Late September/October vs. Early December?!

[glohoffman]

I would love to hear opinions of which time is better to visit WDW. My daughters will be 4 and 6 at the time, so the oldest will be the only one missing some school, and she will be in 1st grade, so we are not too concerned about that.
I want opinions on everything from crowds to weather to prices etc. I would be attending one of the parties, whether it be MNSSHP or MVMCP, so opinions on those too.
If we went in sept it would be the last week/ first week of october.
Free Dining would be a plus because we love the dining plan.
Which would you choose?

 

[LSUfan4444]

What do you like better Halloween or Christmas?

There is your decision.

 

[Fratthouse]

There are advantages to both. Late September should have lower crowds, but it will be very hot and it's hurricane season, so probably more rain.

Early December will have much better weather, all the Christmas decorations and activities, but more moderate-level crowds (although it will still be very manageable - nothing like summer / spring break).

I would vote for December

 

[ZoZo]

I have not been to WDW in December, but have been on several late September/October trips. Here's my perspective:

Late September/October has several benefits. Lower crowds, MNSSHP, and Food and Wine Festival, to name a few. But there are some drawbacks, too. For me, the major drawback would be the weather. It can be extremely hot and humid. It's also hurricane season - I was actually at WDW in 2005 for Hurricane Wilma! It's really the luck of the draw regarding the weather - it can be anywhere from perfectly pleasant (warm and not too humid); horribly hot and humid; super-rainy; or you can get a hurricane - there's just no way to know! We have had some trips with great weather in October, and a couple that were either unbearably hot/humid or stormy!

As I said, I've never been in December, but if you can stick to the first week of the month, I think it would be a great time to go! I just checked Josh's predictions on easywdw.com, and he predicts an overall crowd level of "4" through "6" for the first two weeks in December. You get the added benefit of more comfortable weather then, but if swimming is important to you, you might be disappointed if it's too cool to swim.

Of the two choices, I'd go for December, but that's just me. The heat and humidity bother me enough that we've switched from October trips to late February this year. Love the more moderate weather!

 

[glohoffman]

I prefer Christmas, but my oldest daughter LOVES Jack and Sally and would love to meet them. But I dont want to base my trip around one single meet and greet in case it doesnt work out.
As far as weather and rainy-ness...how comparable is Sept/October to May? We went in mid May this year and (11-16) it was a little humid for us but we loved it and managed just fine! (We take afternoon breaks)

 

[dayvewc]

I went last year to the MNSSHP, and stood in line for 2 hours to meet Jack and Sally. After standing in line 90 minutes to meet all 7 dwarfs. I loved the party, but I would avoid going unless you love lines to meet characters.

 

[glohoffman]

I went last year to the MNSSHP, and stood in line for 2 hours to meet Jack and Sally. After standing in line 90 minutes to meet all 7 dwarfs. I loved the party, but I would avoid going unless you love lines to meet characters.

See thats what I am afraid of...

 

[glohoffman]

I will be going in to nursing school the January following the times we are speaking about so I am trying to find the best time for our last hoorah before 2 years of a pretty strict school schedule.

 

[Woodmnky]

For a better overall visit, I would choose Dec. You are likely to have better weather, you will still have short lines, and the parks are nicely decorated. I am a Halloween fan, but the thought of spending that much money to wait in line several hours to meet one character would rule out the Halloween party.

 

[glohoffman]

The cooler weather is what would entice my husband, but would the kids be disappointed in no swimming? Ahh so many variables! lol

 

[juliebug1997]

The cooler weather is what would entice my husband, but would the kids be disappointed in no swimming? Ahh so many variables! lol

It still may be warm enough to swim. I've been there for some of their coldest temperatures and had it at 85 degrees by the time we were leaving (Christmas 2010).

 

[glohoffman]

so comparing the halloween party to the christmas party, which is better in general?

 

[LSUfan4444]

so comparing the halloween party to the christmas party, which is better in general?

Do you like Christmas or Halloween better?

Seriously, it almost just boils down to that.

The wait to meet the "rare"characters is long, but the party starts at 7 and if you get in line at say 4:30, you would be done with that portion of the party by 7:15 and still have till midnight, BUT the character pics (even with the dwarfs or jack skellington) are not a party priority to us, and either is trick or treating or free cookies.

We love the special parade and fireworks. We love the empty park and no wait times. We love the holiday spirit that each embodies.

My b-day is in December and I grew up loving Christmas, my wife's b-day is in October and she grew up loving Halloween. I prefer the Christmas Party (Candlelight Processional, Santas, Osborne Spectacle of Lights as well) and she prefers the Halloween Party.

We do both agree that we prefer the December weather though. But a trade off is in October you can have longer days.

Both are great.

 

[nkereina]

We've been the last week of September and the week before Thanksgiving, which is relatively similar to early December in terms of weather and crowds.

The pros for September for us were the very high probability of free dining/some kind of discount and low crowds. We also liked the longer daylight this time of year which made for some later park hours. The cons were extreme heat and humidity and we ran into some disappointing closures for refurbishment. With the low crowds, it's their main time to do refurbishing.

