Unofficial Guide Touring Plans for September

[angiedora]

Hi,
For those of you who follow the touring plans like in the unofficial guide, Do you follow them also in September or are the lines so short that you can just basicly walk onto anything from Test Track to Buzz Lightyear any time of day?

 

[jinxx]

I'm also wondering about that. I've heard that once school starts up the lines pretty much disappear. Does anyone think the free dining will affect the crowd level much? I originally planned our trip in Sept. just to avoid the crowds, then found out about the free dining. Any imput from experienced WDW goers appreciated!

jjinx

 

[angiedora]

Anybody? Do you use a touring plan during the slow seasons or is there no need? TIA

 

[laurietg]

good question! I would like to know too.

 

[traej73]

Hi. We usually go in September and have never really waited very long in line. We never had a hard core plan and pretty much saw everything we wanted. Of course, we didn't have two little ones then, a different story now! We are going in september and have mapped out a general plan about which park to go to on what day. We are also planning a morning solely to ride dumbo and the other fantasyland rides. Those always seem to have long lines and my kids "have" to ride them. Have fun.

 

[nonnymouse]

We always base our trips on what is happening at the time and try to avoid a lot of it - Food & Wine Festival, Soap Opera Weekend, Marathon, etc. If there is nothing happening any given week, it is usually much slower. We don't use a touring plan anyway, but certainly wouldn't need it during September, especially towards the middle when NOTHING is going on. From our experience, September used to be slower due to school starting. Then it picked up with many from out of the country finding the same thing. We usually encounter foreign tour groups more than anything else during the early fall. Last year we went in between 2 hurricanes in September and had the whole place to ourselves. It's all in the timing Have fun and maybe we will see you there! Look for the VERY tired Nonny with her beautiful (& currently available) daughter and 2 loud, adorable grandchildren ...

 

[jarw00]

We used the guide as a plan for the park just so we hit the rides which were important to us. We finished early every day and could go back or add as needed. The lines last year were minimal for the most part, but we still had to fast pass some rides in the busy part of the day.

 

[MonkeyPants]

I look forward to getting the new Unoffical guide and checking it out. I have always used the official one, but checked out the Unofficial one at amazon, I cant believe how big it is.

 

[angiedora]

We used the guide as a plan for the park just so we hit the rides which were important to us. We finished early every day and could go back or add as needed. The lines last year were minimal for the most part, but we still had to fast pass some rides in the busy part of the day.

Great,
I plan to use the touring plans but I am concerned DH and kiddos will not be so happy about backtracking and crisscrossing through the parks.
ie. In Epcot going from Soarin' to Test Track, Mission Space and then over to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Or at AK heading for Safari and then way over to Kali River Rapids. I dunno, maybe I'm overplanning.

 

[jarw00]

Last Sept. our plan was to hit say, 4 certain rides by lunch, most of them in somewhat of a meandering line. So if we got through with a ride early we stopped at secondary rides. We rarily walked clear across the park for another ride. There were no long lines in the morning anywhere. After lunch some of the younger aged Mk rides like Pooh had somewhat of a line so we just fast passed them and went on. What we like about the guide, that it gives what rides are the busiest at what times and how age appropriate they are.

 

[JRawkSteady]

You should have no problem. September, January and the beginning of February are very slow. The second week in September is near dead. It's great! Lines are non-existant. That's why I'm going back in Feb.

 

[jinxx]

Thanks so much for the imput! It sounds like I won't have to follow the Unofficial Guide to the letter. I was hoping to avoid all that criss-crossing; I'm just not sure if I'm up to all that! It's getting kinda hard to keep up with DS10 !

I just love this site!! I've gotten so much information and tips that I know will make our trip much more fun!

jinx

 

[homedad]

The UG book put the park attendence for most of Sept/Oct as a 2 or 3 but the website updated traffic to 4 and 5. I'm hopping this isn't too significant, I would of preferred the 2 rating.

 

[Threeriversdisneyfan]

The UG book put the park attendence for most of Sept/Oct as a 2 or 3 but the website updated traffic to 4 and 5. I'm hopping this isn't too significant, I would of preferred the 2 rating.

I just look in UG for the week I'm going Sept 23rd thru 30th and it said an eight the whole month is 2 then boom!!! Am I missing something like Florida''s school kid on break or something?

 

[lentesta]

Hi angiedora,

Thanks for reading the book! In terms of following plans to the letter during off-season, no, I don't think it's necessary. I would, however, recommend doing the first three to five attractions in any plan in the order shown, as those are usually the most critical attractions of the day.

For Epcot during off-season, I think you could stay in Future World West (i.e., near Soarin'), FASTPASS Test Track later, and walk on to Mission:Space later in the day, so I wouldn't worry about having to criss-cross the park.

Thanks again for reading the book!


Threeriversdisneyfan,

The 8's in the book are typos. We're predicting lower-than-average crowds for that time. Sorry about that. The Unofficial Guide's website has the most updated version of the calendar, if you're interested.

Go Steelers.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Threeriversdisneyfan]

Hi angiedora,

Thanks for reading the book! In terms of following plans to the letter during off-season, no, I don't think it's necessary. I would, however, recommend doing the first three to five attractions in any plan in the order shown, as those are usually the most critical attractions of the day.

For Epcot during off-season, I think you could stay in Future World West (i.e., near Soarin'), FASTPASS Test Track later, and walk on to Mission:Space later in the day, so I wouldn't worry about having to criss-cross the park.

Thanks again for reading the book!


Threeriversdisneyfan,

The 8's in the book are typos. We're predicting lower-than-average crowds for that time. Sorry about that. The Unofficial Guide's website has the most updated version of the calendar, if you're interested.

Go Steelers.

Sincerely,

Len

Just curious, How much is the free dinning plan going to effect the crowds in Sept. My travel agent seems to think not much since the there is a limited amount of plans per resort.

 

[jarw00]

I think the crowds will be a little larger, but not much. Last year WDW had agreat rate discount this time of year. We stayed off property and extended our trip by 2 nights on property because of it.

 

[ScoJo15]

I just look in UG for the week I'm going Sept 23rd thru 30th and it said an eight the whole month is 2 then boom!!! Am I missing something like Florida''s school kid on break or something?

I think the numbers were increased in case of added traffic due to the free dining plan. Being the first time that this has been offered, no one really knows what to expect.

 

[phantomtiger]

I will be there this coming Labor day weekend (fri-monday). Wondering if the general guide still holds for being slow for that Sept. weekend?
Mousesavers web pages said that this was still a good time to go (low season?)but Ive read from others that the labor day weekend was very busy (same crowds like the summer months). Can anyone comment or clarify this.

 

[phantomtiger]

BTW, what is the web site for the most up to date info on Unofficial Guide?