How busy Colombus Day/(Canadian)Thanksgiving Weekend for F&W

[petbren]

Going to try to book soon for Oct 9-13 for my 50th birthday celebration.
Anyone there this year?
Was it crazy busy?

Travelling with girlfriends, mostly non-Disney lovers, who don't really like crowds.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[jekjones1558]

"Crowded" is hard to define when you are talking about WDW. Friends we bring think it is always crowded even when it isn't. Depending on what and where you are trying to book, I would do it now. DVC rooms go fast for that weekend.

 

[petbren]

"Crowded" is hard to define when you are talking about WDW. Friends we bring think it is always crowded even when it isn't. Depending on what and where you are trying to book, I would do it now. DVC rooms go fast for that weekend.

Thanks.
I just booked a 1brd boardwalk view.
I had toyed with booking one boardwalk view and one standard view studio, but the SV studio was already sold out for the Friday.
I never knew you could put 5 in a 1 bedroom.
It says you would need to bring your own bedding and linens.
That means your own bed (air mattress/cot etc.) and sheets?
I wish they would just shove a little sleeper chair in the corner in these rooms.
I know it would be tight, but I still think it would be doable.

 

[jekjones1558]

Thanks.
I just booked a 1brd boardwalk view.
I had toyed with booking one boardwalk view and one standard view studio, but the SV studio was already sold out for the Friday.
I never knew you could put 5 in a 1 bedroom.
It says you would need to bring your own bedding and linens.
That means your own bed (air mattress/cot etc.) and sheets?
I wish they would just shove a little sleeper chair in the corner in these rooms.
I know it would be tight, but I still think it would be doable.

Yes, you will need to bring both the cot and the linens. There are enough pillows on the master bed to share.
The sleeper chair really would not work at BWV. I always push the regular chair into the corner if I sleep on the sofa bed and there would not be enough room to have both of them open at the same time.
I also just booked a BWV 1 bedroom starting 10/10 for DH and me. Are you sure that a grown woman is going to be okay on a cot or air mattress? It will likely have to go diagonally in the entryway. And you only get one shower and one toilet at BWV. Wouldn't an AKV or BLT 1 bedroom with the sleeper chair and extra bathroom work much better for your group?

 

[jekjones1558]

A 2 bedroom BW view room is actually the same points/day on weekdays and less points/day on weekends than the cost of a BW view 1 bedroom + a SV studio. A 2 bedroom would be SO MUCH better for 5 women and even with 4 women every person would have her own bed all to herself. But you should check to see if one is even available.

 

[petbren]

A 2 bedroom BW view room is actually the same points/day on weekdays and less points/day on weekends than the cost of a BW view 1 bedroom + a SV studio. A 2 bedroom would be SO MUCH better for 5 women and even with 4 women every person would have her own bed all to herself. But you should check to see if one is even available.

Thanks for the advice.
I doubt I would get 4 friends to go.
There may be anywhere between 2 and 5 total but more likely 4.
I am covering the cost of the room with our points, so if anyone can make it, and 5 end up coming, then we will rough it a bit
I am not willing to spend the extra points for a 2 bedroom, and my birthday is on the Sunday, and I really want to be there on "the day".
It is a long weekend for us here in Canada too, so it would mean we would have to book off less days of work then going mid week.
I have one friend who says she's in, but being so far away, and her job being unpredictable, it also may not happen.
My other friend will turn 50 the weekend before, and although she has always said she is in for the F&W trip, is already wavering.
It may just be DH and I, which is also ok.
I have the room now, so we'll see in 11 months how it all plays out

 

[Deb & Bill]

That's a holiday weekend for the US. So it is crowded. We found the F&W to be very crowded that weekend this year. Heck, it was crowded the entire time we were there.

 

[jekjones1558]

Thanks for the advice.
I doubt I would get 4 friends to go.
There may be anywhere between 2 and 5 total but more likely 4.
I am covering the cost of the room with our points, so if anyone can make it, and 5 end up coming, then we will rough it a bit
I am not willing to spend the extra points for a 2 bedroom, and my birthday is on the Sunday, and I really want to be there on "the day".
It is a long weekend for us here in Canada too, so it would mean we would have to book off less days of work then going mid week.
I have one friend who says she's in, but being so far away, and her job being unpredictable, it also may not happen.
My other friend will turn 50 the weekend before, and although she has always said she is in for the F&W trip, is already wavering.
It may just be DH and I, which is also ok.
I have the room now, so we'll see in 11 months how it all plays out

Have a fabulous birthday at WDW!

