WDW in October

[surgefest]

Now i have been to Disney in october about 4 years ago and as far as i remember it wasnt very busy. But everytime i call Disney they tell me its becoming one of their very busy seasons due to the MNSSHP and the food and wine festival. has anyone been there during october more recently than me, and how busy was it???

 

[CharmedLife]

Hate to burst your bubble, but I've been there 3 times in October since 2000: 2000 was GREAT - we said "we're always going to go in October!!! 2004 was definitely more crowded than I remembered from 2000, and then 2005 was way more crowded than 2005 (of course we went during different weeks in October, I know Columbus Day probably has some impact and that's the week we were there in 2005).

Don't get me wrong, nothing like Christmas or Easter, but still more than we had in October 2000. Tourism is just picking up everywhere, so the crowds continue to grow. MNSSHP and F & W Festival are also big draws.

Certainly manageable, especially if you have a plan - we never wait more than 15 minutes for anything, and use fast passes as often as we are allowed. We had a great time both years, and I'm sure you will, too!

 

[DznyLvr2005]

We were there last year Oct 3-14 and it was great! Definately not as crowded as summer months. Most of the long lines were in Fantasy Land and for Soarin, but other than that, I remember during MNSSHP we went on Big thunder like 3 times in a row!

 

[ZoZo]

I have gone twice in October (2002 and 2005) and had great experiences both times. I thought the crowd levels were fine - Epcot was busier than the other parks because of the F&W Festival, but not horribly so. The only ride I remember being really busy last year was Soarin' (and it's always busy, IMO!).

We were there during Hurricane Wilma (the edge of the hurricane just grazed us our third day there - they closed the park for about 6 hours, then reopened it). The hurricane actually cooled the weather down quite a bit, which was great!

I think October is a great time of year to go to WDW (especially the last week of the month, since it's cooler)! Even with the hurricane possibilities, F&W Festival, and MNSSHP, the crowds were just fine and the weather was great! Go for it!

 

[DSTPDISNEY]

would you suggest going to fantasy land first and then adventure etc... during the first week in October, or how were the lines? 15-20 minute wait is fine we were there in March 2005 and waited 90 plus minutes at one show

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Our fall break was the second week of October last year. The parks were far busier than any of our other stays, including spring break and the week before Christmas. However, the weather was great, more than making up for the numbers.

This year, our break is the first week of October. It will be interesting to see how this compares.

 

[js]

We are going Oct. 21-28. Have been in Oct. before and like others have said, although it is not terribly crowded, there are enough people for me, any more I wouldn't enjoy.
I subscribe to TGM and plan on following his touring plans and not hitting ANY lines

 

[findmewdw]

We have been three times in October since 2000. In 2000, there were not many people there at all. We agreed that October had to be the best time of the year to visit. The next time in 2004, the crowd level had increased a little bit, but not too badly. Last year, the crowd level was much heavier. I think the free dining and fall breaks for school have made October an ideal time to visit!

 

[te2077]

we went october 20th-26th 2004. I thaught it was fabolous. We had only been in value season times before. We thaught that the crowds were not bad at all. We went to mnsshp on a weekday and were able to ride haunted mansion by ourselves, rode btmrr several times without exiting. We found f&w festival to not be busy at all during the day time during the week. The weekends got busier but, still managable. The funai golf classic didnt cause any problems with crowds at the parks either. It was a blast. We are going in dec this year and I will miss going it october.

 

[lake queen]

WE were there in Oct. 2001 and it was empty, It was busier in Oct 2004, but using FP, we usually didn't wait more than 15 min.

The main times that we "felt" the crowds were after Spectro, Fantasmic and Illuminations, ---Trying to get back to our resort!!

That usually took us about 1 1/2 hrs.

We love OCT.---Be there this year also!!!

 

[Collette]

We were there October 22 - 29, 2005 (and also October 1999 and 2002). Every time was perfect - weather and crowds. I like a few people around. In 2002, we were at AK for Columbus Day and it was packed. After that day, it wasn't crowded at all.

I don't know about early October. We love the last part and always choose to go then. And MNSSHP and the Food and Wine Festival are wonderful!

Collette

 

[WDW LOVR]

We've been to Disney in Oct 4-5 times (including last Oct) and are going again Oct 8-13. We've never had to wait in line for very long anywhere on property. Yes, some of the big rides can be more than 20 minutes or so, but just get a FP and ride all the rides with no/little lines and come back at FP time.

Epcot can get busy on Friday afternoons and Saturdays as the locals come for the Food and Wine Festival, but by Sunday afternoon the crowds are back to a comfortable level.

 

[n2mm]

We have gone in October every year for the past 12 years. We have watched the attendance go up too. We always go the last 2 weeks of the month. The crowds are at the moderate range. Manageable, especially with fast pass and arriving early. Some days are better than others. EPCOT can be very crowded on the weekends starting on Fridays, as F&W is a favorite time of the locals and CMs. My only suggestion is to stay away from Colombus Day weekend. That time is probably the worse weekend of the entire month of October. The rest of the month is comparable with the first 2 weeks of May and late April (we also go for 2 weeks late April early May every year--12 years now). You will seldom see walk on rides and the big tickets will always have waits, esp. test track, everest, RnR, and Soarin. We just returned from a quick weekend trip and the wait time for POC was 45 minutes.....and POC does not have fast pass, so you have no choice but to wait to see the new updated attraction (which is pretty cool).

 

[KimWDW]

I'd stay away from Columbus Day, but other than that October's great!

I think October 2004 was busier than normal because FL got rocked by several hurricanes the previous month and people rescheduled to Oct.

We went the 3rd week of October last year (2005) and it was very low crowds. Everything was walk on in the morning. In the afternoons it was busier, but not too bad. The only really long line I saw was for Soarin' but we fastpassed it so it wasn't an issue for us.

 

[willise]

We arrive on Oct 6 for 8 nights. We had remembered this time of the year as rather slow, so we decided to try it, given that the Canadian Thanksgiving is during the same time. We forgot about Columbus Day. We have read many reports here about Columbus Day being as busy as any summer day, but touringplans.com shows the Saturday before Columbus day as the best park to visit. So how bad is the Columbus DAy weekend? Also, do the crowds continue for the entire week after Columbus Day, and from your experience, what parks should we visit on the Sat, Sun and Mon?

THanks a lot!

 

[mjnap]

We were there last October into the beginning of November and it was great-no lines or crowds. We did notice it got busier around Nov. 3, when teachers convention began. The weather was great! We're looking forward to returing Oct. 28!