Please tell me about very first week of October

[Sim4242]

We are heading to Disney Oct 1 - 6th this year and I'm starting to hear just how crazy we should expect it. I wanted to hear other peoples opinions who have been there during these days previous years, is it really that bad? We are leaving the Friday before Columbus Day weekend so I was hoping that would help. Thank you for any feedback!!

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

We have your same dates, though we will be at universal for one night before. Where are you hearing about it being crazy? We have had no crowds at universal that same week 2 years ago and very low crowds at a Disney last year later in the month. We could have gone anytime in October but chose the 1st-6th based on it being the only available consecutive 5 nights renting points at Boardwalk. So Im guessing it's not as busy as other times of October. But that's just a guess. I would be interested in hearing what others think.

 

[ggdvc]

We've been several times during this week. On the weekends, I'd recommend staying away from Epcot as the Food & Wine Festival attracts a lot of locals. If you do go, expect crazy long lines for the food booths. Otherwise, we've found the crowd levels to be not too bad. From a weather perspective, expect it to be hot and humid with a chance of rain every day. Usually the rain is a "typical" Florida shower - over and gone in less than 30 min - although a couple of times we've been caught in what I can only describe as a monsoon! Torrential downpours and wind.

All in all, this is still one of my favorite times to go, and we are returning again this year (9/30-10/6).

 

[shm_helene]

We are heading to Disney Oct 1 - 6th this year and I'm starting to hear just how crazy we should expect it. I wanted to hear other peoples opinions who have been there during these days previous years, is it really that bad? We are leaving the Friday before Columbus Day weekend so I was hoping that would help. Thank you for any feedback!!

Where did you hear "crazy busy", it doesn't seem the crowd calendars indicate that. Also, last year that was Rosh Hashanna, and many schools have break at that time. This year it's Sep 20-22.... We are going Sep 29-Oct 4, so I hope not!

 

[Stan's MaggieMouse]

My favorite time of year to visit and not just because it's my birthday week. Low crowds, Food and Wine Festival, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, hot but usually pretty dry. What more could you ask for?

 

[OhhBother]

OK -- I'm going to be brutally honest. We went Oct. 1-8 last year with a group of 7. We also went June 4-12 with a group of 8 and Nov. 15-20 with a group of 6. We are DVC members, AP holders and Disney veterans. We know all the planning tricks. We are experts at rope drop, FP and maximizing every advantage. With all that said .... the October trip was BY FAR the most crowded of our three trips last year.

I was almost dreading the June trip and really looking forward to October -- thinking we'd have hordes of people in June and moderate crowds in October. I couldn't have been more wrong. June was ridiculously enjoyable -- crowds were moderate to even low. October, though -- oh my goodness. We'd be at the parks at rope drop. Within 30 minutes, rides like Buzz and Winnie the Pooh would have 30- to 40-minute waits -- BEFORE 10 AM!! It was insane!! And that, of course, was before the hurricane (which was actually a blessing in disguise, as it got rid of some of the people). It was also HOT in October -- miserably hot and humid. Just as bad as June.

November, meanwhile, was glorious. Crowds were low. Weather was about 75 every day. That was pretty much our perfect trip last year.

In our minds, there's no such thing as a bad trip to Disney. But of the three we took to Disney last year, the Oct. 1-8 trip definitely comes in last place. And we'll never plan to visit that week again unless crowd patterns change.

This year, we're doing Disneyland in the spring (work conference) and Disney World in mid-September and early December. No more October for us!

 

[bluemoon9]

We have visited during the first week in October the last several years. It does feel as if every year the crowds get worse, but I wouldn't call it crazy. It is definitely manageable, especially with a plan!

 

[MissMet]

October in general over the past few years has gotten considerably more crowded. It won't be summer/holiday crowds, but it's gonna feel real crowded, especially if you are used to going during slow times like we WERE. We've gone in Oct nearly exclusively for the past 10 years. Last year we went the last week of Oct/first week of Nov and for us that was the final straw. Oct is just way too hectic for us anymore. WDW started pushing deals for international travelers in Oct, plus many schools now offer a "fall break" of some sort and that's what's put it over the top. We love F&WF but we are changing to Jan/Feb in 2018. Also, plan on it being hot. The last time we went the first week of Oct (2011) most days the high was 89-92. It was intense.

