Help me pick my dates!!!

[glohoffman]

Ok, I have finally convinced my husband of another Disney vacation, and I am shooting for fall of 2015. We would love to land free dining, as well as MNSSHP. Sooooo please give me advice on the best time to go! I am afraid of heat/hurricanes disrupting in september....would October be better? Like the week before Halloween? It looks like free dining has been offered the past couple years during this time. How are the crowds compared to September? We went in May this year (Second week) to give you an idea of what kind of crowds we are used to. I would love advice!

 

[Robo]

Ok, I have finally convinced my husband of another Disney vacation, and I am shooting for fall of 2015. We would love to land free dining, as well as MNSSHP. Sooooo please give me advice on the best time to go! I am afraid of heat/hurricanes disrupting in september....would October be better? Like the week before Halloween? It looks like free dining has been offered the past couple years during this time. How are the crowds compared to September? We went in May this year (Second week) to give you an idea of what kind of crowds we are used to. I would love advice!

October, the week before Halloween.

Crowds similar to Sept. and lower than mid-May.

 

[glohoffman]

October, the week before Halloween.

Crowds similar to Sept. and lower than mid-May.

Perfect thank you!

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

We go the last week of September into the first week of October. We get in under value rates, have been lucky enough to score free dining and get the MNSSHP. We also are there early enough to avoid the crowds from food and wine. The late September weather has never bothered me as being too hot and the crowds are extremely minimal.

 

[jcemom]

October free dining was extremely limited this year. If free dining is important to you, then I think you need to go with September. I don't recall the exact dates this year, but I think it started in very late August and ended in very early October. I have friends and family who picked the third week in October and then had to change their dates to get free dining.

 

[glohoffman]

yeah i looked at the last two years and the week before halloween is pretty much the only time free dining was offered, which is the only week in october we would choose anyway. Our other choice was the last week in september, i was just concerned about all of the rain.

 

[jcemom]

yeah i looked at the last two years and the week before halloween is pretty much the only time free dining was offered, which is the only week in october we would choose anyway. Our other choice was the last week in september, i was just concerned about all of the rain.

It wasn't the entire week before Halloween this year though, it was the week OF Halloween (the last week vs the third week of October) so be careful when you choose your dates. My friends and relatives were scheduled to arrive on the Sunday and Monday of the full week before Halloween (the third week) and it was excluded. I think it was the 19th and 20th, something like that. They could have moved up a couple of days if necessary, to the 18th, but they couldn't move into Halloween week because the kids would have missed a lot of stuff going on here at home -- school parties, trick or treats.

This year they cut out a couple of weeks from October that used to be included. My concern would be that next year they may cut more. The offer period seems to shrink every year. September seems a safe bet. October seems more iffy. It would be great if you could be flexible, and have a first, second and even third week of choice!