October. Y'all are freaking me out.

[DLgal]

I've noticed this too.... seems like they have longer Fall, Winter, Spring and entire Summer break. Not sure when anyone is actually in school!!

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

Not "mythical". These districts certainly DO exist, in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

 

[ktlm]

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

Not "mythical". These districts certainly DO exist, in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

A lot of school districts in Oklahoma and Texas have fall break in October. It ranges anywhere from 2 days to a full week depending on the district and their calendar. We are right in the middle between DLR and WDW and if you don't have a full week, DLR can make more sense than WDW.

 

[pennym]

Not gonna lie, Oct can be crazy crowded. Having said that I've been 3 or 4 times then (love Halloweentime!) and still had quiet mornings where we could get a lot done. It's the heat that gets to us most at that time of the year, it's a killer for this Kiwi!

 

[duckboyone]

SAME! ^^^ Back in the day we loved going in October because of the usually wonderful weather and break from the insane summer crowds. Probably best ever trip though was a visit to WDW about 10 years ago in early November. It was so dead that you could literally exit Space Mtn, walk around to the entrance, and immediately get on to a waiting car/ship. We did that ride about 6 times in a row with ZERO wait time until my son had finally had enough.

But that was then and this is now...
So what about mid-September or early November at DLR? Those going to be way better than October?

Yep! I remember one of those Octobers at Disney, we were there with my brother and his kids, and we were eating at Rancho del Zocalo. When we were done we let all the kids run over to Thunder Mountain Railroad, and they went on it over and over and over. We were sitting at the table in Zocalo closest to the ride, so when it would come by with them on it we could hear them screaming. They also went on it at least 6 or more times w/o standing in a line. I miss those days...

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

October is the 2nd busiest month at Disneyland, just manage your expectations.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I think 5 full park days means you can take it easy and not feel like the crowds are impinging on your ability to go on rides or experiences. Just be prepared for crowded walkways, longer food waits (at least you have the hotel you can retreat to), etc... it should still be a good time.

Definitely take advantage of rope drop and EMH on your trip, along with G+/ILL on select days. The key to checking things off is definitely being at the hub by 7:45am for an 8am drop.

 

[twodogs]

We go in October every year, almost always on the Columbus Day holiday 4 day weekend, due to my kids’ school schedules. It is crowded but very doable! We go to OOB one of the nights, and that is a blast!!! I would definitely GO and just be prepared for crowds and have a plan. G+, rope drop, EMH if you have them and Mobile Order will all make your trip more manageable. I would definitely NOT cancel my October trip!!!

 

[twodogs]

I will say I called last night to book the GCH for Columbus Day weekend, and many room categories were already sold out!

 

[alleighboo]

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

Haha one of these mythical school districts is in TN...that's where we are coming from the week of Columbus Day! I'm a teacher and my fiance is a principal so we are locked into school calendars despite not having kids. I've worked in 3 districts over 2 states and never had fall break until moving to TN. Of course the trade off is we don't have a spring break.

I'm also worried about the crowds but hopefully Genie+ and staying on property will help?

 

[DLgal]

Haha one of these mythical school districts is in TN...that's where we are coming from the week of Columbus Day! I'm a teacher and my fiance is a principal so we are locked into school calendars despite not having kids. I've worked in 3 districts over 2 states and never had fall break until moving to TN. Of course the trade off is we don't have a spring break.

I'm also worried about the crowds but hopefully Genie+ and staying on property will help?

No spring break? That's interesting.

 

[Matrixleos]

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

In 2017, I traveled to Texas for work and one of my clients which was school district. They told me that they would be closing school for 2 weeks in October. When I asked for curiosity what was the reason, they said it was a local tradition, as that's when they have fall festivals and parents needed their kids to help at home for those two weeks to prepare for the festivals. If I lived in that school district and I had work flexibility, I'd go on vacation in October compared to the hotter summer months.

 

[alleighboo]

No spring break? That's interesting.

