Planning for a trip in Oct. 2005

[taben]

I need some good info. and tips please. My hubby and I are planning a trip to Disneyworld in Oct. 2005 (16-22). I know there is some kind of Halloween celebration but don't know what. We don't have kids so this is just a "Big Kid" trip. Ha. Ha. I don't know what to expect for the temps., attendance, events, etc. for the month of October. I thought this would be a great place to start. We don't want to book until around July because there may be some discount packages out there for fall. We do know where we want to stay and what parks we want to see. We are also getting a 4 day park hopper pass too. Can these be bought at the Disney stores at a cheaper price??? What are discount codes I have been reading about?

If anyone can send me some information, I sure would appreciate it. We are very excited about our trip even though it is a long time to wait.

 

[SaraMc]

My DH and I are going at the end of September early Oct. for our wedding anniversary. We also went there for our honeymoon at that time. Its high 80's usually and it seemed to rain everyday for a little bit ( it is hurricane season and you are in florida.. What was the old saying, its florida give it 5 minutes it will change)

It wasnt too unbearable but it wasnt chilly either

Have fun!

Sara

 

[twocat]

There's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP for short). I think the dates are posted at Disney.com. It's an afterhours event at the Magic Kingdom. An extra admission charge is required but you don't need to use up one of your park hopper days for the evening festivities. I think the cost is around $35.

Weather in October can vary between hurricanes, and between low to high eighties. Haven't run into much rain in October as opposed to summer months.

You will also be there for the wonderful Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. This is the BEST. International food and drink booths throughout WS selling small size portions of indigenous (sp?) food for the country, wine tastings and seminars and many special events. See www.allearsnet.com for menus, prices and anything and everything WDW.

Where had you planned on staying? With the F & W, staying at an Epcot resort makes it so simple. Just walk through the International Gateway and you're there!

I don't know that I would wait until July to make a reservation, especially if you're staying at an Epcot resort. The F & W is a big draw for those resorts. You could make your reservaation now at rack rate or AAA (if you have it) and if a code comes out, try to apply it to your existing reservation.

You've come to the right place to get your questions answered!

Donna

 

[taben]

We are planning on staying at the Pop Century Resort. Figured why not save some $$ if you are just sleeping and taking a shower in the room. Wanted to stay at Caribbean Beach but thought since it is out first trip, would like to cut corners a bit. We have everyday planned.

 

[sarhenty]

If you have to cut corners, stick with Pop Century but there is a lot to be said about the convenience at staying at the resorts closer to the parks but you never really know what it is until you do it. In any event, have fun!

 

[maxiesmom]

Taben, all 6 of my trips have been in October! The weather has been all over the place. I have been so hot and sweaty that I could hardly hold onto the cam-corder. I have been cold enough that I needed a sweatshirt. And this past October I felt like a drowned duck. I would suggest that you make your local weatherman you best friend!

 

[frannn]

It is a great time to go. The weather is still hot, and not as much rain as Sept. MNSSHP is awesome! Crowds are manageable, especially when you take advantage of EE.

 

[taben]

Forgive me, I am new to the site and do not know what EE means. Thanks for you reply though. : )

 

[frannn]

Each day one of the 4 major WDW parks is open 1 hr early for WDW resort guests. This has been changed to include late evenings as well (one park open 3 hours later than normal closing each day). I'm not sure how the schedule works now, but I have found less crowds the earlier you get to the parks.

 

[Lady Cluck]

Hi taben, Those are our dates, too. Welcome to the DisBoards! You will find a lot of helpful friendly folks here.

The three things helped me the most at the beginning. Go to your local bookstore, and pick up a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger.

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/planning.htm . There is a lot of really helpful info here. Check out the side bar that will give you the yearly weather patterns. Oct is a great time to go!

http://www.mousesavers.com/ Everything you want to know about codes and discounts.

Since it's just the two of you, and you have not tried it before, this would be the perfect chance to try a stay on property. There are many chain hotels with acceptable rooms in the area. They are priced about the same as the Value Resorts would be with a discount code rate. However, in comparison to the small amount you might save by staying off property, you will spend a lot of time on the road, in traffic, and paying to get into in the HUGE parking lots. After a full day of walking in the parks, the last place you want to be is waiting for a tram to get to your car, to wait in traffic, to get on the highway, to find your hotel, to get up to your room.

DH is not a big Disney fan, but even he liked the convenience of the Disney transportation, and the resort theming. With another trip or two, he will be a convert. Have fun planning your trip!

 

[taben]

Thank you for all the helpful information. I cannot wait to go. I figured we just book our trip in July. I am hearing about Fall discount codes. What are they and how can you get them? Also, we are from the St. Louis area and are thinking about going through Funject to book our trip. Any suggestions as to how we can make this trip a little more inexpensive if we go another route? I have seen that people are buying tickets from AAA. Is this park hopper passes?

