Oct help! In panic mode!!!

[KLAIT]

Ok, here is where I need the expert advise of all my DIS Friends.

We are taking our first ever October Trip to WDW....I am trying to decide between the October 12 through the 24th with the last 3 days on-site at Universal or October 19 through the 30th with the last 3 nights at Universal.

when I made my original reservation a couple of months ago, I picked the earlier dates and then for some reason I changed it to the later week.

I keep thinking that with the 3 nights on-site at Universal, it would be better to have the earlier dates, but for the life of me I cannot rememer why I changed my mind...must have had to do with the Disney portion.

Well, I keep watching airfare and it is about $300 total cheaper for the 3 of us to go the earlier week.

Can you all give me your thoughts on which week will be better? Do you think there will be much of a difference in crowd levels in these 2 weeks? I think that part of my decision was based on the earlier week being Columbus Day week and also the Jewish Holidays fall in that week....but, if we were to arrive late that Wed night, we would do Seaworld Thursday and then a Disney park on Firday and schedule a pool day on Saturday.....

I also think that part of my decision was based on the Funai golf classic, but by the time that starts, I think we will be at Universal already with our Front of the line access.

Please give me your thoughts on this....I hope I have not confused you with my rambling.....It is just that I am watching airfare and for the exact flights that I want, it is currently at $346 for the earlier week compared to $489 per person for the later week.

And, was thinking that maybe during Halloween Horror nights at Universal, it may not be a great weekend to be there either....

 

[nygrl]

we always go the last week in oct and always have had really low crowds except for last year which i was told was because of the hurricaines and people rescheduling..and still it was not that crowded... this year we are going the 5th _ 15th and i am a little worried because of all the holidays around that time. but my ds is playing in a baseball tournament at the wide world of sports complex and we are going with the whole team and dont really have a choice..just another reason i would say go the later week because there is a tournament over columbus day weekend and some people like us might decide to stay the whole week...still i dont think anytime in oct is a high crowd time but with so many holidays during the first 2 weeks i would try to go towards the end of the month

 

[MomofKatie]

There is a thread on the boards that lists the people going in October, and there is a definite spike in the earlier part of the month- probably due to Columbes Day. Lots of schools have a 'fall break' around that time, too. Seems like the later in the month, the fewer people are going. We will be there October 29- November 4, and it seems like a really (i.e., low crowd) time to go.

Have a great time- sounds like later is the way to go! (DD picked out the smilies!)

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

I've been there in Oct. two times now and it's been just fine. Never really noticed huge crowds. We'll be going back in October this year (it's our anniversary, after all), but I think tourism is up overall after 9/11 and any time will be popular these days, with people pulling their kids out of school and all (if it's not unexcused!!). You should be fine.

It's also a long way off so airfare might dip. I'm still waiting for Southwest to release their flight times before I buy my tickets, and I check Delta every day, which has fluctuated $20 over the last month or so.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I've done the beginning and end of the month...
IMO-The beginning is a little more crowded.

The end can bring cooler days but less crowds. (60-70 avg as opposed to 70-80)

HHN runs most of the month, it's a separate ticket run at night. It shouldn't affect your trip, the parks close earlier that time of year already.

~HTH~

 

[MommyBoo!]

The links to the spreadsheet and to the October thread are both in my sigline. MomofKatie is right, it does run towards more people staying in the beginning of the month.