 

[Farro]

My sisters went the first week of October in 2014, said it was hot but not crowded at all. We went the third and last week of October in 2014. Weather was perfect, crowds were great - lots of people but it was totally manageable.

We are going 10/25-11/3 this year. I'm not worried about "crazy" crowds.

Honestly, even on this board last October people gave different reports of the same time period. One would be "sooo crowded, never going in October again" and the other would be "sure there are crowds, but totally doable, great fun"...so I guess you will find out when you get there!

 

[megveg]

I have not been in October yet but my trip this year includes Oct 1 - 4 and I am ready fro the worst crowds possible for Oct 1, my EPCOT day and also EPCOTs 35th anniversary AND food and wine >.<

 

[Farro]

I have not been in October yet but my trip this year includes Oct 1 - 4 and I am ready fro the worst crowds possible for Oct 1, my EPCOT day and also EPCOTs 35th anniversary AND food and wine >.<

I bet you have a blast!!!

 

[AngiTN]

The first week of Oct is Fall Break for our area schools. Many of the Southern schools, who return to school in early Aug, get the full week off. So yeah, early Oct is becoming Spring Break light. It's not what it once was.

 

[shm_helene]

Deleted

 

[emsstacey]

It's fall break for many schools. We went that week 2013 and it was awesome. Last year was very crowded.

 

[Lothlórien]

"Please tell me about very first week of October"

It falls after the last week of September and the 2nd week of October.


In all seriousness, if you are asking about crowds, it is very manageable. The weather is nice, too. You will have a great time.

 

[shm_helene]

So I did some Googling and it does appear there are many school districts that had an Oct. 3-7th break last year (now, I have no idea what number of kids or percentages of school districts that would be - though it did seem to be a lot of Arizona). About 3/5 of them continued that same first week in 2017-2018 but about 2/5 of them had it the following week. Hopefully that's something.

I will also say this, we were there June 8-June 16 last year and we even had one Level 6 day while we were there (it was awesome!) but you could tell in the last three days when we started getting into the 8's. I mention this as someone mentioned being there in early June and how nice it was compared to how bad they thought it would be - I think it was just too early. In the Northeast (at least) schools don't let out until the middle of June so you're not getting any of those crowds, or any school district anywhere that goes in after Labor Day.

 

[Selket]

We went last year Sept. 30th to Oct. 3rd which covered the first weekend of October. Our main goal was to go to 2 of the MNSSHP and those dates worked the best with my son's school schedule. We go every summer around the 4th of July so compared to then - I'd say the only park more crowded was Epcot. Epcot was ....insane - especially compared to any other time I've ever been. I just mostly wanted to get out of it - lol! The other parks seemed ok in comparison. We had good weather - it was warm. I wouldn't hesitate to go back but I agree with those who say don't expect it to be low crowds and do expect Epcot to be annoying - lol!

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

That is always the week we go because it's fall break for us. It's manageable with a plan! I would call the crowds moderate. We do rope drop, afternoon break, then back to the parks at night until close, so I do think that strategy helps. We also do 2 Halloween parties to help get more time in MK with lighter crowds.

Strangely, this year the school district moved our fall break to the week of Columbus Day, so we're expecting much higher crowds, but will stick to our strategy.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We were at WDW from Oct 1st through 5th last year. The weather was very hot, humid and rainy. The World Showcase was packed with people for food and wine. We didn't realize it when we booked the trip but a lot of schools had fall break that week. The hurricane came after we went home, thank goodness.

 

[Sim4242]

"Please tell me about very first week of October"

It falls after the last week of September and the 2nd week of October.


In all seriousness, if you are asking about crowds, it is very manageable. The weather is nice, too. You will have a great time.

Ha ha that was funny Thanks for the reassurance, we've only been to Disney one other time and it was May and it was perfect, crowds were non existent! We really wanted to check out the MNSSHP which is why we chose Oct this time - I know it's going to be busy but I'm really hoping with a good touring plan we will be ok!