Booked for October and a Q....

[BitsnBearsMom]

We booked our plane tickets and our stay in Disney (outside Dis week 1 and WL week 2) Time in Florida is from Oct 8 to 22.... where can I find the hours that Disney Parks are open. Was reading elsewhere that MK closes at 6pm in October??? Is that the same for all the parks? What about the parades and fireworks??

We will be at Disney from the 15th to the 22nd and I really am hoping I chose the right time of the year to go.

One more Q.... we are going to mnsshp and are not sure if we should be doing it the first week or the week we are in Disney.... can you still get into Dis with the mnsshp tickets without having the hopper passes? How soon should I be booking those tickets??

Thanks!

 

[zurgswife]

Hours for the late summer and fall are not available yet...I would say that most parks close at dark...probably about 7pm

Mnsshp is great....I'd say do it while you are at your disney part of your trip...and those dates probably won't sell out. and you only need a party ticket to get in don't need to waste a hopper day if you don't want to..

 

[webray]

You can get into the MK area..after about 5pm that night for the halloween party, if you choose to do it on the week you are not at disney. I would just do it the week I was at disney..so much more convenient.

 

[rob'n]

I believe I found on these boards somewhere historical park times from last year...you enter in the dates you will be in wdw and the listing of park openings and closings appear...i am kind of loosely basing my agenda on these times for our trip in Oct...all parks open at 9...MK closes mostly by 8, FW by 9, WS by 11, MGM by 7:30 and AK by 5.

Hope this helps.

 

[McCall]

Many nights at MK the park closes at 6 because of the Mickey's not so scary halloween parties which run from 7 to midnight and for which you must buy a separate ticket. they are almost every other night during October. It costs about $35 per adult not sure about the Kids price.

 

[ImagineEar]

Octocber weather is wonderful - we will be there for the first two weeks this year, and were there for the last two, last year. Generally sunny and pretty warm, but you are not melting in the heat. Still good pool weather. The crowds were a bit heavier than we thought (listed as a low attendance time of year) but WDW had several things going on last year that could have contributed to that - Mission space opened that week and The Food and WIne Festival started on the day we arrived. Everything was generally manageable wait times 10-15 minutes or so and fastpass for the rest. When we visit in Sept we just walk on everything so I guess we've gotten spoiled.

As for the park closing times... I can tell you what they were last year-
MK 7pm, 6pm if MNSSHP is on (afternoon parade, pm FW)
AK 5pm everyday
MGM/DS 7pm
EP countries at 9PM and Future World - ? , maybe 7:30 seems they are a bit loose here - can't remeber official time but remember what ever it was I recall being allowed into attractions well after that time. Think they might just post an earlier time to discourage overcrowding for illuminations (which is still at 9pm that time of the year.)
Went to MNSSHP on OCT 30th last year - It was Very crowded - that is compaired to what MVMCP was in December. Since it was a limited ticket event I wasn't expecting to be waiting in line BUT we did a lot of waiting for rides. On the bright side the special theme parade was wonderful - My DD was Cruella and the real Cruella came off the float and into the crowd to greet her and then posed for a photo with her! I also really enjoyed seeing all the creative costumes people came up with - mostly disney themed.

So in the end I would do it again... this year I will be picking the earliest date possible, hoping that the furthur away from Halloween the less crowded it will be. And yes you can enter with just the MNSSHP special event ticket - no hopper needed. The TCKTS go on sale a few months before. In your case I would not book it for when you are staying off property though - it takes a bit of the magic away...there was something special about riding the monrail in our costumes! Hope this helps.