Crowds in September??

[Mick00]

Hi me and my GF are planning to go to Disney World for the first three weeks ion September. I am just wondering what the crowds tend to be like at this time of year is it busy?? We were there the last 2 weeks of August last year and it didn't seem to be too bad. Also what does gthe wether tend to be like thanks

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

September crowds are among the lightest of the year. The weather is not that much different from August, maybe just an ounce less humid as you get later into the month.

 

[Endeavour105]

Hi me and my GF are planning to go to Disney World for the first three weeks ion September. I am just wondering what the crowds tend to be like at this time of year is it busy?? We were there the last 2 weeks of August last year and it didn't seem to be too bad. Also what does gthe wether tend to be like thanks

Weather in Sept???

Much like August and Aug/Sept are the peak months of the hurricane season that runs from June 1st to Nov. 30th.

 

[maciemouse]

I can tell you the crowds the first week of September are perfect compared to other times of the year. The weather is hot but I did not find it unbearable. We went for a week and it did not rain our entire stay. We had great weather. It is an awesome week to go!

 

[JMD]

The crowds will be very light in september. Its a great time to go.

 

[haleofafamily]

Our first Sept. trip was wonderful. We have pictures where it looks like we were the only people in the parks. This was the first time free dining was offered and a hurricane had just caused damage there and another was forecasted for that week.
I say all that because this last Sept wasn't anything like that. To me- the parks seemed very crowded. My husband even commented that May seemed slower than Sept. We followed best days advice and still had 40 min. wait at BTMRR (20 min. was posted wait time). Now I know for truly busy times that may not be much of a wait, but for us it was shocking. The longest we had waited our previous Sept trip was 10 min for Peter Pan.
So it depends on your expectations. Utilize fast pass, expect medium cowds, don't get stressed out and relax and enjoy whatever happens.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

The crowds will be very light in september. Its a great time to go.

Very light? We went the week of September 14 - 22 2007 and the crowds were not light, let alone very light. Free Dining has caught on and has really added to the September crowds. The restaurants are jam-packed and the walkways were packed to. The crowd at the MNSSHP was absurd it was so crowded. If you got to the parks early the lines were not too bad until after lunchtime and after that you were hard pressed to find anything with under a 30 minute wait. In the Magic Kingdom, on our last day, Space Mountain had a wait of 75 minutes at about 2:30. I know there are plenty of times throughout the year went the times are double or triple that, but we went with the expectation of very low wait times and that just didn't happen.

And we found the heat to be horrible. The 14th - the 18th were record heat days for Orlando. We saw a woman at AK being taken out of the park on a stretcher for heat exhaution on the 16th. Some other people we were standing in line with said they had seen the same thing at MK the day before. It did cool down a little bit the last park of the week we were there, but it was still VERY hot. My full face of make-up would be melted off by 10:30 a.m.

I don't want to sound completely negative, like we didn't have fun, because we did. We love disney and will be going back the first week of December this year. The Free Dining is an awesome value, we saved about $1300.00 and we had some great food and even though MNSSHP was packed, we did love the parade and fireworks. We stayed at Pop and liked it very much and had a great experience with the Disney Buses, hardly every had to wait more than 10 minutes. But, I wanted to be honest about the heat and crowds WE experienced.

 

[Mick00]

Sorry this may seem like a silly question but is free dining available all through September and how do you avail of free dining? Thanks

 

[haleofafamily]

Sorry this may seem like a silly question but is free dining available all through September and how do you avail of free dining? Thanks

It is available through some of Aug. and most of Sept. the dates have not been released for this year to my knowledge.

You get it by purchasing a package plan - room, park tickets and dining plan. If you are even thinking of eating table service meals make sure you make reservations (ADRs) well in advance. The restaurants fill up quickly.

 

[Mick00]

ok thanks does it have to be booked through disney or can it be done through travel agents do you know thanking you

 

[haleofafamily]

It can be booked either way.

