Just how much will we miss in a Sept. trip?

[sherylm]

Hi, all. New to this great discussion board, here. Was hoping you all might be able to help me out. We are planning a trip to WDW the last week in Sept. this year. We thought that would be a good time since crowds are low but the weather is still warm enough to enjoy the pool and water rides. (I know we risk a hurricaine, but I hear that it's really rare that they actually hit Orlando and that this year was unusual. I hope that's true.)

Anyway, I know that the parks close earlier during low season and that the parades and shows run less often. Just how early, though, will the parks really close and just how many parades/shows will we really miss? I don't want to go only to find that the parks are closed at 5 or 6 and that none of the cool evening parades and shows are going to be scheduled. Or that those great evening shows/parades are ONLY scheduled for Sat night and we'll have to choose which to go to and which to miss.

If we book the trip for the dates we've been talking about, we'd get there on a Saturday (early if poss.) and leave the following Sun. (also early), so in essence, we'd have 2 Sat. nites. I'd hate to find out that Illuminations, Fantasmic, and the MK night parade/fireworks (can't remember the names right now) are only on Sat. nites, then we'd have to miss something.

From past experience, does anyone know what they've done around this time of year before? Would it be any better going the 3rd week in October (so after Columbus Day but before Halloween) as far as scheduling of parades/shows and park hours? I know it's more crowded in Oct., but HOW MUCH more than the last week in Sept?

I read somewhere online (can't remember where right now as I've been to tons of sites) that projected park closing times for that week in Sept. are: MK/MGM- 7pm; AK-5pm; Epcot- 7pm (FW) and 9pm (WS). Do those times sound about right? If so, those hours work for us. If it's going to be earlier than that, we might want to re-think the date of our trip. I'm assuming if the parks close much earlier than that, they'd have to cancel those wonderful evening shows & parades, am I right?

Any advice/help you all can give would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[arizonacolbys]

We were just there during the last week this past September. It was definitely hot enough to swim, we did every afternoon. The parks are usually pretty slow at this time, and IMO, a great time to visit because of that.

In 2004, MK was open until 7-8 pm most nights & Spectro was one a weeknight in addition to Sat. Wishes was shown every night, Fantasmic is every night & Illuminations is every night. We've never felt like we didn't get enough done during the slower seasons. We are able to get all of the MK done by lunchtime, go back to the Resort for a swim/break, and then head out to another park for the afternoon/evening.

Epcot is always open til 9 pm - so, we frequently visit there at night when the other parks have closed. You can also use the evenings to swim or head to Downtown Disney for some shopping!

 

[ciera321]

When our boys were small, we always went in September and loved it. Low crowds, so you could do a lot more during the shorter hours. Now that we don't really want to take them out of school (too much make-up work....) we go in June right after school gets out and I really miss our September trips. We never missed anything, in our opinions, because they still have the fireworks, fantasmic, etc. just not as often. Just takes a bit more planning, but a great time to go!! Have a great trip!!!

 

[Sammy]

September is our absolute favorite time to go! Although we did get caught in Hurricane Jeanne this past September, we've done two previous Septembers with no trouble. Warm (even HOT) weather, very low crowds, not a lot of rain. With the lower crowds, its easier to see more, ride more, experience more, so the shorter hours don't matter as much. We love to close MK at 6 or 7 pm, then hop over to Epcot for the evening (even in the off-season, Illuminations is every night, weather permitting), or to a resort for dinner.

Now, with our two oldest in High school and Jr. High, we can't take them out of school like we used to. So, like the poster above, we are relegated to school vacations and Summer. I will really miss those September trips!!

Sammy

 

[sherylm]

Someone I know says she's gone a lot in Oct./Nov. and even though the parks are emptier, she finds that they decrease the # of people staffing the rides and therefore it sometimes takes a long time to get onto rides. Has anyone else experienced this?

For example, she said when she was there, they were only operating 3 honeypots on Winnie-the-Pooh and the wait was forever because of it. She says this has happened to her on a lot of rides. Was this fluky, do you all think? Does this really happen much? I'd hate to find long waits, not because of crowds, but because Disney slowed down ride capacity, etc.

Thanks again for everyone's insight.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

The only thing I need to work my schedule around in late September is SpectroMagic, it is not always shown every night, most usually Saturdays and Tuesdays, but that may change.

Everything else runs every night as usual.

 

[dcmbshafe]

We were there in September 2 years ago. The parks did close early, but we didn't have any trouble seeing everything we wanted to. The biggest issue will be planning around Spectromagic, which may only be shown once the week you are there. I'm pretty sure that all of the other parades and fireworks are normally shown daily.

