How were the crowds Halloween week?

[riggins]

Hi guys-
We're thinking of going Halloween week next year and are curious to hear from those of you who've just returned how the crowds were. We've gone in October and November in past years and thought crowds were fine, but I've been reading a lot of reports about October crowds lately and I'm a little concerned.

Thanks
Leslie

 

[Brocktoon]

I was there last week, and Mon- Thurs it was EMPTY!! We were able to walk on any rides (including Soarin') up until around 11 AM at any of the parks. I actually took serveral pics in the parks just to remember how empty they were. After noon, the most I ever saw was ~20-30 minute waits for the big rides, but most were still 10 minutes or less. Soarin' had a posted time of 40 minutes, but was still ~20 min in reality

Things started getting a little more crowded Thursday night, and by Friday crowds were picking up probably due to Jersey Week. I noticed a lot of Jersey residents wandering around (I'm from near Philly so I can tell).

 

[madelinesmum]

We were there from the 28th through Nov 4th and the waits were pretty short. Now, the street, walkways were conjested and at parade time it got get crowded but I loved this time.
We've been in May, Dec. and October and this was by far, the greatest time for weather, crowds, etc. I loved MNSSHP! Not to be missed!

 

[mlill]

We pretty much walked onto everything. Soarin' had a posted time of 30 minutes the day we went, but we just walked right on. (I think it's because it takes 20 minutes just to get to the ride! LOL! That hallway is long!) We won Dream Fastpasses in MK and didn't really have to use them since the crowds were so light. The weather was gorgeous, too! It didn't rain the whole week we were there (only in the middle of the night a couple of times) and the temperature was in the mid-70's to low-80's. I love the end of October!!!

-Michelle

 

[cybrkitn]

Prior to this trip, I have only gone in the summer when it's really crowded. We were in the parks from 10/26-10/31 and it wasn't as crowded as in the summer months. I think of it as being along the lines of moderate crowds and workable. The lines were really no more than about 20 minutes, with the exception of maybe about 2 rides.

Madelinesmum is right about parade time. The parade route is always conjested prior to the parade coming through and after. It was very difficult for us to move around, especially with a double stroller.

MNSSHP on halloween night was terrific! Our first time and unfortunately, our DS4 fell asleep after being there for about an hour, hour & a 1/2. The parade is done twice and it was highly recommended by a CM to catch the 10:30 pm show where it's not as crowded. The fireworks show, HalloWishes, was shown on 10/29 (which was an EMH night for us) and again for MNSSHP. Most of the major rides are open during MNSSHP. If you plan on doing MNSSHP on halloween, make sure to get your tickets early. When I ordered them on the phone, I was told it's usually the first night to sell out.

October is also when The Food & Wine Festival is happening at Epcot. Make sure to hit Epcot during the week while the F&WF is going on. The locals usually come on the weekends and it is very, very crowded. One DISer posted that it felt like being packed in like sardines.

The weather was great. It was in the high 70's to mid 80's during the day and in the mid to high 60's at night. Make sure to bring a sweatshirt and pants to change into if need be for the early am and evening. It only rained one morning but cleared up prior to our leaving for breakfast at around 7 am.

Hope that helps you out with your planning.

 

[daisax]

We went two Halloweens ago and found the same thing -- very few lines, small crowds. Dining may be more of a hassle now than then, but all in all I think it's the best time of year to go!

I leave in 3 hours and just checked the weather for orlando -- looks like 80 degrees and sunny or partly cloudy the whole week. Yahoo!

 

[jordancej]

Normally i'm a december gal, but this was my first time during halloween. Went Oct 30 - Nov 2. Would do it again in a heartbeat! Crowds were nil, ride times very short, walkon on RNR, Tower Terror, Mission Space, etc. It rained on wed morning, but not for very long, and was very foggy on thurs morning, but other than that perfect weather!

Went to both MNSSHP 10/30 and 10/31, the 10/31 date seemed a little busier, but the rides were no waits. On 10/31, i had the splash mnt boat and the POC boat all to myself!! (first solo trip) Never made it to Space Mnt, not sure the waits then, just seemed that 10/30 was less busy, but still had a great time at both parties. Loved the parade and fireworks! Ready to go again!!

 

[STEPHILL]

We were there last week, it was great. The weather was great, too. We walked on pretty much everything or we had a very short wait.

 

[DisneyFan06]

We were there last week, it was great. The weather was great, too. We walked on pretty much everything or we had a very short wait.

I was at both EPCOT and Magic Kingdom on Oct. 28 (Saturday). The lines were not long at all, but the crowds were there. The longest wait I seen was 30 minutes at Test Track. Splash Mountain had only a 20 minute wait but it seemed to only be 8 minutes; in fact, they didn't use the normal line for this attraction because the wait was short.

 

[KimWDW]

In the mornings, everything was walk-on. In the afternoons we used FP for some of the bigger rides, but most rides were still only 5-10 minutes. We went to the MK on Halloween (Tuesday) and I have never seen it so empty. I think no one went during the day because so many people were going to MNSSHP that night. It was fantastic!

However, it all changed on Saturday. The weekend was incredibly crowded. I don't know why. Maybe the beginning of Jersey week? But during the week was empty. Great week to go!

 

[tc]

We were there from Oct 26, - Nov 5 and crowds went from crazy to non-existent in that time. The weekends were very crowded, with wait times on Sat, Nov 4, up to 75 minutes at Soarin and EE. Mon - Thu (10/30 - 11/2) were walk ons everywhere. This was a great time to go, but the weekends were a little out of control. Especially Epcot, but that was probably due to the F&W and Eat to the Beat concert.

We didn't do MNSSHP so I can't chime in there. However, we did talk to a family who went to the Princess dinner at Akershus on Halloween and said it was a ghost town. Their kids got great one-on-one with all the characters for about 2.5 hours. They said it was well worth it, and told us that we should go there on Halloween when our granddaughters are old enough.

 

[Schucraig]

We were there Oct.29-Nov.6. There were no crowds through the week. But, by Saturday the crowds started, even by monday in the morning MK was quite but, by lunch it was crowded!

 

[tinaluis]

The crowds were virtually non-existent weekdays. I'm not sure about weekends because we ALWAYS avoid the parks on the weekends. We were a little worried about MNSSHP on 10/31 but it was great!!!!! We've been to WDW at many different times of the year but have decided that it's going to be the week before Halloween and the week of Halloween from now on! We had a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aviva5675]

We were there 11/1= 11/6. ,Monday. The crowds were great before the weekend, then by Sat it was packed at MK. Weds, Thu and Fri we got there early at opening and walked on rides, or rode things twice (TOT, Everest, Dinosaur,). Got FP for other rides and walked back on later in the day. Sat at MK was awful, I thought, and by 1-130 we were cashed, and left. Wait for Haunted Mansion was 50 minutes at 1230. I'd go again Halloween week, but be gone by weekend. Or go after Jersey week is over.