October Crowds (sorry if this is repetitive)

[Djibouti]

I thought at one point there was some sort of "Crowd expectancy calander?" No?
What are October crowds generally like? Thanks all!

Julee

 

[shyboy72]

Last year it didn't seem too busy. Just short wait on rides but nothing bad. We'll be going again this upcoming October too..

 

[LVTiffy]

how about the calender? what are the park times like?

I'm changing my plans from Aug to October...Not going in this month because I read several members just returned from there and witnesse large crowds. I could go on my birthday in september, however space mtn will be closed and its one of my favs. So oct might be good if the lines aren't that bad and the days are long.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Many schools in AZ and Utah have fall breaks so the weekends tend to be busy. Hours? Typically they've been M-F 10-8, F-Sat 9-12, Sun 9-11 for DL. There has been some talk of "nightly" firework fir Halloween, so that may extend hours slightly. Also DCA has the trick or treat parties that close that park at 5 or 6 on those days.

 

[Sherry E]

Last year we arrived on a Thursday night (October 2) and it was very crowded in DTD. It looked like it was a weekend night. The next day didn't seem all that horrific to me - I mean, maybe my tolerance of crowds in higher than some folks' so a lot of it can be a matter of perception - and the first part of Saturday, October 4th, didn't seem that bad either. But then by Saturday evening, it was crazy. The nice 15-minute line for Haunted Mansion Holiday suddenly was nearing one hour! And CMs reported/admitted that they were ill-prepared for the crowds that descended on DLR last October. They were taken aback by it. October ended up being a very busy month when it was normally considered off-peak. There were all kinds of factors: the Arizona and Utah breaks, as previously mentioned, Columbus Day, Gay Days, Miley Cyrus' birthday celebration in DL, the Halloweentime festivities, a couple of PIN discounts at the 3 DLR hotels, etc. Again, I didn't find it unbearable until Saturday night. But I fully expect this coming October to be just as busy - if not more so - than last year. Even though, thus far, there are no DLR hotel discounts of note floating around for October, there are still the Arizona and Utah breaks, Gay Days, Columbus Day and all the Halloweentime stuff we have come to expect such as HMH and the TOTP, as well as the brand new nightly Halloween fireworks show (villain-themed, it will be very popular) and the new Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy bringing crowds in!!

Let's put it this way - I don't think there is any way this coming October could avoid being packed at DLR! I think you just kind of have to expect lots of crowds and roll with it.

 

[DangerMouse]

Gay Days, UEA, CHOCWalk, Halloweentime, MTOTP and many schools on Fall Breaks have made October a very busy month at DLR the last several years. I would say the end of the month would be better than the beginning for crowds.

 

[avalon451]

Check when the Utah and Arizona fall breaks are. Avoid weekends if possible.

Last year we went on Columbus Day weekend, Sunday-Thursday, the 12th-16th. We had fireworks scheduled for Sunday and Monday (Columbus Day) evening, although F! was down. Hours Monday were 9-11, then 10-8 Tues-Wed, and 10-11 Thurs. High winds killed the fireworks on Monday, as they often do at that time of year. Columbus Day wasn't too bad. Tuesday and Wednesday were really quite nice and uncrowded. Thursday was the start of Utah Educator's Association conference (and Utah's 5-day fall break; the UEA is also known as "Utah Escapes to Anaheim) and it was starting to get really crazy by the time we left on Thursday afternoon.

I feel like we hit it just right, because the crowds were reportedly horrendous the week before and the week after we were there. The big upside of October, I think, is that most of the refurbs are up and running, the weather is really nice, and the Halloween decorations are amazing!

 

[dan1964]

Well, it should be interesting the first weekend of October ... Both UEA and Gay Days are that weekend. It's also "Conference Weekend" for the faithful here in Utah ... so I don't know if that will effect how many will leave the state. I don't know that they have had UEA so early before ... so ...

 

[Djibouti]

Hmmm... well now I don't know! Maybe I should stick with September. If anything we would be going during the week, but it sounds like October is pretty busy!

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

I always go to the Park at least once in October -- it's my birthday month, plus I love the Halloween decorations. Even though I avoid the obvious "peak crowd" times (UTEA, Gay Days, Columbus Day), it's been getting more & more crowded every year.

I expect this year to be no different. In fact, crowds may be worse due to the Halloween fireworks and the Space Mountain overlay.

Of course, that won't stop me from going. (Fortunately, my birthday falls in the middle of the week, so crowds should be manageable.)