What the heck? September, what happend to you?

[stitchfan75]

We are currently driving home after staying at AKL from 9/26-10/3. The crowds were more than I was expecting. Monday at Epcot was almost unbearable, anyone who says AK is the hottest park is crazy, I thought I was melting both days we went. The lines weren't to bad. We burned a lot of FP because we would just walk on. The popular rides like Soarin would get up to 150 minutes. We felt like we got to see everything we wanted. I just hated the heat. This was our only September trip since our oldest is starting high school next year and missing school is a bad idea. The teachers were awesome this time but I'm not making it a habit.

 

[Dottie74]

Our trip was 9/20 - 9/28. And yes, I think there were alot of people at the parks! I kept saying Look how many people are sitting around and walking - just imagine if they were all in line! However we did do everything we planned and more. We used our FP, child swap passes, and waited in some short lines for rides. Worst part for us was trying to get a table for meals. It will never be like it was before - I miss the early park days of the 70's! But we totatally enjoyed our trip and came home with wonderful memories!!

 

[anniemae]

We have been here since the 26th, and yes the crowds are higher, more like five's rather twos or threes that we are used to.

To me, the bigger issue is fastpass plus, and how it has redistributed everyone around the park, making even rides that were walk on in the past without fastpass, now long lines. There are long lines everywhere now.

I plan to do a full write up next week once we are home

Dan

That is a good point, with FP, everyone is out and about instead of in line. I also noticed lines at rides that never had lines before. Someone mentioned there was a wait for people mover!

 

[theone74733]

We were there 9/26 - 10/2 and the crowds were a even slightly higher than when we went during Marathon weekend this year, but the crowds were manageable. The worst was at Magic Kingdom last Wednesday (Disney even added an extra hour at the last minute). Usually I can ride BTMR, Splash, POTC, Jungle Cruise, and HM (in that order at RD) with no waits, but POTC & JC already had 40 min waits once we reached it. However, Animal Kingdom on Tuesday was really nice. It was raining in the morning, but every ride there was pretty much 5-10 mins wait throughout the day (I wished it rained like that every day we were there!). All in all, we were still able to accomplish a lot including riding the favorites multiple times using various strategies. Also, I was surprised at the amount of international tourists visiting. I think it could be a 60-40 split between US tourists and international tourists and maybe that also caused numbers to jump a bit.

With all of the promotions/special events including free Disney Dining, F&W, MNSSHP, and very cheap hotel rates, I can understand why it is busier this time of year, so I am not surprised. Also, I think more and more kids have year round school which messes up the traditional school year and can contribute to higher crowds during the "normal" off-season at Disney.

 

[Murron]

We were there 9/9 to 9/16 and then 9/20 to 9/24 .. Vero Beach in between. 9/9-16 was unusually crowded (and HOT) -- then I discovered there was a religious holiday with schools off. Magic Kingdom on 9/10 was just impossible. 9/20 to 24 was a tiny bit better, but no where near the low crowds we experienced in prior years. Until I refine my FP+ touring system (I definitely made some mistakes), I think we will stick with Vero Beach and Hilton Head for awhile and give the parks a break.

 

[Raimiette]

I went from September 19 to the 26 and I thought the lines were longer and the parks were more crowded than when I went the first week of June last year. We got so much less done even though we were in the parks for an extra day this trip. I was a bit disappointed since I kept hearing about how slow September was lol.

 

[Tondee]

I was there 9/26. One thing that I think contributes to the crowded feeling was all the ride closures. (Pooh, Pirates, BTMR, Peoplemover, Small World, Pan, and I forget the other ride. 7 that I know of.) These closures were random and throughout the day. If you have a fp for a ride that goes down during your window, you are given a fp for your choice of rides. I think this fills up regular lines and makes fp lines full as well.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We did 8 years of September trips, last year did it for us. We went the 20th- October 2 last year. It was crowded and more rainy than usual. We said that was it for a while. Then DD said she wanted to go one last time before she's moves out this spring. So we are taking her and her BF for thanksgiving. I know it will be insane crowds, but this is it for a while, and we are prepared. I am convinced there isn't a slow time anymore, so pick good weather times, and deal with the crowds, or go someplace else. We are opting for trying someplace else for a while after this.

