Please reassure me Sept 2016?!

[NicholeB630]

So after tons of reading and posting I decided on Sept 9 - 18 2016. We want to go when it's lower crowds than other times and warm so we can use pool. It would be right after Labor Day and there are no holidays I'm aware of that week. We are early risers, will do RD everyday. Will choose days that are not extra magic hours and we will visit MK on MNSSHP days even the one day we are not doing the party. I know how to use fast passes and when to use them. I feel like I have a good plan and when we went in Dec last year the second week it was very manageable. But for some reason I'm still worried about it being super crowded and un enjoyable. We cannot deal with shoulder to shoulder crowds. I feel like I've just seen so many negative posts this past Sept. Let me know what you think? With my planning you think it will be great and we won't feel like it's ridiculously crowded?

 

[Jennasis]

Well, that's when we're going next year so I am sure it will be intolerably crowded lol!

 

[MikeOhio]

It will be both very crowded and one of the least attended times of the year.

Disney world is always crowded. However September still has some of the lowest attendance of the year. It will be crowded and walkways can be jammed however it will not be shoulder to shoulder crowds most of the day. If you want to avoid crowds disney is not the place to be anymore. However I still think you can have a great trip.

 

[allybabba98]

I think you will be fine. RD is a great strategy to use and if you are comfortable leaving midday to go back to your hotel and swim/relax that is a great idea!
As in previous posts I just think there is no longer a "quiet" time for Disney. It won't be July or Spring break crowds but it won't be empty streets either.
We were there Sept. 12-18, it was our third time taking a September trip. Just know it is hot...and humid.
If you feel yourself fading try an indoor show or stop at an indoor restaurant for a quick drink or treat.
It rains...and it can rain quite a bit. I had bought dollar store ponchos but I did splurge this time for a Disney Poncho for myself after getting drenched at AK. It was ten dollars and it was pretty awesome, for me personally, it was money well spent. My kids were fine with the dollar store ones and their hats, I just felt I needed a bit more coverage.
Have a wonderful time and just enjoy the atmosphere and Halloween decorations.

 

[bc7ate9]

We were at Disney Sept 23-27 this year. This September was more crowded than the past few Septembers. That is a VERY RELATIVE observation. "Crowded" in September meant that there were 20-30 minute lines for most things. It doesn't mean that we couldn't move.

That being said, Disney is a popular place. There are crowds. I think you can definitely have a good time, but just don't expect to have parks to yourself.

 

[NicholeB630]

I wanted to choose Sept for lower crowds mainly. But as it's not really low anymore is a winter month better? So we're not dealing with heat? Both our past trips it was cold and I don't like that but being in 100 degrees and packed doesn't sound fun either.

 

[bc7ate9]

I wanted to choose Sept for lower crowds mainly. But as it's not really low anymore is a winter month better? So we're not dealing with heat? Both our past trips it was cold and I don't like that but being in 100 degrees and packed doesn't sound fun either.

After this September, we plan to opt for cooler temps. If we will deal with higher crowd levels regardless, we think it'd be nice to avoid the heat and humidity.

In our case, we like to go when we can hit both the Halloween party AND Food & Wine, so, later in September. After this year, we feel we've been to enough Halloween parties and still want to do Food & Wine so later in the fall is fine with us.

For the record, I think early September would still be considered low crowds.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

September will still be lower crowds than pretty much any other time. It will just not be the extremely low crowds that were previously a feature of September. If you would rather go in a cooler month, most times will still be crowded, but there are a couple of "lower" points like the week after Thanksgiving. Right after that week it picks up again.

I went the last weekend in August and it got pretty dead because there was an approaching tropical storm which didn't materialize, but folks thought it might. So there were cancellations.

January, besides being a big month for tour groups from South America, is home to the WDW Marathon and Martin Luther King weekend which will both be more crowded than usual. The first part of February (before Presidents Day) may be a lower point. That is a popular time for the cheer and dance competitions though.

 

[rpcvpanama]

Yeah, September has definitely changed...not the low crowds that it use to be. We went the week of the 14th and found it very hot/humid and crowded. Not sure we will go back in September again. But, then again, as other have mentioned there really is no LOW crowd time any more, just relatively low compared to other times of the year.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We went to MK the Thursday after Labor Day, got there in the evening, and next to NO one was on the Main St hub. I took a photo and posted it for all my friends saying "come the week after Labor Day." My experience was that the parks got busier by the end of Sept.

No one can promise anything a year in advance. But it was SOO nice for us to be able to walk into MK with next to no one in the street...

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

We went during those dates this year because of pictures and trip reports we read of people going the year earlier (2014) where it was a ghost town and you could walk onto rides over and over during the afternoon and evening. We ended up thinking most of the trip was intolerably crowded, but whenever I post that people laugh and say I don't know what I'm talking about. So I can't really tell you. We weren't able to walk onto rides numerous times though, and sure the headliners had short lines from opening until about 10 am, but I didn't experience any afternoon/evenings like I had read that people experienced last years during those times.

