit more digging and you are indeed right, and from what I can tell the crowds are alot bigger.

Maryr1oz - I didn't realise how much later in the morning the parks appear to open, wow 10am is late. Over the 5 days, we could actually lose alot of park hours with late opening and early closing, hmmm, I wonder if we would be better to put the DL leg of our holiday to the end of the trip, more like 11th-16th Oct?

And yes Mary the aussie dollar is looking good at the moment, so fingers crossed it keeps getting better.

Disneymomma81 - thanks for the info from last year. I think it has convinced me that we should consider going a week or so later. Judging from last year, the hours get slightly longer and the fireworks starts showing on Thursdays and Mondays also.

KylieH - wow I'm surprised the temps were so hi. Gotta say my family doesn't really like hot days, hehe so I wuold prefer if it was cooler

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

The Trick or Treat Parties start on the 2nd of October. They also have one on the 3rd. Going a day later would allow you to go to the fireworks one night and a ToT party the other night, otherwise you will have to choose.

Hey Keptwoman, so will the trick or treat parties be on every night from then on, and what exactly is it?

 

[kylieh]

For the weather try http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

You type in the city, dates, etc, and it provides the last 10 years of data for that city temp wise. Great too for other parts of your trip. At the top of the page there is a "Page Options" where you can select metric to get celcius.

 

[keptwoman]

Hey Keptwoman, so will the trick or treat parties be on every night from then on, and what exactly is it?

OK bearing in mind that I've never been to one, and the info isn't up on the Disney site yet, so I'm going on what I've heard here and what I've seen on You Tube.

They are on Fridays and Saturdays for the first few weeks of October, AP holders can buy tickets now, the rest of us plebs have to wait until August. I'm hoping to get tickets for the two youngest and I for the 2nd.

They close off the whole of CA and only the ToT ticket holders can get in, there are trick or treat stations where you get heaps of candy and there is a parade and lots of characters. Have a look on You Tube for an idea of what you will get. The kids (and lots of the adults) all dress up too, so mine are already planning costumes, I'm still deciding whether I'll dress up or not, probably not given suitcase space.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

For the weather try http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

You type in the city, dates, etc, and it provides the last 10 years of data for that city temp wise. Great too for other parts of your trip. At the top of the page there is a "Page Options" where you can select metric to get celcius.

Kylie that website is wonderful, thanks so much.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

OK bearing in mind that I've never been to one, and the info isn't up on the Disney site yet, so I'm going on what I've heard here and what I've seen on You Tube.

They are on Fridays and Saturdays for the first few weeks of October, AP holders can buy tickets now, the rest of us plebs have to wait until August. I'm hoping to get tickets for the two youngest and I for the 2nd.

They close off the whole of CA and only the ToT ticket holders can get in, there are trick or treat stations where you get heaps of candy and there is a parade and lots of characters. Have a look on You Tube for an idea of what you will get. The kids (and lots of the adults) all dress up too, so mine are already planning costumes, I'm still deciding whether I'll dress up or not, probably not given suitcase space.

Well that sounds pretty wonderful, I'm going to pop onto Youtube now. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th are the Gay Days weekend. Do you think it will be far too busy then? Are you at all concerned about the shorter park hours over the time you are there?

 

[keptwoman]

Well that sounds pretty wonderful, I'm going to pop onto Youtube now. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th are the Gay Days weekend. Do you think it will be far too busy then? Are you at all concerned about the shorter park hours over the time you are there?

I do think it will be busy, how much I don't know. Our dates were set by the wedding we are attending on the East Coast, so I've had to suck it up and deal with whatever dates we were able to get at Disney. Yeah I'm a bit worried about the shorter hours, last time we were there it was July and the parks were open much later than we stayed each night. I'm also disappointed we won't get to see the Fireworks AND Fantasmic AND ToT Party, but I guess we can't have it all eh.

 

[Disney Dreams]

OK bearing in mind that I've never been to one, and the info isn't up on the Disney site yet, so I'm going on what I've heard here and what I've seen on You Tube.

They are on Fridays and Saturdays for the first few weeks of October, AP holders can buy tickets now, the rest of us plebs have to wait until August. I'm hoping to get tickets for the two youngest and I for the 2nd.

They close off the whole of CA and only the ToT ticket holders can get in, there are trick or treat stations where you get heaps of candy and there is a parade and lots of characters. Have a look on You Tube for an idea of what you will get. The kids (and lots of the adults) all dress up too, so mine are already planning costumes, I'm still deciding whether I'll dress up or not, probably not given suitcase space.

They also have many (not all) of the attractions running.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I do think it will be busy, how much I don't know. Our dates were set by the wedding we are attending on the East Coast, so I've had to suck it up and deal with whatever dates we were able to get at Disney. Yeah I'm a bit worried about the shorter hours, last time we were there it was July and the parks were open much later than we stayed each night. I'm also disappointed we won't get to see the Fireworks AND Fantasmic AND ToT Party, but I guess we can't have it all eh.

Ahhhhh, but as you say, it's a trip to DL, and it will be wonderful no matter the shorter hours and no fireworks. Just a lovely added bonus to going to this wedding.

 

[keptwoman]

That's right! I'm just so excited about seeing our lovely girl get married. There was no way we weren't stopping at Disney, but the dates for Disney were pot luck.

 

[farmfresh]

Don't worry too much about the shortened hours - you will still have plenty of park time. Remember as you are there three days plus you will have one early entry/magic morning, giving you an extra hour in the park - if you are staying at a Disney hotel you will have Mm on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

And DCA regularly opens at 10 am (well 9.30 anyway).

The hours are short because there are fewer people expected. Read Hydroguy's tips on off season tradeoffs. Have fun!

 

[maryr1oz]

I agree about the hours, i think you will find that is still enough for you to see everything you want to see and do - and more! From memory the gates to Main Street opened earlier than the rest of the park on MM's and we were able to shop, buy breakfast and even visit with characters before actually entering the park. Look at the bright side, you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast (or maybe sneak in a load of washing like I did ) and still have enough time to get to the gates for line up...

 

[disneynerd420]

I was there a week later than that time last year. If I remember correctly, the temps were in the 60's to 70's during the day and low 50's at night. I could wear shorts and a t-shirt in that weather, but not everyone shares my warm blood.