Talk to me about October

[W.E.D.]

We might have the chance to make a visit sometime in October. Never visited at that time.

How are crowds, typically?

We have attended the Christmas party. What's your opinion of the Halloween party?

Wondering about the weather in October as well.

Thanks in advance. Appreciate all of your help and opinions.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. October is no longer "low season." Last year, of 29 open days, 17 of them at MK were what Touring Plans considers an 8+; 10 days at DHS and Epcot were 8+. Halloween Party nights are lower crowd during the day at MK, and make good nights for either Park Hopping for nighttime shows, or for resort dinners and pool fun.

2. It is hurricane season, so be aware of the risks. While it has only been a problem something like once in the last 20 years, that was last year and may be the start of a new pattern. Who knows. Otherwise, good swimming weather during the day.

3. Halloween Party > Christmas Party. Best stage show and fireworks.

4. Beware of Epcot on weekends during Food & Wine.

 

[PSUGuy]

Avoid Columbus Day, the day after and the weekend prior and crowds won't be much worse than 'Moderate' IMHO. We used to go the first week in March and that week was busier than we find Oct to be.Daily highs are usually 80 or better, three years ago we had 3 days of 90+. We've experienced very little rain in 7 or 8 Food&Wine trips. Don't know about the party. We don't hit WS on a Sat.

Bill From PA

 

[W.E.D.]

I'll cross my fingers we miss any hurricanes!
I forgot about food and wine. Is that only weekends, or every day? I know it's something we'll want to attend, but yes I've read the horror stories posted on here.
Thanks for the tip on Columbus day! We'll avoid October 6 - 10!

 

[PSUGuy]

Food&Wine is every day but Fri night and all day Sat can get crazy busy due to locals visiting. Concerts every evening at the American Pavilion outdoor stage, one of our favorite things. Mid week days at F&W are almost devoid of long food lines at the kiosks. Get a Disney Gift Card on a bracelet, you pre-load it with $$ by cash or your CC, you just swipe it when buying food, no change jingling in your pocket and a great way to discipline your spending.

Bill From PA

 

[W.E.D.]

Great tips! Thank you!

Anyone know the current, "official" opening date for Pandora at AK?

 

[William Ades]

Great tips! Thank you!

Anyone know the current, "official" opening date for Pandora at AK?

There is nothing official yet. Just speculation based on the current black out dates associated with the ticket offers. Right now the 4 Day ticket special must be used by May 26th (I think). Other tickets, including AP tix are blacked out for Animal Kindom from May 27-Jun 10. Again, I may be off by a day or two on those dates off the top of my head, but it is a good indication that it will debut during that time period. It is the same format that Disney implemented last year at Epcot with the Frozen stuff opening.

 

[TXHauntedMansionFan]

Agreed with everyone else. October used to be relatively quiet but that's definitely changed. The weekends are pretty tough especially at EPCOT but you can get quite a bit done during the week. We like October because the pools are still an option with the 80 degree weather.

MNSSHP is definitely better than MVMCP (although we love it as well!). Definitely something to go do if you've never been before.

 

[100AcreWood]

Another long-time October Disney traveler and I'll ditto. This is the first year we're going in June because I have a high schooler now. I'm curious to see how bad the crowds are compared to our October trips. We have seen a steady increase over the years and October is definitely not the quiet month it used to be!

We never thought the parties were worth the money but the Halloween one is definitely worth checking out at least once!

 

[kangamangus]

We went October 29-November 6th so we got a taste of Halloween (went to MNSSHP and loved loved loved it). The crowds were definitely manageable, the weather was great. Epcot on the weekends was nutso with food and wine. I would go again at that time in a heartbeat. Now our crazy idea to go in late August when it's hotter than the sun, but kids won't miss school we will have to wait and see! Either way a day at Disney is better than a day at work!

 

[Kjbbach1]

It seems many schools in the Southern states have Fall Break the week of Columbus Day (October 8-14), which is the reason we picked that week. I am expecting busy crowds. Last November we went the week before Thanksgiving Vacation week hoping for lower crowds and the crowd calendars were way off, 8-9s instead of 4-5s. I am just planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

 

[ktlm]

We have been in October the last several years and love it- except for the hurricane last year. The weather is usually not overly hot, but warm enough to swim even in the evenings. The crowds are moderate, but manageable. Food and Wine is great on weekdays (insane on weekends, especially Saturdays). We have been to both MVMCP and MNSSHP. I love Christmas and am not that big on Halloween, but we prefer MNSSHP. It is such a great atmosphere with so many guests young and adult in costume, and the special characters. The parade and castle show are great! They have chipped away at it in the last couple of years, giving us less characters and activities for higher ticket prices, but it is still fun and if it is your first time you will not know the difference.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We've gone the first week of October several times and it was fairly busy because so many schools are on "fall break" at that time.

 

[Serenebean]

We are going Oct 17-25...hoping for the best. We liked the Halloween party better than the Christmas party for sure

 

[DeanDoug]

Great info shared all around. We LOVE the Halloween party (much better than Christmas party). Look at the crowd calendar for times in October that are lighter. It is a great time to go!

 

[Farro]

We are going 10/25-11/3. I think that will be a good time go, in between the fall break crowds and the marathon crowds!

Mostly I'm just hoping for great weather. Crowds I can handle, hurricanes not so much.

 

[momto2js]

On the Halloween Party. It is a great family night. My opinion however will be heavily influenced by this years ticket prices. I don't honestly think it is $70 good. We have done a few October trips and crowds are moderate and we have had several years when "hotter than the face of the sun" still applied. Several years the heat seemed to have broken a little to just uncomfortable. This year we are doing another September trip hoping to do a party. We'll see when the schedule and prices come out if I manage to pull that off.

 

[**Courtney**]

October is my favourite time to go! The weather is usually beautiful! I have been 3 times in October and only once was there rain, but some days were over 100 degrees in the parks! I LOVE the Halloween Party, and have only done it with adults, and the CMs made us laugh and had so much fun with us! The crowds at the party are very low, and you can get everything done that you want! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Headless Horseman! The way I see it, Disney will always be busy, and I would like to go when there is lots going on, Food and Wine, Eat to the Beat concerts, MNSSHP, plus the fall decorations are gorgeous!

 

[W.E.D.]

WOW! Thanks soooo much for all the feedback and advice!! I will take all this into consideration as we start to make plans

 

[GovieMom]

We went the last week of October a couple years ago. Could not believe how crowded World Showcase was in the middle of the day, all through the week! Long lines at every food booth. At the end of the week toward Halloween, you would have thought there was no school, for all the school-aged kids we saw throughout the parks. And on Halloween day, the crowds pouring into MK by mid-afternoon - yikes! The weather was nice; not too hot. Though I would avoid going the first couple of weeks in October at the least, to avoid very hot and humid temps.