In late November, likely the same for early December, the weather was much more tolerable but a little less predictable. We were sweaty and exhausted from heat, but some days were cool when we wore hoodies and other days were pretty warm. It made it difficult to plan pool time. We also had good crowds this time, and didn't find many refurbishments likely because they were gearing up for holiday season.

We've done both MVMCP and MNSSHP - didn't care for either (we're two adults so not worth the money to us), but we do think MNSSHP had more to offer and was more exciting in general. That being said, we LOVED Osborn Lights in November at DHS - it was an amazing experience. Also liked seeing all the holiday decor.

 

[ktlm]

We've done early October. We've done the week after Thanksgiving multiple times. They are both good times to go. We actually found that the week after Thanksgiving was significantly less crowded than the first part of October. We've also been the third week in December (after Pop Warner leaves) and that was the least crowded. The Christmas decorations are beautiful, the Christmas Party is fun, the Osborne lights are wonderful. The weather can be very unpredictable. You never know what you are going to get. One trip we had temperatures between 82 and 90 all week and were sweating. Another trip, the trip started off with highs in the 80s and ended with highs in the 50s. You might swimming weather, or you might not. We kind of love the fun of the variety of weather, and the fact that generally it is a little cooler, but you do have to pack everything from shorts to coats and you can't trust the weather forecast even the day before you leave (as we found out the hard way on our first December trip). The week after Thanksgiving, you do have to work around the parade taping at MK, but we haven't had a problem doing that, we just avoid MK those days. We do love the Christmas season at WDW.

We also loved October though. We did not love that it was more crowded than we were used to, but it was still managable. The temperatures were consistently pretty warm and we missed the coolness a little, but we also enjoyed that it was swimming weather all week (especially since we were staying at BC- which we did because we knew it would be swimming weather). Food and Wine is fun. I love Christmas and MVMCP and I'm not a big Halloween fan, but I have to say that MNSSHP was even more fun then MVMCP. It is so fun to see all the guests in costume and the things people come up with. The villians show at the castle is really fun (although I'm a big fan of the MVMCP show at the castle too). The parade is great (although I love the parade at MVMCP too). The decorations at MK are great too. We love our magic shot with the hitchhiking ghosts.

Honestly, you really can't go wrong with either. They are our 2 favorite times of the year to go to WDW because of the decorations and the activities going on.

 

[glohoffman]

Ok great well it sounds like we really could do either, so I guess I will let my schedule decide! Which time is more comparable to May with crowds and temps??

 

[AmyB2006]

I would love to hear opinions of which time is better to visit WDW. My daughters will be 4 and 6 at the time, so the oldest will be the only one missing some school, and she will be in 1st grade, so we are not too concerned about that.
I want opinions on everything from 1)crowds to weather to prices etc. I would be attending one of the parties, whether it be2) MNSSHP or MVMCP, so opinions on those too.
If we went in sept it would be the last week/ first week of october.
Free Dining would be a plus because we love the dining plan.
Which would you choose?

1) Crowds... Nice during both times. We actually go each year both times. This year we'll be there last week of September and first week of December. Can't wait. But anyway, crowds are generally low. Usually a little lower in September than December, but low. Weather will be warmer in September and more humid than in December. The colder weather doesn't usually start till Octoberish. Prices will be lower in September I think because in December they charge more for certain things because of the holiday price increases.

2) Parties... My personal fave is the MNSSHP. You can dress up, you get candy (as much as you want), I love Halloween. My list could go on. MVMCP I liked, but not as much as MNSSHP. Really the only perk to me during the Christmas one was the cookies and hot cocoa, which is scalding hot. You have to sit down to really enjoy them, especially with kids, which takes time. The candy collection, you get in line, you get your candy, you're on to the next collection site. JMO

Overall... My favorite time of year to go is December. The weather is nicer (if you like it cooler and drier) the crowds are low and I love the Christmas decorations everywhere and music etc.

September/October is my next favorite time because of the MNSSHP and those decorations. Which is probably why we just go both. LOL, but we're AP holders and live local and own DVC, so it's no big deal for us to go multiple times.

But if I had to choose, I would choose December.

 

[wareagle57]

I am a huge fan of December. If you hate the heat, this is the time to go. Not to mention the chance of rain is much lower, and the parks are open longer.

The biggest advantage Christmas has over Halloween though? The Osborne Lights. I was simply blown away by them 2 years ago and I can't wait to see them again this year. I hate that it took me so long to find out about them, and that this might be their last year.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Ok great well it sounds like we really could do either, so I guess I will let my schedule decide! Which time is more comparable to May with crowds and temps??

September is similar temps to May, except with more pop us showers. December is cooler. I think crowds in the first week of October are quite a bit heavier than in the first week of December but both are manageable. There is a lot more activities/discounts planned at WDW in late Sept/early Oct, so crowds can be unpredictable. The first week of December would be my choice-- hands down.

 

[glohoffman]

I am a huge fan of December. If you hate the heat, this is the time to go. Not to mention the chance of rain is much lower, and the parks are open longer.

The biggest advantage Christmas has over Halloween though? The Osborne Lights. I was simply blown away by them 2 years ago and I can't wait to see them again this year. I hate that it took me so long to find out about them, and that this might be their last year.

Well if this is their last year that sucks because I haven't seen them Why are they stopping??