How busy parks Sept10-17

[jcarp27]

How busy will parks be on September 10-17 during the day.

 

[ruthies12]

I've been twice in mid-September, it was hotter than the surface of the sun and still extremely crowded imo. I'll personally never do September again, though I know there are a lot of people that swear by it

 

[macraven]

I will be at UO week after op listed

Expect heat and crowds due to hhn

You should zig when everyone zags to avoid the crowds

 

[mamapenguin]

Based on hotel rates I expect it to be very busy.

 

[jcarp27]

I know when we booked back in March I didn’t think of HHN. Now we don’t want to spend our whole week on long lines.

 

[vedamathews01]

I know when we booked back in March I didn’t think of HHN. Now we don’t want to spend our whole week on long lines.

We are there the same week as you. All of the crowd calendars say it will be low - but I know they aren't always accurate.

Still, hoping lines aren't too bad as we don't have an express pass.

 

[Koalayum]

I'm also going to be there the same week. Was hoping for lower crowds but the hotel availability sucks, so I'm expecting it to be busy.

 

[mamapenguin]

If you’re willing and able to do single rider that can help a lot.

 

[DarthEsquire]

One extra note for that week is that there is no HHN that Wednesday. I don't know if that may raise the crowd levels on Thursday. I know my group had booked our plans with the expectation of HHN on Wednesday but had to shift.

 

[vedamathews01]

One extra note for that week is that there is no HHN that Wednesday. I don't know if that may raise the crowd levels on Thursday. I know my group had booked our plans with the expectation of HHN on Wednesday but had to shift.

Do people typically make a full day for HHN (i.e., go that morning and stay through the night), or simply go at night?

Would IoA be less crowded on a HHN?

 

[mamapenguin]

Do people typically make a full day for HHN (i.e., go that morning and stay through the night), or simply go at night?

Would IoA be less crowded on a HHN?

I think it will be a mix, some will do both and others just the night. We will do the morning, take a rest break and go back in the afternoon and stay for HHN. We have Rush of Fear so we will be going 4 nights. Our first night will just be doing HHN based on when we arrive. IOA will be super crowded because of HHN, or at least that’s how it was last October when we were there.

 

[vedamathews01]

I think it will be a mix, some will do both and others just the night. We will do the morning, take a rest break and go back in the afternoon and stay for HHN. We have Rush of Fear so we will be going 4 nights. Our first night will just be doing HHN based on when we arrive. IOA will be super crowded because of HHN, or at least that’s how it was last October when we were there.

October makes sense, but I'm surprised that the 2nd full week in Sept would be busy. School will have just started back...I know HHN will add some crowds in Sept, but was thinking more locals and the real crowds would be in Oct.

I guess the real Q is, and not to hijack the OP, is an express pass needed in Sept? Everything I've read says "no", but it seems like this thread is saying the opposite.

TIA

 

[ClapYourHands]

It should not be that crowded during the day on weekdays. There will be people coming for HHN, but by and large, the locals who come for midweek HHN are not there during the day. Some people who are making a trip for HHN will be in the parks during the day, but if they’re smart, they will limit that time or they will be hurting and exhausted halfway through the HHN timeframe.

Moat US-based families will not be vacationing that week because it’s too close to the start of school. There may be some international families, though. Weekends will be crowded, and expect IoA to see a bump in crowds on HHN evenings, as people without HHN tickets go to the open park. We were there for HHN around that time last year, and daytime crowds were quite manageable. Even weekends during the day were much lower than summer crowds.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I guess the real Q is, and not to hijack the OP, is an express pass needed in Sept? Everything I've read says "no", but it seems like this thread is saying the opposite.

TIA

Mid-August through mid-September is about as low as weekday crowds get (weekends are always more crowded). If you go mid-September, there will be crowds and there will be waits, but that’s just because no time of year is walk-on season anymore. The crowds will be noticeably lower than peak times.

As for express pass, there are people who think you always need express pass, and would not go to the parks without it. While EP is nice to have, it’s not necessary, unless of course you’re one of the people who think it’s always necessary. We were there mid-September last year, and we had a great time without EP. One caveat is that as APs, we didn’t need to do absolutely everything, so we just checked the app, and rode whatever had a short wait (though we rope-dropped Hagrid’s every morning).