Never again!!

[Halloweenqueen]

We just got back last night. Had a wonderful time, except for the heat! The only problem we had with crowds was our Fantasmic night. It was crazy busy! Thank goodness we don't do F! every trip.

The restaurants were crowded, but the only place we felt rushed was Ohana at breakfast. The server threw (literally) a bread basket in my hands as we were going to our table.

 

[lacy1101]

We just returned last night from 9 days, too!

While I would have to agree with you about the crowds on Saturday, October 10, I have to say that we had great crowds the rest of our trip. Wait times were consistently 5-15 minutes. My daughter and I did wait 20 minutes for TSM on Tuesday morning, and the whole family waited 40 minutes for TSM on Saturday morning (crowd level 8) during EMH, about 30 minutes for RnRC a little later, and 70 minutes for Soarin' that afternoon (but only because we couldn't use a 7:30 p.m. fastpass because of dinner reservations). That was the worst of it. The other days of our trip were 4s, 5s, and 6s. I followed touringplans.com recommended parks pretty closely - maybe that made the difference.

I totally agree with you on the fact that it was HOT!

 

[crazycatlady]

Could it be because of Columbus Day?

 

[lacy1101]

I will add a couple of observations:

1) In my planning, I had read to stay away from Epcot WS during Food & Wine on the weekends. This is very good advice!! On our last day, Saturday, October 8, we visited DHS, Epcot, and MK, to repeat some of our favorite attractions. The day we were in Epcot, right before we left for the afternoon, DH wanted to "pop" into France to get some escargot. Big, big, big mistake!! It was practically shoulder-to-shoulder.

2) This was the same day that we waited 40 minutes for TSM during the morning EMH. Just like others had reported, the line for fastpasses was almost as long as the standby line. We rode first, then got a fastpass (probably around 8:45-9:00 a.m.) - return time was 12:10 p.m. We stayed in the park until time for our fastpass, then hopped over to Epcot, probably arriving around 1:30 p.m. There were still fastpasses available for Soarin' (and Test Track), but the return time was 7:30 p.m. and we had a dinner ADR for 7:40 p.m. After eating a bite for lunch, we got in the standby line for Soarin' with a 70 minute wait. It was actually more like 90 minutes.

Our thinking was that the Columbus Day weekend is what made the crowds so much heavier on that last Saturday. We still got to do everything we wanted to do (in 3 parks), but did have to wait more than any other day of our trip. If we had to deal with heavy crowds on only one day of our trip, I'm not complaining!

 

[nicki.momof3]

I much prefer the less crowded - just stroll onto any ride you want times of the year.

With all the great promotions WDW is offering year round now I truely believe there is no longer a "stroll onto any ride" time of year anymore. It is the goal of a theme park to fill up with tons of people and WDW is achieving it through there promotions.

If crowds are not your thing you may need to seriously rethink a WDW vacation. I am not being rude or mean but honest. I read these boards alot and in the last year all people are saying is it was so packed.

I personally love to go a peak times. We go Easter week every year and LOVE it. I think it is all about your attitude and what you want to get out of it. I would never expect to walk onto a ride - even a smaller one. I don't mind waiting in a line as long as I am with my DH and kids we are great.

 

[live4christp1]

October may also be getting more traffic now as more and more schools have taken to adding a week long fall break to their schedules and those usually start coming into play in October. I know our kids are on fall break this week.

 

[PrincessCM]

We were at WDW last week also. I agree about the heat - it was bad. I didn't find the crowds bad at all until Friday at the MK. Went to AK on Sunday and had a 10 minute wait for the safari. Singler rider line for Everest was walk-on. Epcot on Monday was a breeze. Waits at Test Track and Mission: Space were only 5 minutes at 10:00 in the morning. Soarin' was the worst at about 30 minutes. Tuesday at MK was a dream - 5 minute waits at Peter Pan and Snow White. Walk-ons at Haunted Mansion and Buzz. We checked in for each of our dining reservations about 15 minutes prior to our reservation time and almost always was seated early. Even the Halloween Party on Tuesday night was great. Got a spot for the parade 1/2 hour before right in Liberty Square. Watched HalloWishes from the Hub and there was plenty of space around me empty.....

 

[TiggeRx]

Wow, I find this thread amazing.
We were there from 10/3 thru 10/10, and sometimes even did the parks that were recommended to avoid per UG.
The longest wait we had was when we decided to ride TSM during the last 10 minutes of park closing at evening EMH. Wait time was posted as 50 minutes. In reality, it was actually 35 minutes.

Here is a brief synapses of what we experienced Sunday night:
Arrive at MK 7:45pm, catch last train to Frontier Land before Spectro Magic parade.

