It's Over! Dissers Oct Secret Is No More!

[K P & J's Grandma]

We were there Oct.14 -21. This is the 3rd year in a row that we have gone during this time frame. This time it was hot, humid & crowded. Our fastpass for Soaring was 5 hours & for Everest was 3 hours. Loved Everest, lucked out & got the front row!! Lines were long at the F & W -- in someplace it was a 'struggle' to get past the food stands.

By the way --- I had a cold before we left - got worse & ended up going to a walk in clinic - left the clinic 3 hours later with $160 office call & $240 in medicine for bronchitis!! We also went on a swamp airboat ride, which we both enjoyed even though I stepped on some 'fire ants' . Also got 'hives' during the week. YIKES

We did a lot of just hanging out people watching. Good thing it was only Grandma & Grandpa this trip!!

Hopefully next October will be better when our whole family goes.

 

[Jackatkc]

I went the first time last year in late Oct. There were no lines anywhere. We never even had to use fast pass.

We got here this year on Sat. night and are leaving tomorrow. It's amazing how much busier it is. The only time the crowds are somewhat low is the first hour the park opens. Last year it did not start getting busy until noon or so.

We plan on going again next year and are trying to decide if the first week of Dec, Jan or Feb is the best time to go. I can deal with not perfect weather, I can't deal with 30 to 45 min waits for a 2 minute rides. So Oct. is out for us also.

 

[AllNamesTaken]

Blewits - Did you use a touring plan or just wing it?

 

[coolspot]

Hmm interesting, I thought the lines at MGM were quite short - I didn't have to wait longer than 10 - 15 minutes all the attractions at MGM this past saturday.

Mission:Space at Epcot had ZERO people in line ... Soarn' on the otherhand had a 65 minute wait. Weird.

 

[cruiserkaren]

These attendance patterns are quite interesting. Most of us love to go when there are low crowds. If there are now crowds, when there weren't before...does that mean that the normal crowded times are less crowded or are people just going to Disney more. If it's the latter , than DW should be raking in record profits.

And that begs the age old question:

When is the best time to go to DW?




Answer : As soon as possible.

I love this!

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Mission:Space at Epcot had ZERO people in line ... Soarn' on the otherhand had a 65 minute wait. Weird.

That's not really unusual at all. M:S just isn't a very popular ride, for what was supposed to be an epic E-ticket. Now that it's several years old it's even worse, because the "I've never seen it before" crowd is dwindling (of those that would actually consider it).

Awhile back when they installed the "green" version wasn't because of the death (that was a pre-existing heart condition), although for publicity it worked out conveniently that way. The truth is, the chamber they have dedicated to "green" now was simply sitting not being used, because they were never running enough capacity to use the other side.

As to the original topic, though, I hope people aren't going to let some anticdotal reports on a message board "worry" them. When coming to DIS makes you MORE anxious about your trip, instead of less, like it's supposed to, then it's time to take a step back.

The crowds are NOT like the summer. Is it dead? No, it's NEVER dead at WDW anymore. The travel downturn is over - WDW is more popular than ever. But it's all relative - the busiest day in October isn't going to compare to the slowest day in July.

Go. Have fun. If there are lines, work around them. It can be done. Don't stress out - it's DISNEY!

NED

 

[tinkernelllec]

Oh, leaving today for our trip, here's hoping after Halloween is better!!!!

 

[BlindTyldak]

We were there Oct 22-25 in 2004, and it was PACKED packed packed. At the time though I guess a lot of people had rescheduled their trips for then that they had missed due to the string of hurricanes. We'll be there now Nov. 3-11, and I'm hoping the first part of the trip will be slow because there was no severe weather, but with these reports . . .

 

[austin&pipermom]

We were there Oct 15-20. It was our first time to disney. We did not think it was bad at all. We did not have to use fastpasses because all the rides were less than 20 min. wait. Except one ride which did not have fastpass. It was Nemo which we rode it the day after it opened to the public. We did F/W on tues as soon as it opened. Either the booths were walk up or 3 or less people in front of us. I am glad it was not too busy because DH does not like/will not stand in line for anything. And yes we went on all the major rides in all the parks except Mission Space.

