October Crowds

[Haley R]

That is the week we went this past year and we stayed at Poly. We had a FABULOUS time! MK on non-party nights were insane, but rope drop at MK on a party day was a DREAM. The convenience of Poly + a park hopper + rope dropping = one fabulous vacation for us!!

We are planning on RDing MK once during our trip on a party day. I'm so excited!

 

[anna samantha]

I think October continues to get busier each and every year. We were there the week of Columbus day in 2016 (left on the 14th) and it was really busy. So busy, we really didn't ride anything we didn't have a fastpass for. It's a Small World has almost a two hour wait. Not what I would call enjoyable. We're steering clear of October from now on due to our experience on that trip. But how busy it feels is very subjective, so you really have to go for yourself and find out. My advice would be to prepare for it to be busy, plan for it, and you'll be fine!

I was there that same week. It was insane!!!!! If I hadn't been solo I'd have been really stressed out!!

 

[Davey Jones II]

The basic strategy is to go to MK on party days, then either leave at 4:00 when the partygoers start to show up, or stay til the party and get in line for a headliner shortly before 6.

If you want to see the fireworks, show up at MK in the evening.

 

[TulipMom]

We are planning on RDing MK once during our trip on a party day. I'm so excited!

You will love it!! We had EMH on a party day and there were only a few dozen people right in front of the castle to watch the welcome show at 7:55. (Though, certainly more people were around through mainstreet &/or already lined up waiting to be released to where they were headed first). The first 2 hours were just so magical with how low the crowds were and the rest of the day wasn't too bad, either. We had planned our first few hours to hit up rides via stand-by and then starting around 10:30am we had our FP+s and ADR. We left around 4pm, took a break, and park hopped to Epcot. (We attended MNSSHP a different night).

With rope dropping and strategic FP+ and ADR, we didn't have any crowd issues at the other parks, either. It's not that it wasn't busy (it was), it was just that we had a plan and were able to accomplish what we wanted to without the crowds feeling oppressive.

There were major crowd issues at MK on the evenings of non-party days, though. That was bananas and not fun. Thankfully, one night was our arrival day and our only goal was a walk-up dinner and to use 3 FP+ and then leave. And the other MK night, we were content to watch fireworks while riding Barnstormer on repeat.

 

[Brocktoon]

October vet from many years and yes rope-dropping MK on party days is the way to go. I haven't seen HEA yet, and while not big on the dessert parties I sprung for the HEA garden viewing on 10/24. There's only a couple non-party nights with HEA near Halloween so it will be PACKED! That's our arrival day and we're staying at Ft Wilderness which thankfully is on Bay Lake. My plan for 10/24 is to relax during the day, hit Trader Sam's when it opens and 'mentally prepare' for the MK crowds ... then head over that evening just for the reserved dessert and fireworks.

The next morning (10/25) will be a MK rope drop on a party day to get in all the rides

 

[B. Shoe]

October vet from many years and yes rope-dropping MK on party days is the way to go. I haven't seen HEA yet, and while not big on the dessert parties I sprung for the HEA garden viewing on 10/24. There's only a couple non-party nights with HEA near Halloween so it will be PACKED! That's our arrival day and we're staying at Ft Wilderness which thankfully is on Bay Lake. My plan for 10/24 is to relax during the day, hit Trader Sam's when it opens and 'mentally prepare' for the MK crowds ... then head over that evening just for the reserved dessert and fireworks.

The next morning (10/25) will be a MK rope drop on a party day to get in all the rides

We're invested with a Fireworks Dessert Party on 10/22, Early Morning Magic tickets on 10/23, and MNSSHP tickets on 10/25. There are also Extra Magic Hours in the evening on 10/24. Hopefully between all of that, it'll make our MK experiences a little less hectic, if crowds are busier than normal that week!

 

[Haley R]

You will love it!! We had EMH on a party day and there were only a few dozen people right in front of the castle to watch the welcome show at 7:55. (Though, certainly more people were around through mainstreet &/or already lined up waiting to be released to where they were headed first). The first 2 hours were just so magical with how low the crowds were and the rest of the day wasn't too bad, either. We had planned our first few hours to hit up rides via stand-by and then starting around 10:30am we had our FP+s and ADR. We left around 4pm, took a break, and park hopped to Epcot. (We attended MNSSHP a different night).

With rope dropping and strategic FP+ and ADR, we didn't have any crowd issues at the other parks, either. It's not that it wasn't busy (it was), it was just that we had a plan and were able to accomplish what we wanted to without the crowds feeling oppressive.

There were major crowd issues at MK on the evenings of non-party days, though. That was bananas and not fun. Thankfully, one night was our arrival day and our only goal was a walk-up dinner and to use 3 FP+ and then leave. And the other MK night, we were content to watch fireworks while riding Barnstormer on repeat.

We are planning on MNSSHP 10/23 & 10/25. Then we will RD 10/26 at MK and switch over to Epcot after lunch. On 10/29 we will be going to MK just at night for HEA and EMH so we will be getting lots of MK time lol

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

We will be there the same week!
I'm so excited for the Halloween Party! people say lots of great stuff about it! we can't wait!

