Crowd in September?

[sugarlens]

Soon to be husband and I will be visiting Disney from 9/9 to 9/14 (Sunday to Friday). We took advantage of the free dining plan promotion.

I've read many postings that the crowed will be light in the parks during that time period, but resorts and restaurants will be full because of the free dining promotion. I am not worried because we have already made all our dining reservations.

I just want to understand why the parks will be light. Don't people usually go to the parks as their main reason for going to Disney?

Just curious. But I am definitely happy to hear that the parks will have a light crowd!!

 

[Microcell]

What you have to remember is that for the most part, florida residents will avoid the place like the plague! People will not take day trips from Georgia, Alabama etc during that time frame because of school.
The only people in the parks are the ones in the hotels, and they do not make up crowds of 50,000 even full! Well they might, but you see what I am saying I hope!

 

[P&L@WDW]

Resorts will be crowded because you have to stay at a Disney Resort to get the free dining plan.

Restaurants will be crowded because people tend to eat at the same time. 11 am - 1 pm for lunch, and 4 pm to 6 pm for dinner.

Think of it this way. 100 people in a restaurant make it look like there are many more people there than 100 people standing on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. More space for the same number of people = less crowded.

 

[NUguyinCrew]

My belief is that with the free dining promotion, people that frequent the parks anyway now have a reason for an extra vacation. Most of the attractions remain the same or change slightly but there is a whole world of food out there too that while you can go on umpteen rides in a day, you will probably only eat at 2-3 places max. Thats our reason for going two years in a row. The crowds are very light AND we get to eat at some of the nicer places that we wouldnt otherwise without the dining plan.

 

[sugarlens]

Appreciate all your answers. Duh, why didn't I think of that???

 

[DisneyPrncess]

Soon to be husband and I will be visiting Disney from 9/9 to 9/14 (Sunday to Friday). We took advantage of the free dining plan promotion.

I've read many postings that the crowed will be light in the parks during that time period, but resorts and restaurants will be full because of the free dining promotion. I am not worried because we have already made all our dining reservations.

I just want to understand why the parks will be light. Don't people usually go to the parks as their main reason for going to Disney?

Just curious. But I am definitely happy to hear that the parks will have a light crowd!!

Im happy you asked- i was also wondering the same thing!! Ill be there the same time (9-9 to 9-15), so thats a help!! Cant wait...counting down the days. We're staying at CBR..me and DBF! PM If you want- we can talk ADR's haha.

 

[klwdisney]

We're also taking advantage of the free dining plan 9/22-9/29. I keep hearing about light crowds, but when I looked at another sites crowd level predictor, it was showing 4's, 5's and 6's. Which was showing 45-55 minute wait times for rides. That doesn't seem like light crowds to me! :O

 

[sugarlens]

Im happy you asked- i was also wondering the same thing!! Ill be there the same time (9-9 to 9-15), so thats a help!! Cant wait...counting down the days. We're staying at CBR..me and DBF! PM If you want- we can talk ADR's haha.

Sure! We have ADRs at 50's Prime Time Cafe, Nine Dragons (it's a tradition for us to eat there whenever we go to Disney), Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and Narcoossee's.

What about you?? I am counting the days too! We are getting married on the 9th of Sept and heading straight to Disney after the wedding!

 

[sugarlens]

Im happy you asked- i was also wondering the same thing!! Ill be there the same time (9-9 to 9-15), so thats a help!! Cant wait...counting down the days. We're staying at CBR..me and DBF! PM If you want- we can talk ADR's haha.

By the way, when is your bday? I am 9/15.

 

[DisneyPrncess]

My birthday is 9-5...but we are going the week after to celebrate

Our ADRs are for Coral Reef, Whispering Canyon, 50s Sci Fi, Le Cellier and Crystal Palace.


I cant beleive its so close, i cant contain myself!!

Congrats on the wedding!!

