Please reassure me Sept 2016?!

[chuckm403]

We will be there the same time as the OP. We enjoy September. As some PP's have said, it's never empty but it's certainly not as bad as April or the middle of summer. Expect it to be hot and humid however. You should be fine!!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Also, just fyi, if you have touringplans.com, look at what they predicted vs. what they saw. Many of those Sept 1's & 2's turned out to be more into the 3/4/5 numbers. Which is what early/mid Dec was in 2014. So, if you were ok with those crowds, it should be comparable. The only caveat I will add is *for us* dealing with 3/4/5 crowd levels was easier in Dec cause the heat in Sept made us more irritable. Maybe that would be a non-issue for you.

Ugh. Really? How are they any good at what they do?

 

[wendow]

Ugh. Really? How are they any good at what they do?

We have used TP's for many years, and they have always been great for our trips. I think this Sept was just much higher crowds. TP's uses historical data to make their predictions. Crowd levels have been higher the last year so their predictions are off a bit, I think.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

In short, TP doesn't impress me.

 

[hdnwaters]

I was at WDW 9-10 and 9-11. I think any week that has a holiday in it leads to more people. While moving around in the parks was very manageable, it was extremely HOT & HUMID. The wait times were longer than I expected. We had a 45 minute wait on BTMRR and it was before 10 am!!! The crowd calendars were way off! My DD who complained about it being chilly on our November '14 trip, has decided never again in September....she wants to go when it's much cooler and will gladly wear a coat!

 

[bpadair32]

I think that you will most likely be fine. You can ask 50 people and you will get 50 different opinions on the crowds. Different people have different feelings as to what is crowded. However, its Disney, if you don't like or can't deal with crowds and waiting, its probably not the right place to vacation.

 

[DVCcurious]

I read this on easywdw.com and it makes sense to me.

when discussing crowds you have to realize it's always busy on the pathways regardless of crowd level.

The rides are always at capacity so there are exactly as many people walking out of Peter Pan on a 1 day as on a 10 day.

The real measurable difference in crowd level is not on the pathways because people aren't just wandering around, they are going from ride to ride, and since rides are at capacity at all times there are always the same number of people walking from Hauntd Mansion to Splash. The difference incrowd level is in the ride lines and food seating, not the congestion on a walkway.

At 5:00 pm on a 50,000 person day at MK you'll have 35,000 people in ride queues, 10,000 walking on the paths and 5,000 eating (completely made up numbers ro illustrate a point)

At 5:00pm on a 25,000 person day you'll have 11,000 in ride queues, 9,000 walking on paths and 4,000 eating.

That's why September "feels crowded", because there are almost as many people walking in Fantasyland at 5:00pm on 9/15 as on 7/15. But the ride lines will be much shorter in Sept.

So, OP, I can guarantee your September visit will "feel crowded".

 

[wendow]

I was at WDW 9-10 and 9-11. I think any week that has a holiday in it leads to more people. While moving around in the parks was very manageable, it was extremely HOT & HUMID. The wait times were longer than I expected. We had a 45 minute wait on BTMRR and it was before 10 am!!! The crowd calendars were way off! My DD who complained about it being chilly on our November '14 trip, has decided never again in September....she wants to go when it's much cooler and will gladly wear a coat!

We were at MK those days too. Definitely some very long lines for us too, and we hit RD everyday. But that only lasted for a short while, and then it did get busy.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Night of Joy 2016 will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports...but the participants are still getting admission to MK. It's just that the concerts won't be held there anymore. They will have transportation between the park and WWOS.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

We were in WDW 9/19-9/26. In every online group I was in, everyone talked about "low crowds!!" but when we got there, it was not low crowds. Now, I haven't been in ten years, so it was objective to me, but my mom who goes at least once a year, said it was way busier than normal. Most rides were about 30 minutes and up. In DHS, ToT was 105 minute wait on 9/23. While it wasn't shoulder to shoulder, it seemed pretty busy. When we got back my mom read that the supposed 3 crowds were actually 8. So yeah.
Did it impact our trip much? No. Would I go again in September? No. It was SO hot and humid. I'd rather have cooler temps!

 

[Iowamomof4]

We were in WDW 9/19-9/26. In every online group I was in, everyone talked about "low crowds!!" but when we got there, it was not low crowds. Now, I haven't been in ten years, so it was objective to me, but my mom who goes at least once a year, said it was way busier than normal. Most rides were about 30 minutes and up. In DHS, ToT was 105 minute wait on 9/23. While it wasn't shoulder to shoulder, it seemed pretty busy. When we got back my mom read that the supposed 3 crowds were actually 8. So yeah.
Did it impact our trip much? No. Would I go again in September? No. It was SO hot and humid. I'd rather have cooler temps!

