First solo trip from UK... need help with dates!

[gacallaghan]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on trip dates. Apart from 6th Nov when I need to be home I can travel anytime in Nov.

Looking at the busy day guides I think Sun 12th - Sun 19th seems the best bet. Originally I was looking at Tue 7th - Tue 14th but crowds for Veterans Day/Weekend are usually heavy. As such I thought I'd travel on Sunday so my first day in the parks would be Monday 13th. I've never done Food and Wine or seen the Christmas decorations (only visited in September before on three occasions) and these dates would allow me to do both.

Flights with Virgin staying at Pop including the park ticket is £1,500.

Also I'm considering doing the dining plan for the first time. Quick service is just £202 more, taking the total to £1,702.

Been on 5 7-night solo holidays before, just not Disney so thought I'd give it a go. Last went in Sep 2015 so plenty of new stuff to see and do!

 

[scoobydooby2016]

Hi. It's a shame you can't go the last couple of days of October into November as I think if you can there is an 8 day window where you can get the Halloween party, food and wine and the Christmas party! I can't help with November dates but have seen today that some of the rooms at Pop have been refurbished so ask for one of those. They look good. Have fun!

 

[gacallaghan]

@scoobydooby2016 Yes but looking at the crowd calendars it looks like its mainly 4/10 6/10 that week and the only special events are the last day of food and wine and a couple of christmas parties. Someone has said that there is a free dining offer which might make it a bit busier but late Oct and beginning of Nov is Halloween, food and wine most days, plus wine and dine marathon weekend. I'm not interested in Halloween but would love to see the Christmas decorations

 

[Tash87]

We went November 12th 2016 for 2 weeks and it was sooooooooooo busy. I was looking at the crowd calendars expecting the first part of the holiday to be the 'quieter' week but it made no difference at all. As the holiday got closer the crowd calendars changed for the worse

One day at Uni and IOA the rides were practically walk on.

As you'll be on your own it may not be a problem but we had a stroller with a 2 yo and 7 yo so it made weaving through the crowds difficult.

I love the Christmas decorations but don't think we'll be seeing them again.

 

[gacallaghan]

@Tash87 Interesting. In which case there maybe a few better options.

1: Travel Sun 29th Oct - Sun 5th Nov - Food and Wine is on throughout my stay, Halloween will likely make the parks busy. Will the marathon weekend also make the parks busy?

2: Travel Tues 7th Nov - Tues 14th Nov - Food and Wine is on throughout my stay plus Christmas Parties (which I'm not bothered about but it would be nice to see the decorations). Veterans Day is on the Saturday which is renowned for being busy but I could do a water park that day perhaps?

3. Travel Sat 7th Oct - Sat 14th Oct - but this adds another £150 onto the holiday price...

4. Travel 26th Nov - 3rd Dec. Lower crowds but no food and wine although the Christmas decorations will be up!

 

[Tash87]

Oooh so many options. I really don't know which one I would choose. It's always busy nowadays so go for any!

When is thanksgiving? Not sure if it changes each year?

 

[Amelia :)]

We did Nov 5-19 last year, it was busier than expected but manageable. Not all the decorations were up by the time we left. This year we are doing Nov 25- Dec 9th and hoping crows will be slightly lower, but who knows!

 

[Jon84]

We went just after @Tash87 came back, and once Thanksgiving weekend was over, it was pretty quiet

 

[disneyholic family]

from what i understand, there really aren't any truly quiet times anymore...
but if i were guessing, perhaps just after thanksgiving and through the first week of december...

and yes, christmas decorations are definitely worth the trip...it's really very lovely....
be sure to visit the resorts, as their decorations are especially beautiful....if you can only visit a few, make sure you include the grand floridian....

 

[Tash87]

Off topic but.... @Jon84 Hope you and your wife have a great time, as always!

 

[Jon84]

Off topic but.... @Jon84 Hope you and your wife have a great time, as always!

Thanks

 

[CAL2]

Hi, we have just had the same dilemma, we have chosen the last week in November and first week of December,although the last few days do clash with Pop Warner week and MVMCP but I don't think it will effect the wait times to much.
cal

 

[Jon84]

Hi, we have just had the same dilemma, we have chosen the last week in November and first week of December,although the last few days do clash with Pop Warner week and MVMCP but I don't think it will effect the wait times to much.
cal

The Pop Warner kids only become a pain at the end of the competitions where they have more free time.

Even then they mainly just get in the way in the footpaths and Hub in MK rather than on rides.

 

[Tash87]

In 2012 we went at the end of November for 2 weeks and I don't remember it being as busy as our last trip on the 2 weeks before thanksgiving

 

[disneyholic family]

the pop warner kids are a pain if you happen to share a resort with them!!!
we did once...wow....much worse than the south american kids in july...

 

[disneyholic family]

i just remembered, a few years back, DD and i went in november...though i think it was towards the beginning...
we thought it would be empty...the place was PACKED...
turned out it was teachers days off in new jersey of all places...
how that affects WDW i don't know, but everywhere we looked in the parking lots, we saw new jersey license plates..
it was totally insane...
i don't know if that happens every year, but it certainly affected crowds when we were there..

i just looked it up....new jersey schools are closed on november 9th and 10th in 2017 and november 8th and 9th in 2018...

 

[gacallaghan]

Thanks for all your feedback just booked! Sun 26th Nov - Sun 3rd Dec staying at All Star Sports. The flight from the UK will take up most of Sunday so my first day in the parks will be Monday 27th. Cannot wait!

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks for all your feedback just booked! Sun 26th Nov - Sun 3rd Dec staying at All Star Sports. The flight from the UK will take up most of Sunday so my first day in the parks will be Monday 27th. Cannot wait!

woo hoo!!!
be sure to pack some warm clothes..
November/December is very unpredictable..
it can be really nice or it can be downright frigid...
so you have to be prepared...

one nice thing about going then, you'll see it's much easier to spend opening to closing in the parks..
summer heat makes that very difficult, but with cooler weather, you don't get as tired and staying from opening to closing is really very doable!!!

.

 

[Tash87]

Congrats

who did you book with in the end?

 

[Jon84]

the pop warner kids are a pain if you happen to share a resort with them!!!
we did once...wow....much worse than the south american kids in july...

We stayed offsite once and they all just turned up one day, took over the pool areas till midnight everyday.

Then the night they were there, they all the parents brought their own booze in, order in Dominos from outside the hotel and trashed the lobby. The next morning it was a bomb site!