 

[fmfoley]

I opted for Labor Day week this year versus the end of September. The wait times were lower but the downside was the temperature. It was still upper 90s. Hopefully the end of September starts slowing down because I loved going then with the lower crowds and milder temps.

 

[ElenaJane]

Just got back from a stay 9/26 - 10/3. 9/26 the MK was painfully crowded, and we have been the last few years at the same time. VERY different. It was similar to June crowds. The MNSSP on 9/27 was sold-out, and so different than past parties (IMHO...seemed hard to even get around). However, that Monday, 9/28, things seemed to lighten up considerably!!! The whole week seemed a lot better. An as a side note, when we went to Universal a few times, the waits were all around 10 minutes!

 

[mort1331]

I agree with the huge increase in foreign tourists. I posted this on another Sept thread but at one point, we were waiting to get on the riverboat. I realized there were five different families around me that I could hear talking...five distinctly different conversations...and NONE were speaking English. And as we chatted with people, we realized there were people from all over. Lots of Canadians, South Americans and people from the UK were what we saw most.

Wow no English, wonder what those funny Canadians and Brits were using for language then?

 

[godders]

I got back on Wednesday from Disney staying from 12-26 onsite and then went over to Universal on 26-29. The difference in the crowds from last year was incredible at Disney but over at the Darkside it was lovely and quiet. 20 mins wait posted at peak times for HP but they were both much shorter waits and were walk ons as a single rider. I think the 2 long weekends had a major impact over at Disney

 

[boomgoesthemickey]

You know its funny I keep seeing these type of threads pop up where it says typically slow months are getting more and more crowded right along with threads about how disney is getting too expensive for people to vacation there. They would seem to contradict each other, no?

 

[cruisingtwins]

There was a sweet spot at the end of august beginning of september that crowds were pretty low. After MNSSHP started it all went to hell.

 

[anniemae]

There was a sweet spot at the end of august beginning of september that crowds were pretty low. After MNSSHP started it all went to hell.

That sweet spot was thanks to hurricane Erika. Many people canceled and re-booked for Sept.

 

[cruisingtwins]

I see. It was great! Glad we got to enjoy it.

 

[anniemae]

I got back on Wednesday from Disney staying from 12-26 onsite and then went over to Universal on 26-29. The difference in the crowds from last year was incredible at Disney but over at the Darkside it was lovely and quiet. 20 mins wait posted at peak times for HP but they were both much shorter waits and were walk ons as a single rider. I think the 2 long weekends had a major impact over at Disney

Good to know! Does Universal do all kinds of stuff like Disney does with free dining-type promos, special ticketed events, etc?

 

[newestkg06]

We were there 9/19-9/27. I don't have anything to compare to as it was my first visit since 1985 (!), but I think a BIG part of the crowds were which parks you visited when. Someone earlier mentioned MK being crazy on Monday and Sat. Those are historically bad days to go do MK as many people going Sun-Sun begin and end their trips with MK.

We went to MK on Tues (a party night) and I thought it was relatively quiet but hot. Here's what we accomplished:
Breakfast at BOG
2 quickie rides on SDMT before rope droppers got there
Peter Pan
Barnstormer 2 times in a row
Dumbo 2 times in a row
Met Goofy and Donald
Winnie the Pooh
Philharmagic
Fastpass for SDMT
Carousel
Haunted Mansion
Lunch at Sleepy Hollow
Splash Mountain Fastpass
BTMRR Fastpass
Aladdin 2 times in a row
Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise
Festival of Fantasy Parade
Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial
We booked out at 4:15, grabbing a treat from Main Street on the way out as the party people started coming in and making it more crowded.

I actually think that's pretty good. We went back on Wed, had breakfast at Crystal Palace and did the Tomorrowland stuff. We took a break in the afternoon and came back for our Wishes fastpass. Another great day. So much of it is going to the right park on the right day, but I'm only a rookie.

 

[DisneyFive]

Wow no English, wonder what those funny Canadians and Brits were using for language then?

You've heard of French Canadians right?

-Dan

 

[mort1331]

Oui, but not French Brits.