We have been before in early to mid December, during the first couple weeks of October and during Star Wars Weekends in May and early June, but we had never seen crowds like some of the crowds we saw during our trip this September.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

@OhioStateBuckeye Did you avoid EMH etc? I just didn't have that experience a few weeks ago. (Except I did go to the last Frozen Summer night on Labor Day itself and DHS was HOPPPPINNNN but it was ok, and it also was an EMH.)

This is a very odd group of thoughts. Wherever some of the people were, it must have been where ALL of the people were.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

We went after Labor Day. I believe our dates were Sept 9-15. We park hopped a lot day by day and didn't really see that big a difference in the crowds from park to park. I will say it seemed to get way more crowded as the trip went on.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Of all weeks of the year, seeing some crowds at WDW the week of September 11th is actually kind of a comforting sign, don't you think?


I've been to WDW in all months except June including many holidays. Simply put, every week of the year has pros and cons. Weather can be wacky any time of year. One August was SO chilly we wore long pants! I also have many WDW pics of us in parkas! September tends to be warm and humid, but it is also high hurricane season, back to school, short park hours and the anniversary of a tragic day.

One of the least crowded trips I took to WDW was actually over Easter week! Granted, it was 2002. It was also the most disturbing WDW trip we ever took. Seeing WDW empty on a week it was supposed to be busy was just all wrong!

I assure you some crowds at WDW on the week of September 11th is a good thing.

 

[bc7ate9]

@OhioStateBuckeye Did you avoid EMH etc? I just didn't have that experience a few weeks ago. (Except I did go to the last Frozen Summer night on Labor Day itself and DHS was HOPPPPINNNN but it was ok, and it also was an EMH.)

This is a very odd group of thoughts. Wherever some of the people were, it must have been where ALL of the people were.

I think you have to look at specific dates. You were there the week after Labor Day which does still seem to be a good time to visit to avoid crowds. We had good luck that same week in 2013. Later in the month, it was much more crowded than what we are accustomed to in September. We are planning to be locals by next year so I'll look forward to checking out the early September crowds then.

 

[wendow]

OP, we went Dec 9-17 in 2014 (not sure when you went), and then then we were there the week after LD this year (and many previous Septembers). In our experience, we felt the crowds from the week after LD seemed very similar to the ones we experienced last Dec. Crowded but entirely manageable using RD, afternoon breaks, etc. And while I have complained a great deal about the Sept crowds since we have been back, I have never said they were like peak summer. I know they are still the lowest of the year. However, it is much busier in Sept than it used to be, including the week after LD.

And just a prediction lol...since everyone keeps saying that the week after LD was SO SLOW (looking at tp's, it was the week before ), next year, that will be the week everyone targets. Then the week to go will switch to the one before or after. It's just hard to time.

I agree with the poster who mentioned if the crowds aren't going to be substantially lower, then why deal with that heat & humidity. After many Sept trips, we are coming to that same conclusion.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

We went this September from Saturday 9-5 to Wednesday 9-9 and we had a blast. It was hot...and on Saturday and Sunday it was fairly crowded but nothing like the madness we have seen on Easter or Spring Break or during the summer. Actually after noon on Monday the crowd cleared out quite a bit. On Wednesday we arrived at DHS at 10:30 for our TOT fastpass at 10:45. Then we walked to TSMM and rode standby in about 15 minutes. We followed that up with Star Tours, lunch at backlot express, the Great Movie Ride, RNR and TOT one more time. We have a 6 hour drive (which admittedly I did in about 5.5 with everyone sleeping all the way) and were home by 7:45.

 

[Iowamomof4]

We're planning to arrive on Labor Day and stay through the week next year. This year we were there from Thursday, 9/3 through Sunday, 9/13. We were in parks 9 of those days. Labor Day weekend was much busier than predicted by touringplans.com (and their week in review demonstrated that very well!) but by all accounts, beginning on Labor Day afternoon through the end of the week, crowds dropped and stayed low until the next Saturday. At that point, things just got busy and stayed busy for most of the rest of the month.

I'm still on the fence about keeping our trip in September next year or possibly moving it up to the beginning of May. I'm waiting to see how the prices work out before we make our final decision. I'm with those who are considering looking for better weather if the crowds are going to be there regardless of when we go!

 

[TwoMisfits]

If Disney implements tiered individual ticket pricing starting in 2016, all bets are off on how crowded September will be.

 

[SouthAfricaTraveller]

We just got home today from a week at WDW. It was more crowded than what we expected, but not intolerable at all. We did do MNSSHP and could walk onto most of the rides all nights. Having always been early Dec or Jan I would say this week was busier that both those times. I believe the free dining plays a HUGE role, so if you want to do. Sept avoid the free dining time. I was amazed at how many school going kids we saw there that had been taken out of school to go to WDW for the free dining. That is just my personal opinion. On the other hand we spent a day at US and IOA, and both parks were a breeze all day with minimal waits. I believe it must have to do with the free dining. I would never plan a trip again when they offering that promotion. Lastly, it was also incredibly hot the first 4 days there with humidity of 100%. That is crazy hot! We still made the most of it and had a really great time!