The weather is a factor. Though it was very nice when we were there, there was a hurricane coming from one direction and a tropical storm coming from the other, so we were quite concerned. Fortunately, we only had to alter our plans one day (parks opened late due to strong storms).

The other thing I really remember during September was that there were a ton of these bugs that everyone called "love bugs". The name was due to the fact that you always saw multiple bugs clustered on top of one another. They didn't bite, but they were somewhat annoying - it was a big mistake to go in the pool and leave an open drink by your chair.

All-in-all, it was an ideal time for us. Our kids were younger, so we would get up and hit the parks at opening (it was like having the parks to ourselves). We'd take breaks every afternoon back at the room/pool, then we'd head back and generally stay until closing then get a good night's sleep and start it all over again the next day.

 

[STEPHILL]

That is when my DH and I used to go before we had our little ones. That is the week of our anniversary. It wasn't crowded at all. It is still pretty hot, though, so be prepared. We caught all of the parades and shows. The only parade that was shown one night when we were there was Spectromagic. The parks aren't crowded, so they really don't have to stay open late. Have fun.

 

[MomofKatie]

I've never heard of that, SherylM. If there are people in line for a ride, the CMs are going to fill the vehicles. Winnie the Pooh is a continually loading ride- if there weren't enough people to fill every vehicle, there might be empty ones in between parties, but otherwise, they wouldn't intentionally hold up the line to fill only a few vehicles.

Don't worry about "slow" times of the year- you will love it, and get to go on many more rides with little or no wait. It's a great time to go!

 

[DisneyWisher]

SherylM, I disagree about it taking longer to get on the rides. I have been going to Disney in Sept for about 6 years now. Besides right after Thanksgiving it is the best time to go(cooler in November/Dec). This past Sept when we went it was quite slow at Disney. We rode about 14 rides in about 2 1/2 hours. Try that on a summer day. We walked right onto Peter Pan. That never happens. We stayed 4 nights (mon-thurs) at Poly GVC and that building is right by the beach. We watched the fireworks from the beach every day. But I'm thinking this year may be a little different because of the big celebration they are doing beginning 5/5/05 that runs til next year. One thing if you can make your dates for the week following Labor day I have found that week to be the slowest. FrontierLand could be called Ghost Town because it is so empty. Plan on the humidity and some afternoon rain showers. Sept is still a hot month in FL. 90 as your high and 72 as your low.

Shirley

 

[Queenie]

We went for the last two weeks of September last year and it was brilliant. Boiling hot but the queues were very short, most rides we went on (and trust me, we went on most of the rides!) we just walked straight on or just had a 5/10 minute wait. I think the longest we waited was 40mins for Thunder mountain and we never needed our fastpasses. We got caught in Jeanne but it hit Sunday night and Disney reopened Monday if I remember right so there's not too much risk (I think Jeanne was a fluke coming that far inland anyway.) It's a great time of year to go, I just got back from DLP over New Years and it was truly horrific, "queuing for a ride", well really! ;-)

 

[bigbabyblues]

We were there at the end of Sept last year, and it was great! Weather was hot to us (upper 80's, low 90's if I remember right), although we did stay through Hurricane Jeanne, it only took up one day for us. We didn't wait more than 15 minutes for anything except Great Movie Ride, and by then it was the first of October, and the first weekend of the Food and Wine festival. We're planning tentatively for Sept of this year, a quick getaway for DH and l without the kiddos.

Steph

 

[Harambe]

And don't forget that October is regular season compared to value season in September, so it's cheaper in Sept. We were there this past Septmeber and my DH would agree with your friend about less CM's, more ride down-times, and fewer buses running, etc. - but I think he's crazy!!!! I enjoyed our trip (hot and humid, but surprised to find it only took a day or two to adjust to the weather) and thought it was a great time to go!

Have fun!

 

[scoutsmom99]

I went in September 2002 and this past year I was there the Sept 29-Oct 9. The crowds were not bad at all..I think this is a great time of year to go and I hope to go again in September 2005 before my AP expires! As for closing hours you will find that you will be able to get everything done because the parks are not that busy. The only thing that is a bummer is sometimes a ride may be closed for re-hab during this time period because it is after the busy summer period and prior to the holdiays! The park hours for September will not be realeased until 2 months or so out.
The weather this time of year is hot! But the two times I have been in September we have never had a serious rain shower! We had a 5 minute rain shower on the way to TL this past September.