 

[patsal]

It was elbow to elbow in world showcase by 4pm...this year.

 

[elgerber]

Yes, you will need to bring both the cot and the linens. There are enough pillows on the master bed to share.
The sleeper chair really would not work at BWV. I always push the regular chair into the corner if I sleep on the sofa bed and there would not be enough room to have both of them open at the same time.
I also just booked a BWV 1 bedroom starting 10/10 for DH and me. Are you sure that a grown woman is going to be okay on a cot or air mattress? It will likely have to go diagonally in the entryway. And you only get one shower and one toilet at BWV. Wouldn't an AKV or BLT 1 bedroom with the sleeper chair and extra bathroom work much better for your group?

We always have a twin air mattress in a 1 bedroom, with the sleeper sofa open. It fits fine. We push the chair up against the studio door, and put the air mattress between the sofa bed and armoire, or this year, it actually went by the glass door. Not a lot of room to dance or anything, but it works out just fine.

 

[Denmage]

DW and I went for F&W this year (no kids!). We had a terrific time. Sure World Showcase was crowded, we expected that. Magic Kingdom was even a little busy, but nothing too surprising.

One thing we have learned as DVC owners is that we don't need to rush. We quit being "rope drop" people the minute we bought DVC. We always know we are going back, so there is no need to do anything but enjoy ourselves. Even our kids have the same attitude.

That said, it's not important to us to worry about long lines. We've pretty much seen it all. We just wait in line for a few rides and enjoying soaking up the Disney Magic. For example, we went to Epcot on Saturday of Columbus Day weekend at about 10 am. Soarin's Fastpasses were all gone. We had a 60 minute wait to get in. But we made the most of the wait and just talked for an hour, in line. Then enjoyed the ride. After that we wondered into the other ride in The Earth (for the umpteenth time) and looked at the plants.

We approached the F&W festival the same way. No need to go crazy. We enjoyed Beef Bourgonion and Creme Bruelle at France, Belgian waffles in Belgium, and Knockwurst in Germany. It was fun just to walk around and see all the sights and people watch.

Since we had planned ahead, we were able to get a 1 bedroom villa at our home, VWL.

All in all, it was probably one of our best weekends at WDW.

Have a great time.

Denis

 

[wiigirl]

It was elbow to elbow in world showcase by 4pm...this year.

About how it always is...

 

[soulmates]

The year we went that week, it was crowded. We stayed at Boardwalk, great place! We made the mistake of doing the MNSSHP on Columbus Day YIKES was that place a mad house. We did notice Epcot was more packed than usual, with the Wine & Food Fest. Expect lots of people but it's Disney so it's already going to be a great trip!

 

[LOVEARS]

Were there this year and the crowds were larger than I expected. World Showcase was very busy on the weekend evenings, but could have been worse. There were a few days where the crowd predictions (multiple) were completely off. Predicted 2.5 or green days were more like 8's!

Like someone else said, now that we are DVC owners we didn't stress over crowds and just enjoyed being at WDW.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[JessLCH]

We were there that weekend this year and it was much more crowded than I expected. We have traveled over Thanksgiving the past two years and I honestly felt Columbus weekend this year seemed almost as busy.

 

[natt]

From a local standpoint, I think it all depends on the weather. Went that weekend in 2011. Post tropical storm rain (3 of 4 days) kept local crowds down. Arrived this last time on Oct. 19 (Saturday). The crowds were so bad that I dissed the initial plan to spend all of day one in Epcot and attempt again early Sunday evening. That worked well and the remainder of the stay was tolerable. As long as the weather is pleasant, I think Saturday into Sunday will be busy any weekend. Just plan accordingly. Enjoy your celebration!

 

[petbren]

Enjoy your celebration!

Thanks to you and everyone who had thoughts about that weekend.

I went ahead and changed the dates from Friday-Tuesday, to Sunday -Thursday, home resort, BWV 1brm, BWV.
I really wanted to be there on "the big day", so kept the Sunday.
I think we will probably just chill that day, have a birthday dinner out, maybe at CG(if reviews get better).
Monday will probably be busy, but hopefully Tuesday,Wed,Thurs. will be better.
It's not really me I worry about crowds for, it's my friends, who don't get there as often as me, and will want to cram in as much as possible.
Honestly, I also want to show them that Disney is still fun, even if your kids are all grown up.