Never again!!

[anthony2k7]

odd. we were there 20th sept to 4th oct. 26th sept (F+W started) through to 4th didnt seem to make that much difference in the crowd levels.

Overall, the whole trip everywhere was 20 min waits or less for most attractions with TSM + Soarin being about 40 mins around early afternoon time. We didnt bother with FPs for anything the whole trip.

 

[kydisneyfans]

There's no doubt that traffic picked up as the week went on last week. Thursday was insane at DHS.

 

[skyshelder]

As was Friday

 

[Mysteria]

Well reading this post makes me scared of my tripwe are booked from Nov 12-22, I do understand that it is in the end of Jersey week (I think) and the it is a "holiday" weekend-- but when we booked it wasn't free dining then I got a pin code, great but then they annouced that it would be free dining from now till almost January 1--UUUUGHHHHH-- whatever,last time we were down it was HHHOOOOTTTT as an oven! So I guess that I can be thankful for little things!

Not Jersey week if that helps.

 

[nmclennan]

We were there Sept 25 to Oct 3 - we thought we were going slow season. I have read numerous reports about it being slow and people just walking onto attractions - we did not experience this once and we followed TGM's green days every day and we were there at rope drop. I was told that all restaurants would be busy (and they were) with free dining but to expect parks to be not as busy - not so as far as I was concerned.

We have only ever been to WDW in the period leading up to Xmas. We were expecting it to be a lot less crowded in late September than we actually experienced. I guess it is all relative but if that was slow, I personally could not stand to be there during a busy time!

 

[BlovesC]

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!

 

[RMulieri]

Unfortunately, the days of dead empty parks are just about gone.Sept used to be a ghost town and now it is low crowds.Early December used to be the BEST time to go in terms of weather and crowds, and now that is more lower-moderate average attendance...Disney likes its parks busy and devises many specials and deals to do so.An empty Disney too frequently would mean an out of buisness disney

 

[pumpkinfish]

DH and I have had many trips during this "slower" time of year throughout the years. After 9-11 this really was a slow time (can't account for time before as I never went during a slow time in my previous trips) and we have seen the crowds creep in. I agree with pp that Disney is looking at filling the parks year round. We haven't had a hurricane to scare people away this year too (thank goodness!).

Just makes me think back and appreciate the time when parks were less crowded. Heck, I even regret wishing parks were more busy because they look weird when you don't see tourists everywhere.

 

[madge]

We went during free dining in 2006. I personallt did not find it to be bad. Of course maybe I just didn't notice because we always seem to be there at busy times

things have gotten busier in October since 2006 .. it's still better than the peak times, but I've definitely noticed an increase in the crowds.

 

[madge]

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!

we were at Epcot on 10/6, but friends were at the MK .. they didn't categorize the park as dead, but were able to do all the rides they wanted with little or no wait.

 

[LilGMom]

But this is the first year we have been to WDW during free dining and we will NEVER again attend during a free dining time. In fact, if they were to extend free dining during a trip we had already planned I would reschedule. The amount of people there was INSANE. We always go during "off" seasons and have been during the beginning of October and have never experienced waits of more than about 20 minutes with plenty of fast passes. This trip there were two hour waits with fast passes either gone or for a return time close to park closing by mid-morning. We didn't even attempt TSM.

We have always gone during the "off seasons" but over the last three years finding that "off season" has become very difficult. Prior to the DDP we never made ADRs unless we wanted one of the signature restaurants which made last minute trips, with dining, very doable. This has me a little scared since we are going in December while they are still offering FD. We were wanting to add a couple of days onto our trip and the only availability I could find on WDW property was at CR or SSR. Even the Swan & Dolphin are booked up solid. I about choked on my soda the day I read that they were extending FD into our trip.

Oct 1-2-3 weren't bad at all, but after that, things picked up and got busier closer to Columbus Day.

And it's not only free dining creating the crowds -- it's fall break season in much of the south!

I don't know that it is so much Fall Break adding to the crowds. Most schools, especially in FL, have their Fall Break the same week as Thanksgiving.

 

[hunter1211]

Well reading this post makes me scared of my tripwe are booked from Nov 12-22, I do understand that it is in the end of Jersey week (I think) and the it is a "holiday" weekend-- but when we booked it wasn't free dining then I got a pin code, great but then they annouced that it would be free dining from now till almost January 1--UUUUGHHHHH-- whatever,last time we were down it was HHHOOOOTTTT as an oven! So I guess that I can be thankful for little things!

I wouldn't be too scared if I were you. Jersey week ends the 7th (even though there might be a handfull of straglers that will stay longer), Food & Wine Festival ends the 8th and the holiday is on Wednesday so isn't a facter either. Now, Free Dining will probably bring in some more people than the past years, but I have a feeling not as bad as the summer/holidays or even spring break.

 

[larryz]

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.

It's coming back, tho', from 11/29 to 12/17, according to an offer I got in the email back in June...

 

[mama23babies]

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

 

[Hallowishes]

i was there sept. 21 - oct. 2nd and for the most part, found the crowds very manageable.
i think however, next trip, i will go the first week of october (oct. 4 - 14th, im thinking) and hope that the temps are a bit more reasonable. free dining was terrific, i had it this year and last year. however, you really can become somewhat of a slave to the adr's.

 

[mybgirl]

We went during free dining in 2006. I personallt did not find it to be bad. Of course maybe I just didn't notice because we always seem to be there at busy times

Hi I am with on this Sep 28 TO Oct 8

Was Great trip for us.

Mary

 

[PoohsFan1]

We are going to Disney from 12/1-12/8 during FD and Pop/Warner. I am not too worried about Pop/Warner because they are mostly going to be in competitions during the day, however, I used to stress myself out over the whole FD bit. Well, I decided that I should not stress anymore, we are going to Disney to have fun and to enjoy time with my family. Who cares if we have to weave in and out of crowds...we have been there during Spring Break and were able to go onto almost all of the rides by waiting no more than 30 minutes, plus we used FP all the time (I don't think there was not a time where we didn't have a FP in our hands). As for the dining, my dining plans are set with everything that we wanted at very decent times...plus some add ons, so I am very happy

 

[aja319se]

We were there from 10/4-10/9 and aside from the heat we thought it was great. The crowds were manageable. We did have a busy day at Epcot but were still able to ride soarin twice. Soarin was actually the only ride we obtained FP's for.

 

[landshark]

We were there Sept. 12-20 and pretty much walked onto everything. TSM was about the only thing we willingly waited in line for (~30 mins.) so we could use the FPs we already had afterward for a 2nd go. It seemed a bit more crowded at MK on the 19th, but I figured that might have been because people were just starting their vacations that day (possibly even to be there for the start of F&W). Weather seemed to be a bit less hot than when we went last June/July.

This was my first time with a dining plan at all and, assuming this wasn't a fluke, I'd totally go during this time again for FD.

 

[Wistraveler]

What FD is intended to do is fill the rooms at the resorts. It has been successful in doing just that. The side effects of doing that will predictably be filling the TS restaurants as well, especially during prime dining times. A lesser side effect will be a slightly elevated number of people in the parks over what would be expected during the same time period without FD.

Since any hotel needs to be at a certain level of capacity to maintain services year round, the special deals are geared toward that. During these economic times, Disney is doing whatever it takes to keep the rooms filled. That's smart business sense.

In our most recent stay, we had no delay sitting at any of our ADRs, the resort level was not unmanageable, and the attractions for the most part had much lower line levels than I have seen at other times of the year.