Summer: The new low season?

[FrancoFun]

I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four.

Depending on when you went in October, is it possible you were dealing with families who had taken time to travel around Canadian Thanksgiving?

 

[Farro]

I never realized this was a thing.
This seems like an incredibly expensive "party" .. but going to another country when you are 15? Amazing.



That was my shock when i went to WDW in early October of 2014. I was shocked how crowded it felt then. No school breaks or holidays.
I've gone recently:
Jan. 2010
Oct. 2014
Aug. 2015
Mar. 2017

I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four.

I was there October 2014 - 10/21-10/30 and outside of MK on a Saturday night and food/wine on Friday/Saturday night, we didn't think it was crowded at all. Different strokes!

Going this October - 10/25-10/31, expecting crowds, but not worried.

 

[srwarden1928]

"I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four."

I'd say you were dealing with families whose children were on fall break. It is very common around here. It is a wonderful time to travel. Plus after nine weeks of school, the students and teachers are ready for a break.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

"I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four."

I'd say you were dealing with families whose children were on fall break. It is very common around here. It is a wonderful time to travel. Plus after nine weeks of school, the students and teachers are ready for a break.

That's a good point, my brother is in high school and they've been shortening the summers & adding more breaks throughout the year, so it's starting to become more difficult to avoid times when kids are in school. It varies so much depending on where you live!

 

[mjr0483]

We used to go summers when it was crowded. We went last year in Feb and it was cold and crowded. I can't win.

 

[jpeterson]

Below are The 15s!

Many Guests mistakenly call all of them "Brazilian Tour Groups"-there actually are just as many from Argentina and smaller numbers from Chile,Uruguay,Paraguay,etc.

They are celebrating their 15th Birthday-hence the name The 15s.

We talk to them and try to "humanize" them-they are really nice girls when you make an effort ot talk to them.

I'll be the first to admit that they can get "out of control" in the big groups-I'm just saying they are not bad people.

The Super Greeters and more usage of dedicated buses has helped the situation a good bit.

TCHAU TCHAU

I'm sure most of them will grow up to be perfectly nice people. But I'm of the opinion that most teenagers when put into large groups tend to be "bad people". . Lord knows I was.

 

[DaisyJ]

I never realized this was a thing.
This seems like an incredibly expensive "party" .. but going to another country when you are 15? Amazing.



That was my shock when i went to WDW in early October of 2014. I was shocked how crowded it felt then. No school breaks or holidays.
I've gone recently:
Jan. 2010
Oct. 2014
Aug. 2015
Mar. 2017

I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four.

Many of them have their Quinceanera while they are here.

 

[tlmadden73]

"I'd say that October was the busiest time of all four."

I'd say you were dealing with families whose children were on fall break. It is very common around here. It is a wonderful time to travel. Plus after nine weeks of school, the students and teachers are ready for a break.

Oh for sure. The main reason we were going was because the other families we were going with were on "Fall Break" . .they go to year-round school and had a 2-3 break there in late September to early October (they start school in mid-July). We just thought this break was somewhat "unique" compared to the rest of schools across the country.

My son starts "normal" school so I am probably going to pull him out of school to avoid the summers and spring breaks to go while he is in Elementary school (and missing a few days of school won't really matter) .. or time it around the many "teacher breaks" that schools have that give you 3-4 day weekends.
Based on experience (and this thread) .. I will probably avoid October in favor of September or November for a fall trip.

 

[rachdd]

Until recently we had sworn off summer because of the heat. My most recent trips are September 2016, December 2016, March 2017 and July 2017. September was the least crowded but after that I would say July. I just got home yesterday and we could not believe how low (yes I said low) the crowds were. It made going in the heat worth it. We took a mid day break everyday and even started one morning off at a water park. It was a great trip and I would not hesitate to go again in the summer. BTW, the most crowded of my recent trips was March. We have gone Spring Break 4 or 5 times in the last several years and it was brutal this year. It was a 10 day trip for us and I was ready to leave towards the end. Could not believe the amount of people.

 

[WEDWDW]

I never realized this was a thing.
This seems like an incredibly expensive "party" .. but going to another country when you are 15? Amazing.

It is a H U G E thing for these girls!

They save and look forward to this trip for YEARS!

For their 15th Birthday celebration,they have the option to stay home and have a BIG Party with formal dresses,etc. or come to Disney World-sounds like a no-brainer to me!lol

Most groups also go to Universal,Sea World and Busch Gardens and some also go to NYC and Miami and they buy ANYTHING that is not nailed down!lol

Their most sought after Character is not Mickey,Goofy,Donald,etc.-for whatever reason,they are "obsessed" with Stitch!

At our Resort the Merch Shop had a WHOLE section with nothing but Stitch plushes-we would see them coming out of the store "lugging" the HUGE Stitch that was almost bigger than them!lol

There are also private parties for them at times off-property with South American "teen idols",etc.

One of the groups at our Resort were ALL dressed up one night and they told us they had rented a venue in Orlando and would have a dance floor,DJ,food,etc. and that Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse would be there to dance with them!lol

The 15s take their fair share of criticism,much of it deserved,but I don't think anyone at Disney World in July parties like The 15s party!lol

 

[WEDWDW]

I'm sure most of them will grow up to be perfectly nice people. But I'm of the opinion that most teenagers when put into large groups tend to be "bad people". . Lord knows I was.

