Jersey Week timing for 2005? Dec. crowds?

[Sesame]

I'm trying to plan next year's vacation. I wonder if any of you Jerseyites could tell me when "Jersey week" will be in 2005, if you have your school calendars yet. We hit Jersey week this year and thought it was extremely crowded. I'm assuming the rest of November, Thanksgiving aside, would be less crowded. Though I've also been surprised about how many of the recent trip reports have talked about high crowds in December too. I wonder if crowds overall are just getting heavier at all times?

I have young kids and have flexibility about when we go. My only real criteria is low crowds, and I'm wondering what my best bet is. I've read Sehlinger's book, but don't think his past crowd estimates necessarily correlate to the experiences people are having this year. Any advice?

Thanks,
Sesame

 

[pumpkinboy]

Well, we're not from New Jersey, but went to WDW a week after "Jersey Week" and it was still crowded. Blame the pickup in travel and the pent-up demand from all those trips cancelled bcs of Hurricanes this year. Jersey week has not usually been all that crowded, just more ppl from New Jersey. Heck, if you go in mid-October, you run into school break in many parts of the UK, so you have more Brits than usual. And next year, with Yom Kippur falling on a Thursday, you will get non-Jewish kids from heavily Jewish school districts with extra days off; so the first weekend in October might bring more of these folks in.

Check the Unofficial Guide to WDW (2005 edition only) for crowd predictions during various time periods in the upcoming year. Clearly, they are extrapolating from past attendence, but they have been pretty close to on the times we've been there.

 

[sters]

We have our school calandar. It's the week of Veterans Day, whatever week includes November 11. The teachers convention is that Thursday and Friday. (It's a week later than in prior years.) I"ve been to WDW "Jersey" week, and it's more crowded than you'd expect for that time of year, but there were a lot of events: Food and Wine, Soap Opera thingy, and the Festivals of the Masters that also added to the crowds, particularly on the weekend. Avoid MGM on the Soaps day, unless of course you're into the soap stars, and MK on Sunday (an early entry day that year)... yikes!

 

[disneymom1]

For future reference, you can go to this website to find out when NJ week will be a couple years in advance.

http://www.njea.org/NJEAConvention/futuredates.asp

 

[Local_Girl]

It's also possible that the heavier attendance this fall was due in part to people rescheduling vacations they postponed as a result of the hurricanes this year. Not sure of that...but it's a real possibility.

 

[funcinderella]

I think Sept is a pretty good time to go, like the first two weeks. All of the kids are back in school. My parents went then one year, and it was empty (Although that was several years ago.)