Please - an update on crowds, bugs and weather

[deany]

I am just starting to pack my suitcase. We leave for Seattle in 36hrs!! What to take, what to take - is it warm enough to wear tank tops all day and into the evening? I don't want us packing around sweaters all day. Also, please tell me the lovebugs are not as bad! I was planning on taking my yellow tshirt. Can I get an update on the crowds?
My gosh, I am starting to get really excited now. It has been 6 1/2 long years since our last trip!!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

It's still very warm here during the day! If you're from Canada, I doubt it will feel like it "cools" off much to you in the evenings so you probably don't need to bring many sweaters. We were at the parks last weekend and spent most of the day in the pool at the resort.

There were no crowds last weekend either. Absolutely the best time of year to visit in my opinion!

The lovebugs are completely harmless - they don't bite, they don't sting, they don't swarm, they're not even ugly - you'll only really notice them on your car!

Have fun!

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

We just got home Monday. Here is our review on the week... crowds were practically non-existant most of the days.

Wednesday at Epcot the longest wait we encountered was 20 minutes for Test Track.

Thursday Expedition Everest was walk on all day (we rode 6 times without wait).

Friday morning at MK was also deserted. We walked on Space, Splash, and Big Thunder Mountain. Returning Friday evening to MK for MNSSHP Fantasyland was all walk on from 5-6 (exept maybe Dumbo). During MNSSHP the crowds were much worse but still most rides were walk-on's with much longer lines for characters and candy.

Saturday morning at Epcot we noticed a slight rise in crowds but not by much. MK Satuday night was a madhouse (Spectromagic).

MGM Sunday was still empty. The longest wait we saw was 20 minutes for ToT but it quickly went back down to 10.

Monday, Magic Kingdom seemed quite a bit more crowded lines were quickly reaching 30 to 40 minutes for the Mountains and it was a bit more difficult to get from place to place through the crowds. Maybe it was just a Monday thing with it having Spectromagic parade again this night.

IMO, it was very warm all week long. Most days the high was in the lower 90's and low in the 70's. A cold front had just passed by so I can imagine it could get much hotter. I think you will be fine with tanks all day long... no need for a sweater or jacket. Even at night I remember sweating some (especially in line at the bus stops).

The love bugs are still out in full force... they are everywhere in swarms. Some places you could not even sit on the benches because they were covered with lovebugs. They seemed worse at MGM and Animal Kingdom. We hardly saw any at MK. But don't let them bother you. They do not bite or sting... they just kinda get in the way sometimes, but no big deal.

You will have a great time! IMO, it's my new favorite time of the year to go!!

 

[mdfdisney]

I concur with KingdomHeartsFan. We were at POP about the same time (9/17-9/24). The weather was very warm. We are from Texas so we don't call it hot until it reaches 100. Low 90's, but humid.

The love bugs were a nuissance, but we pretty much ignored them the whole trip.

The parks were not empty, but very light traffic most of the day. Get an early start and you can ride most anything without a wait. Around noon or 1pm lines might get 15 min to 20 min on the top rides, but by early afternoon they were back down. I think we used FastPasses about 5 times in 7 days (TT, Peter Pan, EE, ToT, Little Mermaid that I can recall).

We went to one water park (BB), using EMH to arrive at 9am. It was great until about noon, when the park became fairly crowded, but we had riden everything by that time.

I was concerned that the restaurants might be overcrowded, but we did not experience any problems. We usually arrived about 20 minutes before our ADR and were seated within 5 to 15 minutes in most cases. We only had to wait once past our scheduled time (at WCC) and the experience made it worth the wait.

Overall a very enjoyable experience and free dining was fabulous!!!

 

[DisneyWorldWisher]

Ok, crowds are good. Lines were only 10 minutes on TOT at 4:00pm!
However, Fantasmic had all sitting room gone at 7:40.

Lovebugs are bad. Really bad. There are hundreds of them.

Weather is hot, but is getting cooler.

Get to the parks in the morning. Crowds are even lighter, lovebugs don't come out till noon, and it's cool.

 

[deany]

Thanks so much for all the great info!! We have never visited at this time of year before so I am looking forward to the low crowds. The lovebugs - well, we will just have to deal with them. And you are right, at least they don't bite!! Just another reason to hit the parks at opening time!