Once Again..THANKS!

 

[julieunruly]

We are also going in late Sept., early Oct. and have booked our stay at the Port Orleans French Quarter. I purchased the all-inclusive package (flight, resort, dining, park-hopper passes) and found this to be very convenient. Disney has added transportation from the airport to your resort as a resort guest perk and they will handle your luggage as well. This will be a big help for me as I have never flown. WDW reps are very friendly and we were given a room on the water without even asking for it. Transportation within the resort is also quite a convenience as traffic in Florida can be hectic. It will be a relief to not have that stress as well as having to plan that into my schedule. Can't wait to get there.

 

[wscato]

Besides the Food and Wine festival is there anything else going on like schools having band session or choir. Also, what are the crowds like at this time?

 

[Matt'sMom]

They do not sell the old 'park hopper' tickets any more. The tickets are now called MYW (Magic Your Way)... and you start out with a base price ticket, and then can customize your ticket by paying an additional fee to add perks such as the park hopping option, 'Plus' options (admission to waterparks, Disney Quest, Pleasure Island), and the non-expiration option. So, if you want to park hop between all four major parks, you'd want to purchase the MYW ticket with the PH option, for example. Tickets can be obtained at less than rack rates through several different sources, and may also be discounted if they are part of a 'package' booking.

As for waiting until July to book--I honestly wouldn't recommend it. There are limited numbers of rooms available at AAA rates or other discounts. Wait too long, and they may all be booked up and you could get stuck paying rack rates.

Here's what we did: We have just booked a package for October through 'The Magic for Less Travel', at an approximately 20% off discount, AAA rate. So our rooms are reserved, and we have the discounted rate locked in. But, if at any time between now and October a better deal becomes available, our TA will see that we receive all applicable discounts. So if special discount codes do come out for the Fall, we can still take advantage of those too, and may be able to save even more--but if no applicable codes come out for us, we have our room/package already reserved at a nice discount rate, and there is no risk of getting stuck paying rack rates.

Using a Disney specialist TA doesn't cost you anything, and they really can help you save money.

 

[taben]

So, how does this work? We always travel through Funject and let our TA make the arrangements. Does AAA do the whole trip or do you still need to contact Disney.com for the hotel????

Please someone, clear this up for me. I wanted to wait until July to book but now finding out it just may be a little too late to get the best deal.

I am confused...

 

[pumpkinfish]

Hey, we are going in October too! Maybe we will see you there!

 

[Lady Cluck]

No taben, you're not too late to get the good deals, but you should make reservations as soon as possible. Check out the links across the top of this page:
DIS Home Resorts Discounts Events... There is a lot of good info here.

Is your TA a Disney specialist? There is a College of Disney Knowledge for travel agents. If yours has not done this continuing education class, then you will be better off going with Dreams Unlimited (see link above "Reservations") or another qualified Disney travel specialist. They will stay on top of the discount codes for you - or you can hang out here with us, and catch them yourself! If there are to be Fall codes, they should be released sometime during the middle of this summer.

Again, I strongly suggest you grab a copy of the Unofficial Guide. It's a quick, fun book to read. You'll be feeling like a Disney Pro in no time!!

Half the fun is in the planning.

 

[taben]

I am little confused...Should I contact AAA (not a member though) and see what they offer or just stick with a travel agent? Our trip is not until mid Oct. and then there are the discount codes. How much would this save you if you were lucky enough to get them?

 

[macraven]

i have been two times in late sept thru columbus day in october. just booked my trip for this year sept/oct.

i suggest you book now. you can always modify and change once codes come out.

historically, the fall codes come out late august, sometimes by aug 15. you don't want to wait till then. you might not get the resort or building you want then.

i found it to be cheaper this year to book room only then i added on the myw tickets. if room rates come out for gp in august, i can get that discount.

i am using AAA when i booked for this trip. they advised me to go that route of room only ressies, and buy myw separate and if a package comes out, i can modify and switch. when booking for AAA discounts, you only pay one nights stay and tickets at the time of booking. the rest is due at time of check in.
i called wdw travel and was transferred to the cm dept that handled the AAA bookings.
hth

 

[poohluvrs]

Hi Taben, we are going in Oct and booked our room 2 weeks ago at GF, I thought I was so early I could pick and choose, but a lot of rooms were taken already w/ AAA rate, and some w/out. We did get a good room w/ AAA discount (CM explained there are a set number of rooms put aside to allot AAA rate to, once theyre gone thats it...) I would look into booking now, we booked throught the main CRO for WDW (407WDISNEY) and got AAA rate, we gave our AAA # over the phone, but you could say you'll give at check-in and buy a membership after you get the booking, Ive heard of people doing this...basic AAA membership is @ $49, and we saved almost $600 on our room rate for the week....hope this helps