August or September?

[emilymad]

We have taken trips the last few Septembers for F&W. This past year the crowds were crazy. We want to get another trip in using our AP's that expire mid September. Would you go mid to late August or mid September?

We figure the heat is about the same. August would give us a little more flexibility with dates. I normally would have assumed that August would be more crowded but this past September was crowded anyway.

How is August usually?

 

[Ava]

If you can go the first week of September, right after Labor Day, crowds should be very low. We went August 20-29 last year and it was not too crowded either, but early September is even lower. If you do August, go as late in the month as you can, since a lot of states go back to school in mid-late August the crowds drop off then.

 

[surfcruiser]

Well, you'll miss the F&W in August, right? Pretty sure it doesn't start until mid-September. So, if that's important, you'll just have to deal with the crowds. My assumption is that the "newness" of the F&W is still strong right as it begins in September and a lot of people are jonesing for the festivities.

If the F&W Festival is not necessary for pegging the fun-o-meter for you, I'd go late August, once all the kiddos are back in school (and check touringplans.com or easyWDW for crowd level verifications).

My wife and I try to go the week of Labor Day when we do our annual blow-out 9 day trip (Saturday to following Sunday). The crowds are possibly their lowest all year during that week and we enjoy that part of it more than anything -- walking onto rides, low waits to eat, low crowds on the boats to Disney Springs (we stay at POFQ typically), just enough people to make life fun but not painful, ya know? Then, we like to do a weekend jaunt for F&W during the very last weekend in November. We've found that many food stands are giving bigger portions knowing it's all about to be over ;-)

 

[MiramarQE]

Remember - we're in Florida - and Sep is peak hurricane month - specifically 10 Sep. Here's the chart

If you're planning a Sep trip recommend you plan on later in the month to avoid that peak.

 

[JennyDrake]

I have been in mid August the last 10 years and it is still very crowded.

 

[abeautybutafunnygirl]

We've been at the end of August (the 19th-29th in 2013 if I remember correctly) and it was very pleasant, compared to past trips in the summer... it was also good that fall refurbs hadn't started yet, but Americans were back it school, so lines weren't too bad. It was also good because there were less tour groups than in earlier summer months.
The only major downside was the afternoon storms, but you'll get that in September, too.

 

[surfcruiser]

Good point about afternoon storms and hurricane season. Being a native Floridian (who has lived on the coastline most of his life), I tend to forget about those things. The storms only last an hour at most and you can just about set your clock by them. Not a biggie, although people unconditioned to them will note that after the storm passes the air feels like you're trying to breathe through a wet towel. As far as the hurricanes are concerned, stay tuned to the National Weather Service's tracker and predicted paths. Worst case scenario, you look at the tracker and see that in 6 days, that whirling wet torrent of doom has a good chance of heading straight for central Florida, you can cancel your WDW ressies before the 5-day-out mark.

 

[surfcruiser]

Good point about afternoon storms and hurricane season. Being a native Floridian (who has lived on the coastline most of his life), I tend to forget about those things. The storms only last an hour at most and you can just about set your clock by them. Not a biggie, although people unconditioned to them will note that after the storm passes the air feels like you're trying to breathe through a wet towel. As far as the hurricanes are concerned, stay tuned to the National Weather Service's tracker and predicted paths. Worst case scenario, you look at the tracker and see that in 6 days, that whirling wet torrent of doom has a good chance of heading straight for central Florida, you can cancel your WDW ressies before the 5-day-out mark.

Apologies, cancellation is 6 days out, unless you've booked a package which puts it at 45 days. Ouch. Hurricane season or not depends on your personal level of risk-taker-y-ness.

 

[tlmadden73]

I went this year Aug. 26-30th. (a week and half before Labor Day).

- A lot of schools are already back in (my state was).
- We couldn't get A&E Fast Passes .. even at our 60 day window.
- We had no trouble getting Seven Dwarves Mine Train FP at any time we wanted.
- We found the crowds low (WAY Better than when we went in Oct. 2014) (Hardly waited for anything .. a lot of things were walk-ons, etc.), we didn't go to a park on a weekend though.
- We found the heat fine (Only because it rained (poured .. thunderstormed) for at least 1-3 hours EVERY day of our trip in the afternoon). While it made it a bit messy, we were prepared with ponchos and either went back to resort or just ate a meal during that time. It probably helped the crowds and didn't spoil our trip one bit. Easier than extreme heat.
- There were great discounts available for the resorts ("late summer" promotion) .. We stayed at a value resort for cheaper than you get most normal hotels outside of Disney.
- This was right before free dining started, so we couldn't take advantage of that, but I am sure it helped keep crowds down as people who wanted that promotion pushed off their vacation a bit.
- I would probably go back again late August, but would definitely lean towards generally cooler days. I may push it back to early September (after Labor Day) since I don't have a child in school for a few years.

 

[anniemae]

I would go right after Labor Day. I don't think it gets much better than that. Kids are back in school and if you can swing it, you will find the lowest crowds of the year IMO.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I would go right after Labor Day. I don't think it gets much better than that. Kids are back in school and if you can swing it, you will find the lowest crowds of the year IMO.

Us too. We booked BB for next September got free dining. Love going at this time. No party mess. No FW crowds. Just Disney and free food, low crowds.

 

[mjkacmom]

Most of the schools in the north east don't go back to school until after Labor Day.

 

[emilymad]

Thanks for all the advice. We can't go around Labor Day unfortunately because DH has to work the first 10 business days of each month. We can't care about missing F&W. After this year we are kind of over it. I like the idea of maybe going before free dining starts. We are DVC so we can't take advantage of it anyway.