WDW Late Sep./Early Oct. over May Trip

[lbarellano]

Hi All! Is the weather better in May or the last two weeks of Sept. first week in Oct. What about crowds? We are trying to plan for 2010.Thanks

 

[ehrn]

We were there the week before Memorial Day this May--it rained a lot, it was very abnormal. When it wasn't raining it was VERY hot and crowded. We were on our way to a wedding otherwise we would not have gone at that time. I have heard early May is not too crowded. I have been there the last 2 Septembers though early in the month--very hot and humid but gloriously low crowds. We are going again the first week of Oct, I am hoping it won't be quite as humid and the unofficial guide's crowd calendar is saying 4's, 5's and one 6 as far as crowd level. I love that time of year for the autumn decorations and MNSSHP too!!
Happy Planning!

 

[lbarellano]

Hi thanks for responding. We went this last may around the second-third week. It wasn't that bad in my book since I'm from Ca. What is a 4,5,or 6 in the guide book. Do you know if the weather is around the same? Thanks for the info.

 

[ehrn]

Sorry, I should have explained... Touringplans.com, the website for the Unofficial Guide to WDW, has a crowd calendar where they predict the park crowd levels on a 1-10 scale w/10 being most crowded. It's based around the Magic Kingdom somehow. They also tell you which parks to hit on which days.
I can't really say about the weather since I think when we were there in May it rained a LOT more than usual. In Sept it usually rains every day but I think it gets better the closer to Oct, I'll find out for sure when we go. Personally, I would take heat over crowds ANYTIME!!!!! As far as the rain, it really didn't stop us in May. In fact, it kept the crowds down which was fine by me! In September, the rain doesn't last too long(unless it's a hurricane or something). My preference is fall I think, just because I love the decorations and Halloween party.
Here's Disney's crowd level info from allears.net:
The Lowest Attendance --

* January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February
* The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving
* The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December

More Moderate Attendance:

* After Presidents' week in February through early March
* Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend)
* Columbus Day Weekend (October)
* The first part of Thanksgiving week

Highest Attendance:

* Presidents' week in February
* Mid March through Late April ("Spring Break")
* Memorial Day weekend
* Mid June through Labor Day
* Thanksgiving Day and weekend
* Christmas week through New Year's Day

Hope this helps!! Happy Planning.

 

[DISNEYNV]

We went in May twice now and it is getting to that hot/humid stage of the year. It did not rain during our trips, but my friend went the week after us and it rained for days. You just never know. As for the crowds...it is getting more crowded in May anymore. I guess people found out it was suppost to be one of the least crowded months, but now it is becoming just the opposite, plus Flower and Garden draws a crowd too. September and October are beautiful but can still be hot and humid and crowded, not to mention Hurricane season still. It really is hit or miss, but May and Sept and Oct are definately better times to go than June-August in my opinion! January/Feb is the NEW less crowded time to go to Disney (for now anyway)!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

We just went May 12-19 and are planning on going the end of September next year too, so this is a good post for me to follow. I heard, low crowds for that time and I've also heard it's starting to cool down a little by the end of Sept and FREE DINING will hopefully be offered again!!!!

 

[lbarellano]

Hi All.Thanks for the info. I don't mind the heat too bad. The free dinig would really help. Go figure for four of us close to $2240 savings on food for 14 to 15 days WOW. Hopefully you all have a great upcoming trip. Anymore info is greatly appreciated.