Crowds in mid-November?

[Bonnie40]

I have a friend who is travelling to Florida mid-November. I have never gone this time of year, so I can't really give her an idea of how busy she can expect it to be. Any feedback? Thanks!

 

[UBSHANG]

Most projections seem to base this November's crowd level on prior year's attendance. However, has anyone considered the impact on November crowds from the thousands of travelers who unwillingly rescheduled their original September vacation plans due to hurricanes Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, or the thousands of displaced Floridians still staying at WDW and Orlando area resorts because their homes were damaged?

November theme park visitors can certainly expect an increase in crowds due to the International Food and Wine Festival, Eat to the Beat Concert Series, Jersey Week, Election Day, Veterans Day, and Super Soap Weekend. But is anyone also aware that November is traditionally one of Orlando’s busiest convention months.

The Orange County Convention Center attracts major events such as the National Association of Realtors Conference, International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, Central Florida International Auto Show and Powergen. The combined estimated attendance just from these four November conventions is 105,000.

Of course not all of these individuals will have the opportunity to visit WDW. But given the conservative probability that at least half of the 105,000 conventioneers will want to see Mickey, November attendance would still increase by nearly 53,000 visitors. You won’t find that statistic in any WDW guidebook

 

[QuickGold]

You can find historical wait times at http://www.mgmstudios.org/wait.html

 

[CindyAnn]

Hi Bonnie40. It just so happens I went to the University of Guelph - small world!

We've found mid-November to be very manageable, but things start to crowd up the weekend before American Thanksgiving. I think UBSHANG makes some good points about people who may have had to re-schedule their vacations due to the earlier hurricanes. However, as far as displaced Floridians are concerned, that should primarily have an effect on accommodations, but not on theme park attendance. Election Day and Jersey week should mostly affect the first week of the month, so probably your friends will be fine with those two issues. Unless they're major soap opera fanatics, you might want to advise them to avoid MGM on November 13/14 (Super Soap weekend). Overall, I think mid-November provides a combination of good weather and manageable crowds.

Cheers,