Just back-thinking of never returning

[SqueakyMouse]

Our fall break is next week. We go back to school in mid-August. Plenty of area schools return 1-2 weeks before us, so they'd be on their fall break already. Years ago, we only got a long, 4-day weekend for fall break; but, for the past 15 or so, we've gotten a full week.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sunday was not a MNSSHP night, there were EMH until 1:00am though. I just found everywhere getting busier as the week went on. Nothing terrible, just much busier than the beginning of the week.

I stand corrected. Sorry about that.

I will say though that I try to warn as many people as possible that the last week of September is not as slow as the first few weeks. We did that week a few years ago and it really was not what I would consider low crowd at all. I blame:

1) the opening of F/W and

2) It's the tail end of the early fall free dining offer. Many schedule for as late as possible into the window hoping to catch a break in the heat (wishful thinking) and wanting the kids to get a little settled into the new school year before taking them out.

 

[larryz]

DFNU, you'll get over it. Just give it time.

As for the parties, now that you've done it, you can say whether or not another party is in your future with confidence.

 

[Delirium]

Are we seriously complaining about the number of kids at a Disney theme park?

 

[bumbershoot]

It's so funny how different people have different perceptions of crowds.

So true. It can also depend on what park you're in and even what area you're in. Same for cleanliness of a park, where one person is walking in front of CMs and seeing a mess while another person is 5 minutes back and seeing everything clean and neat, because there's a CM in between. It's all so dependent on SO many things.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

No, not complaining about kids at Disney. I was just expressing my surprise. In the northeast, kids don't really have any extended time off in the fall . I was thinking that people were taking kids out of school. Thats not something I would expect so early in the school year. But then again, many states start school in August while we start here after labor day.

 

[wendow]

Are we seriously complaining about the number of kids at a Disney theme park?

I kind of chucked at that too

We were there Sept 10-18. I was just floored by how few kiddos I saw. At one point, we were on the monorail and between our car and the open one next to us, we were the only people with kids. I have no problem with it btw.

We have 4 dc and are able to vacation whenever we choose b/c we homeschool. I would agree with the poster who said more kids are at WDW later in Sept b/c parents let them settle in more to the school year before pulling them out. When we were there a couple of weeks ago, most of the kids I did see were preschool and younger. Crowds were low when we were there but it did feel busier than 2012.

 

[GotLabradors]

Once you are in the parks during Christmas/NYE, every other part of the year is not crowded. It was definitely a once in a lifetime trip. I enjoyed every minute of it, but I don't think I'll ever go at Christmas/NYE again.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

Was there week of 9/21 and felt crowds seemed much busier then when I was there in 2010 and 2009 at the same time. MNSSHP in Tues seemed busier than I remember too.

In general longer lines but also more difficult navigating the parks. I was bumped into a lot. Also, before the castle projection show began, we were in the hub for the MSEP fast pass viewing area. after the parade a lot of people in the hub area were literally lying down on the ground waiting for Wishes. We barely could walk through there!

 

[ldoogie]

We did MNSSHP last year and I was really disappointed with the crowd level too. I wish they would sell less tickets. We still had fun but it makes me doubt trying the Christmas party bc I'm sure it's worse.

 

[Sappermont]

Sorry to hear about your experience. We went to MNSSHP on the 17th and although it was crowded, the lines for the ride were non-existent. It seemed like most people were psyched for the trick or treating!

It was the first time we went to the party so we don't have anything to compare it to. I've found that the MK feels more crowded in general since they started to use all the open space (Magic Carpet Rides), etc.

I hope that you go back and have an amazing time next time!!

How was Saratoga Springs??

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

Saratoga springs was great. I was in the Springs and it looked like the rooms have been recently renovated. It's not my favorite dvc resort but it's fine. I prefer beach club villas for the proximity to Epcot and the studios.

