Crowds/Weather in September?

[SteamboatStevie]

Hi everyone, relatively new to the dis, so i apologize if this has been discussed previously.

Just booked a trip for mid-september, and I was wondering how the weather and crowds were for that time? I've been in mid-august, is it any cooler at all than then? And I heard that being that school is just starting, it's one of the slowest times to go, but I don't know if free dining has affected that at all.

Thanks for the help!

 

[RMulieri]

Still HOT HOT HOT and HUMID HUMID HUMID.Depending on who you ask depends on what answers about crowd levels.I will say with the free dining promo going on, the parks are busier then years ago.But crowds are still manageable.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hi everyone, relatively new to the dis, so i apologize if this has been discussed previously.

Just booked a trip for mid-september, and I was wondering how the weather and crowds were for that time? I've been in mid-august, is it any cooler at all than then? And I heard that being that school is just starting, it's one of the slowest times to go, but I don't know if free dining has affected that at all.

Thanks for the help!

This is a copy of our trip report from when we returned last September. Please note though that since then I have read many, many, many posts about Free Dining last September and apparently the consensus says that we were there during the hottest and busiest week last year. And I also want to reiterate that we did have a really good time ~ the Halloween party was awesome and one of the highlights of our trip. With the popularity of Free Dining just be ready for medium-ish crowds, not low, and I don't think you will be disappointed. Hope ya'll have a great time! Here's my trip report:

We went this past Sept. from 9/14 - 9/22. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have a great time. Afterall, it is Disney World and we are Disney fanatics, but we will never (and I mean never) go in September again. It was very crowded and very hot (I don't mean a little hot. I mean sweltering. When you came out of an air-conditioned ride and walked out in the heat it would take your breath way hot). I live in Alabama, I know what hot is and it was hot, hot hot. Did I mention it was hot?

It rained at least a little bit every afternoon we were there. On one day, without any warning, no menacing clouds or noticeable wind change, the sky just opened up and poured. It poured so hard, it was like the sky opened up and dumped a bucket of water on your head. There wasn't even time to put our ponchos on. By the time we drug everyone's ponchos out and put them on the rain stopped. We then left for our Ohana ADR looking like someone had just thrown us in the hotel pool - literally socked to the bone.

We did have awesome food on our trip. We ate at Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree, Planet Hollywood, 50's Primetime Cafe, Garden Grill, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana (best meal we had), and Crystal Palce. We had ADRs for all and always had to wait at least 20 minutes for our table. Saw them turning away walk-ups at all restaurants. Counter service was not too crowded, but we tried to eat early around 11:30 a.m.

I am a faithful fan of the UG and if it weren't for knowing about their touring plans and knowing how to utilize the Fastpasss system the lines would not have been manageable. There was the occasion that you walked up to something in the late afternoon and there was only a 10 or 15 minute wait, but most of the headliners kept 30 minute or more waits. At MK on our last day Space Mountain had a 75 minute wait at 3:30 p.m! Now, to you Christmas week, Easter week, or July 4th people that probably doesn't sound too bad, but we specifically booked these dates for low crowds, and there were not low crowds, maybe medium-ish.

When we left we had every intention of booking the Free Dining bounceback for next September that they were offering, but after the terrible heat and crowds my husband said he would happily pay the $1300 we saved on this trip and put it towards a slower, cooler time to visit.

We have previously been at the end of January into the first part of February and have also been end of November into first of December and those are the times we will be planning our future WDW vacations.

I don't want to rain on anybody's September Free Dining parade (excuse the pun), but I wanted to be honest about the heat and crowds so others will know what to expect and not be disappointed.

 

[Endeavour105]

Watch the weather forecasts as the time for your trip is in the peak part of the hurricane season that runs from June 1st to Nov. 30th. It's anybody's guess what this season will be like, however, Aug/Sept are the peak times for these storms - and hurricanes and their tracks cannot be forecast this far in advance - the storms haven't even formed yet.

 

[HydroGuy]

See "Detailed Weather History for WDW" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004631

Historically it is slightly less hot and has slightly less rain in Sept than August.

