Oct- the week before Columbus day

[memakwed]

We've done Disney in the winter, in the summer, at the holidays this past year but I would like to try for Halloween before my 10yr old out grows the idea of the Halloween party...do you think that could happen?
How are the crowd levels the week before Columbus day Oct 1-11? How are the crowd levels at the Halloween parties?

 

[It's A Happy Day]

LOVE that time of year.... crowd levels are low. I know people have commented that they are higher with the free dining but from past experience, we had NO issues. For example: Splash Mountain we rode 3x in a row because there was no line at all! As for the Halloween party - I thought it was a little busier than during the day was but still a fun event! Would absolutely do it again and the kids had a blast trick or treating at WDW.... how many kids get to say that!

 

[PSUGuy]

The Sat., Sun., and Columbus Day itself are more crowded that the rest of Mid Oct based on our experience over the last 4 years. Last year we went from the Thurs before CD to the Fri after and the CD weekend was much busier than our last 3 Food & Wine trips when we went before or after,missing that weekend. We'll be there from 10-16 to 10-25 this year. BTW, here's the Eat to the Beat line up:

2014 Eat to the Beat Concert Line Up!

Sept 19-21 – Jo Dee Messina (NEW!)
Sept. 22-23 – The Pointer Sisters
Sept. 24-25 – Rick Springfield
Sept. 26-27 – Christopher Cross
Sept. 28-29 – Hanson
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – Air Supply
Oct. 3-5 – STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas
Oct. 6-8 – Sugar Ray
Oct. 9-10 – Fuel (NEW!)
Oct. 11-12 – Sister Hazel
Oct. 13-14 – TBD
Oct. 15-16 – Billy Ocean
Oct. 17-19 – Night Ranger
Oct. 20-22 – Smash Mouth
Oct. 23-24 – Jim Brickman
Oct. 25-26 – Los Lonely Boys (NEW!)
Oct. 27-28 – Wilson Phillips
Oct. 29-31 – Dennis DeYoung, original member of STYX
Nov. 1-2 – 38 Special
Nov. 3-5 – Boyz II Men
Nov. 6-7 – David Cook
Nov. 8-10 – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Bill From PA

 

[nkereina]

Crowd levels in October are moderate - no longer low. Likely due in part to the growing popularity of F&W, MNSSHP (Halloween party) and Fall school breaks particularly around Columbus Day. I think there's also a RunDisney event in October, which is also growing in popularity. The fact that free dining is blacked out for the month of October is also indicative of the moderate crowd levels.

The parties themselves are lower crowds, relative to the time of year. We've attended a sold out party before and found wait times comparable to what they were during the day - 20 minute stand by, a little longer for headliners. So not terrible. In years' past, the only parties that sold out were the ones right around Halloween. However, I'd say it's unpredictable now considering they are starting the parties much earlier than they used to in September. Week nights are probably still the best shot at lower crowds.

 

[dmcfa2504]

Can't wait to go that time of year!

 

[memakwed]

Thanks for the info. Tonight at 8pm we make our decision if we will be going or not! And if we do it's a total surprise to DS10. What's eat to the beat! Please give me as much info as possible

 

[madge]

We've done Disney in the winter, in the summer, at the holidays this past year but I would like to try for Halloween before my 10yr old out grows the idea of the Halloween party...do you think that could happen?
How are the crowd levels the week before Columbus day Oct 1-11? How are the crowd levels at the Halloween parties?

crowd levels are busy, but not necessarily crowded. attraction wait times are generally manageable. avoid the World Showcase in the evenings on the weekends, it's often shoulder to shoulder over there.

MNSSHP crowds have steadily grown over the years. the Columbus Day weekend parties are quite often sold out. again, attraction waits aren't bad, but there tend to be a lot of people around.

Many schools in the southeast have Fall break during those weeks, so it's not as quiet as it used to be. (we've traveled this same time period every year since 1999, when our school started having fall break )

 

[PSUGuy]

Thanks for the info. Tonight at 8pm we make our decision if we will be going or not! And if we do it's a total surprise to DS10. What's eat to the beat! Please give me as much info as possible

Each of the acts mentioned in my post put on 3 shows per evening at the American Pavillion in World Showcase. The 2nd and 3rd shows are less crowded than the first but we've never failed to get some sort of seat even when we stroll up late. We'll be seeing SmashMouth for the 2nd time, great show, and Billy Ocean, Night Ranger and Jim Brickman for the first time. In the past we've seen The Pointer Sisters, Wilson Phillips, Edwin McCain, Spyro Gyra, 5th Dimension, Chubby Checker, Air Supply,Manhattan Transfer and more I can't remember.

Bill From PA

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We have gone in October multiple times includes this past October and we were shocked at how crowded it was.

Granted this was the week of Columbus Day (so i would think the week before wouldn't be as bad) but even by the Thursday after there were still lines for the Peoplemover and up to 30 min wait at times for IASW

The week was definitely better than the weekend though (especially for F&WF booths)

I think an earlier poster mentioned that October is now a "moderate crowd" month not "low" and that sounds about right.

Definitely not enough to stop from having a great trip or anything, I just wouldn't expect it to be "empty"