October at IA/US

[goNsoon2WDW]

We are planning on going to IA/US in October and were wondering what to expect. I think we will get the hoppers so we can go between the parks. We have a couple of days that we could go.

• Saturday, October 22nd
• Wednesday, October 26th
• Friday, October 27th
• Saturday, October 28th

We can only pick two days. We are leaning toward the 22nd and 26th, but would appreciate your input.

Are crowds and wait times typically heavy? Any suggestions as to how to make the days go more smoothly would be great.

TIA

 

[Metro West]

The crowds in October are very manageable but three of your four dates are days when HHN is staged at the Studios. The park will close at 5pm on 10/22, 10/27 & 10/28 so keep that in mind. If you aren't planning on attending HHN, you should do the Studios in the mornings and then head over to IOA.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

The crowds in October are very manageable but three of your four dates are days when HHN is staged at the Studios. The park will close at 5pm on 10/22, 10/27 & 10/28 so keep that in mind. If you aren't planning on attending HHN, you should do the Studios in the mornings and then head over to IOA. Of those dates, I would suggest 10/22 & 10/26 and go to the Studios on 10/26 since HHN is NOT staged that night. You would have until 6pm do to everything that day.

I didn't realize that the parks would close at 5 pm. That make the decision for us to go on the 26th for sure since we are not planning on going to the HHN.

Thank you for the input.

 

[Metro West]

I didn't realize that the parks would close at 5 pm. That make the decision for us to go on the 26th for sure since we are not planning on going to the HHN.

Thank you for the input.

Only the Studios will close at 5pm...IOA closes at 7pm.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

Only the Studios will close at 5pm...IOA closes at 7pm.

Does this make IOA more crowded than typical or are the crowds smaller because of the event at US?

 

[Metro West]

Does this make IOA more crowded than typical or are the crowds smaller because of the event at US?

Typically HHN doesn't affect IOA crowds either way. CityWalk will be jammed when you leave the parks so be aware of the crowds.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

Typically HHN doesn't affect IOA crowds either way. CityWalk will be jammed when you leave the parks so be aware of the crowds.

Great! Thanks for the info. I appreciate your help. We have decided to follow your advice and go on the 22nd and 26th. I can't wait!

 

[Metro West]

Great! Thanks for the info. I appreciate your help. We have decided to follow your advice and go on the 22nd and 26th. I can't wait!

You are certainly welcome and if any other questions arise, please feel free to ask.

 

[Victoria3]

Halloween Horror Nights is actually happening all four of those days.

 

[macraven]

Halloween Horror Nights is actually happening all four of those days.

you are so correct.

the last 2 wednesdays are added to the hhn dates this year.

 

[Metro West]

Halloween Horror Nights is actually happening all four of those days.

Yup...I guess I read it wrong. Wednesday must be in the "other event nights" section of the calendar.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

No worries. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

I am wondering, with the early closing time, which would be a better choice?

Do we start our day at US and plan to go over to IOA in the afternoon? If so, do you think we will have a really long wait for HP FJ?

Would it be a better idea to go straight to Harry Potter and then go over to US and back to IOA?

Is that too much back in forth and will it waste our time?

Since the parks will close at 5:00 & 7:00, and it sounds like City Walk will be really packed, do you happen to have any suggestions of what we might want to do for a late dinner or activity in the area that might be away from the HHN crowd? Our kids are 13 & 10.

Thanks again.

 

[macraven]

No worries. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

I am wondering, with the early closing time, which would be a better choice?

Do we start our day at US and plan to go over to IOA in the afternoon? If so, do you think we will have a really long wait for HP FJ?

Would it be a better idea to go straight to Harry Potter and then go over to US and back to IOA?

Is that too much back in forth and will it waste our time?

Since the parks will close at 5:00 & 7:00, and it sounds like City Walk will be really packed, do you happen to have any suggestions of what we might want to do for a late dinner or activity in the area that might be away from the HHN crowd? Our kids are 13 & 10.

Thanks again.

i am going to open a can of worms by saying this.....

if i were going during your time period, i would not plan on wednesday the 26th as a day to spend entirely in the park.

when i see wed on the hhn calendar, i automatically think, Hell week is going to be happening.

hell week is when schools in orlando and maybe nearby have their fall break.


teens out of school, parks could be crowded during the day.

i did hell week once and prefer to work my schedule around it.
it wasn't necessarily the crowds but the behavior that got on my nerves.



i highlighted in red my choice for you.
do potter land first, switch to the studios then return to ioa until it closes.

(many teens sleep in and you won't have crowds possible up to noon.

many go to the studio side in the late afternoon. say 3:00-4:00.
peeps like to catch the rides in the studios before the park is cleared at 5.

many do the rides before the park closes and then do houses when hhn opens is what usually happens.)



hitting potterland early and later before park closing, has been the recommendation of many posters.
i would follow that guideline to keep lines low for your family.

with the way the economy is going, you might find crowds not a problem on your trip.
it's just a guess on my part.

switching to and from parks is not bad.
when you leave ioa, turn left after you walk by hard rock cafe.
walk along the side of it.

you will encounter a tm station along this walk.
show your ticket and you can enter the studios side.

you will see blue man group theatre on the left as you are walking.

you will come out between the major universal store and jimmy neutron building. (note:jn closing down but the building will still be there. it is being changed to a new ride)


this route is shorter than going all the way around to the front entrance of the studios.

to go back to ioa, do the same path but in reverse.


you can not get lost...


i don't see city walk any busier during your time period.

dinner hour time periods will always have their crowds but eat before 6:30 or after 8:15 and you will be fine.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

Hell Week... Ugh! We have never heard of this. Are the schools in that area on an all year schedule to have a week off of school in October?

We have a traditional school schedule and are choosing to take our kids out of school a few extra days along with days they are off for conferences.

Does this impact the weekends as much as the weekdays? I would typically think that the weekends are always pretty crowded and we thought that Wednesday might be a bit easier to get everything in without huge crowds. We might just have to wait and see how it will be.

Thanks for the info.

 

[macraven]

right now, i don't know of the school break schedules.

all i know is i have to be back at work on august 18th.......
students return on the 23rd, with freshmen only on the 22nd for a part time day. i'm talking high school in the mid west.

fall break is quite common.

very common for college too.

schools that have fall break are not on year round schedules.
with my district in illinois, the teacher workshops and conferences fall in the 3rd week of september.

weekends during the school year will have local attendance.
weather is cooler than summer during october usually.

weekdays are always less crowded than weekends.
but, that is just my opinion.

i have been to uo and disney all months except nov, dec, january...

when you do the parks, go early.
not everyone gets up early to do that.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

I have been doing some research around here (Kansas City area) and out of the four big districts three of them have conferences in late October. It seems like this might be a bit later than some other parts of the midwest. Some in Iowa and Indiana I heard have them earlier in October or late September. My fingers are still crossed for low crowds.

 

[PaulaSue]

The crowds in October are very manageable but three of your four dates are days when HHN is staged at the Studios. The park will close at 5pm on 10/22, 10/27 & 10/28 so keep that in mind. If you aren't planning on attending HHN, you should do the Studios in the mornings and then head over to IOA. Of those dates, I would suggest 10/22 & 10/26 and go to the Studios on 10/26 since HHN is NOT staged that night. You would have until 6pm do to everything that day.

Thanks for the info!

 

[macraven]

Halloween Horror Nights is actually happening all four of those days.

you are so correct.

the last 2 wednesdays are added to the hhn dates this year.

just a heads up that hhn will be on all 4 of those dates and the studios will close at 5pm.