jersey week crowds?

[disneydiva58]

Help please...We were planning to go to wdw on october 28th -nov 7th. Now some one on these boards said that this is "Jersey week". We wanted to do Halloween at disney and hit the food and wine festival.How crowded is it really going to be?.We are used to going down at the end of september or usually the week of columbus day.( My DH likes the slower seasons) Also Im going to book now for okw(home resort) but try to switch to bwv or bcv(studio) at the 7 month window. Do I have any chance of getting a studio at any of those? Any Suggestions...Thanks

 

[tjkraz]

This past year it was VERY busy. In addition to Jersey Week and the Food & Wine Festival, they also hold Super Soap Weekend on the first weekend in November. In 2003, during the first week in November every single WDW resort room was booked. I'm sure some of that was attributable to the Fairytale Package, but who knows whether that will be repeated in '04 or not.

If it were me, I'd go a week earlier in October. You still get darn close to Halloween, still have the Food & Wine festival, but don't have to worry about Jersey Week or Super Soap.

 

[jel0511]

I agree with tjkraz. I live in NJ and know MANY people who make NJ Week an annual visit. This year was just as crowded as any other year according to them. My guess is that a lot of people who usually stay off-site moved on-site due to the Fairytale Package, which made for a very crowded time. For someone who is used to going in low crowd times, you'll be overwhelmed!!!! Not only do you have NJ Week, you'll also have Halloween, and Super Soap Weekend during that time. That sounds like a recipe for TONS of people. If you really want low crowds, move the trip, because that week will not be what you are used to at all.

 

[CRobin]

Agree with the above posters.

In particular, Epcot is really crowded at night because of F&W and early closings at the other parks. Weekend nights are really bad at Epcot.

For some reason though, that doesn't stop us from going then every year. Love Halloween on the Boardwalk!

 

[willory549]

I guess I am going to stick my neck out and disagree...we went down November 8-14th and went into the parks 9th-13th....we utilized fast pass and never waited....anything we did not have fast pass for we waited no more than 15 minutes--we actually rode some rides back to back 2 and 3 times with it only taking the time it took to get through the ride to the starting gate....as for the "feel of crowdiness (is that a word;?)" it did not feel crowded--we actually avoided early entry days and went to the opposite park on those days.....we had ps for every meal and did the Fantasmic dinner package (well worth it)....as for our reservations we were not DVC members at that time so we rented points--can't help much there--our cm at the DVC club did tell us they were 100% booked--maybe the crowds were less IMHO because all the Jersey people stayed on property and there were vacancies off property....our party included myself and my DH, our children 6, 4 and almost 3 and my mom...just to give you an idea of the rides, shows we saw......hope this helps...

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by willory549
I guess I am going to stick my neck out and disagree...we went down November 8-14th and went into the parks 9th-13th....we utilized fast pass and never waited

Jersey Week was the week before that. The New Jersey school system is shut down for part of the week, which prompts many families to take vacations during that period.

It stands to reason that the crowds would be comparable to other off-season periods before and after this week, but during the infamous "Jersey Week", multiple reports indicated that every single WDW resort hotel room had been booked.

 

[Keggy]

Thank you tjkraz! I was just about to ask what the heck Jersey Week was!!!

Kelly

 

[willory549]

OOPS!, sorry about that, I post on another bulletin board and I was led to believe Jersey Week included Veteran's Day...sorry! I know all onsite accomadations were sold out the week we went 8-14th...we actually bought into SSR on the Thursday before we left and that is when they told us the whole place was booked....

