Best time to visit in October/November/December?

[canadianmom2boys]

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this...

We are booked for the end of January 2013 but have decided to push back our dates to somewhere between the end of October to early December 2013 I am wondering if others who have gone to Disney around these times might be able to help me pick the best time to re-book for. Our ideal vacation would include:

*discount of some sort (although i realize NOT a guarantee )
*cooler temps (we first visited in Sept 2011 and OMG the heat...)
*lower crowd levels
*to see the Christmas decorations

Any advice/input would greatly appreciated!

 

[iluveeyore]

Four years ago my DSIS and I surprised my Dad with a trip for his 65th birthday, and we went Dec 7-12 - it was wonderful! Dad hates crowds, so this was a perfect trip for him. We would start of with capris and zip up hoodies in the morning, and be able to peel down to our tshirts by lunch time. There was no humidity, less wait times, and we got to enjoy all the beautiful decorations and holiday displays.
My hubbies favorite time is the end of October, which is when we're going next year. It's still warm enough to enjoy the pool, but no humidity, and since he loves to golf, it's perfect. He also loves the Halloween theming everywhere, and especially the Food and Wine Festival, so that's his favourite. I'm good either way. We are going for New Years' so I know to pack for all seasons. You should find it nice and enjoyable for the times you have chosen. But if you want to see the holiday decorations, go after the American Thanksgiving but before mid-December.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Last year my DD and I went for a long weekend Nov 30 - Dec 4. We got Free Dining for our stay b/c we checked in on the last day of Free Dining for that week. The weather was awesome, all the decorations were up (except the garlands over Main St and the tree in the Town Square at MK. Those went up after the parade taping). All the holiday events at Epcot were running. It was amazing. If you go during that time frame, just be sure to avoid the actual parade taping at MK - usually the first Saturday of Dec. The Friday stage show tapings at MK were fine - no crowd problems.

 

[ashleyfallis]

We went last year December 3rd to 17th and it was the perfect time! RIght after Labor Day and before the Christmas holidays start...but you still get to see Disney at Christmas! I'd never seen it before and it was lovely
Discount wise, not sure - there's free dining available for UK with $100 disney card but I'm not sure about the other side of the pond
As for the weather, it was lovely, really pleasant with no humidity. A few days we were in shorts and flip-flops or jeans and a tee, absolutely perfect! It did rain once but what do we expect, it's Florida!
Q wise...well...there weren't any!! The only day we ever had to wait for anything was on the morning of the 17th itself when we decided to hit up HS for once last shot on TOT before we left. Due to it being the start of the holidays that day it was extremely busy! But the longest we ever waited before that was around 10 mins.
It was so great I'm going back with my g/f this year at exactly the same time!
Hope this helps a little

 

[Chief Powhatan]

The week after Thanksgiving. Crowds are lite (by Disney standards) and all of the Holiday stuff is going on.

 

[blueferral]

We went first week of Dec. last year. Crowds were low. It got a tad cold in the evening (especially in Epcot) but a sweat shirt took care of it.

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

I agree that the time between Thanksgiving & Christmas is the best! We've gone many times during early December & they have always been our most stress-free trips! Everything is SO beautiful for the holidays... we plan on camping in early December this year.

 

[Disneynut4ever]

We're going the week of Thanksgiving - thinking the beginning of the week will be less crowded - bad idea?

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Thanksgiving week is one of the busier weeks of the year... the crowd is pretty heavy until the Saturday after Thanksgiving when everyone starts to leave.

 

[beccasmom]

The week before Thanksgiving or the first 2 weeks of December.

 

[Disneynut4ever]

The week before Thanksgiving or the first 2 weeks of December.

Are you saying your opinion is that the week before Thxgvg and the first 2 wks of December are lower crowds?

 

[Barbydoll8]

I live here and am an APH and go to the World often.

Week before TG and the week after up to around the 20th of Dec is good crowd wise. Week of Christmas through New Year is a ZOO! Not my cup of tea but some people like the crowds.

The weather can be a gamble. Last year was a warm winter for FL. The previous 2 years....not so much. In fact I was there TG weekend and had to wear a coat. Now I do live here and we FL folks freeze at anything under 70 but this was down right cold.

If you bring a jacket and a sweat shirt for morning/evening, you should be ok. Pack a pair of shorts too as it can get warm through the day.

You'll know us FL people as we'll be in jeans, sweat shirts/jackets while everyone else is in shorts.

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

We're going the week of Thanksgiving - thinking the beginning of the week will be less crowded - bad idea?

We did that for my niece's 4th birthday a few years ago & figured it'd be fine since we were there for the Sat-Tues before TG...... it was the most crowded, difficult trip we've ever taken. I think if you're going "before" TG, you need to arrange it so that you are checking out/leaving by the Friday before the holiday. Just my $.02.

The first part of December though - polar opposite in my experience. We've had the nicest weather, lowest wait times & were able to accomplish just about everything we set out to do.

 

[Kathymford]

I am starting to think about 2013. I am torn between early Nov and early Dec. I thought all the Christmas decorations were up in Nov. but I never thought about the MK tree!! So tat doesn't go up until the parade taping?

Thanksgiving next year seems late (Nov 28), so would a 11/30 - 12/7 be good? OMG.I just realized 12/7/13 will be our 10 year anniversary. I have to make that happen, right??!

 

[Savingup4disney]

We went last year the Sunday after Thanksgiving into the first week of December. The MK was crowded on the days of the Mickey Christmas Party, but for the most part the wait times at all the parks were less than 10-15 minutes. We were able to ride Everest 5 times in a row without waiting...could have went more, but was too tired!
The day they filmed the Christmas parade, it was really crowded (Justin Bieber was there) at the MK.
This year we are going back at the same time as last year (God willing), and hopeful that it will be as sparsely populated as before. As far as the weather, we started out in shorts, then it got colder so we wore jeans/capris and jackets in the evenings.

 

[cat_herder]

We've been to WDW the first week of December several times and loved it, just before the big Christmas rush.