Has anyone visited WDW in October?

[FHWC]

Hi

this is my first trip to Florida and first time on the forums. I'm visiting Florida in October this year with my family 4 adults 3 kids 11, 9 & 7 years. ANY hints and tips would be greatly appreciated.
Bit worried about parks closing early and missing fireworks etc... Will we still get to see everything that happens during the rest of the year.

Are the character breakfasts, lunches etc.. really worth it in Florida. We went to Euro disney and had the character breakfast with lots of disney baddies and my youngest was not happy to say the least. Are they value for money? Can I chose to have the Princesses etc..

Is Busch gardens worth visiting with 9 and 7 year olds or is it for the thrill seekers?

Any comments for first time planner much appreciate.

 

[Celestine]

We went last October. It was humid. Parks were quite busy, so you certainly need a plan. Highly recommend MNSSHP - great way to see the parks & ride with few queues. Park hours are not a problem if you get there early or do MK early one morning & then late afternoon another. The humidity can affect children - DD (4) decorated DH's head with vomit, so we had a trip to first aid. Praise to the CMs & first aid station - they were there before DD was off DH's shoulders! Although I do think the offer of an ambulance was a bit OTT!

Character meals are great. I love breakfast because if you go for a late sitting it can really be an early lunch & you get real vfm & good character interaction. My favorites are CP in MK & Chef Mickey.

If you haven't got a guide book, I've found the unofficial guide invaluable along with the tips on this board

 

[LorraineH]

Hello Welsh Lady and Welcome to the Boards!!

I joined these Boards a month ago and am completely hooked!! We are also first timers to Orlando, flying out on October 10th, and it seems to me that October is a fab time to go!! When do you fly out? And where are you staying?

There will be Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at selected dates at the Magic Kingdom Park, and Halloween Horror Nights at one of the Universal parks (although your kids may be a bit young for this). Epcot has some sort of Food Festival at the end of October (check these Boards for details).

We did have Busch Gardens in our plans at first. But we've now dropped it, as its a bit far on a first-time trip when there's loads of other things to see. (This was good advice I got from these Boards and its saved us another £100!!).

If you have ANY questions at all, just post new threads, and someone out there will DEFINITELY have the right answer for you! I have posted some threads which I thought seemed "silly" or "dumb" but everyone is so helpful. Everyone was a first-timer once!!

I bet you cant wait now! Only 6 months to go! I keep looking at my countdown calendar!! But the time will fly! I actually booked my trip last August! And now its April!

Anyway, have fun on the Boards, ask ANY questions!!!

Lorraine

 

[JohnnySharp]

Hello there, October is a good time to go.
Weather should be hot but not unbearable whilst it should not be too crowded also.
Obviously generally certain parks like Magic Kingdom always attract the crowds however it should not be too bad.

As far as Parks opening late is concerned you will probably find most days they close at 7pm with the odd 8/9 pm possibly at weekends.
If you were going during busier (and sometimes warmer) times of the year you may find the parks open till much later.
However, touring the parks at these times can be more demanding hence although in October closing times are earlier it should be a more comfortable experience.

 

[KayleeUK]

Welcome to the DIS

October is a fabulous time to visit, I have been in October three times.

As Celestine and LorraineH said Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is definately worth the $$$ Here is some Info about it.

EPCOTs Food and Wine Festival is also on through October you can sample things from all over the world. Here is some info about it.

Here is a link to Character Meals with some ratings for you. If you want breakfast at the castle with the princess you must book 90 day's out on the dot.

The DIS is full of info as Lorraine states. Any more questions ask away...

 

[FHWC]

Hi again

Many thanks for the replies to my earlier posting, I am beginning to get excited October is looking a very promising time to visit. And I'm getting hooked on the forum I've been reading all day (even in the office!!). LorraineH we fly out on October 19 Tuesday before half term so the kids won't miss too much school.

I must admit I didn't expect the weather to be humid in October, my only concern and it isn't much of a worry was hurricanes my Dad said October was hurricane season..

We are staying in a villa in the Kissimee / Davenport area. Does anyone have any experience of this area and how far it is really to the parks.