Yes-I remember my 15 year old self and I don't need anything but those memories to make me want to cut The 15s a little slack!lol

The funny thing is that when we talk to the Brazil 15s,they say that the Argentina 15s "are too loud and cut lines" and when we talk to the Argentina 15s they say that the Brazil 15s "are too loud and cut lines"!lol

But they both are fully aware that many Americans "hate" them and don't want them there.

I remember leaving Epcot a few years ago after ROE and an ATG was singing and chanting as they walked and suddenly a large group walking near them started shouting "USA! USA!" really loud in a "harsh tone" trying to drown out the ATG.

The girls immediately stopped singing and they really looked a little "frightened"-not a pretty scene.

Unfortunately,I don't think there is a solution-The 15s will always irritate,justifiably so in many instances,some Guests.

And next July will be a REAL DOOZY at WDW with The 15s----WORLD CUP time!!!!

 

[FastPasser.]

One of the groups at our Resort were ALL dressed up one night and they told us they had rented a venue in Orlando

The parties are actually held at the World Showplace at Epcot. The LDPs, aka, Latin Dance Parties are routine. They are facilitated by Park Event Ops, aka PEO. The girls and some boys have a great time. They are treated like royalty all night long. They are for the most part well behaved, but they are still kids and we cut them a little slack. Having done my share of these parties over the years, I have never had any issues with them. They know full well that misbehavior will not be tolerated.

and would have a dance floor, DJ, food, etc. and that Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse would be there to dance with them!

Yup, mostly correct. There is a very large dance floor, a DJ, dinner buffet and the fab four plus a few other characters usually show up for photos. At midnight, a large birthday cake is rolled out on stage to symbolize their 15 birthday and huge amounts of confetti are shot out. It ends at about 1:30AM.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

We were there July 12-19th. We did RD to lunchtime, took a break, and then returned for dinner/evening. I had a lot of extras planned (dessert parties, ADRs in parks) and we had rider swap to utilize. So, with that, it didn't really "feel" crowded to us, except RD at AK heading to Pandora, and then exiting after HEA dessert party.
The heat a few times felt awful, but we managed thru, and used shops with AC during swaps, so nothing stopped us.

We saw the 15s at about every park, and walking up to our TT FP, a group entered right before us. My DS13 was worried. They put all of them in their own room to build cars, and after we built our cars, they opened all the doors, except their door until the rest of us were all in line. Not sure if that was done on purpose, but we ended up ahead of them!
Honestly, they didn't bother me at all. I heard them chant a little, but nothing obnoxious. I had read all the stories, and was slightly concerned about running into them at parks, but I have nothing negative to report on them.

I enjoyed my summer trip. I will probably go again next summer.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If summer is slow season, why are tickets priced for peak season?


(Where's that sarcasm font again?)

 

[yulilin3]

I never realized this was a thing.
This seems like an incredibly expensive "party" .. but going to another country when you are 15? Amazing.

The Quinceañera celebration is huge in Latin American countries. Equivalent to the Super Sweet 16 parties and celebrations here. For my DD15 she got to pick between a big party here or go to NYC and do Broadway shows for a long weekend, she chose NYC

 

[shanethesaint88]

Hoping these low crowds carry over into September lol

 

[wareagle57]

Their most sought after Character is not Mickey,Goofy,Donald,etc.-for whatever reason,they are "obsessed" with Stitch!

At our Resort the Merch Shop had a WHOLE section with nothing but Stitch plushes-we would see them coming out of the store "lugging" the HUGE Stitch that was almost bigger than them!lol

Wasn't Stitch supposed to be like this century's Mickey Mouse? As in they expected him to be THAT huge and were going to make a big deal out of him and give him a huge park presence? I'm not sure what happened with that, or why they abandoned that strategy but he is pretty huge still, and probably could have gotten close to Fab Five status if they kept pushing it. But he's easily my favorite character so I'm biased. But it seems certain cultures were even more accepting of him than we are here.

 

[Brian Noble]

I don't care how slow it gets in the summer in Orlando. Too hot, hard pass.

 

[tlmadden73]

I don't care how slow it gets in the summer in Orlando. Too hot, hard pass.

The crowds could definitely get low enough to make the heat worth it (Less crowds mean less time standing in the heat waiting in non-AC lines)

But realistically I doubt they would ever get that low

 

[Klayfish]

Wasn't Stitch supposed to be like this century's Mickey Mouse? As in they expected him to be THAT huge and were going to make a big deal out of him and give him a huge park presence? I'm not sure what happened with that, or why they abandoned that strategy but he is pretty huge still, and probably could have gotten close to Fab Five status if they kept pushing it. But he's easily my favorite character so I'm biased. But it seems certain cultures were even more accepting of him than we are here.

What's funny is that Stitch is so incredibly popular in merchandise at WDW...probably only behind Mickey and Oswald, but they can't even keep a single ride open for him. DD10 absolutely loves Stitch, and his twin sister loves Angel (she's very hard to find). Yes, I know the Stitch ride wasn't the best...though unlike most here, I do like it...but I'd love to see another Stitch attraction.

As for the 15s, I agree with others here. I do find them annoying and aggravating as a group, no question. The chanting is nails on a chalkboard to me, and I get really mad when they try to push/shove through as they're walking. At the same time, I have seen some of the girls individually do some very kind and sweet things with other guests, including my own kids.