Lowest Crowd Question?

[Mishetta]

I hope this wasn't covered recently...I haven't been on the boards for quite a while (until the past few days.) The "search" option is not working, it says "this option has been disabled by the Administrator." Anyway, my dear friend is going to take her first trip to DW & has decided that since it will be the trip of a lifetime, she will take her kids out of school for this trip because her main objective is to NOT spend her vacation standing in long lines. She also would like to go when prices are at their lowest. Does anyone know what timeframe she should consider?

She's coming over to stay with my baby while I take my Mom to her Oncologist appt today so I'd like to pull up this thread for her to read while she's here. Any words of advice for a "first timer?"

I'm hoping she'll be hooked on this DIS Board too, once she reads it! My feeling is "the more the merrier!"

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Dan Murphy]

The 2 or 3 weeks following Thanksgiving.

http://wdwig.com/attend.htm

 

[browneyes]

Attendence levels.

The Lowest Attendance --

January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February

The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving

The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December

 

[Mishetta]

Thanks for the speedy responses.....are those the least expensive times to go also?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, low attendance translates into lower costs. The costs are mostly reflected in the resort costs, most other things, (admissions, food, etc) are more stable in price. http://wdwig.com/

 

[Mishetta]

Thanks Dan....I guess that makes sense! Of course, Resort costs are a pretty big expense so it would be great if she got a break on those too!

 

[Big Dude]

Welcome, I'm sure you will get many responses. Some positive, some negative but I will share with you my own experiences. I took my children out of school when they were in the 3rd and 4th grades and then again in the 5th and 6th grades. I made sure the administrators were aware of this vacation and touched base with their respective teachers to see if they can complete assignments that they will be missing. I always chose to take them out at the beginning of the school year (Early September) because it is mostly review for them during that part of the semester.

There are risks and rewards to this time period though. This is historically one of the slowest times in WDW. The parks are open fewer hours but I found out that I could tour more of the world on the shorter days than I could on a regular day at peak time. Weather is "iffy" during this as it is still considered hurricane season. On the 2 trips mentioned above, one was rain-free with the exception of a 5 minute shower on the last day. The next year (2001) we had a lot of rain along with both Sept. 11th and a hurricane that rolled through. I'll never forget after the hurricane, My son and I went to MK at 5PM and had the park to ourselves. We went on Buzz 7 times without having to get off of the ride. BTMRR 5 times without getting off. Space Mountain and haunted mansion numerous times by ourselves with no lines. The cost of the vacation was also cheaper during this period. Night time parades are usually only held on Saturday nights but sometimes they made add one or two.

I found, actually my son found out that it was a little more difficult to get caught up with his school work in the 6th grade (middle school) as opposed to the other trip. We are leaning towards another WDW trip this year (we have a 4 year old now) but it will be during the summer so there is no school conflict. I know it will not be like the off-peak times, but we will have a plan of attack when we get there. I hope your friend has an enjoyable trip.

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Sal]

I highly recommend the week following Thanksgiving. The crowds are very small. We had fabulous weather, but that can vary greatly. Another plus is that the Christmas decorations are all up. It is beautiful!