October Trip Planning

[Kat9753]

We (myself, husband, and five children ages 12, 10, 8, 5, and 2) have a trip planned for October 27th-November 1st and will be staying at the Contemporary. We'll be arriving via DME after our flight lands at 8:50am and will be departing on the evening of the 1st at 9:15pm.

I'm struggling to decide how to arrange our days and plan our trip. We'll be celebrating my husband's birthday on the 31st and considered going to MNSSHP that evening, but we're not super committed to that idea as it might be a bit too crowded. MK, EP, and AK are priorities while we wait to see what HS ends up like closer to our trip.

I'm trying to strike a balance between various age ranges and interests, dealing with increased crowd levels, while also not over-doing it and giving ourselves time to relax with our children. If I had the option, I would add another day on, but I can't unfortunately.

Any suggestions for how to plan park days, and also do something special for my husband on the 31st while also celebrating Halloween?

 

[Peppeperoni]

I did MNSSHP this past Halloween night and enjoyed it! But it was a solo trip and the expense was just for me not a full family. It adds up quick! It was crowded but the ride times were low

 

[BrianL]

First of all, to the DIS!

Do you plan to do park days on your arrival and departure dates? That might change my tactic a little bit. I'd go right over to MK after arrival since you are at Contemporary (your room may not be ready that early though but you can store your bags with the hotel).

If you've never done MNSSHP, I recommend it. The 31st will be a crowded one, but considering most are sell-outs anyay these dyas, I wouldn't worry too much. It really is very fun! I would plan around the EMH parks. It's true they get more crowded, but they give you more time. Ideally, if you have hoppers, you can go to the EMH then hop to another perk, or hop in for evening hours. I don't know if all of the hours are posted for that time yet, but they will only extend them, not cut them.

Have fun!

 

[jina]

We will be there at the same time when DD9 turns 10 and I've done similar thinking. Here is where I'm at:

- we decided to split stay BLT and Boardwalk and we will mainly go to MK (and maybe AK) when at BLT, and EP/DHS when staying at Boardwalk.
- Totally agree DHS is a wildcard- I'll have to watch these boards when it opens although my FP+ window is right around then so I probably will have to decide which days to plan for DHS before SWGE opens and I will have to make some guesses when the ADR window comes up in a few weeks re: when to try to book Sci Fi.
- My belief is that I should avoid EP and DHS on weekends - there will be many locals coming in for Food & Wine and to see SWGE so we will focus on MK or AK on the weekend days. I *may* consider doing EP on a weekend morning if there is EE but I'm pretty sure that is not the case.
- I will take EE into account when planning park days and likely hop somewhere else in the afternoon
- We do want to go to a party while we are at BLT - my belief is the parties closest to Halloween will be the busiest so we are targeting 10/27 for the party
- As for the 31st, you could do the party - really I have no idea how much more crowded 10/31 would be compared to 10/27 -we want to do party events but also walk on some rides. For DD's birthday I'm planning to do cake decorating with her since she has to be 10 to do it and she loves baking and decorating. There are so many fun things you can do outside of a park depending on interest not to mention park tours and special experiences. Another option for 10/31 is EP- hopefully it will not be a zoo. I would think DHS may also get extra Star Wars fans on the 31st although only kids can come in costume.


- just updated this post to say I just read an article about boardwalk on Halloween night- tons of activities so we will probably go there on Halloween instead of a park.

I too will be following this thread!

 

[sharonabe]

Any suggestions for how to plan park days, and also do something special for my husband on the 31st while also celebrating Halloween?

First, here's a link to some of the other Halloween things from last year: https://www.themouseforless.com/walt-disney-world/planning/events/fall-and-halloween-activities/

For the 31st, you could try to get an ADR at Cali Grill and watch Hallowishes from there or from the deck.

I would do at least one MK day on a party night, but probably not the 31st. MK will be far less crowded on those days and you'll get a lot done. You'll also need an evening in MK on a non-party night to catch HEA. We find hoppers to be almost indispensable during party months. Being able to hop to/from MK to avoid the crowds is worth the price to us.

EP will still be doing F&W. Weekends in World Showcase can get really crowded, but we also found a Mon evening so crowded, we bailed from there. The following Wed evening wasn't bad, though.

Oh, and two years ago, the beginning of that week was a little cold. We needed jackets in the morning and evenings. On our F! night, the wind came up and we had to buy a blanket just to be able to stay and watch without freezing.

 

[Kat9753]

I did MNSSHP this past Halloween night and enjoyed it! But it was a solo trip and the expense was just for me not a full family. It adds up quick! It was crowded but the ride times were low

Good to know!

First of all, to the DIS!

Do you plan to do park days on your arrival and departure dates? That might change my tactic a little bit. I'd go right over to MK after arrival since you are at Contemporary (your room may not be ready that early though but you can store your bags with the hotel).

If you've never done MNSSHP, I recommend it. The 31st will be a crowded one, but considering most are sell-outs anyay these dyas, I wouldn't worry too much. It really is very fun! I would plan around the EMH parks. It's true they get more crowded, but they give you more time. Ideally, if you have hoppers, you can go to the EMH then hop to another perk, or hop in for evening hours. I don't know if all of the hours are posted for that time yet, but they will only extend them, not cut them.

Have fun!

Thank you! As of right now, we plan to visit MK on our arrival day since I was able to get an earlier flight. We will have hoppers, and parks hours are estimates currently but there are parties scheduled for the 27th, 29th, and 31st. Based on that, my initial plan was MK on arrival day, then MK, EP, AK, and then possibly taking the 31st off before the party that evening. No parks planned for the 1st.