 

[Miffy2003]

Originally posted by FHWC

Are the character breakfasts, lunches etc.. really worth it in Florida. We went to Euro disney and had the character breakfast with lots of disney baddies and my youngest was not happy to say the least. Are they value for money? Can I chose to have the Princesses etc..

Yes, yes, yes!! We love the character meals in Florida. We just went to one at Cafe Mickey at Disneyland Paris and were horribly disappointed in comparison to the ones at WDW. If your experience was at all like mine, then the food selection was very limited, the queues appalling and the service none too great. The food selection in WDW is always fantastic, there are rarely any queues and the service usually outstanding. I share your pain about the Disney villains, my 4 year old has been psychologically scarred for life by an encounter with Captain Hook at Cafe Mickey (we've told her he lives in Paris not Florida so am praying we don't see him in December!!)

There are different characters at different restaurants, look at the Restaurants section for more info but as far as breakfasts go if you want Princesses I think the only 2 are Cinderella's Royal Table at MK (which can be hard to get a table for) and Princess Storybook Breakfast in Epcot's World Showcase (Norway).

They are definitely worth doing, and the ones at DLP are no comparison (though to be fair I've only been to Cafe Mickey, others may be better!)

HTH

Karen

PS October is a great time to go.

 

[FHWC]

Karen thanks for your reply, yes Captain Hook scared my daughter too at lunchtime at the "Last Nugget Saloon" and that put her off the breakfast session the next day.

A friend went to Paris after us and had all the disney princesses, yes we were jealous.

I think we will book a character meal I just need to do a bit of research first.

Am I correct in thinking that you get free character meals when buying 10 day hopper tickets ?

Debbie

 

[sharon78]

Welcome to the boards.

It's our 1ST visit to WDW also in october(23rd)-november(6th)

Im hooked on these boards there great i've found out loads of info,everyone is so great.

Read the UK trip reports as well you'll pick up some really good tips.

Soooo much to learn

soooo much to do


just keep asking anything you want to know no matter how trivial it seems every thing counts toward a good holiday,which after all thats what we all want

 

[Claire44]

October is a lovely time to go. Hot in the daytime but sometimes gets cooler in the evening - pack a couple of sweatshirts.

This will be the sixth time we have been in October and we have never seen more than a couple of hours rain over the whole fortnight each time we have been.

 

[paulh]

we have visited in oct we found that it was nice weater more berable than the hot junes if kids older do haloween at universal if they are young do MNSSHP as it will not scare them
PaulH

P.S my DW is caled Lorraine but it`s not the lorraineH in this post as my DW carn`t turn on the computer

 

[paulh]

we have visited in oct we found that it was nice weater more berable than the hot junes if kids older do haloween at universal if they are young do MNSSHP as it will not scare them
PaulH

P.S my DW is caled Lorraine but it`s not the lorraineH in this post as my DW carn`t turn on the computer

 

[Miffy2003]

Originally posted by FHWC

Am I correct in thinking that you get free character meals when buying 10 day hopper tickets ?

Debbie

Ummm...I've a feeing that you get a free character breakfast with the 10 Day World Pass. I think you can choose to take it at most locations but not all (for instance I'm pretty sure you can't go to Cinderella's Royal Table). However I would say (particularly at current exchange rates!) the CB's are excellent value for money even if you don't get this free - for us it was $55 plus tip for 2 adults and 2 children and we really ate tons!! And meeting the characters is priceless (sorry to sound like a particular credit card advert!!)

Karen

 

[RUSHBURY]

Hi

I've been to Florida 5 times in Oct and going again this year, in October. I think it's a great time to go and the weather is not too hot.

I went to MNSSHP last year for the 1st time and I am eagerly waiting for the tickets to go on sale for this years - it is well worth going to and the children will have a great time. You can choose to either go in fancy dress or not and either way you'll not be out of place.

 

[billybluenose]

My family and I went in October 2002. The weather was great apart from two evenings of rain (and a few thunder storms during the night).
We didn't find the parks too busy. Maximum wait for rides was about 20 minutes.
The parks were open until about 9 o'clock most nights, including Seaworld which also has Shamu's Spooktacular where the park and CM's are dressed in Hallowe'en costumes.
We are planning going back next October too.

 

[LorraineH]

See what I mean Debbie??!!!

