Does this sound right.. About September trip.. Uh oh!!

[Sytrace]

If you are paying regular rate with no passholder, FL res deals etc. there are lots of rooms of all types available at CSR.
I am a travel agent and I am looking at the site right now.
Call back and try again. Even call today and you will get a different CM.

 

[brazzledazzler]

There are slower times. DH & I were there in early May and crowds were minimal, even with a huge cheerleading competition going on at WDW at the time. When we waited in lines the longest we waited was maybe 30 minutes? We weren't able to get FPs for that many rides, due to just getting our APs when we arrived, so we did a lot or normal waiting. Sept had amazing deals for resort rooms, which means crowds are probably lower. It is Disney after all, it will never be empty, but I do believe there is a slower season. I used to go to WDW as a kid/teen every Super Bowl weekend and it was pretty dead... it was a very good family tradition!

 

[CounselorX]

"Does this sound right?"

No, it doesn't. Even if it is a bit busier than previous years on the week after labor day... I've been the week after labor day the past 2 years and it has been very dead most days. I don't think I ever spent more than 20 minutes in a line, and we are usually commando-style tourists so we hit up many rides in a day. We also have not experienced FP+ run out for any of the headliners that we are interested in (can't speak for meet and greets since we don't do those), but we've been able to get several extra FP+ during the day/night for rides like Tower of Terror, Rock N' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Soarin, Expedition Everest, etc.

So, even if it's busier this year, I can't imagine it reaching peak levels like the CM you talked to suggested.

 

[freediverdude]

OP, I would call back. I've had this very same thing happen to me before as well. Sometimes you get a CM who just doesn't want to look anything more up at the moment, and just starts saying "no nothing available" to anything you say, and wants the call to end. At that point you say "ok thank you, goodbye", hang up, and call back again. That particular person could be having a bad day, just had a very stressful call right before yours, you never know what's going on.

 

[Kristine316]

Thanks for all the in put!!

Yes, I am calling back today, tomorrow at the latest and see what another CM tells me.
I specifically asked the CM I spoke with if CSR had rooms that were available but, not part of the FD promotion and she told me the entire resort was booked solid on the night of September 14. Then I asked her to check other resorts and she mentioned YC and a couple of the values and none of these were going to work for us. She told me nothing else was available... It is just totally perplexing.

I called about 20 minutes before customer service was to close for the day, maybe she was just tired, and ready to get home? Just very odd in my opinion.

Well thanks again for all the great in put!! This forum saved my bacon because I was seriously thinking about changing our dates because of how busy she kept saying it was going to be that week and also to be able to add another night or two.

 

[Dentam]

We're there then too. Don't worry it'll be fine. If the parks get crowded go enjoy the waterparks, take a backstage tour, each some cheesecake and have a beer. Lots to do when the parks are busy.

Yeah, we've been during Christmas week before so we know how to avoid the worst of the crowds. I'm sure Labor Day week will be nice in comparison I've just gotten my hopes up with reading trip reports from people who went last September and posted photos of empty parks!

 

[Disnsyncey]

I think also, just in general, when people book up on site rooms, doesn't mean that all the Orlando hotels are filled with people going to Disney.....still probably way low crowds.....Disney is just doing their best to get heads in beds....

 

[wdw4rfam]

I will be honest, we went go September every year, and it gets worse every year. This past year, it felt crowded to us. Not spring break or holiday time crowded, but not slow by any means. It was enough that we said between the weather and crowd increase, it's not worth it for us. so if you are expecting to walk on rides, it's not going to happen, but it will probably be better than other times of the year. Unfortunately there aren't slow times anymore, and for me, it's not slow enough anymore to put up with that heat and humidity.

 

[Accident]

Doesn't the big Frozen summer thing end on Labor Day anyway?

In 2014 it ended october 2nd I believe, they kept extending it. We were there not expecting it. Pleasant surprise to get summer + halloween + food festival but the crowds were nuts.

The bigger issue is the popular rides are closed during lightning/rain and it just makes them harder to get on. Otherwise it wasn't a horrible holiday for us. in 2014 we happened to be there that week where it rained a lot more than once a day.

 

[beldred]

Glad to see you are going to call back OP! Sometimes you get a CM who just isn't up to par. I had to reschedule my dates recently and it was clear in about 5 minutes she was either a ditz or computer illiterate or at the very least knew less about their reservation system than I did! I tried to power through, telling her exactly what I needed, but she was clearly getting more and more muddled and I started to fear she would completely lose my reservation. I finally asked her to please cancel all changes and exit out of my account, that I would have to call back another time. She did so and thankfully nothing was harmed. The next day I went online and did the change myself and it was smooth sailing. I should have just done it that way from the beginning. LOL

(For those that will ask, she kept insisting she had to cancel my trip and refund my amount paid so far and then book a new trip. I couldn't have that, because some of my payments were gift cards I didn't keep. I also had decided to upgrade to a moderate and add on my nephew. So yes, a lot of changes. But nothing she shouldn't have been able to just change one by one. I went online the next day and had zero trouble doing it myself online and all my current payments transferred right over.)

