In light of Irma...

[focusondisney]

I've never gone in September because I know that plans being up in the air like that at the last minute would really stress me out. Anticipation is part of the vacation experience for me, and I just couldn't relax with hurricane worries. I always figured that's why they had free dining in September - to coax people to go because so many felt the same way.

I do think that climate change will bring more and larger storms in general, so I will continue to avoid that time.

I think you are exactly right. I am pretty sure Disney first offered free dining the year after the 3 hurricaines hit Florida ( which thanks to this thread I know was 2004!). So free dining started in 2005 to entice people to book in September again. Tourism took a hit after 9/11. Then a few years later, the 3 hurricaines. And then the economy slid in 2008-9. So free dining kept hotels booked during the slow times of year.

We have been going to DW since 1995. Free dining was not offered when we started going.

 

[LeahA]

You can never be sure on the weather, no matter what month you go. We went in June of 2015 and it was perfect. We went in June of 2016 and there was some tropical storm in the gulf and it rained so much during our trip. I would book what's best for you and just know you can cancel if something is happening close to when you go.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I spent two weeks in Disney in September right after 9/11 (it was our honeymoon and we had been married on 9/15). I have never seen it so empty ever. For one of extra magic hours evenings in the Magic Kingdom there were like 350 people in the park total (not counting employees). We rode Splash Mountain basically on a loop.

I don't remember the weather being anything other than beautiful those two weeks.

 

[Kaytie]

Six is correct. Math was never my strong point . . .

Math is my strong point, and I recently did something similar. I asked if the project I'm working on is expected to last the predicted six months. My supervisor said it should run through the end of December. It started at the beginning of August, so I said, "yup, that's six months...and counted it out on my fingers. I only got to five

Good thing it doesn't involve math!

 

[Colleen27]

It isn't going to stop me. DH & I have been talking about an adults-only trip for years, and we're thinking next year is it because if we wait any longer our teens will both be out of the home (college freshman and HS junior) and then we'd have a harder time making arrangements for our 4th grader to get to/from school. Our anniversary is in Sept and he gets a 4-day weekend for Labor Day so he wouldn't need to use much vacation time for the trip. So off we go.

I think you are exactly right. I am pretty sure Disney first offered free dining the year after the 3 hurricaines hit Florida ( which thanks to this thread I know was 2004!). So free dining started in 2005 to entice people to book in September again.

Yep. Our very first family Disney trip was during the first free dining offering, late Sept of 2005. Back then, it was the "hurricane season special"; it was only later that it expanded to other times of the year.

 

[focusondisney]

It isn't going to stop me. DH & I have been talking about an adults-only trip for years, and we're thinking next year is it because if we wait any longer our teens will both be out of the home (college freshman and HS junior) and then we'd have a harder time making arrangements for our 4th grader to get to/from school. Our anniversary is in Sept and he gets a 4-day weekend for Labor Day so he wouldn't need to use much vacation time for the trip. So off we go.



Yep. Our very first family Disney trip was during the first free dining offering, late Sept of 2005. Back then, it was the "hurricane season special"; it was only later that it expanded to other times of the year.

Well I'll see you there then! We usually go the week after Labor Day, but Rosh Hasana is that week. I think some schools will have time off that week & it might be a little busier than normal. Plus the Saturday of Labor Day weekend is our actual anniversary. Since it will be our 40th, I figured we should go for the actual day.

 

[rajak73]

Hurricane Andrew hit in mid-August, Cat 5. I don't freak out over what the "possibility" of weather could be when I book any vacations or I wouldn't go anywhere. You know summer in the midwest, could "possibly" have a tornado, west coast, "possibly" a earthquake. I would book for September and not worry about it.

 

[NicholeB630]

We went last Sept like 2 days after Labor day. Literally the day we were flying out was when Irma was heading towards FL this year and I said thank goodness our trip isn't now. We had no hurricanes for our trip and it literally rained ONE day for our 9 night stay. I think its hard to predict and you just never know.

 

[tlmadden73]

It's Hurricane season, but would only really "affect" your vacation (like having to cancel the whole vacation and/or the parks close) if there is a major direct hit like this.

A lot of times these Hurricanes stay offshore and end up in just a lot of rain.

I went to WDW in last few days of August 2015 and there was a tropical storm (Erika) coming in and came near Florida. It caused rain every day (but no different than the typical summer weather there).

You cannot plan around the weather. Just plan and have expectations that things MAY get interrupted or changed.
It's like that up north. You can't plan around a snowstorm, but just be aware and prepared that a snowstorm could wreck your plans.

It's all about expectations.