Sept 2019 crowds - will it pick up?

[conniehar90]

We are arriving on Sept 21st. I have been watching the wait times and have been very shocked at the low wait times. I know Sept is typically a slower time - which is why we picked it - but I was expecting ridiculous waits after the Star Wars opening was announced. It seems silly that they added the 6 am opening at DHS but waits are under an hour all day. We are staying offsite but I picked up a throwaway room for 1 night to take advantage of the 6 am opening - but am seriously thinking of canceling it. It seems that Dorian affected the crowds but I would think things would be back to normal by now - right?

 

[LSUmiss]

Might be hard to tell still b/c there is another tropical area to watch that is supposed to develop into at least a depression by FL by this weekend.

 

[Mattieray1982]

I was wondering the same thing, also looking at the app. I arrive on 9/20 and it would be so refreshing to have lower crowds!

 

[suemom2kay]

We are arriving on Sept 21st. I have been watching the wait times and have been very shocked at the low wait times. I know Sept is typically a slower time - which is why we picked it - but I was expecting ridiculous waits after the Star Wars opening was announced. It seems silly that they added the 6 am opening at DHS but waits are under an hour all day. We are staying offsite but I picked up a throwaway room for 1 night to take advantage of the 6 am opening - but am seriously thinking of canceling it. It seems that Dorian affected the crowds but I would think things would be back to normal by now - right?

I would think that the crowds are so manageable BECAUSE they have the EEMH at 6:00 am. That being said, I don't think I would purchase a throwaway room. I would just show up at park opening. The EEMH will still benefit you by spreading crowds.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Might be hard to tell still b/c there is another tropical area to watch that is supposed to develop into at least a depression by FL by this weekend.

Yep that thing came out of no where!

 

[yorkieteacher]

It was dicey for us-our stay was September 5-11. We missed Dorain, had wonderfully low crowds and debilitatingly high temperatures and humidity. I mean, we were there in central Florida for 7 days with no rain and temperatures near 95 every day. But crowds were so low! And if you went for EMH it was even better. Our longest wait was for Smuggler's Run on Saturday about 7pm at 45 minutes, and I know there were times it was much less. During the morning EMH arriving at 730, we walked on SDD and Peter Pan and Space Mountain. The one day we didn't leave after lunch for a hotel break about did us in though because of the heat. I am a grandmother in fairly good shape, but I came home with the "Disney Rash" on my ankles that I blame on the humidity. I don't really see crowds increasing for you in September, but there are other negatives to consider as well.......

 

[Nohal]

We were there last week. Arrived last Thursday September 5, the day after the airport reopened. Rides were walk on Thursday and Friday, and then the crowds picked up over the weekend (I think a lot of locals came for F&W). This week, depending on which park you were in, the rides waits were either low or non existent. I noticed on the days that there was a party at MK most of the rides were walk on. EEMH were well worth getting up for as there are very few people in the parks. Got to HS at 6:30am and went on star wars ride twice with little wait. Then did Slinky dog with a 5 minute wait, and walked on Toy Story twice. All this before the park officially opened.

I think many people either cancelled their trip or postponed it due to the hurricane. I expect crowds will pick up as the month goes on, but will still be low compared to other times.

 

[WIll C]

I'm arriving tomorrow morning. Let's hope the rain doesn't close too many things as the storm passes by.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

I am hoping crowds stay low for our trip in a few weeks....and that the temp lowers too. Our friends who went during Dorian said the heat was indeed debilitating!

 

[FancyNancy]

I arrive October 6 and I am curious to see the crowds at that time because a lot of the resorts showed no availability when we were pricing our trip. Not sure about now though.

 

[Mr. Baloo]

Well, bad news for anyone coming the week of October 13th... the crowds usually follow us there..... but we still manage...