Splash Mountain was walk on! We rode BTMRR twice, then walked through the crowd gathered for the parade, to Haunted Mansion, all before Wishes at 9pm.
Rode POC and Magic Carpets with minimal waits, and had a snack/rest before park closing at 10pm.
We then approached our longest line during evening EMH, Buzz Lightyear, which had a posted 15 minute wait, but was really less than 10.
Did Monsters, Inc. (10 minutes) and TTA was walk on.
Another rest break, and then back to Splash Mountain and BTMRR (no waits whatsoever), before literally skipping down Main Street at midnight to catch our shuttle back to Beach Club.


Until Thursday evening (Fantasmic), crowds were non existent for us at least.
Just for the record tho, Disney Hollywood Studios and early morning EMH was packed on Saturday. When my son and I left the park at 11am, it was a 100 minute wait for TSM, and 50 minutes for Tower of Terror, which never exceeded 15 minutes the week we were there.

 

[TillyMarigold]

We were there September 5-14 and walked on to every single ride including Soarin' (twice) and Expedition Everest. The only wait we had was 15 minutes at Toy Story Mania (the longest wait we saw posted for that was 50 minutes, usually it was about 30). (ETA: the other ride with consistently long lines was Peter Pan, which had 40 minutes every single time we walked by. We FP'd it.)

I don't think it's free dining, especially since the last day to check in for FD was October 3. Maybe it's Food & Wine? Or schools' Fall Break, as some said? Our schools' break here is the 8th-12th for most, but I know year-round schools here get a two-week break in October.

 

[purplebelle]

I went for Free Dining at the end of Sept. last month and was worried about crowds due to all the reports on the disboards. All that worrying for nothing b/c the crowds were low and very manageable.

Peter Pan, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh and Soarin' were all 30-40 minutes but everything else was a 5 minute wait.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Free dining ended on Oct. 3. You would think the crowds would be lighter now. I bet a lot of people are there for the Food and Wine Festival. We were there from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3 and Epcot was really busy. However, with FP, we rode Soarin' 5 times in one day.

For those who booked bounceback FD ended on October 8 for the check-in date, so people who booked to check-in on October 8 though bounceback may still be there.

 

[disneyvoice]

Question for the OP, tell me what you loved about ASMu Suites. We're headed there in 8 weeks and it's our first stay there. Me and DH, 3 kids, plus my mom, who's there for her first visit. I'm very excited, but curious about any tips or info about the stay. I know I can post this on the resorts boards, but since you just came back I would love a fresh perspective...

Thanks,

Debbie

We found the suites to be MUCH quieter than a typical room at an All Stars resort since you are not surrounded by other families on both sides (in other words, whichever room you are sleeping in only has ONE wall with a different family behind it). The extra space was great. The kitchenette area was a perfect size - we really only kept breakfast stuff in the refrigerator but the extra counter and shelf space was great. Having two bathrooms was priceless and the extra drawer space was great. Our son just turned 8 and it is usually tough to get him to bed at a reasonable time but since he was in a different "room" he fell asleep right away every night even though we were still moving around in he bathroom area, watching TV, talking, etc. We did the bed bug check and my husband and I both agreed that the mattresses looked like they were brand new and had never been slept in!! I think you'll really like the suites. This was also the first time we have stayed at the ASMu and we really enjoyed it. Not sure if it is unique to the Music but they had all kinds of activities for kids at the main pool - not something we have ever seen before at the ASMo.

 

[disneyvoice]

OP here!! Yes, the crowds did definately increase throughout the week. We arrived Friday night October 2 and left early Sunday, October 11. We have been during this exact same time in the past but not when there was free dining so I do think that brought many more people to WDW. Columbus Day and the whole "fall break" issue also compounded things as did Food and Wine Fest. I think it was just a bunch of things that all added up to make it much more crowded than we have ever experienced. But we still had a great time. Luckily my son has outgrown some of the "kiddie" rides so we didn't have to rush around to get on dumbo so having to wait longer than we are used to didn't ruin anything for us. But we did say next year we'll sacrifice the water parks and go in January!!

I think someone nailed it when they said that it is all what you are used to. We are used to just walking on all the rides but we had friends there the same time as us who usually only go during the summer or spring break and on the same days we were complaining about the crowds they were saying how great the low crowds were and wondered where all the people were!!

With that said I was VERY impressed with all the CMs. It was horribly hot which made guests grumpier and more tired so I heard a lot more complaining to CMs about things but every CM we encountered was super friendly.