 

[blewits]

Blewits - Did you use a touring plan or just wing it?

Yes and No - I had a loosely structured plan of what we were going to do.

This was about or 6th trip in the last 8 years so, we just kinda winged it in a planned sort of way! We didn't feel the need to see 'everything' this time around because we have seen most everything. We did get fastpasses for the things we really did not want to miss (i.e. Soarin, Splash Mtn., Space Mtn.) but weren't able to use the fastpasses for Rockin' Roller coaster and TOT because it ended up conflicting w/something else. (btw, gave them to a lovely British family and they were thrilled!)

Anywho, it didn't really bother us because if the line was to long, we just skipped it and came back later to check it out. The only thing I didn't get to ride this time that I was disappointed about was TOT, Rockin' Roller and of all things; Peter Pan in MK. Everytime we walked by it, it was about a 40 - 50 minute wait. I didn't want to waste a fast pass on it. I know it's stupid but I hate to wast FP's on "continuous load" rides if I don't have to. And I mean c'mon - its Peter Pan for pete's sake!

I was just surprised at some of the lines stand by times. When we got a fast pass for Soarin' at about 1:30 in the afternoon, our return time was from 7 to 8. I mean, it was just crazy. Of course the 60 minute lines were for the bigger attractions.

The F&W festival lines were really bad and someone said earlier, it was hard just to navigate WS because of the crowds. I agree.

It didn't bother us that we missed things because we have done them before and will do them again. I just think that next time we will do it in Feb or Nov maybe. I got spoiled when I first started going in Oct and the longest line I had ever seen at that time was like 25 mins.

We still had a great time. Enjoyed the slower pace at which we did things, etc. Mama (me) had a great time the last day when she realized that the Wine part of the Food and Wine festival was a VERY GOOD THING!!! I wish I would have discoverd that on our FIRST day in Epcot!

sorry to be so long.

wendy

 

[Merriwind]

We were there Oct. 13-17 and had crowd shock too. FL had no school on the 13th, so we were prepared for some crowds that day and over the weekend. Saturday--oh my! We were out of Epcot by 1pm. It was too crowded to move in WS. We love F&W, but not enough to wait through queued lines that looked like Dumbo to eat four bites of food. Seriously, some lines had to be 15-20 minutes--for a food sample! Sunday through Tuesday was better, but overall, crowds were easy to find!

 

[Jennasis]

I am praying the crowds thin out by November 9th when we arrive...but I also hear that it's Jersey week (plus Friday the 10th is Veteran's Day), so I may be in trouble.

 

[cnids00]

We have stayed with our pattern of going in September, even next year we are planning for the same thing, this year we thought it was little bit busier the previous years, the free dining plan is such a good deal that many families change their plans but still September is it for us.

Oh, we did orginally schedule of trip for first week of December this year but we didn't go in -05 and we decided we couldn't WAIT that long

P.S we were not on the dining plan though, we rented points for our first stay at OKW this trip (and loved OKW!) so we ordered grocery delivery and decided not needed to buy the DP.

 

[everest]

My DD goes to a year round school and gets two and a half weeks for a fall break. The last few days of September and the first two weeks of October. She gets a normal holiday break three and a half weeks for Spring Break and 5 weeks for Summer Break from mid June till the 3rd week in July. I find more and more schools going to this type schedule. I just wish that the year round schools would stager their schedules a little or we will all be going at the same time.

 

[kakiegirl]

Well I am from Georgia and I know our school system was out for fall break from October 19th-23rd and just out of DD's class three kids were headed to Disney. We were there Saturday-Monday and did the parks on Sunday and to me the crowds were heavy but not that bad (of course I am used to going in June and July). We had a list of rides we wanted to do because we were trying to do alot in one day. We opened Epcot and went straight to Soarin, then Test Track and Mission Space and did not have to wait in line for any of those. Then we headed to Animal Kingdom grabbed a fast pass for Dinosaur, but I think standby was just 20 min, went over and only had to wait about 10 min. for Primveal Whirl then road Dinosaur and we were back at our resort for a break at 1:30 p.m. We headed over to MK at 4:00 p.m. and it was crowded but that did not suprise me with it being EMH night. We road, BTM, POTC, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Light Year, Stitch and did Mickey's Philharmagic. We did get a fast pass for Splash Mountain and BTM. The only thing on our DD's list we did not get to was Peter Pan, but unless you go first thing in the a.m. there is always a long line for that ride.

