October crowds??? Mickeys Halloween Party???

[bradpga]

We are looking into changing our Thanksgiving ressies to go in October. We are looking at the dates of 21-26. This is the week before Halloween and would be perfect timing for the MNSSHP and F&W festival. What are the crowds like in late October? Obviously wont be as crowded as Tgiving week. Great time period for point usage (low points). Weather should be nice. I have heard the crowds are slim this time of year. Also- How difficult is it to book a room at 7-month window this time of year? Prefer a 2 bedroom at BWV. Any input???

 

[bigsmooth]

We went this week last year and I did not consider it really that crowded. We went the last week of Oct and our last weekend overlapped with Jersey week, so it started to get crowded the day we left (I swear, we were the only non Jersey people at MGM the Sunday we left).

Crowds were pleasant, weather was pleasant. However, that is F&W, so I don't think you'll get 2 BR BWV at 7 months unless you call day by day at 7 months, and be prepared to waitlist.

 

[Demosthenes]

Watch out for the Funai Golf Classic. I'm not sure which weekend it will be on this year, but the parks get a little more crowded, and the hotel rooms are scarce. Other than that weekend, I think late October is a fine time to go. It isn't as deserted as it was 10 years ago, but it is still a decent time for crowds, and the weather is good for swimming, while still being tolerable for the parks.

 

[DVC Grammy]

Due to the F & W Festival and the MNSSHP, the crowds have now become fairly large, especially at Epcot and MK. Not as bad as any holiday (non-school) time, but still sizeable. Now that Disney has all these special events to lure people, they come.
From what I hear, the slowest time (if there is such a thing at WDW) seems to be after Labor Day until Columbus Day.
We go every F & W, but by now, we expect crowds. It's not an issue for me(but then again, I'm originally from NYC; compared to the subways at rush hour, WDW is empty! )

 

[Boardwalker]

I have to say that in my experience, October is no longer a slow month. From Columbus weekend on you have so many special events going on that the parks are no longer empty. Just try to get through EPCOT at night with the food and wine festival going on, or the Magic Kingdom with the Halloween Party crowds.
Disney has gotten really good at evening out the attendance by special events and offers, so I wonder if there will be slow times at all anymore.
But the trade off is that the hours expand as the attendance does, at least in MGM and MK. So hope for the best and join the others!

 

[dblr]

We were there this year from 10/21-10/28 and did not think it was crowded but we did do Not so Scary one night and yes it was packed but got to see the parade and fireworks with good viewing areas. We did not do the countries @ Epcot but that is my least favorite pat of WDW. All in all I thought it was a great week to be there low temps made it comfortable being @ the parks.

 

[CarolMN]

Watch out for the Funai Golf Classic. I'm not sure which weekend it will be on this year, but the parks get a little more crowded, and the hotel rooms are scarce. .....(snip).....

For 2007, the Golf Classic is November 1 - 4.

 

[n2mm]

We go every late October for many years. The crowds have grown since 9/11. With F&W and MNSSHP and assorted conventions, the crowd level can be more on the moderate range (pretty much compared to early May). Weekends at EPCOT in WS can be pretty crowded. The EPCOT DVC resorts are difficult to get into during October, so I usually don't even try. It did encourage me to buy points at BWV in addition to my SSR points after the first year. I booked my BWV studio/SV at the 11 month window, day by day for the last two weeks of October. October is a wonderful time to go.

 

[kimberh]

We were there Oct 12-16th and there was a crowd. We did MNOSHP on the 12th. The day we went to Epcot the fast passes were out on Soaring and Test Track. We had park hopped on this day so this was surprising to me. Oct. used to be so slow.

 

[maciec]

We were at Disney Oct 15th-21st and found the only problems at Epcot. Otherwise, we did FP's and made out just fine. Crowds are defnitely heavier during October than they were 5 years ago.