April vs. October?

[Brandis]

My partner and I would like to invite his sister and nephews to a stay at WDW in 2013. Due to their school vacation schedules, we could either go in April or in October. Sis prefers spring, while we would prefer fall, as it is our usual trip time and we are familiar with the crowd situation then. Also, it's a lot cheaper points wise. In Oct. we could get a Treehouse villa or pretty much any other 2-bedroom villa. While in April, we would be limited to 2 studios with the points we have available.

I know that the DVC seasons are not necessarily the same as regular WDW resort seasons. So how busy is WDW in April? What's the weather like then?

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[twinmom108]

April will be much more crowded especially the first two weeks of the month because of Spring Breaks. Our two favorite months to go are Sept. & October. October is more crowded than September but less than April.

Also Food & Wine at Epcot is going in October & even our teenagers love that! Hope you get to go when you really want to, but you'll have an enjoyable time whether it's April or October.

 

[hakepb]

Points for April can vary year to year based on when Easter falls so you may not be able to compare points in the 1st week of April in 2012 to 2013...

Within my experience and preferences, (I prefer wearing shorts all day and not worry about carrying extra layers) May - October is the "best" weather. I have experienced several chilly days in Nov and April.

I suppose as a counter point, you are more likely to have a very rainy week in October if there is a hurricane around Florida...

 

[drusba]

Easter is March 31 in 2013. If you are talking about April 1 to 6 then you will have the premier points and the Easter crowds. For that week, the crowds at the parks will be like trying to move inside a clothes closet that is occupied by a 100 Suma wrestlers. Crowds will be less the other weeks of April but still very large until it gets lighter at the end of the month at which time they will hit you with a "Grad Night" and make the crowds ungodly at MK.

October has become quite crowded but it will not be as bad as April. April does usually give ideal weather (low to mid 80s and pleasant evenings) but October (usually higher 80s but still fairly pleasant nights and more risk of rain) is usually very good also.

 

[CarolMN]

Easter is March 31 in 2013. If you are talking about April 1 to 6 then you will have the premier points and the Easter crowds. For that week, the crowds at the parks will be like trying to move inside a clothes closet that is occupied by a 100 Suma wrestlers. Crowds will be less the other weeks of April but still very large until it gets lighter at the end of the month at which time they will hit you with a "Grad Night" and make the crowds ungodly at MK.

October has become quite crowded but it will not be as bad as April. April does usually give ideal weather (low to mid 80s and pleasant evenings) but October (usually higher 80s but still fairly pleasant nights and more risk of rain) is usually very good also.

Grad Nights have been discontinued at WDW. This year (2011) was the last one.

DISNEY WORLD GRAD NITE

I agree with all of the others - April crowds are noticeably larger than those in October. The week before Easter and the week after Easter are almost as crowded as the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is the busiest week of the year at the WDW parks.

 

[arthur06]

I would choose October.

We went in April this year and had a wonderful time, we love F&G at Epcot. We just got back about 4 weeks ago from our fall trip, and just comparing the two, I would choose fall.

 

[paults]

no question about it OCTOBER

 

[sweetdana]

110% Oct. parks have fewer guests, MNSSH Parties, weather is nearly perfect always. If my DD6 had a week off in OCT, no question that would be our travel time.

 

[lucyem]

IME it totally depends on the week you can go for either month. Oct and April are our months to go to WDW. Depending on Easter there are parts of April that can get busy but usually by the end of the month you are OK. Last year was weird because Easter was so late. October used to always be better but there are schools that get vacations that month around Columbus day. Also more and more people head down for F&W and MNSSHP. Also IME the weather is very similar. We have gone swimming both months and worn shorts the whole time.

If it were me I would pay more attention to points, school vacations and what I wanted to do while there. Then make my decision based on that.

 

[LSchrow]

i suppose we are unlike PPs
we go the late april/early may and early-mid october every year. the spring trip is always lower crowds, and significantly better weather (it has very rarely rained at all during those trips). while we enjoy the F&WF, rain is much more likely, and the crowds notably heavier in autumn. we will often avoid the parks simply because of the crowds.
either is wonderful, we just prefer the lower crowds and weather of spring

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

April and October are our two favourite months to go. Both are good weather-wise with not much rain. This is only if you plan to avoid Easter break. Then the crowds are through the roof!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We have been both months and like October because of the F&W festival....