 

[P&L@WDW]

We're also taking advantage of the free dining plan 9/22-9/29. I keep hearing about light crowds, but when I looked at another sites crowd level predictor, it was showing 4's, 5's and 6's. Which was showing 45-55 minute wait times for rides. That doesn't seem like light crowds to me! :O

If you look at the crowd indicators for the whole year, 4's, 5's and 6's are the lowest you really get. Keep in mind the ride wait times are based on the average for the busiest ride in the busiest park at the busiest time of day. Think Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom on a Monday at 2 in the afternoon when it's blazing hot.

So it's a 'worst case' scenario. Alot of the rides will be a 10-15 minute wait.

 

[klwdisney]

Ok! Sounds GREAT!! Thanks so much for calming my fears!!

 

[sugarlens]

My birthday is 9-5...but we are going the week after to celebrate

Our ADRs are for Coral Reef, Whispering Canyon, 50s Sci Fi, Le Cellier and Crystal Palace.


I cant beleive its so close, i cant contain myself!!

Congrats on the wedding!!

Thank you! I wish you a happy birthday! So awesome to be able to celebrate it at Disney.

 

[cjnix29]

We were there last year for the free dining, the same week. Crowds were VERY light! We had adrs so we didn't ever just walk into a TS restaurants. But we did not have to wait more than 10 minutes for any ride. We did get to parks early though. But even in the afternoon, crowds were light. Hopefully it will be the same way this year. As for resorts being crowded, I beg to differ with those that say they will be. This year, the number of free dining rooms was far less than last year, at least that is what the CMs I talked to said. We were at WL last year, and I didn't think the resort was crowded at all.

 

[playerpoppa]

I'm glad this question was asked!!! We're pulling the kids out of school that same week. We will be there 9/10 - 9/15. Can't wait to go. The kids don't have a clue and we don't plan to tell them until the morning we leave. We haven't even figured out how we are going to tell them yet.

We only made one ADR because we are always on tight schedules at home and we wanted keep things as loose as possible on our vacation. Hopefully we'll still be able to get some nice TS meals in if we go at off times. We usually eat dinner after 6:00 anyway.

 

[Grumpy23]

We were at DW last year from 9/14 through 9/19. Below is a picture of MK - Liberty Square. Yes, that is only 2 cast members you see. We are going this year from 9/26 through 10/2. I hope it's this empty again!

 

[Mom2R&D]

We were at DW last year from 9/14 through 9/19. Below is a picture of MK - Liberty Square. Yes, that is only 2 cast members you see. We are going this year from 9/26 through 10/2. I hope it's this empty again!

WOW!

We're going 9/21-9/29 and hoping for light crowds. We usually go every other year during the second week of June but decided to risk taking our boys out of school for a week to indulge in free dining this year. (They have no idea we're going, either, so I'm totally excited about that.)

We're really looking forward to doing WDW at a leisurely pace this time rather than our usual commando style--hoping there's lots of time for the "extras" that we usually skip or miss.

 

[disneyfan328]

We were at DW last year from 9/14 through 9/19. Below is a picture of MK - Liberty Square. Yes, that is only 2 cast members you see. We are going this year from 9/26 through 10/2. I hope it's this empty again!

What time of day was this taken??? We are going 9/22 - 9/30 and are hoping for light crowds!?!?! Will it still be light that week too???

 

[Mr. Stitch]

We were there last Sept 2006 as well and will be back from 09/22-10/02. The crowds will be light. We waited no more than 10 minutes to get on any ride and that was just the walk to get to the actual ride. We have several photos of an empty park as well but those are old fashioned film, sorry can't share. I would not worry about it. Let's not forget it is Hurricane season so that deters some crowds as well.

 

[Grumpy23]

That photo was probably taken around 11 a.m. The wait time for most rides was at the most 10 minutes. So much different from when we usually go in late April/early May.

Mom2R&D, I have 2 boys, also an R and a D.