September.. Low crowds but rainy

[crb60]

Going Sept 25 - Oct 2! Hoping for a semi-dry vacation, even if it rains a couple hours during the afternoon before dinner that's cool. Past dates during this time seemed to be hit or miss with a big exception to last year. These dates were too right with FD and College Football season (my team is away when we're in FL)

 

[catflorida]

I live in South Florida and August and September tend to be the hottest and rainiest months but not that much more than June or July. That being said, we stayed at the Grand Floridian for a weekend mid-September last year and it was dry and cool for September and we had no rain at all. We lounged in the pool all day, no rain and some of the nicest weather we saw all summer. The year before that I was in the keys for the weekend in mid-August and also had some really nice weather. Summers in Florida can surprise you. Rain in the Summer tends to be heavy thunderstorms that don't stick around. Rain in the Winter usually brings a cold front and this brings gray skies and rain that lasts longer that we would like it to. We just had a front pass through in the last week and that was very unusual for early May. Our rainy season usually starts at the end of May.

 

[catflorida]

I also want to add that I didn't find mid-September crowded at all. We practically had the pool to ourselves at the Grand Floridian and we attended a Sunday night MNSSHP and no crowds their either, exact dates being Sept 13th and 14th.

 

[monica9]

We went two Novembers ago and it not only rained all day every day but was cold too.
I'd rather have the torential downpour for an hour or two every day than cold weather!!

 

[dkrauss]

so I'm booked for a trip September 12-18. I've been reading trip reports for September and now I'm a little worried about rain.

We visited around this same time in 2014......5 days/4 nights.........really only 2 storms had an impact...........one morning it rained while we were in Epcot, but that cooled things off.......so no problems with that one. The second was the evening of our Cali Grill dinner/Wishes fireworks night.........it poured The impact was the fireworks were delayed and no one went on the balcony to watch . Other than that it was hot/humid............that was the bigger thing for us.............but we're older .

You can't worry to much about the weather..........it rains all the time in FLA! Buy a couple of ponchos and stand tall................and remember the parks clear out most times in the rain! Thats good for those who stay!

Have a wonderful and "dry" vacation!!!!

Doug

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We are going from the 3-20 and I'm worried as well, but I'm thinking positive!! I have been there in February, March, July and October. Had a bit of rain I think almost every trip, with the July and October having a massive downpour a couple times. It really didn't impact us TOO much though. I just keep telling myself that I would rather have a rainy day at Disney then be back at my desk at work!!!!

I'm with you this trip. If it rains the crowds will be low and rides aplenty. If it does rain while we are at the resort we will be watching from the porch drinking adult beverages. It rained in August last year more than we have seen. We were there when they closed the parks for the hurricane. We enjoyed lots of adult beverages that day.

 

[ErinsMommy]

The rain as annoying as it was to walk through the parks with wet sneakers, was by far minimal in comparison to the humidity/heat.

 

[soar2014]

I love September, even when it does rain, it isn't that bad. Can you have a bad year? Yes. One January I went and the temperature was the coldest ever for FL, but that was a freak happenstance.

 

[newestkg06]

I remember reading lots of people complaining about the rain in Sept last year, but it was record-breakingly bad on some days. I don't think you can expect or predict that for this year. I'm going in Sept, and expecting 90 degrees and humid most days with a 30-90 minute shower in the afternoon, since that it what is normal. You can't predict the unexpected, you just have to be willing to be flexible (which is not easy when everything has to be planned so far out!). Try to have a good attitude, plan the most important stuff for the morning (since it is less likely to rain in the morning and more likely in the afternoon), and have some backup plans.
I do hope that many who went in Sept and got rained out last year do swear off Sept this year and keep crowds low for us! I doubt it though.

 

[Daisybell911]

Eeeeep!! I'm going September 23-29. Normally I love the first week of December but I wanted to do Halloween stuff. I shall keep my fingers crossed for decent weather. At this point, I care less about the rain then I do hurricanes!

