NJ Week

[SUSANMELODY]

I am planning our annual pilgrimmage to the POly this year , and I am debating going during "NJ WEEK" vs. Thanksgiving. For nayone who was there last year at that time (11/07/01 - 11/12/01), were there any discount codes availbale? How far in advance did you book? How late were the parks open? Thanks for all of your help.

 

[soccer mom]

We arrived the Friday of NJ week and stayed until the Sunday before Thanksgiving. There were discounts for all of November, even AP rates which up until last year were unheard of for October, November and December.

I booked at rack rate in January of last year because there were already no Disney Club or AAA rates available for the resort we wanted. Things do change as the year goes on so it pays to call back once in a while. I think I changed reservations three times until I got the best rate.

I'm not sure you should count on this year being like last year.
9-11 changed a lot of things for last year. I would definately go ahead and book your reservation now for the resort you want and then watch the boards and mousesavers for info and discounts. Just call CRO when you see a new code or discount and see if you can change your reservation.

We have always gone in November or December and before last year the best we ever got for a discount was DC or AAA if we booked early enough, or if we were flexible on the resort choices.
We have always felt that it is value season so rates are already discounted, so anything else we goe is just gravy!

Hope this helps!

 

[soccer mom]

Forgot to mention park hours. Epcot opened an hour later, and I believe MK closed at 6:00 during the week. Can't remember exactly, but it was earlier than usual. Again, because of 9-11 everything was in the different. We didn't even know what park hours would be until we checked in!

 

[DeeP]

We have gone to WDW many times during NJ week. The parks are not open any later than they normally would be. The parks will be crowded but not as crowded as they will be the day before Thanksgiving through the weekend. We have and have not gotten discounts for this time period before but last year the discounts were readily available and were great discounts. Just be prepared to meet a lot of us NJ folks everywhere. Even the bus drivers make jokes about all the people from NJ!!!

 

[SUSANMELODY]

Thanks so much for all the great advice. Believe it or not, my DH and I chatted today and now I am trying to get last minute ressies for the first week of April! I am truly insane.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Do the wonderful folks from NJ come for the weekend or the entire week? We are thinking of Oct 31 - Nov 10. Will the whole week be really crowded or just the weekend? Does anyone know when the Soap Weekend will be this year? 2 years ago we ended up off site because there were NO rooms available at this time. (both events happened to be the same weekend) Was it ever crowded! This year I would like to take advantage of All Saints Day and Teacher conference days to get 10 days of vacation for only 3 missed days of school, but I am afraid everone else will do the same thing!

 

[DeeP]

Alot ot NJ folks come for the whole week, especially if Veterans Day falls in the same week because then the kids only miss 2 days of school and if you go Sat to Sun of the next week you can get a 8 night, 9 day vacation with the kids only missing 2 days. The NJ teachers are so used to so many families going away this time of year that they hardly do anything during the few days of this week that school is open because usually half of their class is not there!

 

[Leota]

We were there during NJ week before & it was VERY crowded! Added to the shorter "off" season hours. On top of NJ, half of NYC & half of PA seem to go that week too.....
Thanks, but no thanks, I'll never go that week again....Summer crowds, fall hours, discount or not, it wasn't worth it in my book....

 

[njzieglers]

lived here my whole life and didn't know we had our own week. I'm so proud. LOL

 

[laurenk]

For all you NJ week experts please. If the days for the conference are Thursday the 7th, til Saturday the 9th, will NJ week begin on the 4th? Veteran's day is Monday the 11th. We have our trip booked hoping NJ week is begining on the 4th.

Thanks!

 

[annie's dad]

We went during NJ week in 2000. Never again. Parks very crowded, shorter hours, one swim park open, less transportation available. If you are set on going in November, go the week after.

 

[kimmar067]

...it depends on which year you have gone during "NJ week". I am a teacher in NJ and our school board absolutely frowns upon taking the day before and/or the day after a "holiday" (in this case, NJ Teachers' Convention) so we stayed at the Dolphin from LATE Wed evening (12 midnite!!) to Sunday afternoon. Yes the parks were open only until 6PM (7PM for Illuminations) and the parks opened at 9PM (also: no more EE mornings). As for the crowds, it was NOT bad at all. The longest we waited on any line was MAYBE 15 minutes (Fastpass was not available because the crowds did not warrant it) If you are worried about swimming and the weather, by all means, go earlier in Nov. As for "deals", I was able to get the Dolphin for $99/nite(teacher's discount). Good luck deciding.....

 

[DeeP]

Since Veterans Day falls on a Monday this year a lot of NJ folks will probably head down to WDW on Tues or Wed and stay until the following Monday which is Veterans Day. By doing this the kids will only miss 1-2 days of school and yet the family will get a 6 or 7 day trip.

 

[laurenk]

Thanks DeeP- We arrive on the 8th and leave the 18th, so it shouldn't be that bad crowd wise.

There are 20 of us going so we really have our own built in crowd

 

[DeeP]

It will most likely be crowded the 8,9,10 but then on the 11th a lot of people will be checking out and heading home so you will see a big decrease in the crowds and then from the 12-18 it will not be crowded at all. Nov is a very nice time to be in WDW, it is still warm enough to go swimming and wear shorts but it is not the hot, humid days that you get in the summer. Have fun!!!

 

[laurenk]

Thanks for all the help. We tend to steer clear of the parks on Saturdays, and our first day we are going to try and book something away from the parks. We shouldn't be too bothered by the crowds. How does NJ week compare to the summer? We were there in June and had a GREAT time.