 

[SteamboatStevie]

Thanks everyone!

 

[warpdarkmatter]

hey steve, I see your from fall river just wanted to give you a i'm from across the river in somerset. I'm going this sept 16 to the 23 the weather is hot low to mid 90's but there are alot of places to escape the heat in the parks alot of the rides are air conditioned expect a quick thunderstorm everyday between 1:00 and 4:00 and have fun

 

[SteamboatStevie]

Awesome, we'll be there at the same time! Thanks for the info!

 

[WeatherbySwann]

Crowds are very managable but, like the others said, watch out for those hurricanes! I was staying at All-Star Movies during Hurrican Jeanne in 2004 and, even though Disney does an excellent job at keeping their guests satisfied during an emergency lockdown situation (movies were playing on a continuous loop on TVs and characters are were out in the lobby), obviously no one wants to spend a day of their precious WDW vacation cooped up in their resort room. On the bright side, the character interaction with guests (and other characters) had to be the best I've ever seen. Ever.

 

[5 for WDW]

This is a copy of our trip report from when we returned last September. Please note though that since then I have read many, many, many posts about Free Dining last September and apparently the consensus says that we were there during the hottest and busiest week last year. And I also want to reiterate that we did have a really good time ~ the Halloween party was awesome and one of the highlights of our trip. With the popularity of Free Dining just be ready for medium-ish crowds, not low, and I don't think you will be disappointed. Hope ya'll have a great time! Here's my trip report:

We went this past Sept. from 9/14 - 9/22. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have a great time. Afterall, it is Disney World and we are Disney fanatics, but we will never (and I mean never) go in September again. It was very crowded and very hot (I don't mean a little hot. I mean sweltering. When you came out of an air-conditioned ride and walked out in the heat it would take your breath way hot). I live in Alabama, I know what hot is and it was hot, hot hot. Did I mention it was hot?

It rained at least a little bit every afternoon we were there. On one day, without any warning, no menacing clouds or noticeable wind change, the sky just opened up and poured. It poured so hard, it was like the sky opened up and dumped a bucket of water on your head. There wasn't even time to put our ponchos on. By the time we drug everyone's ponchos out and put them on the rain stopped. We then left for our Ohana ADR looking like someone had just thrown us in the hotel pool - literally socked to the bone.

We did have awesome food on our trip. We ate at Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree, Planet Hollywood, 50's Primetime Cafe, Garden Grill, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana (best meal we had), and Crystal Palce. We had ADRs for all and always had to wait at least 20 minutes for our table. Saw them turning away walk-ups at all restaurants. Counter service was not too crowded, but we tried to eat early around 11:30 a.m.

I am a faithful fan of the UG and if it weren't for knowing about their touring plans and knowing how to utilize the Fastpasss system the lines would not have been manageable. There was the occasion that you walked up to something in the late afternoon and there was only a 10 or 15 minute wait, but most of the headliners kept 30 minute or more waits. At MK on our last day Space Mountain had a 75 minute wait at 3:30 p.m! Now, to you Christmas week, Easter week, or July 4th people that probably doesn't sound too bad, but we specifically booked these dates for low crowds, and there were not low crowds, maybe medium-ish.

When we left we had every intention of booking the Free Dining bounceback for next September that they were offering, but after the terrible heat and crowds my husband said he would happily pay the $1300 we saved on this trip and put it towards a slower, cooler time to visit.

We have previously been at the end of January into the first part of February and have also been end of November into first of December and those are the times we will be planning our future WDW vacations.

I don't want to rain on anybody's September Free Dining parade (excuse the pun), but I wanted to be honest about the heat and crowds so others will know what to expect and not be disappointed.

We were there at the exact same time and our opinions of that week in September are the same.

We have gone to WDW in September the past 12 years. After this past year, we have given up on September for now. The increase in crowds that week were too much compared to what we were used to at that very quiet time.

We also had a wonderful vacation. We have just decided that another time of year is better for us.

I hope all of you September vistors have the experience the rest of the posters had!