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We went in Sept. last year and it was a bit rainy. I also found it to be very crowded not like the Septembers of the past

This has been my experience, too. It rained for half of our MNSSHP last year and we missed the beautiful costumes. Just a lot of ponchos running around.

We had been in October in 2013 and it was fabulous - perfect high of 80 degrees and dry. Wish we could go in October this year, but our school break will be in September .

Our October trip also seemed to have significantly lower crowds - maybe because we arrived on the last day of FD instead of in the middle of it.

 

[KNovacovschi]

Last year we went Sept 24-Oct 4 and found it ridiculously hot. It also rained quite a bit. It was busy but still manageable.

 

[Cee]

It's just water. My mother always told me, "You won't melt, you ain't that sweet!" JEEZ

 

[Wood Nymph]

We went Sept 24 to 29 last year and the humidity is what really made us miserable. We vowed never to go to Florida in Sept again. We also went in Oct, four weeks later and had the best weather we have ever had. What a difference a few weeks made.

 

[HopperFan]

It is hurricane season - a major reason why there used to be very low crowds. Then Disney introduced Free Dining to make up for it and the crowds have steadily increased. While it's still one of the least crowded times of year to go - it is also still hurricane season which is totally unpredictable. I have been every September since 2006 and while we have consistently had rain overnight, our daytime rain has not been a lot nor intolerable (usually occasional afternoon showers). In all those years we didn't get hurricane days long rain. This year I am shifting to October - for other reasons.

Pack ponchos, extra shoes and have a great time!

PS No worries if you do get one, my friends in S. FL evacuate to Disney World where they treat their guests very well and parks are empty once open.

 

[pigletgirl]

Last year we went Sept 8th-15th. I think it rained about every other afternoon but it wasn't horrible in the least. As long as you plan well you shouldn't have much of an issue.

 

[brockash]

Same here, after 10 September trips, this last year was the worst. It didn't just rain your typical Florida 3:00 rain, it torrentially down poured to were the roads were flooded, sidewalks, etc. Every day of our 11 days was impacted with rain. Our sea world day was awful, we got 3 good hours and they actually told us we might as well leave because everything was shutting down. Every picture we all look awful. When it wasn't raining, the humidity was so bad it might as well have been. We swore off no more September. But that being said, we had many September trips with rain forcast every day and never saw it. I think I have just got to the point that I can't handle that heat too.

This was our experience this past September as well. Honestly it was pretty frustrating and definitely took away from out fun. We go in Sept. every year and an afternoon shower is one thing, but when almost every day is just a downpour for at least a few hours a day, there's only so much you can take/do. Our MNSSHP was basically a total washout until the last couple of hours. We didn't get to see or do any where near as much as we had reasonably planned, and yes it was pretty disappointing.

Normally it shouldn't be that bad, but there's no guarantee. Definitely bring ponchos and take advantage of the outside attractions when it's dry.

 

[nkereina]

The probability of rain is higher in September, but its really luck of the draw. We've been the last week of September and had absolutely no rain. The next year we went mid-November, which is statistically the dryest month of the year, and it rained half the trip.

 

[lelesansan]

We are visiting the end of September into early October... We are hoping the rain doesn't get too crazy although we can handle it. When we are visiting we are hoping to do more vacationing and enjoying AKL than running the parks like we are normally use too. Always these have been helpful to keep in mind though!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Next year we plan on taking a break from November (never thought I'd say that!). My sister wants us to go during the first/second week of September for my Nieces first ever trip to WDW. I keep telling her it is HOT! And very humid!! I went during the last week of Sept in 2012, and while it only rained on our last day before heading out for the airport, the heat was really something. She insists that we can endure the rain/heat that much more, if it means close to empty parks. We usually go in Nov and last year she was 5 months pregnant and thought it was way too crowded (I thought it was fine) but Nov isn't really what it used to be. So I agreed on Sept for 2016.