when do columbus day crowds start?

[Suzanne74]

Do people mainly go for a long weekend or is Sat before to Sat after busy??

 

[suzquig]

I don't have the answer....but I too would love to know. And if anyone happens to know....what parks would they would suggest going to and skipping over that 3 day period. We are going Wed. Oct 5th-Tuesday October 11th. I am more concerned with Saturday, Sunday Monday, since Columbus Day is on Monday October 10th. Tenatively I am thinking we will do Sat AM at AK...break...Sat PM MK. Sun MGM (AM and PM) and Mon MK. This is not set in stone, so if anyone has any advice/opinions I am open to ANY suggestions..... and what WDW has been like in years past over Columbus day wkend? Thanks so much....Can't wait to go back!!!!!!

 

[madge]

Do people mainly go for a long weekend or is Sat before to Sat after busy??

last year, we noticed a definite difference in the crowds on the Thursday before, and by Friday, it was quite busy. Not unbearable, can't deal with it crowded....but things were much busier the closer the holiday weekend got.

 

[mommykds]

We are going 10/1-10/10. I am planning on avoiding the crowds by doing MK early in our trip. MK tends to not handle crowds well.
The Thursday before Columbus day (when it gets busier) we are not doing the parks in the day but swimming & hanging out at POR. Later that evening we have MNSSHP.

The Friday before Col day we are doing AK late & then Boma's..walk around AKL & check out the animals rather than the parks Fri night.

Saturday we are doing EPCOT which even when its crowded is a better alternative to MK. Sunday I booked the family magic tour since I think mk will be packed. Once our tour is over we will leave MK & go back to EPCOT for dinner. Hopefully this will help.

 

[nkjzmom]

We will be there that weekend and for the rest of the week. When do the crowds thin back out?

 

[julia & nicks mom]

the crowd estimates aren't high for that week

and I called yesterday to add two days on with DVC and they had plenty of availability at WL - usually this far out I can only get Old Key west

I think with the dining package - a lot of people moved their trips forward - how many people really get columbus day off anyway? and for those who do - is one day of vacation worth the dining plan savings?

 

[KLRI]

We'll be at WDW from 10/7-10/15 so I am curious about this also. I was thinking about doing MK on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend b/c that is our first full day of the trip and I always want to go to MK first. Am I crazy?

 

[meatballsmom]

We are going 10/1-10/10. I am planning on avoiding the crowds by doing MK early in our trip. MK tends to not handle crowds well.
The Thursday before Columbus day (when it gets busier) we are not doing the parks in the day but swimming & hanging out at POR. Later that evening we have MNSSHP.

The Friday before Col day we are doing AK late & then Boma's..walk around AKL & check out the animals rather than the parks Fri night.

Saturday we are doing EPCOT which even when its crowded is a better alternative to MK. Sunday I booked the family magic tour since I think mk will be packed. Once our tour is over we will leave MK & go back to EPCOT for dinner. Hopefully this will help.

We are planning on about the same as you. We will be at POR 10/1-10/8. Going to MNSSHP on the 6th too and hanging around the resort at the pool. We might bump into each other!! Also doing AK friday with Boma's friday night. Too funny.

 

[suzquig]

I went on to Touringplanscom ( we will be in WDW oct5th-11th staying at the Poly) They use "some" formula to ESTIMATE crowd levels and then give it a rating on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least crowded and 10 being the most). They also give their recommendations on which parks to go to and which to avoid. Looking at Thursday Oct 6th -Tuesday the 11th...all days rec'd a "5" EXCEPT for Friday the 7th it rec'd a "6". Looking at October as a whole it seemed like MOST days rec'd a "5" while a few rec'd a 4 or 6. I am thinking that October in general is becoming more popular but no where near as bad as the "normal" busy times. In terms of park recommendations and the previous question of whether or not to go to MK on Saturday....based on their prediction, Mk would be fine to do that day. I am kind of in the same situation as you....trying to pick which parks would be best over that weekend! Hope this helped a little. Have a great time!!!!

 

[mommykds]

We are planning on about the same as you. We will be at POR 10/1-10/8. Going to MNSSHP on the 6th too and hanging around the resort at the pool. We might bump into each other!! Also doing AK friday with Boma's friday night. Too funny.

Oh that is funny! Ok look for us at the pool. I'll be the one not in a swimsuit! (I am doing so bad on my diet! hahah)

 

[cobbler]

How will the World Showcase be on Friday? Anyone care to guess or expirence it?

We leave Saturday the 8th. I tried to plan it so we would have minimal time with the crowd impact. We have MNSSHP on Thursday night and thought it would be great to sleep in on Friday and hit the World Showcase and eat around the world.

 

[ricktib]

when do columbus day crowds start?

Easter.

 

[meatballsmom]

Oh that is funny! Ok look for us at the pool. I'll be the one not in a swimsuit! (I am doing so bad on my diet! hahah)

Don't feel bad, me too!!! I try to be good, but food just tastes so good!! I sit here reading the restaurant board and just want to eat!!

 

[frannn]

We went this same time two years ago, and the crowds were manageable. I think that the holiday, plus the fact that WDW has been having higher than avg attendance will result in a decent amount of crowds, but nothing like the summer. I've never been in the summer or the major holidays, but I've seen all the parades on tv, and there are a lot more people than when we go! I'd think that people who are travelling to WDW by plane for Columbus Day may arrive on the Thurs before (to make the most out of the trip), while the locals would probably arrive Fri. So, my thought is that it will start getting a little bit more busy on Thurs, with Sat and Sunday being the worst. For that reason, it may be a better idea to avoid MK Sat and Sun.

 

[madge]

How will the World Showcase be on Friday? Anyone care to guess or expirence it?

We leave Saturday the 8th. I tried to plan it so we would have minimal time with the crowd impact. We have MNSSHP on Thursday night and thought it would be great to sleep in on Friday and hit the World Showcase and eat around the world.

we noticed more crowds on Thursday at Epcot, probably because of the Food & Wine Festival....I would anticipate that Friday-Saturday would be the same. We chose to do the MNSSHP on the Friday night of Columbus Day weekend last year. This year we are opting for October 6 (I think )