Late October-Crowds? Weather? Discount?

[rkmassa]

My DH and I are thinking about going for a 3 day weekend the weeknd before Halloween in October. We want to see the Food and Wine Festival. How are the crowds then? I know weekends get a little nutty. What is the weather like? Have you had AP discounts then? I am thinking about staying for a few more days after DH has to go back to work, so thought I would check all these things out. Thanks for the help.

 

[MinnieM21]

I actually have no idea but I was wondering the same thing, mainly about how the crowds are. I'll give this thread a bump and hopefully you'll get all the answers you're looking for.

 

[krystyana]

We've been there a number of times the first week of nov. The food and wine festival is wonderful, the parks were definately manageable, we hardly waited in lines at all, and the weather was warm enough to swim every day. We love that time of year....just my experience! hope it helps a little!

 

[debaudrn]

We were there last October that same weekend. We avoided the Halloween Party on Friday night and opted to go on Sunday instead. Crowds were light during the entire weekend. We usually go in March or August (both very busy times) October was wonderful!
Debbie

 

[JohnNJ]

If you're used to the more crowded times of the year, you'll be fine. If you've only gone at the slowest time of the year, you'll be shocked.

John-NJ

 

[rkmassa]

We usually have to go in the summer due to DH teaching. We are going to try to go to the F&W Festival on Friday and stay at the resort on Saturday and Sunday. We are used to summer crowds, so I am guessing October will be better. Wanted to check.

 

[kilee]

Remember the last weekend prior to Halloween is usually the Golf tournament weekend. So, the weekend itself will get hectic, and certain hotels will have availability issues.
As for the weather I've gone at various times from early October to early November and I personally think that anytime in between is incredible!!! Some of the best weather we usually see on our trips, is in the fall.

 

[rkmassa]

Found the dates. The 17th to 23rd. Does that have a big impact on the parks?

 

[QuickGold]

You can find historical wait times at the Studios at http://www.mgmstudios.org/wait.html

 

[jwfla422]

We were there about the same dates this past October. I would have to say it was a little busier than we normally experience since we usually go during off peak times, BUT the crowds were manageable. Epcot did get quite busy on the weekends with the F&W Festival but honestly I would have enjoyed it more if we could have done more wine tastings (LOL!!), but dd wasn't patient enough to wait in the "wine" lines.

I would definitely go back again during this time. The weather was really nice, we even had a few "cool" days but it is usually more on the warmer side this time of year (that's relative--being from South FL cool to us is 60s..LOL...especially in October).

I do have to say I was glad to have PSs at the restaurants as they were pretty busy. OVERALL, it's not bad as far as crowds go, but we were really spoiled when we went back again in early December when the crowds were really "LOW"!

 

[brooke1]

we went just this past Oct 27 thru Nov 2 and loved eveything about that time of year.

Weather: In mid 80's
Crowds:Not to bad, we did use fastpass but not to much
F&W was not that bad lots of people walking around but the lines for F&W were not that long it all went quicky. But I will say trying to remember if we went to Epoct on a weekday or weekend and I cant remember.
Hope I helped you out.
Brooke

 

[dominia_1979]

We'll be there on our honeymoon the second to last weekend of October this year. I'm so excited I can't wait! From what most people say, it is a good time of year to go: not terribly hot but warm enough to swim, crowds low, food and wine festival = a really good time.

 

[Russell]

We were there late Oct. 2004 and late Oct. 2002. It was much more crowded this time around! The weather is beautiful though. It is becoming more and more popular. We went because it coincides with our children's birthday--what better place to celebrate! But next time I'm looking for a less croweded time--early January or late September. If you go that time of the year, try to avoid the weekends!

 

[mmccoy]

Based on what I see on the wait time stats posted on the website Quickgold refers to, middle October lines are as long as Memorial Day weekend lines. I hate to ask a dumb question, but since I'm pretty good at it...is that true? Can I expect lines in the middle of October to be similar to those I've seen on Memorial Day weekend?

 

[Leota]

October is a wonderful month to visit, weather-wise & event-wise. It seems to have gotten VERY popular. I was shocked at how the crowds have grown since my last Oct/Nov trip in 2000.
Although busier than it had been on my previous Oct/Nov visits, it was still less crowded than summertime (except the end of Aug, that would be about equal)

As far as discounts - in the 3 trips I've been at the end of Oct & beginning of Nov, I have not been able to snare any AP room rates. Altho, last Oct. I didn't try, I also didn't see any posted here.

All that said, I love going in Oct., would do it again & would highly recommend it.
I would also say, that since my DS is grown, I wouldn't waste the money on MNSSHP again. They are selling WAY too many tickets now & it is very crowded & no longer worth the extra money to me. If my son was still young & dressing up & trick or treats were still important to him, I might deal with the crowds.

 

[Kristine JM]

We'll be there Oct 30- Nov 6 staying at the BCV then to the poly, have been during the Food and Wine Festival before it's a great time to visit have never done MNSSHP but are looking forward to it this year hope it's not too crazy on Halloween. We rented points for the BCV and are paying rack rate for the poly staying Lagoon Concierge from the sounds of it there may not be any discounts. Oh well it's only two nights and the first is already paid for.

 

[henrylovespooh]

October is my favorite month to go. In 2003 we went October 18-25 and it was great. Even on the weekends it was not too crowded. We loved the F&W festival and again, EPCOT was not crowded.

We're headed back 10/15 this year. I would highly recommend going at that time.