anyone there now? just back?

[eeyore0062]

I'm wondering if the food & wine festival attracts largers crowds. Maybe that is why October is more heavily booked than September?

Well, that is part of it.....

The weekend of Oct 10-12 the local kids are out of school that Friday, and Monday is Columbus Day for those school systems that recognize that holiday.

The Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party begins this year on Friday Oct 3rd, so many people plan their vacations around that, and of course, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival starts the 3rd weekend of October.

Also, the PGA Golf Tournament is in the month of October... then factor in the great weather, and that is probably why October is a pretty busy month.

 

[jann1033]

not going for a while yet but wondered about the weekend crowds...if the park is open longer does that ususally mean more crowds.? I noticed last year for Jan. MK was open till7:30- 8 a few times Fri and Sat . I didn't shcedule Mk for those days but did see it was the only time spectro .was offered . if that is the case this year would it be worth the crowds to go one of those nights?

 

[crazymomof4]

Just back on 10/12. We were there from 9/28-10/10 and the first week was definitely less crowded than the 2nd! First week everything was a walk on! Didn't use fastpass at all. Felt like we had the place to ourselves! It seemed that as we got closer to the date for the first MNSSHP (10/5, I think?) it started to get more crowded in all of the parks. It was still very manageable though, with waits on the popular rides (Testtrack, Pooh, Space Mt., etc.) of 20-30 mins for standby and maybe 5-10 w/ Fastpass. If I had to blame the increased crowds on anything it would have to be the combination of FTP and the Halloween parties. If I had the chance to plan the trip again I'd move it 1 week earlier, and avoid Oct. entirely. I remember when the Halloween parties didn't start until the middle of Oct. so if you went in the first 2 weeks of Oct. it was the same (crowd wise) as going in Sept., just a bit cooler weather. Now that they are starting MNSSHP as early as 10/5 this is no longer true.

 

[discraz]

We were there Fri 10/10-TU 10/14, Columbus Weekend. We went to MNSSHP on Fri night. Lines were short- 15 mins most of the time. Weather was warm. Party fun. The park is darker than usual and I had difficulty seeing some things. The rest of the weekend was very crowded in any park we went to. We always made it to the park when it opened and headed straight for the most popular ride. We were able to get most rides done but that was about all. We didn't do parades or character lines and little shopping. Oh, it rained very heavily on Sat night for 30 mins around 7:30 at MK. So many people ran out of the park because of the rain. Another bunch left when the parade was canceled. The rain was a blessing for those,like myself, that braved the rain because it made the park doable that night.