 

[jel0511]

Actually NJ week occurs the week of Election Day EVERY YEAR. This is the week that the NJEA(teachers union) holds their annual convention in Atlantic City. The convention usually runs the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of that week. Since two of those days are during school days, they have negotiated with the schools to have school closed during those days. Some schools also are closed for Election day, since their facilities are used on those days. Some schools actually close for the entire week, to avoid opening, closing, opeing and then closing for the rest of the week. It depends on what district you live in, on how many days you'll get off. We get only the 2 days off here, with the other 3 days being "Early Release" days due to Teachers Conferences. It is a good week to get away from NJ, since everywhere else (except WDW) is uncrowded and usually off-season. We actually usually go to the Caribbean that week, since I actually prefer WDW in the summer. Just to let you know how many families travel down to WDW during that week, there were HALF of my DD's class out that week, and all of them (with the exception of my DD) were in WDW. That's pretty particular for the rest of the school as well. It was pretty funny!! I constantly heard of stories running into people you know all the time.

edited to add: Sometimes NJ week does "run in" to Vetern's day, thereby extending it. This year, it did occur, since Verern's day was the Tuesday after, and some people did decide to extend their vacations, most returned back bu the 9th though. Next year, with NJ week being so early, that won't happen next year.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

We just got back late Friday night. I have been there twice during "Jersey Week" and I thought the crowds were about the same! I thought it was supposed to be a very slow time to go, last week, but I really didn't see any difference. I just booked a trip, during "Jersey Week", next November. I work in a school and won't miss a week's pay like I did this past week. It's not worth it, the crowds were the same, IMO.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I don't like Jersey Year..... I never want to be there again during Jersey Week.

 

[MaMudduck]

We went last year ('02) and discovered , what Jersey week was. It was right in the middle of our vacation and it was a very noticable difference before & after in the crowds around "jersey week(end)". Last year also included Supersoap & Vetern's Day

Does anyone know the excate dates for Jersey Week this year (2004)?

 

[MicheleC]

I'm from New Jersey and this whole thing about "jersey week" is cracking me up...never really knew it was so well known that everyone here heads off to Disney during November. My daughter started kindergarten this year, but we took her out because we had already booked the end of October. I have to say that the crowds were large that week also. I think that time of year has just generally picked up large crowds. We are now moving our vacation to "Jersey Week" so we don't have to pull our daughter out next year so we'll see how it goes. I did notice that lots of people we met from school were heading to Disney, in our district we had the whole week off. It's interesting how time off in one state can make crowds pick up that noticably. I just booked my trip today so I'm looking forward to it!!

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Dates for the future NJEA Conventions:


2004 Thursday, November 4
Friday, November 5
Saturday, November 6

2005 Thursday, November 10
Friday, November 11
Saturday, November 12

2006 Thursday, November 9
Friday, November 10
Saturday, November 11

 

[crazywig]

call me insane but i'm not from jersey and booked oct 29 thru nov 5 of 2004 , knowing full well it was 'jersey week'

why? dh's bday is halloween and i want to celebrate it in the magic kingdom!

 

[pklein09]

...and we went Nov 1 - 8 this year. New Jersey schools are typically off for Election Day and that Thursday and Friday of the same week for Teacher In-Service (Convention in Atlantic City).

We were there (4 adults, 6 kids ages 1-7). We never needed a fast-pass and the longest line we waited in was 30 minutes for Kilimanjaro Safari. We literally walked onto Mission: Space, Journey to the Imagination, Snow White, the Carousel, Mickey's Philharmagic, Tiki Room, Aladin's Magic Carpets, Lion King Show, and a few others I can't think of right now. The average wait for us was approximately 10 minutes. Not bad, in my opinion.

Also, while waiting for the boat to take us back to VWL, a CM apologized for the boats, that their timing was off. I told him no problem, the kids were behaving and I was in Disney. He went on to say that the attendance levels were high for that time of year. I asked what "high" was? He said normally 14,000 for that Monday (11/3), but that they were close to 24,000. It didn't feel like 24,000 to me that day. And I felt we waited very little time in line.

Also, transportation was great that week. We rarely waited for anything - bus, boat, or monorail.

Go ahead and try Jersey Week. The weather was fantastic (mid 80s during the day, low 70s at night).

Best of luck whatever you decide and have a great trip!

 

[bigsis1970]

Not from NJ but going from 10-29 to 11-7 next year w/ my family to experience Halloween Disney style .. I have read quite a few post saying its was not really that busy during the week this year - but the weekened tended to be busier .

 

[KelNottAt]

I agree with pklein09. We were there this year, too. No problems. Mostly walk-on rides.