We already went during February, September and November and love it in terms of crowds. I'm kinda worried about October crowds, but we'll see.

 

[Woody412]

Our last trip was in October of 2016. We’d never done F&W before so we went the weekend (Sat-Mon) after Columbus Day thinking crowds would be low after the holiday. We were dead wrong. Went to EPCOT on Sat and it was packed full of college kids and drinking teams. None were especially rowdy but there were just SO many of them. Fortunately they were all there for the food and drinks so none of the rides had an especially long wait and it ended up being a pretty good day.

We made Sunday a pool day because I figured MK would be crowded. Monday was our MK day because it’s Monday so the parks should be empty. Rookie mistake. The weather was more comparable to mid July than anything else and the crowds were shoulder to shoulder. I harbor no ill will towards our cousins from across the pond but this was like the Bristish Invasion Part Deux. I wasn’t privy to fall break in the UK and was caught completely off guard. We ended up doing pirates and 7DMT with our FP+ (7DMT had a 300 min standby wait, no exaggeration). We ended up canceling our 3rd FP+ and heading back to the pool. We went back to MK for the fireworks and afterwards DW took DD to see some princesses and I took DSx2 to get some sundaes. They both fell asleep in the stroller while waiting and I didn’t want to waste their sundaes so I indulged a little. I would’ve given them away but you parents out there have done a tremendous job teaching your kids not to take food from strangers, and I’m sure my double stroller looked friendlier than a windowless van.

All in all it was not a terrible trip. That being said, I don’t think I’ll be going back in October for the foreseeable future.

 

[kylenne]

We're invested with a Fireworks Dessert Party on 10/22, Early Morning Magic tickets on 10/23, and MNSSHP tickets on 10/25. There are also Extra Magic Hours in the evening on 10/24. Hopefully between all of that, it'll make our MK experiences a little less hectic, if crowds are busier than normal that week!

Whoa, aside from EMM this is exactly what we're doing on the same dates! The dessert party was a must for us for a couple of reasons, my gf is really short and neither of us do well in super heavy crowds (we both have ADHD and anxiety), so I saw it as an opportunity to get a good spot for HEA with a minimum of stress and craziness. The only reason we didn't go for EMM is because we chose to splurge on something different (spa day at the Grand Floridian).

 

[ArielSRL]

We are now in that category, stinks! DS will be in 9th grade this fall and his finals are during our regular travel days which is the last week in October *sigh* So instead of WDW heat & humidity we'll be traveling to DL. I'll be traveling solo to attend MNSSHP on Oct 30th which also happens to be my birthday. Looking forward to having a Halloween party on my actual birthday! And I don't have to clean up the mess afterwards

Almost a birthday twin. I’m Oct 29th.

 

[FoxC63]

Almost a birthday twin. I’m Oct 29th.

Well happy birthday to you too!

 

[ArielSRL]

Well happy birthday to you too!

Same to you!

 

[Haley R]

Well happy birthday to you too!

Can I be included since mine is Nov 1? lol

 

[Rich M]

Can I be included since mine is Nov 1? lol

I will be celebrating my un-birthday

 

[Haley R]

I will be celebrating my un-birthday

What's an un-birthday?

 

[disneyfreak202]

Im really considering moving my trip to September.....We are currently scheduled to go October 9-16th, but it seems it's going to be packed.

 

[Rich M]

An unbirthday (originally written un-birthday) is an event that is typically celebrated on any or all of the 364 (365 on leap years) days in which it is not the person's birthday. It is a neologism coined by Lewis Carroll in his Through the Looking-Glass,[1][2] giving rise to "The Unbirthday Song" in the 1951 Disney animated feature film Alice in Wonderland.[3]

One's unbirthday should not be confused with one's half-birthday, which only occurs once a year.

What's an un-birthday?

 

[Haley R]

An unbirthday (originally written un-birthday) is an event that is typically celebrated on any or all of the 364 (365 on leap years) days in which it is not the person's birthday. It is a neologism coined by Lewis Carroll in his Through the Looking-Glass,[1][2] giving rise to "The Unbirthday Song" in the 1951 Disney animated feature film Alice in Wonderland.[3]

One's unbirthday should not be confused with one's half-birthday, which only occurs once a year.

So basically any day except my birthday is my un-birthday?

 

[FoxC63]

Disney park hours, parade and fireworks are released approximately 180 days in advance. However, KtP has them on his crowd calendar, how accurate are they? Pretty good IMO. Things do not change that dramatically at WDW but I know last year the afternoon parade at MK, Festival the Fantasy parade that starts at 3pm was moved to 2pm effective August 20, 2017. Then it changed back. Disney also reserves the right to change anything at a moments notice and overnight while you are sleeping. Yes, this is frustrating.

You can even compare the hours posted now vs last year at any given park day to help guide you plan. Josh at easywdw is awesome. You can still find his cheat sheets from Oct. 2017.

If you don't want to look, or do all this work your best bet is to just wait for Disney to post them and keep your eye on them for any changes.