Fellow September Dissers - What's the expectation

[evcollins]

Hi everyone...This will be our first time to go in September. Crowd calendar predicts crowds from 3-5, 5 being the beginning of F&W. We usually go during busy seasons, Memorial Day Star Wars Weekends and Labor Day weekend. We had a good touring plan for both and followed it with flexibility so the crowds and lines never became an issue for us on our timing. We are RDers, but with FP+, I'm afraid some of that advantage might be going away.

Anyway, would love to hear how your trips went as far as crowds, weather, do you need to go commando style or leisure stroll? Would love to hear how resorts are, especially at POP, with bus service? Would you still suggest RD? Any and everything you have to offer about September would be great. We are going the third week in September and leaving one day after F&W starts.

Thanks for any info!!

 

[MommaPeel]

When I do not live close to Orlando (like now ) I only go in September because I had always been able to walk onto almost any ride. The longest I had ever waited at either park (before WWoHP opened at USF/IOA) was 15-20 minutes and that was usually due to a fastpass backup after rain!

It has been a few years and they do now offer the free dining to get the bodies in the parks, but I don't imagine the parks are any fuller or they wouldn't be offering such good discounts or the free dining at that time.

The only bad part about September in Florida is the stinking LOVE BUGS.

I will be there 6-22 September! See you there!

Enjoy!

 

[Buttrcp16]

I'm interested as well - we are going in September this year and the only other time we visited during that month was an overnight trip to MK when we lived in FL. It was Labor Day Weekend though and from what I can remember the crowds were similar to what I've experienced during the summer. But that was a holiday, so....

Are wait times significantly less in September? I have little ones who don't do well in lines more than 15min or so. I'm going crazy trying to plan our itinerary (RDing and hitting Fantasyland/Mtns first, worrying about FP+ selections since we're staying off-site) and things to keep them preoccupied in lines... but do I even need to worry about that?

 

[Holly324]

We are going in September as well, and have never been that time of year. We are fully expecting the terrible heat and humidity to be a factor in our planning, but I am really interested in how people think the lines will be with FP+ now in effect. Amazing the amount of planning I have to do this trip in comparison with our trip in May 2011. I am a major over the top planner, and I feel like I am not doing enough this time!

 

[DVCMikey]

I don't remember it being very crowded, but it was VERY VERY VERY hot and humid

 

[goofy4tink]

The earlier you go in Sept, the less crowded it will be. I was there for just after Labor Day weekend last year, and while it was hot/muggy, the parks were not crowded at all! I have been the end of Sept as well. It is most crowded in Epcot on the weekends for Food and Wine. Other than that, the end of Sept isn't bad..and it's still hot/humid.

 

[TheGreatGafsby]

Went in 2012 first two weeks in September and the crowds were great (busier on the weekend). I had only been once before as a child 30 years ago (summer), and the lack of crowds in 2012 was very surprising. However, I see touringplans have upped the expected crowd levels this year when we are planning to go (late Sept into Oct), so expect it to be generally more crowded than what it was during the most crowded point when we went in 2012. Also, since the heat was mentioned, it was crazy. From Canada here, and the heat almost knocked me over walking out of the airport. Very hot/humid every single everyday - also rained every day as well, but only 1 day was a complete washout.

 

[Buttrcp16]

Ah yes, one of the most memorable parts of my Labor Day trip was the heat... it was almost unbearable! But an afternoon shower came through and cooled things off nicely. In retrospect I could have worn less clothing as well

This time I'm ready to brave the heat, but I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad a little later in the month!

 

[katt789]

I took my second trip to the world in Sept 2011, and have been back every Sept since then because it is just that amazing.

We absolutely love it, crowds are light, you'll see stuff like TSMM, maybe Soarin reach over an hour wait, but that's midday kinda stuff. We usually rope drop, hit up headliners, then leisurely stroll through the rest of the day. Crowds get congested in the hub at nighttime in MK still, but that's to be expected!

Pop is usually also where we stay, and the bus system is pretty decent! We've never had a problem with it! After park close at MK can be super crowded, but that's also to be expected, and we never waited more than 30 minutes there! Also know that you can take busses to and from Art of Animation and just walk across the bridge back to Pop, this saved us a lot in Dec. There'd be a big line and no bus for Pop, but a bus waiting and no line for AoA, plus I like their food court better so it was a win win for dinner!