 

[glamdring269]

I look at it like this. There are now more hours in a park day which will obviously help spread out crowds. Not a lot of people are showing up at 5:30 for a 6:00 DHS RD and then sticking around in the parks all day. On top of that, at least for our early October trip, there is still plenty of resort availability. Maybe I'm keeping a (too) super positive outlook on this but seems like the resorts aren't full as they probably expected with Star Wars so the added hours just dilute the masses. You just have to choose how to take advantage of that knowledge.

 

[Searc]

We were there last week. Arrived last Thursday September 5, the day after the airport reopened. Rides were walk on Thursday and Friday, and then the crowds picked up over the weekend (I think a lot of locals came for F&W). This week, depending on which park you were in, the rides waits were either low or non existent. I noticed on the days that there was a party at MK most of the rides were walk on. EEMH were well worth getting up for as there are very few people in the parks. Got to HS at 6:30am and went on star wars ride twice with little wait. Then did Slinky dog with a 5 minute wait, and walked on Toy Story twice. All this before the park officially opened.

I think many people either cancelled their trip or postponed it due to the hurricane. I expect crowds will pick up as the month goes on, but will still be low compared to other times.

I was there Sept 5-9. Rides were not walk on and MK was very busy Sunday, Sept 8th, a party day.

 

[DisLiss]

I was just telling my husband that I'm pretty bummed we can't be there now taking advantage of the lower crowds. I figure they have to come back eventually...maybe as we get closer to Fall & the winter holidays?

 

[bitty246]

It seems to have picked up quite a bit the past week or so. I've noticed wait times are significantly higher than they had been the past 2 weeks. Sad for me, but hey... We'll still be there tomorrow for 10 days! WHOOOP!

 

[CastAStone]

It seems to have picked up quite a bit the past week or so. I've noticed wait times are significantly higher than they had been the past 2 weeks. Sad for me, but hey... We'll still be there tomorrow for 10 days! WHOOOP!

This is exactly what I’ve seen. Crowds seem to be at normal levels or maybe just a hair shy, given the time of year. Ride Crowds in mid September are usually mostly 1-4 on a 10 point scale, and then Food and Wine adds additional crowds in World Showcase.

 

[gharter]

Hoping things were going to stay a little quieter, but I expect crowds to be back to normal by the time we get there.

 

[Brett Wyman]

From several V-logs yesterday it looks like the crowds have returned already.

 

[bitty246]

We were at Magic Kingdom today and got a ton accomplished by arriving at 8:00am (not doing EEMH, too early for me!) We started in Adventureland and did Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, POTC, moved to Fronteirland, did Splash Mountain and BTMRR (2 ×'s) with no wait. All before 9:30am There was almost no one on that side of the park. Of course got busier the closer to Fantasyland we got. After that, we did Country Bears, Haunted mansion, Small World, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, 7DMT, WTP, Dumbo, Met Goofy and Donald, Teacups, People Mover, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Laugh Floor. Saw the parade front row on Main Street. There were definitely crowds, but the longest line we waited in was probably Winnie the Pooh at about 20 min. We were really hitting it hard on our first day, so we were pretty much done for the day by 5:30. Originally plan was to stay for fireworks, but we were exhausted and decided we will just catch them on our next MK day. We got a little bit of Pixie dust on our way out when we walked directly into Friar Tuck and Prince John walking. They stopped and had such good interaction with my daughter. We hadn't planned to meet many characters, but just love when those little unexpected things happen.

All that to say yes, I believe crowds are back, but it is still manageable with a good plan.

 

[DisDude0521]

My fiancé and I were just there the week if the 7th to the 14th of September and the wait times were fantastic! We went to Hollywood studios twice at 6am during for extra magic hours during our stay and it was 100000% worth it! we were able to ride slinky dog dash, tower of terror, and rock'n roller coaster multiple times without any wait times up until 7:30am or so. If you are able to suck it up and get up around 4am or so on vacation, it is so worth it because of the low wait times and the ability to explore the park without having to weave in and out of a surplus of people all day.