Mid Sept Arrival Dates - Park Craziness

[ttfn2u2pooh]

So I keep reading about the wait times, long lines, FP tickets being gone in the early morning hours, getting to the parks about an hour before the gates even open, stuff like that.

This is starting to get me a little bit nervous. I planned our trip for the middle of Sept. as that was supposed to be a less crowed time frame. However, I can't help but start to panic when I read some posts. Is all of this really just for the summer/high season or will we find ourselves in the mix of these types of lines, having to panic about running though the park to either get on a ride without a 2 hour wait or having FP's being gone? I'll be traveling with my mom, in her 70's, and my DD, who will be 3 at the time. The thought of having to deal with this is making me re-think it as I don't think either of them would be able to deal with these types of crowds and wait times.

Can someone re-confirm for me that the timing I've planned is indeed one that is not this crazy?

 

[tlovesdis]

Mid September will not be like summer! Kids are back in school at that time so things are not as crazy! You will be fine!!

 

[Homemom]

Not crazy at all. We went last Sept from the 20 -25 and it was wonderful!!! During the week we pretty much just walked on to everything or had less than 5-10 minute waits. We rode California Screamin' 2 times in a row (without having to exit ) That Friday the crowds did pick up, but we just used fastpass.

 

[sonnyjane]

Mid Sept. is definitely not bad at all. When are you going? My only caveat is to say that the Halloween season this year starts on Sept. 16th, so Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain will be closed for a bit prior to that date to undergo their holiday transformations (Haunted Mansion's change takes longer than Space's).

 

[Brer Cameron]

I head down September 19th this year, and I'm not worried. Everything I've read leads me to believe the crowds will be relatively low.

 

[Sherry E]

Don't worry! Don't panic! Prepare, just in case, but don't panic. Mid-September crowds won't be like mid-Summer crowds.

The more worrisome times would be, for example, the week between Christmas and New Year's, or perhaps Spring Break - that sort of thing. And there are people who have no problems dealing with those crowds and they come back saying they were not that bad and they had a great time. There are even times during the Summer when it's not nearly as bad as expected. It's all in how you deal with it and what you expect.

You're not going to find 2 totally empty parks when you go. The parks are going to be quite busy for the foreseeable future - CarsLand is coming soon, there's other new stuff on the horizon for DCA, we have 2 new rides at DLR this year, both HalloweenTime and the holiday season are extremely popular, etc. Some rides will have consistently long lines - maybe not 2 hour lines, but long (such as TSMM, for example, with its 30- to 60-minute lines). Some people see a long line as being 30 minutes. Some people welcome 30-minute lines after waiting in another hour-long line somewhere else!

Also, there are more people with Annual Passes now (and that includes the two higher-level AP's, with few or no blocked days). That will always bring more people into the parks.

But even during overall busy seasons, there will be weeks or periods of time that are busier, then less busy, then busier, and less busy again. It ebbs and flows. September will see some crowds right around the start of HalloweenTime (because of the novelty of it), but it won't be like Spring Break or post-Christmas/pre-New Year's crowds.

If you go after the DLR Summer season ends in late August/early September and before HalloweenTime starts on 9/16, it will probably be pretty pleasant in terms of crowds not being too outrageous at all!

 

[PudgetteD]

Mid Sept. is definitely not bad at all. When are you going? My only caveat is to say that the Halloween season this year starts on Sept. 16th, so Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain will be closed for a bit prior to that date to undergo their holiday transformations (Haunted Mansion's change takes longer than Space's).

We're planning the 10th through the 16th. Will HM and SM be open by then?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

2 hour waits? Even in summer I haven't seen that long of lines (excluding a new ride like Star Tours, Little Mermaid, and when Space Mt. Ghost Galaxy opened)

 

[sonnyjane]

We're planning the 10th through the 16th. Will HM and SM be open by then?

They open ON Sept. 16th, so you'll have a chance to see them on your last day.

 

[specialks]

If you arrive prior to Halloween time you will have a blast. If you are coming during Halloween time than expect some extra crowds. However, I would GUESS that you will have nowhere near the crowds the parks are seeing now. Even after saying all that, I still recommend getting there at park opening. There is a true curve to the crowd levels as the day progresses. We loved our Sept trips; but we were spoiled with low crowds and it ruined us for our last Dec trip.

 

[pinktink83]

Sept is a great, low crowd time to go!