 

[Rachel77]

Sorry to hear about that OP We went to a MNSSHP 2 years ago and experienced the same thing with the crowds. We had pretty low crowds the entire week, EXCEPT for the party. I'm glad we did it to experience it once, but it isn't something we are planning on repeating again.

I think if you are planning on the party to see some rare characters and have the experience of the special fireworks, treat-or-treating, and dance parties - it's perfect. If it's to experience the park with lower crowds (which is what I was thinking) then it can be disappointing.

Hopefully the memory of the bad experiences will fade quickly and all the good memories will take over again!

 

[makclair]

We were at the party Friday night and it was pretty disappointing. The lines were worse than daytime and the lines for candy were out of hand.

 

[MacClemsons]

I kind of chucked at that too

We were there Sept 10-18. I was just floored by how few kiddos I saw. At one point, we were on the monorail and between our car and the open one next to us, we were the only people with kids. I have no problem with it btw.

We have 4 dc and are able to vacation whenever we choose b/c we homeschool. I would agree with the poster who said more kids are at WDW later in Sept b/c parents let them settle in more to the school year before pulling them out. When we were there a couple of weeks ago, most of the kids I did see were preschool and younger. Crowds were low when we were there but it did feel busier than 2012.

We were there the same week. 4 kids & homeschool. week after Labor day is the BEST! We walked on to BTMRR and Buzz. There were empty teacups too.

We have FL seasonal APs so although we can't go during the super crazy busy times (Easter, most of summer, Christmas) we went during Mardi GRAS and Memorial day weekend this year. Those times really made us appreciate September.

Understand that in the less busy times of the year, it is important to consider which park(s) is recommended as being least busy.

 

[Srbright]

We were there 9/19-9/28 and while MNSSHP was crowded it was mostly trick or treaters. They were 18-25 year olds in some very good costumes.

I certainly don't doubt your perceptions because we are some of those parents that took their kids out of school.

Other than MNSSHP we had no crowds. We were never crowded, never bumped. We (the four of us) held hands stretched out and walked through the parks marveling at how few crowds there were.

That being said MNSSHP was completely different. We had to constantly hold the children's hands because of the sea of humanity. When we went last year there was not hardly anyone there. This time we were bumped, cut off, almost ran over by not one but two ECVs, and the character lines were horrible. We were only able to see Merida (after a 40 minute wait) and Rapunzel and Flynn Rider after a 50 minute wait.

Stacy

 

[kiramay]

Once you are in the parks during Christmas/NYE, every other part of the year is not crowded. It was definitely a once in a lifetime trip. I enjoyed every minute of it, but I don't think I'll ever go at Christmas/NYE again.

As I was reading this thread, ^^^THIS was exactly my thought. Lol! We went Christmas to after NYD and we had a great time. It was crazy crowded, but we used FP and child swap (2 yr old was 1/2 inch too short), and got to do everything we wanted with less than 30 min waits. The twins rode Test Track at least 6 times! The only time we were like "whoa, insane!!" was NYE. We left immediately after dinner and it was shoulder to shoulder people.

I'm really looking forward to our next "lesser crowd" trip next fall.

 

[wendow]

Understand that in the less busy times of the year, it is important to consider which park(s) is recommended as being least busy.

We did follow park recommendations for all but one day. And we did great. Got there at RD, rode everything we wanted by about noon. Took the afternoon to enjoy the resort and then went back in the evening with a more relaxed plan of just enjoying whatever we happened upon. But was just saying that crowds did seem to be a bit heavier than last September when we were there at pretty much the same time.

And boy do I ever appreciate the September crowds I've waited 2 hours for SM before in the summer and my spoiled kids get to ride it 3x in 30 mins. Lucky kids!

 

[andreajenkins22]

I know a couple of kids who were there last week because of their parents being at a convention held at WDW. That could have impacted it.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Per the Looking for the Live Report and Just Back Threads? sticky thread, I have moved this to the Disney Trip Reports forum.