Sept gets HOT and humid, make sure to take your water and indoor breaks, even if just walking through a gift shop. Rain is to be expected, but usually doesn't last more than an hour max, and the worst of it will be over quickly, if it's still coming down more than you'd like to walk through, throw on a poncho and the park will clear out!

Also MNSSHP!! DO NOT MISS IT!!! It's my favourite thing that Disney has to offer!! The fireworks and parade are hands down the BEST, the stage show is pretty awesome, everyone's invited to dress up, and you can trick or treat, hit up rare character meet and greets and more!

We'll be there Sept 8-19th!!

 

[Buttrcp16]

I took my second trip to the world in Sept 2011, and have been back every Sept since then because it is just that amazing.

We absolutely love it, crowds are light, you'll see stuff like TSMM, maybe Soarin reach over an hour wait, but that's midday kinda stuff. We usually rope drop, hit up headliners, then leisurely stroll through the rest of the day. Crowds get congested in the hub at nighttime in MK still, but that's to be expected!

Pop is usually also where we stay, and the bus system is pretty decent! We've never had a problem with it! After park close at MK can be super crowded, but that's also to be expected, and we never waited more than 30 minutes there! Also know that you can take busses to and from Art of Animation and just walk across the bridge back to Pop, this saved us a lot in Dec. There'd be a big line and no bus for Pop, but a bus waiting and no line for AoA, plus I like their food court better so it was a win win for dinner!

Sept gets HOT and humid, make sure to take your water and indoor breaks, even if just walking through a gift shop. Rain is to be expected, but usually doesn't last more than an hour max, and the worst of it will be over quickly, if it's still coming down more than you'd like to walk through, throw on a poncho and the park will clear out!

Also MNSSHP!! DO NOT MISS IT!!! It's my favourite thing that Disney has to offer!! The fireworks and parade are hands down the BEST, the stage show is pretty awesome, everyone's invited to dress up, and you can trick or treat, hit up rare character meet and greets and more!

We'll be there Sept 8-19th!!

We're definitely going to MNSSHP! It sounds like so much fun, and it was the only way I could weasel in an extra day at MK (DH is very pessimistic about how well our kids will handle the park). We're planning on the 21st for the party and a regular MK park day the 23rd. Yeeeeaah baby!

 

[minnie mum]

We've gone several times in September because of the lowers crowd levels and because of decent room prices and discounts. Because of the heat and humidity we make a point of getting out of the parks in the afternoon for at least a couple of hours . Generally standby lines for everything but the headliners were quite short. However I have NO IDEA how badly FP+ is going to affect them now. I'll be watching reports of this closely this fall. We have noticed a considerable uptick in crowd levels in the days preceding the start of F&W.

 

[TNDisneyNut]

We always do September. Love the low crowds. Like the others said, the only long waits tend to be TSMM, Soarin, Test Track, etc. I would definitely FP+ them. Longest wait I have ever had in September was 40 minutes at Soarin and that was the year it opened. To me, that was a horrible, horrible wait. Im spoiled. We are going during FD September 12 through 18. If you want table service, because of the FD, definitely make ADRs because you wont be able to get many TS otherwise. The only downsides to me in September are the heat and the rain, but we prepare for both. Prepare for a downpour every day at 4. Dont wear clothes that will soak in the water like tennis shoes, or bring spares. We take handheld mister fans, do cool rides in between outside ones, and bring ponchos. The upside is when it rains the parks are even less crowded and the rain never lasts long! Also, remember the parks are not open as long so prepare for that. And to me, MK always seems crowded. Dont go on Monday if you can avoid it. We, unfortunately, have to because one of our party who has never been can only stay 4 of our 6 days and we want to do all 4 parks, so we are splitting MK into two days and taking our time. You will love September!

 

[andrea1978]

I've gone twice before in September and am going again this Sept.7-14.
The crowds are not that bad- except for TSM and Peter Pan/Splash Mountain, the waits were all 20 min. or less for us. First thing in the morning there were no lines.
It is hot and very humid and it rains for a short period of time almost everyday. I packed hand held fans, cooling towels and frozen waters for us and that helped....

Kristina

 

[Kristine316]

Our last trip to WDW was in late September 2012. I was sort of disappointed to be honest with you. I kept hearing about how dead September was going to be and we arrived to crowds that were the busiest we had experienced before.
Our two earlier trips had been in January and early February and we found both of those trips less crowded and the weather sooo much better.