Everyone here is so friendly and helpful!!!

Another quick tip for you - we are going to book our theme park tickets from www.themeparkland.co.uk. but I think you need to book them by the end of May-ish.

They have 10 day WDW tickets for £185 (adults) which is the cheapest so far Ive found! They do include a Character Breakfast but it IS only available at limited restaurants. (We too had a bad experience with Captain Hook and Prince John at DLP - my daughter was 3 at the time - complete nightmare for her!!). We are definitely gonna try for the Princess Breakfasts, but these are not available as the freebie!!

For Universal tickets, I think they are buy 2 days and get 5 days free, or buy 3 days and get 11 days free. Something like that anyway!! Have a look - it will save you loads.

And something else Ive picked up from the boards - try not to over-buy your tickets as a first timer. My itinary is really getting there now with the help of these boards. Ive saved loads of money, and sorted out loads of "free/rest days". So its looking good!!

And to PaulH - your missus has got an excellent name!! And although I CAN turn on this pc, I tend not to wander too far from the WDW sites!!

So "Happy Planning" Debbie!


Lorraine

 

[FHWC]

Hi LorraineH

Great website address many thanks, its getting easier to plan the holiday.

These boards are great. I am hooked - should be working.

Debbie

 

[coppertop]

We last went in October 2000 and agree with the others that the weather during the day was hot, but cooled down considerably later on in the evenings, but could still wear shorts and t.shirts up until about 9.00 most evenings. On our first day, the temperature only hit about 72F and the Floridians were wearing their jackets and complaining how cold it was. It did warm up in to the 80's after the first day, and we had no problem swimming in the heated pools at Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, although only managed to dip a toe in to the unheated villa pool (the boys, then aged 6 & 4, were much braver).

Going again in October this year as we thought the conditions were ideal for children - not TOO hot during the day, cooler in the evenings, and queues generally no longer than 20 minutes.

The only park we had to make a special note of was MK. We noted that the fireworks and evening parade were only held at weekends. We made our first trip on the Saturday and the park was pretty busy - we did have to queue longer than 1/2 hour for most rides, but went again a few days later when the park closed at 7pm and the queues were much shorter.

Have a great time - I know you will!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hello and welcome

October and May - they are our favourite time to visit Florida. October we've been for the last two years and MNSSHP really is a must. There's something for everyone for the evening and you can dress up (very cheap excellent costumes from WalMart) or not if you don't feel like it, there's no prizes for either, just feel comfortable. Only 20,000 tickets are sold for the event, so you know it's not going to be too busy, although as everyone arrives roughly at the same time for opening, it may look bad. We went in early last year and were given wrist bracelets and told to head over to Tomorrowland, so we got to ride on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear time and again with no queues - brilliant.

Universal's horror nights can be a little scary for the littler ones, but it's brilliant too, gets very busy and sells out very early, specially the middle of October because there's Columbus long weekend bank holiday in the middle weekend so quite a few Americans stay for longer that week. It can get very busy in the parks around that time, so think ahead

The weather is lovely - in the mid to high 80s, not too humid (at least not compared to May when we've been) and hardly any rain (saw one hours rain last October and not even that the year before ).

The parks hours were extended until about 9pm last year when we went - I think last minute decisions are made when they see the levels of the crowds, but I don't see this year would be any earlier.

We love Busch Gardens and last year's visit was not a disappointment. My DD (then 10) had discovered "proper" rollercoasters the year before (Scorpion in BG - nothing too scary, but for her it was a new venture!) and loved the rides there last October. So much that she went on Hulk in Universal's IOA on her own (I eventually went on, well, wasn't going to be shamed by my 10 year old, was i ). It's an hour and half drive (easy) to get there and IMHO the animal and gardens side is better than Disney's AKL. There's something for everyone. I think some people are disappointed with BG because it doens't have the same smiley "have a nice day" ambience as Disney . . . bit of a relief really

You are all going to have such a great time. It will not compare in any way to DLP, it's so much better

 

[sharon78]

I know the tickets for MNSSHP dont go on sale until the end of April,but where can you buy them from, over the net or is it best to phone for them.Were wanting to go on the 31ST
and i think this night sell's out pretty quick.

Thanks