Crowd Level in September

[Miniefan]

I was wondering about my upcoming trip. I am a little anxious about the crowd levels. I know September is typically a less crowded time to visit the world but the lack of dining reservations has gotten me thinking that there will be masses of people in WDW. I know that Free Dining was limited this year but does anyone really have any idea what the crowd levels are going to be like 9/21-9/30. If anyone has any thoughts, comments or insight on this I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Kim

PS: Anyone know if any of the earlier MNSSHP parties have sold out ?

 

[motofox4]

we were there september 2006 and while the restaurants were booked (TS restaurants) we found that the parks were low in attendance and most rides were just walk ons along with character greetings. september is a great time of year to go, if you don't mind the love bugs!!!

 

[MegansMom]

I can only comment on crowd levels based upon my experience last year. We went about the same time, Free Dining was also offered last year, and the crowds in the parks were VERY minimal. We walked onto most rides, and when we did have a wait, it was only about 10-20 minutes for the big headliners. We were often able to stay on rides and continue riding as long as we wanted. I believe that you find dining reservations so booked is because there are more people staying onsite in the resorts using the DDP, but not more people in the parks. The Free dining lures people who might usually stay offsite to book a hotel onsite for the free dining---thus, the restaurants tend to be more crowded, but not the rides or the parks themselves. That is how it was last year, and I assume it will be the same again this year. We loved traveling in late Sept., and would have done free dining again this year, but we wanted to see the holiday sights since we have not done that yet. I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[Daydreamer]

I'm also getting a little concerned over the crowds for September of this year. I know that historically attendance is down during this time of year. However, due to a couple of different reasons we were forced to change an ADR and add a night to our stay. When adding the night we settled for our fifth option as our first four were completely booked for September 13th. When trying to change ADR's, we were looking for anything at Epcot on Tuesday the 18th. We were told there was one spot for the Garden Grill at 11:10 am and a couple of dinner seatings for San Angel Inn in Mexico. So, now I am thinking maybe it will be more crowded than I expected.

 

[Minnie0107]

Does any one know about the crowds during Triathlon weekend? I think it is 22nd - 24th. We are going to be at WDW Sept. 21-26 and were excited about low level crowds then I heard about the Triathlon weekend.

 

[Miniefan]

Man, I hadn't even heard of the triathalon.... I know that the crowd levels will definitely be lower that when I went this past June, but I guess the inability to change resorts and the lack of availability in just about every restaurant has got me a little wary. I was hoping for some shorter lines and emptier parks. I sometimes wonder if the lack of ADR's has anything to do with the fact that a lot of people book places and make a lot of double bookings without cancelling. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Kim

 

[Miniefan]

Minnie0107: I am from Pensacola too!! Small World. We will be at WDW 9/21-9/30. Are you traveling with any kids??

Kim

 

[Minnie0107]

No kids,it will be me, my DH 25 and my sister who is 19. It will be her first time at WDW and my 2nd. After doing some checking, it seems like the crowds for the parks will still be low. People from last years free dinning said that the restaurants are full, but the parks are not. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for this. We are staying in All-star Sports b/c that is all I could get. I know all of the value and some of the moderate resorts are booked solid and that kind of freaked me out. We went last Dec 7 and the crowds were so low that we are spoiled. But anything will probably be better than June! People keep talking about how bad the heat will be, but there is no way it can be hotter than it is here right now!

 

[kdzbear]

No kids,it will be me, my DH 25 and my sister who is 19. It will be her first time at WDW and my 2nd. After doing some checking, it seems like the crowds for the parks will still be low. People from last years free dinning said that the restaurants are full, but the parks are not. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for this. We are staying in All-star Sports b/c that is all I could get. I know all of the value and some of the moderate resorts are booked solid and that kind of freaked me out. We went last Dec 7 and the crowds were so low that we are spoiled. But anything will probably be better than June! People keep talking about how bad the heat will be, but there is no way it can be hotter than it is here right now!

We will be staying at All Star Sports the same time. 9/22-9/30. I went the end of August last year for free dining and the parks were not too crowded, but the restaurants were full. However, once we arrived we were able to change a few dining times without a problem that we could not change before we got there. You will have a blast!

 

[Miniefan]

We will be at AsSp too and for the exact same reason. My dh and I went by ourselves this past June and it was very crowded, so I guess anything less than that will seem less crowded to us. We are a Grand Gathering this time with a good bit of small kids so the fewer the people and lines the better.

As for the heat, its almost always hot here at home so I never really feel any difference at WDW, although the northerners do seem a bit annoyed by it, it doesn't bother us.

Enjoy your trip and tell your sis to make sure and visit guest relations to get her first timer button.

Kim

 

[Minnie0107]

We will be staying at All Star Sports the same time. 9/22-9/30. I went the end of August last year for free dining and the parks were not too crowded, but the restaurants were full. However, once we arrived we were able to change a few dining times without a problem that we could not change before we got there. You will have a blast!

Awsome! I am so excited! Mainly b/c on our last trip I got so sick that I could not taste any of the food! So when I saw free dining I just had to have it! We have all of our ADRs set but some of them are kinda weird times so I am glad to know that we might be able to switch.
Have you stayed in All Star Sports before? This will be our first value resort (last time we stayed at CBR) and I have heard both positive and negitive reviews about Sports.

 

[kdzbear]

Awsome! I am so excited! Mainly b/c on our last trip I got so sick that I could not taste any of the food! So when I saw free dining I just had to have it! We have all of our ADRs set but some of them are kinda weird times so I am glad to know that we might be able to switch.
Have you stayed in All Star Sports before? This will be our first value resort (last time we stayed at CBR) and I have heard both positive and negitive reviews about Sports.

I have stayed at POFQ, CBR, Boardwalk, ASMu and All Star Sports. I stayed at Sports last August and it was not bad. We requested Hoops and the walk to the main hall and the buses was a lot shorter than when we stayed a Music. The Sports bus is always the first to pick up and drop off so often it is full and only stops at Sports. I loved that you had to walk through the main hall each time to the buses, which allowed me to put "Gatorade" in my refillable mug in the afternoons and hot chocolate in the mornings. The room were plenty big enough as I spent most of my time in the parks. You will enjoy it! I will be the 5 months pregnant one toting a DD7 and a DS2 (with glasses) and my husband around the parks with me. I have some lime green Mickey heads from Home Depot that I have attached to our two mini backpacks (one is light purple and the other is chocolate with multicolored dots on it). Stop and say hi if you see us. We requested Hoops again!

 

[stitchrulz]

I'm also getting a little concerned over the crowds for September of this year. I know that historically attendance is down during this time of year. However, due to a couple of different reasons we were forced to change an ADR and add a night to our stay. When adding the night we settled for our fifth option as our first four were completely booked for September 13th. When trying to change ADR's, we were looking for anything at Epcot on Tuesday the 18th. We were told there was one spot for the Garden Grill at 11:10 am and a couple of dinner seatings for San Angel Inn in Mexico. So, now I am thinking maybe it will be more crowded than I expected.

Don't panic! Booked TS restaurants won't necessarily translate into packed parks. We ran into the same thing last year trying to make ADR's during the free dining plan time. Fortunately, even though you could hardly get an evening ADR, we found the actual park crowds to be pretty similar to our other Sept. visits. I'm guessing this will be the case this year, also.