Free Dining is popular and it brings in the crowds. We found walk ways jammed, restaurants full, DTD packed on the night we went, parades and shows packed.
I have no doubt compared to other busier times of the year September in comparison is less crowded. If you are used to summer crowds or holiday crowds you will probably be happy with September. For us it was a disappointment because we had only gone in January and early February and found those two trips much less crowded than September. The weather was also much better during those earlier winter trips so, September for us was not ideal.

The weather is awful. I am talking hair and clothes drenched in sweat by noon and afternoon rain storms that pour buckets down for short periods of time.
I told myself never again in September because the crowds weren't that small and the weather was difficult to handle.
Of course I should never say never because we are going back in the second week of September this fall. We had a February trip we had to postpone and September was the only other time that would work for us.

I am hoping since we are going earlier in September the crowds will be better but, that also means the weather will probably be a little worse. I am expecting the crowds to be worse though because WDW is getting busier in general every year and it also seems there are a ton of people posting in here about going in September. lol

 

[TeamBlack]

I have to echo the last poster. We went Sept 17-27 2012. The heat was oppressive(and I live in Arizona). parks were crowded everyday except one. Everyone on here was posting how dead September is, 45 minutes for jungle cruise and 30 for HM was not what is was expecting. If you normally go in July, those wait times may not sound too bad though.

 

[evcollins]

Thanks, everyone! I love reading everyone's adventures during September. We live in Texas, so heat, humidity and love bugs, got it down! When we went over Labor Day, it was definitely hot and we loved our mid-day break to take a nap and then hop over to the park around 6:00 for dinner and move forward.

Keep your adventures coming. It's hard for me to gauge the crowds, though, from reading y'alls reports. What is horrendous for some is bearable for others. Lol! ADRs are made for us and just trying to book a few of the populars, the restaurants are crowded. We are going on the FD promotion, though.

And, FYI, I couldn't convince my sister to do MNSSHP. She thinks her twin boys are too old to enjoy it. They will be 13, have no desire to meet characters, and is kind of mehhh about the parade and fireworks. Oh, well....

 

[Buttrcp16]

Sounds like I am right to be obsessively checking the crowd calendars and planning our itinerary accordingly! Nice to know I'm not planning like crazy for no reason.

I lived in SW FL for a few years and know all too well what the weather is like in the summer, so I'm prepared for that. But still not looking forward to that aspect...

We don't spend a ton of time in the parks, anyway. Our trips are more balanced between busy days and days we just lounge around at the pool relaxing. Which that kind of weather is perfect for!

 

[dlove28]

I went the last week of September last year. It is still hot. I recommend rope drop. There are crowds and heat to beat until 12ish. Then you can either take a break, or have an early lunch & schedule you FP+ for the 12-3 time periods.

On days we went to DHS it wasn't feasible for is to leave and crowds were predicted to be 2-3. So i did a little extra planning and saved the indoor/shaded rides for the hotter part of the day

 

[DisneyWisher]

I have to echo the last poster. We went Sept 17-27 2012. The heat was oppressive(and I live in Arizona). parks were crowded everyday except one. Everyone on here was posting how dead September is, 45 minutes for jungle cruise and 30 for HM was not what is was expecting. If you normally go in July, those wait times may not sound too bad though.

I was raised in Ft Lauderdale, I won a 3 day trip to Scottsdale, AZ in Sept '09, I took my 16 yr old daughter. Our hotel room (Hyatt Regency) had a huge patio. Daughter was hanging out there, came in to see what Weather Channel said was temp. It was 104, she said no way it feels hotter at home. Humidity really does make a difference.


The absolute lowest crowds are the 11 days after Labor Day. The weekend right after Labor Day has Night of Joy at MK, people tend to avoid this time. As the month wears on it gets busier especially once F&W starts not to mention MNSSHP. Disney usually offers free dining to get people there.

 

[TNDisneyNut]

I would suggest touringplans.com. Statistically, September is definitely one of the lowest crowd times. They also post how much they are off the next day so you can see how accurate they are. There are definitely going to be wait times but not like most. Right now, predicted crowd levels for early September are all ones and twos except for Monday at MK, which is a four. Please see their explanation for what constitutes those crowd level numbers, as a 4 doesn't mean four times as much as a one level, but it's definitely low!