Your comments and so many others on this thread and others have me wondering how many people ended up trying September once (and it just happened to be THIS year) and they are all saying "never again!"

I'm starting to think next year will be a little more normal.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Your comments and so many others on this thread and others have me wondering how many people ended up trying September once (and it just happened to be THIS year) and they are all saying "never again!"

I'm starting to think next year will be a little more normal.

I've been in September 4x. So it wasn't a one time thing.. (it just happened to be a long time ago).. it's not the crowds, but the heat that deters me. As I get older, I'm not doing as well in the heat, and if crowds are heavier, I'd rather be cooler! That's all I meant!

 

[wendow]

Your comments and so many others on this thread and others have me wondering how many people ended up trying September once (and it just happened to be THIS year) and they are all saying "never again!"

I'm starting to think next year will be a little more normal.

We are 'regulars' for Sept. I know what Sept looks like at WDW. This was not the norm. Unfortunately, it may be the new 'norm' as Disney appears to be working overtime to make that a busy time period too.

 

[NicholeB630]

Ugh I really am so torn. I want to swim with my kids and do the halloween party. But if the crowds are no lower than say other times of the year like Jan/Feb is it worth being so hot? I wish it wasn't such a hard choice. I wish there was a time in April/May not during spring break that would be a good time to go but I also know that everywhere has different spring breaks its not over Easter for everyone. I just don't know. I love Disney and so do my kids. I don't want to give up on these vacations. I hope with the planning I do it will be enjoyable still.

 

[NicholeB630]

Another question. Should I wait and go Sept 9th the Friday after Labor day and stay the entire next full week. Or should I try and go say Labor day get there that day and be there for the days right after and then into the next week. If I did that my kids would miss like 2 extra days of school but I am not worried about that as long as they are not behind and are still young. I am wondering if we go the 5th - 14th those days right after labor day will be less crowded and only being there over one weekend apposed to two weekends. We would not do a park on Labor day.

 

[TwoMisfits]

The NOJ (likely) weekend falls during your planned dates - that would make the Friday and Saturday at MK virtually impossible to do. Also, waterparks for those days would be packed. Once the weekend ends, you'd be okay in MK unless the Halloween parties start right away - that may also make MK busy on non-party days and short hours (which start getting packed at 4pm) on party days. Really, I would go when you'd like to go, and ignore when it will be "quiet". I think September MK will be packed next year (since the month has the current bounce back free dining offer, the holidays, the NOJ and parties, AND the likely cheap ticket pricing once surge pricing hits)...although having said that, I think the other 3 parks will be relatively dead...so if they are your goal and not a majority of time in MK, you should be okay.

 

[NicholeB630]

The NOJ (likely) weekend falls during your planned dates - that would make the Friday and Saturday at MK virtually impossible to do. Also, waterparks for those days would be packed. Once the weekend ends, you'd be okay in MK unless the Halloween parties start right away - that may also make MK busy on non-party days and short hours (which start getting packed at 4pm) on party days. Really, I would go when you'd like to go, and ignore when it will be "quiet". I think September MK will be packed next year (since the month has the current bounce back free dining offer, the holidays, the NOJ and parties, AND the likely cheap ticket pricing once surge pricing hits)...although having said that, I think the other 3 parks will be relatively dead...so if they are your goal and not a majority of time in MK, you should be okay.

What is NOJ? We would do MK on a party day and do party. Then the second MK day we will just do a party day again and hope for lower crowds. We're fine leaving earlier that day from park

 

[TwoMisfits]

NOJ = Night of Joy. Christian music rock weekend separate event. It closes MK at 7pm both Friday and Saturday, which in turn makes Sunday packed with all the people who want to see the MK parades and fireworks. If Halloween parties start right afterwards (which they did this year), you have a bad MK week, but good days at the other 3 parks...now the concerts are moving to WWOS this year, but all the concert goers will still get MK admission - it remains to be seen how this will overall affect MK for that weekend.

 

[NicholeB630]

Well we avoid MK any of those days and go on party days so that would help right?

 

[TwoMisfits]

You would miss the normal parade and fireworks with that strategy and also see a large uptick in guests at 4pm each of your days in MK. A lot of people want a full MK day when they go and you would be looking at 2 1/2 days, so it depends how you tour...