how do I avoid theme weeks...

[meeshkamooshka]

I was made aware of theme weeks like :The Food and Wine Festival , MNSSHP, , Jersey Week etc. ...from a helpful dis-er

Is there a place to find out what dates these events "exactly " take place so that I can avoid them when I visit?


Thanks
D

 

[tink1978]

Most of them will be listed on the official Disney website.

 

[jcriket]

If Disney sponsors them they will be listed on their site, but jersey week, and some others aren't. Food & wine, and Flower & garden aren't too bad as far as crowd levels, so don't be discouraged, the events might even be worth planning for. Neither is MNSSHP, and MVMCP for that matter, you pay extra for them, and unless you buy tickets you'd be avoiding them.

 

[meeshkamooshka]

here it is...

ok I got it thanks...does anyone know other theme dates and activities? ( is Jersey week)...is this when everone in New Jersey comes down...not trying to be funny....


THanks
D

 

[ParrotBill]

Boy that's not a very complete schedule. Some people will also want to avoid the WDW Marathon (October?), Race events (noisy, no parking as they ALL drive), and gay days (week and weekend following Memorial Day).

Not all events generate crowds as was said earlier - but the Marathon closes some area and makes getting around difficult... Race events are noisy for people at MK resorts and parking is difficult... and at gay days many are concerned about PDAs.

 

[meeshkamooshka]

thanks Parrotbill...

good info..
D

 

[disjointed]

My family and I went during Food and Wine Festival, and Epcot was AWFUL. So many drunk people, and the crowds were huge!

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Check out MousePlanet's WDW updates for a good start.

You're confusing a lot of things, though. The Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP are both events that take place from the end of Sept. through the end of October. The coupling of these two different month+ long events has led to an increase in overall attendance in October. October used to be "slow", it's not any more; it's not even "Value" season at WDW in terms of resort pricing, but "regular" season.

Jersey week is some extra vacation schools in NJ take...not sure of the dates. Google it perhaps. October is just generally a mid-level crowd month now, instead of low as it used to be. It's still nothing like summer or holiday crowds.

There is stuff like this year 'round, like Super Soap Weekends in November at MGM studios (where you can wait in line for eight hours for a CHANCE to get an autograph from someone like Susan Lucci), or the Star Wars Weekends every spring also at the studios. Gay days are in June, Marathon is in January...there's always something going on at WDW, offically or unoffically. Most of them don't have a great impact on crowd attendance;

The best advice is to plan around any *major* event, but then just get over it and go have fun. We spend so much time obsessing about crowd level predictions and such that we forget that even when it's busy, effective touring (getting there early, namely) can beat it all. Educate yourself to make sound decisions, but don't make decisions based soley around special events that may not even affect you at all.

For example, if you go over Super Soap Weekend, just don't go to MGM those days and choose another park. Jersey week doesn't increase crowd levels incredibly, just that a larger percentage will have that Tony Soprano accent as you walk around the park. Same for traditional holiday's in the UK, or Austrailia, where you will find a larger percentage of people from those places, not necessarily more people in general.

You'll be fine. Good luck!

NED

NED

 

[meeshkamooshka]

thanks Ned, good advicr..I guess Im a little concerned becuase i just went this past JUne..and it was soooo crowded and hot....wont do that again....

D

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

thanks Ned, good advicr..I guess Im a little concerned becuase i just went this past JUne..and it was soooo crowded and hot....wont do that again....

D

LOL well yeah, June is summer, summer means hot+busy at WDW. It's a given. But you've taken a good step in looking here.

I only travel during the off-season because I despise lines. I hate them, LOL. Crowds don't thrill me either. (Is it a wonder people look at me like I'm goofy when they know this about me yet I still love to go to WDW?)

Almost anything is going to be better than June. The busiest time of year is :

Mid-Feb through Mid-April (Spring Breaks, staggered)
June, July, August
Thanksgiving week
Christmas - New Years

Anything else won't compare. In another thread we were talking about October, and how it's not as dead as it used to be because of all the special events. However, the busiest day in October doesn't even begin to compare to the slowest day in the summer. It's still a great time of year to visit - and both the F&W Fest and MNSSHP are awesome experiences.

As long as you avoid those super-busy times, and keep an eye out for the major special events you'll do well. Like I suggested above, check MousePlanet for good weekly updates, and the calendar of events at AllEars for the whole year you can see.

As our old friend GI Joe said, knowing is half the battle...but in moderation. Because, again, even the busiest days in the off season (a 20-30 minutes wait at peak times on most major attractions, usually less) is not going to compare to busy times when ride waits can sometimes be over an hour (insane...I'd couldn't imagine).

Good luck!

NED

 

[meeshkamooshka]

thanks you thank thankyou for the proper perspective..will heed your addvice closly..thanks NED!
D

 

[Cool-Beans]

Food and Wine draws the drunks at night, but isn't bad during the day.

Flower and Garden is NO problem, and you get to see beautiful topiaries (sp?). I make it a point to go during F&G.

 

[BankBunny]

Food & Wine runs into November too. DH and mine's last 2 trips were in November a Food & Wine was still going on. Also the reason for Jersey week is that New Jersey schools are closed the Thursday and Friday of the first full week in November for the NJEA teachers convention in Atlantic City. So many people from New Jersey choose to go to WDW then because they only have to pull the kids out of school for 3 days instead of a whole week. I may live in PA now, but was born and raised in New Jersey and my first trip to Disney was during Jersey week for that very reason. Also, our last trip was during Jersey week in 2003 and I found the crowd to be no worse then when we've gone a different week in November. The only real difference is that about every third person you meet is from New Jersey,not that there is anything wrong with that, because personally you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take Jersey out of the girl

 

[meeshkamooshka]

Hello Bank BUnny,
what do you mean by the first "full week" would that be like NOv 6th -10th?

THanks,
D

 

[meeshkamooshka]

did a search on google and mousesavers came up it had this...

Jersey Week" - Usually the first or second week of November.
The New Jersey schools have a teachers' convention (upcoming convention dates: November 9-11, 2006; November 8-10, 2007; November 6-8, 2008). Lots of people pull their kids out of school for the whole week and add on the weekend before and/or after, taking this opportunity to go to Disney World in the "off season." New Jersey is the single biggest market for Walt Disney World -- you do the math!


THanks DIsers,
D