 

[danceintherain]

Definitely call back. I had a similar situation a few days ago. My TA called and quoted me rates that I thought were a bit high, but I wrote it off as Disney prices going up since the last time I went. I hadn't had time to do the research myself, and I trust my TA will at least know enough to ask for the correct discounts. This is a last minute trip for us, so I was open to anything that would get me on property.
She quoted us both Pop and CSR (Sept 6-12). I chose Pop, because it was in the budget. Then when she called back to book the courtesy reservation she got completely different numbers for Pop, so we're thinking the CM she talked to on the phone gave her bad info. She's going to call back and ask about CSR.

Maybe things are fuller than normal on the 13th, but I can't imagine it's completely booked already.
Generally speaking, Disney does operate very close to capacity most of the year, and some room types might sell out, but I expect they probably still get quite a few people who show up and want rooms the day of during slower times of the year. Christmas Day? Probably not, but I would be surprised if a random Sept weekend day was completely booked more than 45 days out.
If that really is the case, try again at the 45 day mark. I expect some people will be canceling packages at that point, since the balance will be due in full.

 

[loves to dive]

I would go on line and look myself. Also check Orbitz and Tregavo. Even if disney is showing everything booked, they sometimes have things Disney doesn't and Orbitz is almost always running some sort of discount.

 

[Dentam]

I will be honest, we went go September every year, and it gets worse every year. This past year, it felt crowded to us. Not spring break or holiday time crowded, but not slow by any means. It was enough that we said between the weather and crowd increase, it's not worth it for us. so if you are expecting to walk on rides, it's not going to happen, but it will probably be better than other times of the year. Unfortunately there aren't slow times anymore, and for me, it's not slow enough anymore to put up with that heat and humidity.

It's so interesting how everyone's perceptions differ. I've read reports from people who were there last September and said how empty it was and by looking at their photos it did look that way. I think it also helps if you try to follow the advice of which parks to avoid due to EMH's and such...

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Just wondering how you made out OP.......

 

[Raenstoirm]

Well.. Wow is all I can muster.

Why would she tell me all this bad information??? Totally perplexed right now.

It sounds like I need to call back tomorrow and talk to someone else.

She kept saying how busy it was going to be. I don't know if I got the best customer service there... Lol.

A big thanks to those who checked into things... Maybe some of you should work for WDW?? I think I got better customer service from you then at the 1-800 number. Gotta laugh about things right? Lol

Rule number one with disney NEVER trust the phone cms. They are not in florida and many have never actually been to disney world. I have fought with almost every one I have ever talked to about something or other. We go twice and year so I know the ins and outs, and some things have to be booked by a phone CM (last year it was the villains party in the castle and the Food and Wine VIP package). Many of the cms had no idea why I was even calling. It was frustrating as hell. Sounds counterintuitive, but trust this website over anything you hear from a phone cm or even see on the WDW website (it is also notoriously wrong and out of date).

I will be honest, we went go September every year, and it gets worse every year. This past year, it felt crowded to us. Not spring break or holiday time crowded, but not slow by any means. It was enough that we said between the weather and crowd increase, it's not worth it for us. so if you are expecting to walk on rides, it's not going to happen, but it will probably be better than other times of the year. Unfortunately there aren't slow times anymore, and for me, it's not slow enough anymore to put up with that heat and humidity.

We have gone just about every September since the mid 90s and I do agree that the crowds are definitely larger every year. That said, I still think it is one of the best times to go. Many things are still walk on (at least they were last year from the 18-27th when we were there). The hours are good (you often get at lest one 1 or 2 am emhs), the parties are a few times a week and Food and wine is going on (depending on when in September you are there). We just went in May/June and it was much busier (but still not bad at all). And we are heading back in December.

 

[gavsgirl]

I stumbled upon this thread and felt the need to chime in. My boys are home schooled so we chose to go to Disney the last week of September of 2014 thinking this would be a time most kids were in school. We have been during peak travel times in the summer, February vacation, may... That week in September was the single busiest time I've ever been to Disney! The CMs kept saying how "unusual" it was and how they couldn't believe it. We were in shock. September definitely wasnt what we had heard it would be. It was the worst crowds we had witnessed in all our times traveling. That said, we haven't learned our lesson and will be back in December lol

 

[Accident]

That said, we haven't learned our lesson and will be back in December lol

I was at disney that same crazy week and early dec 2014, dec was great!

 

[gavsgirl]

I was at disney that same crazy week and early dec 2014, dec was great!

Fingers crossed for December this year! But after September last year I've learned not to have crowd expectations lol

 

[yankebabie]

We have gone to WDW for a week the first Saturday after Labor Day for the past 10 years & it has never been crowded. In fact most years we never had to use a fastpass at all

 

[Dentam]

We have gone to WDW for a week the first Saturday after Labor Day for the past 10 years & it has never been crowded. In fact most years we never had to use a fastpass at all

Thanks for keeping our hopes alive! We haven't booked fastpasses yet since I'm waiting for my parents to purchase their park tickets which they should do next week.