Help: late Sept. or early January?

[emh1129]

I need some help..
We are planning our FIRST family trip to WDW and I'm so excited!

We are trying to decide between Sept.26-Oct.6 or Jan.2-12.

I really don't like the heat, so I was thinking January might be best. But we also want really low crowds (doesn't everyone? ) because we have a 2 year old and a 4 year old, so long lines would just be torture.
We would have the free dining in September, so that would save a lot of money..

Basically, which time would you choose? The heat and crowds are what I'm trying to base this on, although the dining plan is a nice bonus, too.. (we wouldn't be able to afford it in January). We have been saving for this trip for sooo long and I want to make it as enjoyable as possible

Thanks!!

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

It will be very warm in Sept/Oct, but crowds will probably be a little heavier too. However, both times are a good time to go if you are trying to stay away from crowds.

You should also be aware on the other side of the weather coin: January can be nice, but it can also be quite chilly.

 

[emh1129]

You should also be aware on the other side of the weather coin: January can be nice, but it can also be quite chilly.

Thanks for your response

I've heard that it can get a little chilly.. but anything has to be better than the foot of snow we'll probably have here in CT

 

[jbdreamer]

You should go in September. Then you can take advanatge of Free Dining! And you can say hi to me! I'll be there Sept. 24-Oct. 1!
Here is a link for Free Dining

 

[Esteri]

Hi -

I've been at both times of year. Sept-Oct, and Jan. We really preferred Sept-Oct. Crowds are a little heavier than in Jan, but not much. (Disclaimer - last time we went was 2003, and my experiences are over a 8 year period attending about once every 2 years.) Sept-Oct is warmer, not hot. Pleasant, and just warm enough that you could go to the pool and not freeze. No swimming in Jan - too cold. We were wearing pants (no shorts), and wished we had brought more long sleeves. Crowds were very light in the Jan that we went.

During both times park opening times were also a lot shorter. Since we were going to the room for mid-day naps this made for early nights.

As for keeping the little ones entertained in line - bring small (wedding sized) bottles of bubbles. Ours loved blowing bubbles in line, it entertained all the nearby kids with popping them and no one ever gets mad at a kid blowing bubbles. We usually bring a box of 24 and make it a point to give away about 15 bottles. That's great fun.

 

[justplaingoofy]

Personally, I say Sept. This will be our 3rd sept and we love it... Minimal lines and if you want to go swimming/water park not a problem! We've been in january before and have been in jeans/sweatshirts for the week. And we didn't want to go on any rides that we might get wet on...

I say go sept and get the free dining!

 

[mdfdisney]

We went in January 2005 and really enjoyed the small crowds at the parks. However, this year we are going in late September so we can try out the water parks and water rides that we skipped in January.

I'm from Texas, so I don't care about the heat, just the crowds. I'm a little concerned about the free dining in September bringing more people to the parks. It is a mixed blessing - we had already decided on paying for the DP, so we are saving money, but there is bound to be more people there now that most meals are included.

 

[Lisa10]

We just went in January of this year. It couldn't have been more perfect. Very low crowd level, high seventies in they day - kids swam all the time, and sixties at night. Plus in January you don't have to worry about hurricanes. September is hurricane season. We went for seven days and had not one drop of rain.