Afraid September is going to be PACKED this year

[IvyWinter]

I'm not that worried; I've been 2 septembers/early octobers in the past and both were really, really manageable. I find it hard to believe this year there will suddenly have a HUGE surge in people. It may be greater crowds relatively speaking, but i dont expect to be fighting for elbow room, so to speak. I mean, if you're booked, you're booked! No use in worrying, cross that bridge when you get to it!

Those ADRs though... *shakes head*

 

[MrInfinity]

I really didn't like eating out during the free-dining times that we've gone. Restaurants were consistently 30 min behind seating you even if you showed up early. Waiting to be seated when you're there 15 min early wastes a lot of park time. Then the time we went in May during heavier overall crowds, dining was really nice. I think we got seated everywhere in about 5 min w a longest wait of about 15.

 

[DGoofy]

I have had difficulty with dining but not fast passes. Somewhat unusual from years past - for dining!

 

[Junebugwv]

We've gone in September for well over a decade and it is busier each year, especially with FD. We went the week of Memorial Day this year as well and that week was much busier than Sept. We just get used to dealing with the shorter hours. In the 8 days we will be there, MK closes early for special events 3 nights. It definitely affects the crowds in the other 2 parks that are open.

 

[cc-atl]

I think one of the things making it more busy is that most schools in the Metro Atlanta area have fall breaks in the end of September. We are doing a Disney Cruise Sept 21 and the most of the people on the facebook cruise group are from metro Atlanta. Disney is a quick and easy trip to take then.

A few thoughts:
1 - I do not think most of the schools in Metro Atlanta have fall breaks at the end of Sept. I think Decatur has off the week of 9/14 and Cobb County has off the week of 9/21, but I do not think Atlanta Public schools, fulton county, gwinnett or dekalb have off in sept.

2 - While it seems like a lot of people you know are going to Disney in sept because your school system is off that is just a drop in the bucket for Disney. The vast majority of schools in the US will be in session the weeks of 9/14 and 9/21 and the same is true for most South American countries that visit during their winter and summer breaks.

Disney is never not busy, but from a crowd standpoint I think you can expect the weeks of 9/14 and 9/21 to be about as good as it gets.

 

[jpeden]

While we are on the subject of September, should we expect an updated operating times calendar? Last update on the WDW Travel Agent calendar was 7/10. I'm hoping that at least some of our MK days will be extended from 9:00PM to 10:00PM.

 

[Iowamomof4]

While we are on the subject of September, should we expect an updated operating times calendar? Last update on the WDW Travel Agent calendar was 7/10. I'm hoping that at least some of our MK days will be extended from 9:00PM to 10:00PM.

I'm stalking it too!

 

[Mac30188]

It could be a question of the type of visitor versus the quantity of visitors. There tend to be some of the best deals and lowest crowds in September, but it takes someone who has done a little research to understand and plan for their vacation at this time. Repeat visitors and visitors who think it is worth pulling their child from school to experience Disney at this time may also be passionate enough to have an intimate understanding of the FP+ system and grab reservations aggressively at the earliest possible time. I doubt there are many spontaneous trips to Disney during the school year. Another possible difference could be that the significant discount in September allows visitors to stretch their vacation dollar longer and stay for longer than someone who hits peek days in Summer. If you had a disproportionate number of hardcore Disney vacation planners hitting September it would allow you to have both low crowds and a tough time getting FP+.

 

[MrKnight]

They only park that will come close to being crowded will be Epcot due to Food & Wine Fest, and even then I never had any major issues with crowds at Epcot due to the wide open layout of the park which handles crowds well. As stated by a PP, September will be SIGNFICANTLY less busy than other times of the year such as June/July, Spring Break, and Late December.

 

[tinkerbella16]

People are traveling again .. and because of the vast information on the internet (and sites like these) .. more and more people read that certain times are "low crowd" times ... which probably makes them a lot busier than they used to be.

I am going in late August (despite the heat) because it was a low crowd time and 'value' season for the resorts. Plus it falls in the dates that had a decent room discount (20%). I fully expect the parks to be a lot more crowded than I expect as other families made the same decision I did based on those factors.

My only saving grace is that my vacation falls JUST before free dining starts.

Yup! This is what happened with my beloved week in mid November! We have been going 2 weeks before Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember and it just keeps getting busier each year.. and I too believe it has a lot to do with the internet and everyone asking and telling when the "best times" to go are. The secret is out and there seems to be less and less low crowd weeks anymore. Next year we are trying the beginning of September in hopes of lower crowds since many schools will just be starting back in session- we'll see lol.

 

[GotLabradors]

I'm just hoping all the guests with FD will be too busy eating to spend too much actual time in line for rides.

 

[DisTXMom]

Try not to worry. I also suspect it is related to FD. We did September last year- great time to go. Yes, EPCOT gets busy on weekends for F&W, but the wait times were low most days we were there 9/20-9/27. People often book more ADR's than they need and then drop what they don't want as the trip gets closer. Watch near your 45 day mark when you have to pay or cancel a trip- some will likely free up then.