 

[pallred@lhcn.org]

bump

 

[pooch]

PrincessTiffany & I went a week apart ( me later) & had such different experiences. It was hot but not unbearably so. The only place that I found truly crowded was the area around Splash Mountain & Big Thunder RR. Everywhere else was fine. Attractions were mostly a 10-15 min wait, many walkons, nothing longer than 20 min even Soarin'. Rained one afternoon on and off for several hours, not a downpour but we did wear our ponchos and one other afternoon for maybe 1/2 hr. Restaurants were full but we had ADRs so we didn't care. I am spoiled and our 2006 Sept trip was even less crowded so we're going earlier this time 9/5 - 9/12.

 

[HopperFan]

We were there at the exact same time and our opinions of that week in September are the same.

We have gone to WDW in September the past 12 years. After this past year, we have given up on September for now. The increase in crowds that week were too much compared to what we were used to at that very quiet time.

We also had a wonderful vacation. We have just decided that another time of year is better for us.

I hope all of you September vistors have the experience the rest of the posters had!

Count us in on this one. We went the last week of Sept 06 and it was great. Less kids, lots of adults, and lots of UK visitors (which were a delight). Last year 07 we went the 13th-23rd and experienced fairly heavy crowds with lots of young families. Many were saying they were on their fall break.

Fast passes were gone by afternoon and the lines were certainly not summer length but many were posted as 60 minutes plus....combined with the heat that was a long wait for us.

Animal Kingdom afternoon the 20th

Magic Kingdom afternoon the 17th

We did book the Bounceback to return, but chose our dates for the end of the month like we had in 06.

 

[cdrn1]

I went last year 9/3-9/8 and thought the crowds were quite low and the weather, while hot and humid, quite bearable. I then went back 9/27-10/5 and the crowds were larger, still very manageable but the heat and humidity just a bit too much. For the first trip it was me and two adult friends, and for the second me and my adult DD and two toddler (1 and 3) grandkids and that may have been the difference. The one-year-old was pretty high-maintenance and dealing with strollers, diapers, and his rigid schedule was not easy.
The first trip we had rain one afternoon for about 1.5 hours, which was pretty great, really, as it emptied out Epcot and it was deserted for a few hours.
The second trip it rained (poured) on several of the days, for hours at a time.
At the time we did not do the Bounceback as I didn't think the FD was worth it, but guess what. I booked again when FD was announced. All adult trip, though.

 

[Clotho]

We have gone in September twice. Once was mid-hurricaines in 2004, so we don't really use that as a decent baseline. That was a crazy year, and I am guessing numbers were down all over the parks that year.

But we went in September again last year and had a wonderful time. We went the first week of September, over Labor Day weekend and the week after. it is very hot and humid, but even we pasty Seattlites enjoy it. We just pack accordingly, take breaks as needed, stay hydrated, pace yourself.

The free dining definitely made the restaurants packed at all times. We had to book 180 out, and we still couldn't get some days at our chosen restaurants for ANY time, it was that busy. On the weekends, the most popular rides were stacked in the afternoons, but mornings and evenings you could get on. Fastpasses for the biggest rides were gone by 1pm ish, but again, we would just wait until later in the day and do the standby lane no problem.

I would go September again, no question! This year we are going in December, and I am sooo curious. Weather and crowds will be so different!! I won't know how to pack!

Edited to add:
Yes it rained a little bit most days. Only once did we get truly soaked, and it was as someone above mentioned: we looked like we had been thrown in a pool. but everyone else did, too. It's all in context, and we didn't care! You dry off fast enough.

 

[pallred@lhcn.org]

bump

 

[skater]

We were there last year - I think about 9/6 for 9 days. It was definately more crowded than past Septembers but not as bad as summer. The mornings were fine, but sometimes the parks felt very crowded by afternoon. And it did rain almost every night, but that is the first Sept. we've experienced this. You should be fine if you plan out your days a little bit - get to the parks at opening and do the big things first. For example, we could ride Peter Pan repeatedly with no wait until after lunch - then, the wait was about 30-40 min.