Its really not that crazy, however, the things you listed DO help you save time and be more efficient. Don't stress out about it though! If you remember to grab a FP while you are in that land, GREAT! But its not going to ruin your day if you don't. You can always try again tomorrow!

 

[JosieGirl71]

We have always gone the week after Thanksgiving and there was hardly in wait for the rides. Last year, we went in October and will never do that again! Apparently, Utah and Arizona schools have some sort of break in October and the parks were packed (to us anyway). We're going in September this year and I've panicked about the crowds just like you but I think it will be OK.

 

[ttfn2u2pooh]

Thank you all for the responses. I feel like I can climb away from the edge of my sanity. We are arriving Sept 19th and staying until the 23rd. I just got so nervous thinking about how crowded it is these days. I just could not imagine having to go at this time and waiting, dealing with those types of crowds. Though, I do understand that some don't have any option.

You all don't know how much better I feel after hearing what you all have written. I so cannot wait to go and see what this place is all about for myself.

 

[JosieGirl71]

Thank you all for the responses. I feel like I can climb away from the edge of my sanity. We are arriving Sept 19th and staying until the 23rd. I just got so nervous thinking about how crowded it is these days. I just could not imagine having to go at this time and waiting, dealing with those types of crowds. Though, I do understand that some don't have any option.

You all don't know how much better I feel after hearing what you all have written. I so cannot wait to go and see what this place is all about for myself.

I totally understand. After the crowds we experienced last October, I never want to go during a peak time again. The line for POTC was almost back to the Stage Door Cafe at one point.

 

[DreamtheImpossible]

We went last September and the crowds were great! We're going again this year the 20-25th and I'm stoked! Afraid that TSMM will be closed like it was when I went last year...but overall, I'm very optimistic.

 

[Sherry E]

We went last September and the crowds were great! We're going again this year the 20-25th and I'm stoked! Afraid that TSMM will be closed like it was when I went last year...but overall, I'm very optimistic.

I don't think TSMM will be closed this year. Last year was a particular case in which there was some work being done inside the ride (they were installing some safety devices or some such thing) as well as changing one of the games to reflect characters from "Toy Story 3." The ride was closed for about 1-1/2 months, from late August to almost mid-October!

This year I doubt there would be any reason to close TSMM again, let alone for that long. Plus, because the crowds have picked up in both parks due to Star Tours and the Little Mermaid, DLR needs as many of its really popular rides to be open as possible to pick up some overflow.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

So I keep reading about the wait times, long lines, FP tickets being gone in the early morning hours, getting to the parks about an hour before the gates even open, stuff like that.

we go at the busiest times it seems (summer, spring break, and Christmas time)--and we have never experienced anything like that. We would never get there an hour before the gates open! Fast passes can be found at least till the afternoon for most rides that offer them, unless it is a brand new or newly opened attraction.

September is a very low crowds time to visit.

 

[Eeee-va]

We have always gone the week after Thanksgiving and there was hardly in wait for the rides. Last year, we went in October and will never do that again! Apparently, Utah and Arizona schools have some sort of break in October and the parks were packed (to us anyway). We're going in September this year and I've panicked about the crowds just like you but I think it will be OK.

I was there last October too! It was crazy. (Night and day different from the weekend WoC premiered June 2010, actually. I'd expected June to be terrible and October to be OK. But the fall break that allowed my brother, sister-in-law, and mother to come with us made for huge crowds!)

I've heard nothing but good about mid-September crowds. OP, if your last day is the 16th, I would suggest you do Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain early and/or get FPs early that day, if that's the day they open to the public. I imagine those lines might get kind of long opening day.

Have a great trip!

 

[MickeyMouseClub]

I've heard good things about mid sept. that is when we wanted to go but school break (year round school) isn't until Sept. 30th. for us. So now I'm really worried about our trip, which is Oct. 2nd-6th. DH will be in a wheelchair and I'll have a 6 yr old, 3.5 yr old, 2 yr old

 

[Eeee-va]

I've heard good things about mid sept. that is when we wanted to go but school break (year round school) isn't until Sept. 30th. for us. So now I'm really worried about our trip, which is Oct. 2nd-6th. DH will be in a wheelchair and I'll have a 6 yr old, 3.5 yr old, 2 yr old

Early October will probably be OK. I don't know if there's a thread about school breaks or not here? If Utah or Arizona have major school breaks during that period it will probably be crowded. But the first full week of October seems a little early for MOST schools to be out.