NEW and freaking out about planning trip!

[gweny70]

Ok..well freaking out may be the wrong word but CONSUMED is right on! I am all consumed..researching & collecting information, trying to determine best time to go, best place to stay, what to do when, should we fly or drive, etc. It's exciting and a tad overwhelming all at the same time.

I have been to DW 3 times (2 when I was a small child) and the last time was over 10 years ago and my daughter was only 2. Unfortunately due to circumstances I haven't been able to get back but now we are planning a 2007 trip and both my daughter (who doesn't remember her trip when she was 2) and DH ( who has NEVER been there) are SUPER excited and I of course want to make this the best trip ever for them..but yet on a budget.

Major dilemma # 1 that I am currently tackling--WHEN TO GO?

I always said I would only go in off season because of crowds and heat and so in thinking about our future trip we were thinking mid Sept. I have no doubts that would be GREAT time to go. The ONLY reason we are hesitating is because of the amount of time we can take my DD out of school & the workload she now has in middle school. The most we can take her out w/out the school flipping out is 5 days. So if we go in Sept and plan around one of the inservice days we can have a 9 day trip...then of course you have to factor in drive time (from PA) which lowers the amount of time actually at Orlando. Because of this we were thinking of going heading down over summer so we could have a 14 day trip. We were thinking June 7th (the day school leaves out) or August 10th (about 2 weeks before school starts for new year).

So would it be better to have a 9 day trip in Sept w/lower crowds and heat and hurricane season or 14 day trip in Summer (6/7-6/23 or 8/10-8/25)???? And if summer: June or August? For those who have gone at both times just How much worse are the crowds in the summer??

Any suggestions, comments, or experiences on this issue would be greatly appreciated! I luv this place and all the great info and people here!

P.S. $$$ for extra nights lodging is not an issue as we can stay w/family for those nights & we do plan on doing other things: Sea World, the beach, visiting family.

Off I go a hunting more information to further enlighten yet baffle me.

 

[cakesnjammom]

How do you feel about 100 temps and humidity? That's why I cannot imagine going in the summer months...I am hot natured. But a friend of mine who went in mid October (who is not hot natured) also had a problem with the heat a couple of days of their trip. She actually had to take off her shirt in the bathroom stall to get any relief.
My family took a trip the last week in Sept and it was HOT! Like sweat off your makeup HOT. We took prsonal misters and fans and that helped but it was still pretty hard to take during the day!
IMHO, it would be better to go during a crowded time and have better weather and that is why we are going in March.
Good luck and I know you ill have a MAGICAL vacation. Let me know if i can help you...will be glad too!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

gweny,
Congratulations on planning your next trip. I know the planning can be all-consuming, but it's a lot of fun, too. You'll find that many of the DISsers here love to plan just as much as they love to go!

As for your questions, I'll do the best I can in helping.

September is hot in Florida. And it is peak hurricane season. Which is not to say you shouldn't go then if the time works well for your family. We often go in September, but I find in listening to people that it is a lot warmer than they anticipated. If you handle the heat well, you should be fine. And I spent a hurricane in Port Orleans Riverside one year, and I swear WDW is the BEST place to wait out a storm like that. They treat all of their guests very well and take extra care to make sure everyone is safe.

September is generally less crowded than earlier in the summer, but with free dining happening the past few years during that time, the crowds have picked up a bit. Having said that, the free dining would make it extra affordable for you and your family should they offer it again this year.

If it were me, I'd go for a longer period of time, even if it meant slightly hotter temperatures. That way, you could go back to your resort during the heat of the day and swim or relax, and not feel so pressured to put in a full day in the parks in the sweltering heat. Then go back in for the evening when it has cooled down a bit.

I know it can be overwhelming making a decision about the best time to go. I think the heat is the real issue, especially for people who aren't used to those kinds of temperatures with the humidity. And, unfortunately, summer kicks in around Memorial Day and sometimes doesn't leave until Thanksgiving, so giving yourself the extra length of stay to make things more comfortable might be worth it.

Good luck with your decision. We'll be looking for a pre-trip to give us the details!

 

[DisneyObsession]

One of our best trips was the last week of August!

Yes, it was hot, but we really didn't have much trouble. Crowds were low and we had personal misters with us, so it worked out fine. In the afternoon heat, we went back to the hotel, swam, had dinner and went back at night.

That time of year you don't have to worry about taking the kids out of school, as it's before school starts.

However, this is just my opinion and everyone feels differently about the heat.

Good Luck!

 

[poohtink]

Is there a reason you are not flying to cut down on travel time the prices for a flight for example out of Albany NY is about $138 direct flight round and then you can use magical express to get to the hotel. If you only doing disney there is no need to rent a car and if you want a car only rent it for the days you really need it you can do that right onsight and return it there. September is a wonderful time to go even better if you are waiting that long to go & go in October and do Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party over Columbus day weekend and attach a couple of days that is one of our very favorite times to go. Have a great trip

 

[wishiwereindisney]

allearsnet.com has tons of information about trip planning which is EXTREMELY helpful. i highly recommend that you check out this site.

 

[gweny70]

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone!

So am I right that whether we go first week of June or mid September it's going to be really hot..and not much of a difference in weather? To really get a break from the heat we'd have to try going in spring or wait til October? Well that is probably not possible (spring). So if both June or mid Sept are basically same for weather then that just leaves the issue of crowds/lines....

I guess maybe I can't really find the answer I'm looking for because it probably all depends on many different factors but just trying to figure out how much of a difference there will be in the crowds if we go June 6th week vs mid September vs early October? If there isn't that much of a difference and the weather is about the same (meaning HOT) then we might as well go in the summer when we have extra time/days?

poohtink...Where did you find that low of airfare? We are not completely ruling out flying..If we can find a good airfare then we'll take it but as of now we couldn't find anything under $100-one way so that would total over $600 for flight and then til you rent a car you're talking $1000..We can definitely drive down for less then that. And $$ is an issue. So hoping we find something that makes it worth our while to fly.....

 

[gweny70]

And when do FL students return to school? Is that why August is considered a value season? Gosh...I think I'm making this decision harder then it has to be maybe....

 

[Unregistered]

yes, the kids here in the south often start school at the beginning of august. I'm an ohio girl transplanted down south and I find august, sept, oct and nov to be more unbearably hot than june. We are going in February this year for that reason-heat makes me very very cranky

 

[Tracie]

I have been in Aug once, Oct once, going this March for the first time, and have been in June 10 times. My sons are in Ap classes so it is just too much to make up to miss school for vacation.
We love to go in June it is hot (the one Aug trip was hotter) The MK and MGM have longer hours, we hit the parks early and then take a break in the afternoon to swim orrest in the room or go to DQ, then go back to a park in the eve.

Crowd wise the first 2 weeks in June are not that bad IMO

I would choose June for a longer stay and no missed school.

PM me if I can help you more

Tracie

 

[gweny70]

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. Looks like we are probably going to go early June..my daughter is ok with missing the last day of school--which is an early dismissal anyways. So we are going to leave the day before her last day--which is the afternoon of June 6th and then won't be coming back til the 23rd! That's 16 days! YEAH! Hopefully we can get down there and hit the parks right away--before they get TOO TOO Crowded. At least I HOPE! But at least we have lots of time to spread it all out and not be stressed even if it is horribly crowded and hot.

Wow..only 4 months away. That's quite a jump from our orig plans of going in Sept! Now I'm even MORE excited..as is the rest of the family. Better get planning AND saving!! Hopefully we can find a good deal on flights...if not we will be driving it.