 

[pantherlj]

There is also a trend for more schools going to a "year round" schedule instaed of traditional schedule. This will mean more kids on vacation in the fall (and winter!)

 

[mirlow]

We just got back late last night. We arrived on the 20th. This was our first time going in October. We have gone in Aug, Jan and April. I was surprised by the crowds. We went went some friends that were going for the first time and they had touring plans. Even though it seemed like there were a lot of people we never really waited too long to ride the rides. Yesterday at SpaceMtn it was about 10 minutes @ 1:30 and a 25 minute wait @ SplashMtn at 3 and that was the longest we waited all week.
There just seemed to be a lot of people at the parks and resorts.

I just wasn't prepared for the extremes in the weather!

 

[DisneyWorldWisher]

That's awful!

We went September 24th (arrived that night) to Oct 3rd (left that afternoon).

On September 25th...there were no crowds at MK! Walk on to almost everything...we had almost the entire park done by 1:00pm!

On September 26th, Epcot, we got there an hour late and once again, almost no lines!

September 27th, Disney-MGM Studios...not many lines but then again...we never really went on any attractions that had lines! All we seen were shows.

September 28th, Animal Kingdom: WOW! We got there TWO hours late and there were N O lines. Kilimanjaro was only 10 minutes...the trails were empty...no line for Rafiki's...at around 12:45pm Dinosaur had a 25 minute wait but a CM approached us and gave us fastpasses.
At 2:00pm there was a 5 minute wait for Kilimanjaro.

The longest line we seen was for Kali River Rapids...45 minutes at 2:30pm.
We went on Dinosaur again with no wait.
And Expedition Everest with no wait at 4:00pm! (Though I chickened out and let the rest of the party go on while I stayed behind) Then we did Kali 4 times!

Then after September 28th the crowds increased tenfold. So...maybe late September is the new slow time!

 

[blewits]

Well I am from Georgia and I know our school system was out for fall break from October 19th-23rd and just out of DD's class three kids were headed to Disney. We were there Saturday-Monday and did the parks on Sunday and to me the crowds were heavy but not that bad (of course I am used to going in June and July).

Well, you were luckier than we were. We did Epcot on the 21st and it was a nightmare, granted we only ever go in the fall or nov/dec season. my husband cant do temps. in florida summer. we drove in from georgia, so we didnt get into epcot until about 1:00 or so.

Obviously I live in Georgia too but my kids don't get a break in October. 2 counties over they do however. . .

3 of the kids in your childs class were headed for Disney? WOW! We pulled ours out of school for 3 days - I know, the shame of it!!!

wendy

 

[teentoddlermom]

My take on crowds, is that there is really almost no time of year in WDW that it is really not crowded. Unless the world goes into a deep recession or world war, there are always people with money and time to spend on a good vacation. And you can't get much better than a trip to Disney. They just do it right. Clean, safe, entertaining parks, great restaurants, terriffic transportation, endless types of other activities to experience other than theme parks, and the list goes on. Thanks to Michael Eisner, the dream to create a complete destination for families with all $ being spent in Disney is now a reality. I really think the only slow time is the first bit of September. Everyone is in school then, and it has just started so no families will pull their kids out. It would be a great time to visit for families without kids or preschool kids, or retirees. Every other month has some type of festival to bring in vacationers. January, MLK weekend and the Marathon, Feb, March and Apr have some weeks with spring breaks, by May southern states are out of school, all the other summer months are packed, October and November have a lot of fall school breaks, and December has Mousefest, Pop Warner, and Christmas! Let's face it, Disney REALLY is a popular place to visit. We'll just have to start dealing with more people. Maybe we could set an example by being really nice to all the less than nice people we encounter. Maybe our Dis niceness will rub off and we won't mind the crowds so much. I'm rambling here...sorry!