Really the very disappointing thing to me was Food and Wine Fest - not the event itself, that's great - but since we knew Saturday October 10 would be the busiest day of our trip we hit Epcot that day since it can hold the most people the easist. It was the people at Food and Wine Fest that disappointed me!!! Maybe I'm just getting older but my past memories of Food and Wine Fest were of mainly middle aged couples walking around and trying everything. Yes, people got a bit "tipsy" from the drinking but were still in control. This year there seemed to be an enormouse number of 20 somethings who seemed to be impressed with the fact that they were ABLE to drink and wanted to be as loud about it as possible. There were large groups wearing matching shirts about being "wasted" all day. I rarely hear foul language in WDW but I heard some of the filthiest and most vulgar comments I have ever heard from these "younger" folks. We encountered several extremely drunk "men" yelling and saying loud mean things to their wives/girlfriends. There was a VERY drunk girl sitting on the fountain inside the Mexico pavilion who was almost passed out and who just puked her guts out all over the floor while her "friends" laughed and took pictures of her. We wondered if they advertised the event differently this year to the locals to encourage the younger crowd to go?? We got out of their FAST since we have an 8 year old but even if he hadn't been with us, we would not have wanted to stay in that environment. We left at about 6:00 - I can only imagine how much worse it got as the night went on.

 

[mhanback]

I have to agree with OP about the Food and Wine Fest. We were there the exact same dates and found a lot of drunks! It was not the typical Epcot experience we are used to. We also go every October, but a few weeks later. I thought the crowds, compared to what we are used to, were awful!!! But, that is just what we are used to. MNSSHP was so hot that it probably seemed more crowded than it was, but it was way more crowded than the last party we went to. My boys loved it, though, so it was worth the heat! We had a great trip, despite the heat and crowds!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We were also there 10/2-10/11 and I have to agree with the OP on many things. The crowds were heavier than I had anticipated and the heat was terrible! I am sure the heat made the crowds seem worse though.

Like others have said it is what you are used to. Generally we have gone in January and that is a great time crowd wise but not for pools. We wanted to do more pool time this trip (stayed at BC) and it was my B-day.

I was there last spring the last week of March and I thought the crowds last week compared to that. Since that was spring break time I guess I thought they'd be a little lighter at this time. I knew it would be busier than January though.

Still we had a great trip and got to do everything we wanted. The heat just wore us out though.

We were at Epcot on 2 nights (Wed and Friday) and I didn't notice any drunks or issues like that. We did spend Friday evening mostly in the Future World section though.

All in all my family agreed that unless there was something really special in October again we'd pick January again for the next trip.

 

[Tomh]

I guess we got lucky. We were there during the second week of free dining, from Aug 23rd through Sept 5th, and the crowds were perfectly manageable, even light compared to what we experienced last year during the second week of August.

 

[littlestix]

Odd, we were there all last weekend and all day Tuesday and found the parks to be refreshingly dead. 10/6 was a total walk-on day at Magic Kingdom even. I'm sorry to hear you faced crowds!

Totally agree!! We were at MK on Sun. 10/4 and Tue. 10/6 the longest wait we had was 15 min for Peter Pan. We walked on Splash and BTMR with 5 min to 0 wait times. My son was having so much fun that we rode splash 4 times in a row on 10/6. This was around 4:15ish then went to BTMR and rode 3 times in a row.

We also went to Blizzard Beach on Mon. 10/5 and walked on everything all day!! Well, we didn't ride summit Plummet, Slush n gusher or double dipper because my son is to short. Teamboat springs was a blast!!!

 

[dyna]

We did not notice the wait times being nothing like that sept 26th - oct 3rd either most FP attractions was not even using them didn't need them. We was there in June during a major heat wave in fact I think it was the hottest week all summer an it was horrible!!!!! 120 heat index with the June crowds was not a good mix at all. WE really really enjoyed our sept 26 -oct 3rd stay an would do it again in a heart beat.

BTW we did not do free dining so ADRs was not an issue for us. Did notice a few drunks at the F&W seems some likes to taste wine more than food none that actually bothered us tho or that I would have left the park over had I had young children with me.

 

[goofydad48]

We just returned from WDW after staying 10/3-10/11 and had no problems up until Sat. of Columbus weekend. Crowds were so light early in week that we walked on several rides. Epcot seemed crowded when we entered but the most we ever waited was 20 min. for any ride. Use FP and you'll be fine

 

[cjb71870]

WDW is getting more and more crowded year by year!! Off peak or peak season really means nothing anymore! I've been going for 20 years on a regular basis and still go as often bringing friends and being the guide... brought my nephew on his BDay on August 30th to HS. After our entire day...we went on RNR 6 times and TSM 3 times and every other ride once... with a 2 hour break at the hotel, it's possible and has nothing to do with the crowd if you plan.....