shorter hours in Oct. mean no aft. break! :(

[esmetutu]

I thought I had everything all planned out...
Commando early morning touring, a leisurely much-talked-about afternoon break back at the hotel for a few hours, and then back to the parks for dinner and entertainment (and maybe a few more rides).
UM, NO! Guess again, silly me! Not with all the parks closing between 5-7:30pm (with the exception of World Showcase closing at 9).
What to do? Stupid question, I know. Don't take an afternoon break. But I was SO looking forward to the afternoon break before we enjoyed said dinner. Wah! I feel like some of the vacation is gone with this "news". Stupid closing times!
Anyone else going through this? (perhaps this is more of a "rant/commiserate with me" than a need for advice!)

 

[homedad]

WE went last Sept/Oct (DS4 and DD2)and still took break every afternoon till dinner, we then went to EMH park and felt it was worth it. As mentioned before crowds are light at that time of year and evening EHM worked well for us... only long wait that week over 10 minutes was Soarin....Good Luck!

 

[bazzanoid]

Because it's a lower season, the hours are somewhat shorter

less attendance = shorter lines

therefore people get more attractions done in a shorter space of time - and don't hang around as long....

when we were last there in october we were barreling through 2 parks in a day giving us more ride time for the attractions we wanted to do!!

As above, you'll still be able to take a break for lunch as the crowds will be low - realistically unless you want to commando through more than one park in a day you should be able to take it easy and slow.

 

[richard_andmel]

You could always plan to have dinner at say 8PM after the parks have closed and still have that afternoon break.

But I agree with the above posters. You will get so much done in the day you will be surprised.

 

[bicker]

We typically plan to spend most evenings at Epcot.

 

[plutolovr]

WDW parks have always closed earlier during October. No big surprise.

 

[Mamu]

We were there this past October, we still took breaks because we were out late every night. Yes a few parks close early.

December 04 we did a adult trip with friends for 10 days. We did Disney every day and the earliest we got in at night was 1:00.

Plan some of those things you've always wanted to do but never find the time to do them. There's no lack of things to do at Disney, even when the parks close early.

 

[Hopefully]

We were there last October. As Bicker said, we plan to spend most evenings in WS at Epcot. We went to the parks each morning and most days we left for an afternoon swim/rest. We would then head to Epcot where we had an ADR at a WS restaurant. We loved it this way.
Enjoy!

 

[nluvwithmickey]

We are planning to take it really easy on our upcoming trip. I have actually scheduled some down time! But my plan is when we are at the parks.....we ARE at the parks. So pretty much plan not having an afternoon break.


However after reading alot of reports on crowd levels, we MAY take an after noon break if the crowds are really low and we get to do ALOT in the AM.

Low crowds....I'm praying for that but I am also being realistic. Free DDP, MNSSHP, shorter park hours etc. Let's just say we are staying cautious and for mow, we are planning on WHOLE park days.

 

[Tricia1972]

Hi We are planning already for our October 2007 trip and I have been using the 2006 hours as my guide for trip planning. Just wanted to let you know that MK looks like it is closing later too. Most nights they don't close until 9, and weekends they don't close til 10 or 11 (nights of MNSSHP they close at 6 and if you go to MNSSHP they don't close until 12 those nights.)

Hope this helps you planning your evenings better, maybe you can change your itinerary to go to the early closing parks (MGM, AK and EP FW) in the mornings and the later closing parks (MK and EP WS) in the evening.

 

[mhingher]

We went last March when park hours were the same or similar. We would go to a park in the morning. In the afternoon, we would either relax at the resort for a bit or go to DTD, etc. Either way, towards dinner we would head to an evening EMH park. Crowds were low this time of year and this worked for us. Don't worry, you'll still be able to see/do all the attractions you want!!

 

[huey578]

WE went last Sept/Oct (DS4 and DD2)and still took break every afternoon till dinner, we then went to EMH park and felt it was worth it. As mentioned before crowds are light at that time of year and evening EHM worked well for us... only long wait that week over 10 minutes was Soarin....Good Luck!

I totally agree...you will still have time for afternoon break.

 

[maxiesmom]

Have you thought of attending Mnsshp? The Halloween Party is the reason the Magic Kingdom closes early most nights. This would give you from 7pm till 12am to spend in the park, plus you would get to see special fireworks and the Halloween parade.

 

[zurgswife]

Even with shorter hours like Oct. we still build in an afternoon break. Some shorter then others but I really need a down time to swim and rest. Remember a few times during the week there will be EMH till about 10:30

 

[HalfDozen]

You can always just wait and go later in the day - if you want to have a leisurely morning once or twice during your trip.

Another day, you can find out when the EE is, go really early, and then go back to the resort for lunch and swimming.

It's not so bad in the shorter hours

 

[pigletforever]

We were there many years ago and I remember spending days in different parks and heading to Epcot to play & eat about 4 each afternoon. We had plenty of time in the parks. My plan is to hit the EMH several days and stay in that park then Leave about 3 for a little down time. Dinner is scheduled for between 6&7 each evening. If we are done eating by 730ish we can still grab some Late night hours in the parks if the kids are up to it.

 

[esmetutu]

Thanks for all the input and ideas. I think I'm just being a big baby! As OP I think I can say that loud and proud, right? Planning every day around closing times, best days, rest days, parades and shows, ADRs... it's SO hard! I almost started crying last night trying to do it. I just thought how easy it would be if I had that morning-break-dinner plan going for me. But I will still try to implement that into EMH nights, WS, and MNSSHP. We are really excited about that last one. Oh, and renting a boat at our resort. :hmmm, sensing a new post:

 

[golden1]

Hi We are planning already for our October 2007 trip and I have been using the 2006 hours as my guide for trip planning. Just wanted to let you know that MK looks like it is closing later too. Most nights they don't close until 9, and weekends they don't close til 10 or 11 (nights of MNSSHP they close at 6 and if you go to MNSSHP they don't close until 12 those nights.)

I also noticed that the hours actually seem to be longer in the off season than I remembered, probably because the parks are generally busier these days. I was surprised to see that Oct and Nov hours in MK go to 7 or 8 pm on weeknights. When I went in 2000 I remember that MK usually closed at 6pm. I think you could still take a 2 hour break in the afternoon and still see most of the parks.

 

[drewswife]

What we do when the parks close early is instead of a mid afternoon break - we make a 7:30 or 8:00 dinner at one of the nicer resturants in some of the resorts and have a nice relaxing dinner and we get to check out the different Disney Hotels.

 

[bunny]

Remember that when it says the park closes at a certain that is when the fireworks are. The rides may close but the park doesn't really close for another 1 to 2 hrs. At the MK the shops on Main Street are all still open for browsing.