Yep. Definitely an adjustment. We have Good Friday and the Monday after Easter off, but not the traditional entire week. We also have a lot of snow and snow days and at that point in year, we're just trying to get out. It does help us avoid all the Spring Break crowds on vacations but it sounds like Fall Break crowds are becoming a "thing" now!

 

[Living42Day]

I have read a few posts now that go something like this:

"October is nuts, don't go"

"October is the absolute worst"

"Avoid October at all costs.."

So naturally.. I'm freaking out.

I hope this doesn't come across badly, but: breathe!

If you're new to Disney, I'm sure the information overload can be really overwhelming and feel almost impossible to fully understand. I recognize your frequent posts, concerns, and worries as something I did when I started out with planning our first trip 10 years ago.

The DISBoards are a great place for trip planning, but you can find opinions either way. If you are looking for negativity, you'll have no problem finding it. However, if you are looking for positive stories there are plenty of those as well. Some people hate HMH, while others love it. Some people hate fireworks and Fantasmic, while others love them. We personally love October, but like the comments you quoted, some people would rather avoid the month altogether.

I would not change dates that I have already planned. However, if you are concerned that you will have a bad time it may be worth moving it up to September to alleviate some of the anxiety. It's not worth the constant stress and worrying, trust me.

 

[katyringo]

I hope this doesn't come across badly, but: breathe!

If you're new to Disney, I'm sure the information overload can be really overwhelming and feel almost impossible to fully understand. I recognize your frequent posts, concerns, and worries as something I did when I started out with planning our first trip 10 years ago.

The DISBoards are a great place for trip planning, but you can find opinions either way. If you are looking for negativity, you'll have no problem finding it. However, if you are looking for positive stories there are plenty of those as well. Some people hate HMH, while others love it. Some people hate fireworks and Fantasmic, while others love them. We personally love October, but like the comments you quoted, some people would rather avoid the month altogether.

I would not change dates that I have already planned. However, if you are concerned that you will have a bad time it may be worth moving it up to September to alleviate some of the anxiety. It's not worth the constant stress and worrying, trust me.

Lolol.. I'm not new. I just have *anxiety*

 

[gelatoni fan]

I always wonder where these mythical school districts are. I never had a fall break growing up (3 different states) and my kids have been in 2 different districts in 2 states and neither those nor neighboring districts had one either.

Not districts necessarily but I know of one elementary school in Northern California that actually has a break in October, usually the 2nd week. They start the school year on the first week of August before most other elementary schools in the area that don't have that October break.

 

[BellaandMickey]

I have only ever been able to go during busy times due to work and school schedules and I’ve always had a great time.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

Because of the school fall break here in San Diego we will be going October 1-4 with OBB on the 2nd. That puts us in the October heat and crowds and in the parks on a Monday. Not the best but we will make sure we have a great time.

 

[GatorChris]

I'm worried and anxious like the OP. We have the third week off in October this year. I thought that would be good being a full week after Columbus. But the hotel reservations are just as expensive and pricey, so I guess that idea is shot.

Last year, it was in the 70s the whole week. That was good since I was steamed there was no FastPass. Having to wait 60 minutes every time for Space Mt got old really fast. And now, we get the pleasure of paying out the nose for FP. Yippee!

Used to when we homeschooled, we went in November during Christmas season. SOOOOOooooo much better than Halloween. We really didn't like all the dark decor last year. Just give me plain old DL before Halloween DL.

 

[dina444444]

We have been to WDW in October several times. We love MNSSHP and WDW in October! We were going to do that last year, but cancelled due to the huge raise in resort prices from our last trip in 2019 ($3,000 more for the same category room at the same resort for the same week) and the fact that with that price increase offerings were limited and there was no FP at all. We decided to do DLR instead.

I would say that outside of going into EPCOT on a Saturday during Food&Wine, WDW in October was much less crowded than what we experienced at DLR last year.

I was at WDW this past October, it was right after genie+ launched. I didn’t use it on that trip but I didn’t find the parks anywhere as bad Disneyland can get during Halloween.