Is it realy busy late October

[jdkdorn]

We are looking to go home for the first time Oct 22-30 2004. This is during the MNSSHP and I think the Epcot food & Wine. Is it really hard to get a 1bdr. BCV is my home resort so I will have the 11 month window.

My second question is how do you figure your 11 month window? Is it done by days or if you are leaving Oct 22 you can start booking Nov 2 of the year before?

I am new to DVC and want to understand it. If this is in our member book I will wait till I get it.

Thanks for your help,

Judy

 

[kdonnel]

We went to the MNSSHP a few years ago. The parks were great. They actually seemed as crowded as an earlier trip in July but that was because no one was in line. Everyone was walking from ride to ride. It made everything seem crowded until you got to the next ride and just walked on.

At the time we were not DVC members but stayed at the BC. The villas were still under construction.

The 7-month and 11-month windows start from your check-out date not check-in date.

Thus far I have used one of the many programs written by others on the board to calculate when my windows are for trips I have planned.

 

[jdkdorn]

Does anyone have one of those lovely programs mentioned above?

Thanks

 

[paults]

If your check-out date is Oct 30 you can start making your ressies on Nov 30.
Whatever day is your check-out (example 14 or 23) you can make ressies on the same day the following month (14 or 23)

 

[DebbieB]

If you have dates you think may reserve quickly, you can also go day by day. For example, if you are arriving Oct 25, you can call on Nov 26 for the first night (Oct 25 checks out Oct 26) and call daily until your reservation is completed. This is really only necessary for grand villas, Boardwalk standards or holidays, but if you are concerned you can do it for peace of mind. Tell them you are doing it so that they can hold your confirmation until the last day.

 

[TiggerFreak]

jdkdorn,

We have been visiting WDW in late Oct and early Nov for the last 6 years and find it to be a wonderful time of year to visit
Attendance levels are 70% of peak times during the summer and the added benifit of MNSSHP and the FOOD&WINE festival mean that we will probably be there at that time of year for until 2042

Another bonus is the temperatures in the mid 70's and lack of regular daily rain showers.

Maybe I should shut up about the virtues of Oct/Nov lest the masses also become enamored of these times as well

 

[Lisa D]

We have done late October/early November trips three times. Never encountered any crowds except Saturday nights at Food & Wine Festival (it was a beautiful evening, I think a lot of locals were there) on MNSSHP on Halloween night (I would do the party again but not on the actual night of Halloween - it was packed!). This year my oldest son will be in middle school so we are moving the vacation up to Columbus week so he'll only miss three days of school - I'm sure we'll encounter more crowds but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to avoid doing homework the entire trip!

To give another idea how not crowded it was the first Monday we were there - during our first hour at MGM we rode Rock'n Roller Coaster three times and Tower of Terror once!

Lisa D

 

[debbiebones]

Wow, after reading this, I'm really starting to rethink our decision to go a year from now during Presidents' Day week. We were originally going to do that but sounds like there are bigger crowds that week. Since our daughter will only be in Kindergarten, now I'm thinking we'll try for late October or early November for our first trip home.

Now the question is, will I be able to get ressies at that time since we are just now signing our papers.

Is it still pretty warm in early November...like shorts and swimming weather?

Thanks,

Deb

 

[erikthewise]

I can tell you that on Oct 31, 2002 (a Thursday), Epcot and MGM were all but empty.

I went to Test Track at noon. I'm not sure how much of a wait there was in the standard entry line, but it didn't seem to be very long. Since I was by myself anyway, I used the single rider line, and walked all the way in to find one (count him, one!) other person waiting for a briefing room.

RnR midafternoon was 5 minutes. Fantasmic was less than 70% full. Afterward I walked back to Epcot, and 30 minutes before Illuminations I could still easily get a front row spot on Showcase Plaza.

 

[jkscpa]

When I changed my reservation last week from a studio to a one-bedroom, they still had rooms available. The CM made is sound like there was plenty of room, because I asked about space for some DVC friends that may be coming during the same time frame. Our reservations are from 10-11 to 10-25. I checked for the following week as well, and there was still space. Maybe we will see you there....

Good Luck!!

 

[mickeyc]

We took one of our five trips last year in Oct. It was the first time during this time of the year and it was great. Although the crowds were less the parks closed earlier. We enjoyed the wine ane food festival. The weather is cooler and not as humid as Aug. when we usuallly go to WDW.

I tried booking a DVC resort in Sept. and was not succesful. There were various reasons why we had to wait to book one month prior to a check-in date. I learned that in addition to the various activities during this time of year many companies hold conferences during this period. The result is we stayed at Port Orleans. I think if you try to book your dates now you should be able to get something. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Lesley]

jkscpa...thanks for the update on availablility for Oct 2003! I'm anxiously awaiting the 7 month window to try BCV on the 25th and 26th. Good to know there are still rooms available!

 

[kgforce]

We've been in late Oct for MNSSHP and the Food & Wine Festival for the last two years -- non-DVC, though.

In 2001 it was great -- superb weather, actually kind of cool some days.

This last year, though, the weather was kind of miserable. The crowds were fine, but it was HOT and humid. (we're from around Houston, so we know heat/humidity!). It was getting to the upper 80's / low 90's. It kind of took the fun out of it with two small kids (2 yr old and 8 month old). The wife and I could handle the heat, but it was pretty tough on the little ones.

The one neat thing that happened to us then was that we got to meet THE WIGGLES. They were there filming some stuff for the Christmas Day Parade, believe it or not. DS and I ran into them at the AK in the morning, DW and MIL ran into them at MK later that day, then all of us wound up having dinner at Boma that same night. What a coincidence!

See our Wiggles Pics Here!

All in all, though, late Oct. is a great time to go!!