How busy is EPCOT during LAST weekend of F&W?

[iwannbindisnee]

I just realized that we are planning to be down in WDW for the last weekend of the F&W. I was wondering why I had to waitlist for SSR on a Sat night & then it hit me-maybe F&W still going on! Sure enough it is.
We have never been ( on our "TO DO " list, just not this trip!) but we are down there primarily to let my DH & friend do the Exotic Car driving experince on 11/10.
I am hoping my 2Bdrm SSR waitlist comes through, but now I am concerned it may not... (I have checked every studio, 1 Bdrm & 2 Bdrm at every DVC resort-nothing open for 11/8-9!)
I know its popular with DVC members, but is it crazy busy just in general b/c it is the last weekend?
Thanks for any insight... Debbie

 

[ToddyLu]

Only Epcot is busy for F&W. I have not noticed more guests at the resorts...they try to keep DVC full 100% of the time. The only thing that will affect you is trying to get an ADR at Epcot on evening EMH days (Fridays in the past). I would definitely make my ADRs ahead. So if you avoid Epcot on the weekend you should be OK.

 

[ToddyLu]

More than likely the first MVMCP will be that weekend and they will begin lighting the Osborne Lights that weekend, too. Christmas ramps up around that time.

 

[lawgator]

I just realized that we are planning to be down in WDW for the last weekend of the F&W. I was wondering why I had to waitlist for SSR on a Sat night & then it hit me-maybe F&W still going on! Sure enough it is.
We have never been ( on our "TO DO " list, just not this trip!) but we are down there primarily to let my DH & friend do the Exotic Car driving experince on 11/10.
I am hoping my 2Bdrm SSR waitlist comes through, but now I am concerned it may not... (I have checked every studio, 1 Bdrm & 2 Bdrm at every DVC resort-nothing open for 11/8-9!)
I know its popular with DVC members, but is it crazy busy just in general b/c it is the last weekend?
Thanks for any insight... Debbie

It is the weekend before a holiday (for some), Veteran's Day on November 11. Also, there is a race in the early part of the weekend that significantly impacts availability. My family will be there that weekend, too, and I've been checking availability frequently. Nov. 7 and 8 have shown even less availability than the 9 and 10, probably because of the race. Good luck.

 

[vicki_c]

We've been to F&W that weekend a few times (it's my anniversary around the same time). Epcot WS will be very crowded on Saturday afternoon and evening. Friday was crowded, but didn't seem as bad as Saturday. I have a photo somewhere of Saturday around 4-5 PM looking down the hill towards the UK pavilion and you can't see the ground anywhere. Just a mass of people pretty much shoulder to shoulder!

 

[beccasmom]

We arrive on 11/10. We could not find anything on 11/9. We have visited at this time before and knew it might be challenging. This year I was able to snag a great SWA fare, so I really wanted to take advantage of it. My choice would have been to arrive on 11/9, but it's all good.

 

[drusba]

We went to Epcot Sunday, Nov 10, 2013. It was the largest crowd I had ever seen in Epcot except for New Years Eve. The other parks we hit that weekend, Studios on Sat and MK on Monday, were crowded but not overwhelming.

As far as DVC room demand, it is the last weekend of F&W, the Friday begins Christmas decorations in the parks, the F&W half marathon is Sat and for 2014 it is the end of Jersey week. It was one of the extremely high DVC demand times when things at 7 months were very difficult to find.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Thanks for the input so far everyone! I forgot about MVMCP & even a race....We'll avoid EPCOT! So Waitlist might not acme through...OH well,we'll handle it. Debbie

 

[mom_rules]

Yes, the last weekend of F&W is also the 1/2Marathon Wine and Dine-basically runs the weekend. Registration is on the Friday, 5K at Animal Kingdom on the Saturday morning and the actual 1/2 marathon is run at 10pm Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Last year it was packed! There were over 20,000 runners....these are not small events. If you plan to use your DVC during this weekend you need to take advantage of your 11 month booking window.

This is from Disney Sports News last year (2013)-

"More than 20,500 runners are expected to register for weekend races, including 14,000 for the nighttime half marathon, increasing the number of registered runners for runDisney races in 2013 to more than 175,000 – a single-year record for runDisney, which has seven event weekends. Last year more than 125,000 runners competed in runDisney’s seven event weekends at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort."

 

[DebbieB]

I was there that weekend last year, Epcot was crowded. I noticed on the last day, many of the food choices were sold out. I guess they didn't want to be stuck with leftovers.

 

[luckyman_apd]

We went in 2012 during Jersey week....which is the last week/weekend of F&W. I can tell you Wednesday night and Thursday night were fantastic. Very low crowds....waited no more than 2 or 3 people in front of you at any of the food kiosks. Come Saturday and Sunday it was CRAZY....ALL the kiosk lines were full of people inside the ropes they set up to wait in line. We did not stay long. I can't say about the Friday night as we were at the MVMCP. All the other parks were not busy at all...aside from the normal uptick on weekends.

 

[luckyman_apd]

We went in 2012 during Jersey week....which is the last week/weekend of F&W. I can tell you Wednesday night and Thursday night were fantastic. Very low crowds....waited no more than 2 or 3 people in front of you at any of the food kiosks. Come Saturday and Sunday it was CRAZY....ALL the kiosk lines were full of people inside the ropes they set up to wait in line. We did not stay long. I can't say about the Friday night as we were at the MVMCP. All the other parks were not busy at all...aside from the normal uptick on weekends.