September Crowds

[hardhead]

I'll be there for the last week of Sept. My third year in a row for that week it is GREAT. We also have been going the 1st week of May which is Great also!

 

[goin' again!]

I too am going the last week of september and It will be our second time.

The crowds are so low and it is AWESOME. If you wanna have the MK all to yourself and walk on EVERY RIDE go on a MNSSHP day. Yes they close early to those that don't have tickets to the party but that is the best part! People don't waste a day off their ticket for a park that closes early so MK is empty. So even if you don't have a park hopper option and "waste" a day off your ticket its no big deal b/c you will experience every ride at least 2 times...thats how empty it is on a party day!

Thats my tip..have fun!

Lisa

Thanks for the tip! We are not doing MNNSHP but an empty day at MK sounds like a little slice of heaven!

 

[Larrabe]

Just wanted to add that we were there the middle week of September last year and the weather, while hot, was not unbearable at all. Highs were in the upper 80's/near 90 each day, with rain showers twice during our 8 day stay. Coming from PA, we were prepared for the worst, but we all felt surprised that it wasn't worse than it was. Last week around here was horrible compared to our week in WDW. I understand that it did get much hotter later in the month, however.

Love hearing this! Our vacation is in mid-September and I've been bracing myself for the worse as well. We've only gone to Disney in October when it was warm and lovely, so I've been a little worried over the weather.

Well, okay . . . maybe more than a little.

But we get our fair share of heat/humidity in Maryland, and having lower crowds will be awesome, so I shouldn't worry over something beyond my control. Yep, this is me, not worrying.

 

[serene56]

Coming from PA, we were prepared for the worst, but we all felt surprised that it wasn't worse than it was. Last week around here was horrible compared to our week in WDW. I understand that it did get much hotter later in the month, however.

.

Last week we horrible--heat wise in PA. I was thinking of cancelling if Disney was gonna be anything like that- no way could I ever trudge through the parks if every day was like that.

 

[FigmentChick]

We went roughly the same dates last year - we walked on most of the rides; it was great! Now the major rides, like TSM will have a wait and you will NEED to get fastpasses for them. But, as an example, on the day we went to AK, my kids and I rode EE three times within 45 minutes - and only once with FPs!

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[alicia080979]

Last week we horrible--heat wise in PA. I was thinking of cancelling if Disney was gonna be anything like that- no way could I ever trudge through the parks if every day was like that.

The bad part about Sept. is that you just never know. A PP said on their week last year it was upper 80s/low 90s. I went the 18-26th and it was miserable (upper 90s with a heat index of 200 degrees I'm sure ) which sounds like it was only a week after the PP. I lived in Alabama before Ohio so I know hot & humid. I thought I would die a couple of our days and the news was reporting record highs for some of the days. We only had a brief rain shower one afternoon. You just never know.

The biggest lesson I learned is that you NEED to make time in your plan for breaks, slower touring, longer sit down meals, swimming or whatever else you can do to make the heat more bearable. You might not end up having to take the breaks but if you have them built into your schedule, you won't feel like you are missing out if you do need to take them. Drink lots of water. Bring a big hat and lots of sunblock.

Don't cancel your trip...you will love the lower crowds and have a great time!

Oh I forgot the little tiny $1 key chain fans at Walmart ended up being our best purchase. I bought rechargable AA batteries and a battery charger for night and we used them all week. They are so light and easy to carry unlike the big mister fans.

 

[NLD]

The bad part about Sept. is that you just never know. A PP said on their week last year it was upper 80s/low 90s. I went the 18-26th and it was miserable (upper 90s with a heat index of 200 degrees I'm sure ) which sounds like it was only a week after the PP.

...

Don't cancel your trip...you will love the lower crowds and have a great time!

This.


Serene56, I live in Pennsylvania and know the heat wave you are talking about.

I was also in Disney last year Sept 19-25. And as alicia said... it was HOT. To be honest I think it was worse than the heatwave we just had in Pennsylvania. (The humidity was worse in FL.)

THAT SAID... we had a BLAST. And I can't imagine any other time of year being more enjoyable--because the crowds were so, so low. We barely had to use FastPass. And nighttime, once the sun went down, was beautiful in my opinion.

Loved September. LOVED it. Just take it slow, do lots of water breaks, alternate air-conditioned rides with being outdoors, and enjoy the lack of crowds!

 

[diseverestfan]

Love hearing this! Our vacation is in mid-September and I've been bracing myself for the worse as well. We've only gone to Disney in October when it was warm and lovely, so I've been a little worried over the weather.

Well, okay . . . maybe more than a little.

But we get our fair share of heat/humidity in Maryland, and having lower crowds will be awesome, so I shouldn't worry over something beyond my control. Yep, this is me, not worrying.

The nice thing about September is even if it's REALLY hot...go back to the resort at lunchtime, take a nice break, and go back to a park later in the day. We did this every day last year and we never got exhausted, and at the same time we were able to do plenty with the low crowd levels. We had always gone to the parks from sunrise to sundown on all of our previous trips, so we were apprehensive about taking the midday break, but I must tell you that it worked out very well. We have 4 kids, so they loved the pool time each day while at the same time prevented melt downs in the afternoon heat. It was the single best decision we made on the whole trip.

 

[sparty7798]

Thanks everyone! It seems like we picked a great time!

 

[wendy1974]

We were there this exact time last year and you will definitely find it to be better than Spring Break. I was surprised by how many school age children I saw there during the week, I thought there would be less as school had just started for most of them the month before. I think free dining has increased the crowds quite a bit as it wasn't being offered when we were there in October of 2006 and we noticed way more people when we went back in September 2009 compared to that previous trip.

 

[Sleeping Jilly]

we will be there sept. 19th-28th, last time we went in april it was crowded!
hoping sept. will be worth my kids missing 7 days of school, i'm kinda worried about this. I'm sure they will do fine! Free dinning was also a help!

 

[TheBacklot]

I think everyone's blowing the heat a little out of proportion. It's warm, but not as bad as June/July. And the evenings can't get any better in September.