 

[Mick00]

Ok well thanks a million I will have to look into it thanks for all the help everyone Cheers

 

[mrzrich]

Free dining hasn't been made available for 2008 yet, last year it was announced in April. Chances for it seem good though, since people who got free dining last year were offered it as a bounce back offer while they were there.

 

[5 for WDW]

We have gone to WDW in September 11 times. It used to be a great time to go. Very low crowds, no wait times, etc.

Free Dining has brought in a lot more people. Our trip this past September (13-22nd) was our last September trip. The parks were very crowded, the restaurants were packed and the resorts were quite busy. We did not find the waits as bad as of of the previous posters there at the same time but, they were much longer then we are used to in September.

The heat is not an issue for us. We have gone so many times during the warmer months that it does not bother us. We know what to expect. It is quiet hot though.

Free Dining is an awesome deal. We used it one year but are now DVC members. We can no longer get FD unless we book a trip off points. But, we won't be doing that with the added crowds.

If you have never gone to WDW during September before, it should still feel slower then other times. I find the people that notice the crowd increase the most are those that traveled there before Free Dining caught on.

 

[misskrystal]

I agree that September isn't as quiet as it used to be. Last year we found that we had to do the most popular rides before lunchtime to avoid long lines, whereas two years ago, the parks were quite more or less all day. However, compared to the really busy months, September is still a great time to visit.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Sorry this may seem like a silly question but is free dining available all through September and how do you avail of free dining? Thanks

Since 2005, Disney has been offereing Free Dining during the last part of August until the end of September, give or take a few days. It has already been offered to UK visitors for this September and to those of us who were there at WDW during Free Dining this past September for the dates of August 30 - September 27 2008. Someone on the Dining board has already posted (according to their relative who is a Disney employee) that the offer will come out about April 5. The first three days will only be open to Disney Visa holders and then open to the general public, just like last year. And I'd bet good money that the poster was correct. Free Dining has been a brilliant plan on the part of Disney to fill the crowds during what was previously their slowest season, and hurrican season to boot. And then having the bounceback for free food while the free diners are there in the parks, on their Disney high, well I would call that sure marketing genius. We were there for Free Dining last year the week of Sept. 14 - 22. I

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We have gone to WDW in September 11 times. It used to be a great time to go. Very low crowds, no wait times, etc.

Free Dining has brought in a lot more people. Our trip this past September (13-22nd) was our last September trip. The parks were very crowded, the restaurants were packed and the resorts were quite busy. We did not find the waits as bad as of of the previous posters there at the same time but, they were much longer then we are used to in September.

The heat is not an issue for us. We have gone so many times during the warmer months that it does not bother us. We know what to expect. It is quiet hot though.

Free Dining is an awesome deal. We used it one year but are now DVC members. We can no longer get FD unless we book a trip off points. But, we won't be doing that with the added crowds.

If you have never gone to WDW during September before, it should still feel slower then other times. I find the people that notice the crowd increase the most are those that traveled there before Free Dining caught on.

You are so right. I think the Free Dining "secret" is out and is here to stay.

 

[Smile4Me]

Went the last week of August last year and loved the low crowd volume,,,going the first week of September this year and are hoping for the same.

In regards to free dining, I've read in other threads that the volumes in the parks and restaurants seem to be greater in Sept, but the waits for rides do not seem to be outrageous.

Heres hoping!

 

[Hannahsmom]

We are September "veterans" also, and I have to agree with what PP have said about the crowd levels in Sept. Before free dining, they were empty. And I mean E-M-P-T-Y. The only waits we ever experienced were in Fantasyland, because the average age of child visiting was 18 mos. But the "big" rides were always walk on. But this last year I really noticed the increase in school age kids, which added to the wait times on the "big" rides.

 

[Cheap Trick Fan]

Early December used to be slow - now it's busy.

January used to be slow - now it's busy.

October used to be slow - now it's busy.

September used to be slow - now it's busy.

What's left?

Most of the other months are hot AND busy. No wonder I can't figure out when to go. Maybe I should take a cruise instead.