When should we go- Sept or Oct??

[kkmcan]

We went last Sept 20-23 and boy was it packed! Apparently is was the opening of Haunted Mansion Holiday and all the fall/Halloween decorations. We had a good time but Friday and Saturday were just too packed for us to enjoy. The kids were frustrated with the ride waits and we were frustrated trying to get thru the crowds.

So with that said, we are considering another trip this fall possibly Sept 17th-20th or Oct 12th-16th. Which of these dates would be less crowded??

I heard last year that Oct was crazy busy.

TIA,
Kelly

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

We went the Wed-Sat before Halloween last year, and Wed & Thursday were awesome--hardly any waits... Friday morning you could tell the crowds were coming, Friday after nap (4 pm) on was insane... but Saturday morning was just fine, and we did DCA post nap on Saturday and it was fine...

So, my vote is for October... just go EARLY in the day. Oh and get Halloween Treat tickets... we did that Thursday night and had so much fun and no line waits to speak of!

--Lisa

 

[IBLarsen]

Hi, Sorry to barge in on your thread....we are planning a trip at the end of Sept to beginning of Oct, and wanting to know, WHAT is the Halloween Treat Street, and when does it start? Any idea when the Halloween decorations will be out this year?

 

[mariezp]

If you really don't care if you miss the Halloween festivities I would say go in September. October seems to be getting progressively more crowded each year since they have added the Mickey treats on weekends.
You also may want to take into consideration that October 13 will be Columbus Day. Holidays usually make it at least a bit more crowded.

 

[BlueBayou]

We started going in October (around the 13th) when my daughter started Kindergarten. Her school has a 1 week fall break. We had been going in the middle of December - but those crowds were getting pretty bad.

We do miss the Christmas decorations and parade - but are fine with the fall/Halloween look.

I don't recall crowds being too bad the 4 days we went in October (around the time you are talking about). But we do not do the parks on a weekend if we can avoid it. Normally Saturday is our travel day and we do Sunday-Tuesday or Wednesday in the parks.

We learned our lesson about Fridays back in Dec 05. Our last day there was the first day Fantasmic was back. We watched the parade at DCA and headed back to DL. It was so crowded they would not let us walk up main street. We had to walk back stage near from near the hat shop to tomorrowland. It was nice to get a sneak peek at backstage - but it as way too crowded for my taste.

 

[disney-super-mom]

For the dates you gave as your choices, I would go September 17-20.

October 12-16 will be crowded, not only because of the school fall breaks that take place most of the month, but because that's Columbus Day weekend!

 

[Leofoenget]

I'm going Sept 17-20 this year (thurs-sat) It should be the start of the Halloween stuff. Having done this trip twice before, I vote for mid week. Wed Thurs are great, Friday is more busy but we plan on that and go to DCA. Perfect weather perfect crowds. October is much more busy with Gay Days, Schools out Columbus day etc.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

This past Oct. we went on the 9-13. The first two days weren't too bad, but by the end of the trip it got SUPER packed. I would think September would be better, with kids just starting back to school. We had hit all the fall breaks and Halloween stuff in Oct, which is why I assumed it was so bad.

 

[tdfast]

We're thinking of going April 7-9 or 8-10. This would put us there Mon to Wed or Tues to Thurs. Are there any days of the week that are better or is it basically packed all the time???

 

[vflipo]

I would go in September if you don't like the crowds. When I go in Sept the longest line I usually wait in is Peter Pan and it was about 25 minutes. It's pretty fun when it's less crowded but some stuff is closed (usually the haunted mansion which is one of my favorites) But I still loved it!!

 

[kkmcan]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We are pretty tied down to these dates because of school breaks/early release days. Those Oct dates could be a huge mistake because of Columbus days and the Sept dates will have to be Wed-Sun. Also it seems that those Sept dates are probably the weekend that they open Haunted Holiday Mansion. While I loved the holiday look of HM, I hated the crowds. So hmmm, such a dilemma.

If we go in Oct we can spend a bit more time because the kids have a week off. If we go in Sept we would get maybe Thurs, Fri and Sat. Drive there on Wed, drive home on SUn. So not much wiggle room.

Have to think about this a bit more. Thanks!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We were there 9/24-26 last year and it was great, low crowds, Halloween was up. I don't do weekends for the most part anytime ~ however for our trip in April we'll arrive early Sun. morning (DS's 8th B~day).

 

[heatherleigh]

We went in October, before halloween last year. It was pretty crowded, but it wasn't horrible. Saturday was another story. As soon as we got there (early) there was a HUGE line outside It's a Small WOrld. Normally that is not a high-demand ride. That evening you could barely walk because of the crowds.

I was thinking of doing our trip in September this year, but now I'm having second thoughts. It sounds like it's crowded then too. The first time we brought the kids was in Jan/Feb, and it was cold and empty. We loved it. We didnt' have to really wait for any rides.

 

[ShawnaF]

We used to go in September every year (around the 21st for our anniversary) but once our daughter turned 1, we started going in October for her birthdays. We've been going for a week each time (whatever the week of the 24th ends up being) and the only days that have been terrible with crowds have been Friday as the day goes on and Saturdays (all day.) Neither of us can stand crowds so it's a big issue for us. I've already got our Oct. trip booked for this year. I do think that in 2005 the crowds were a little lighter but we haven't had more than a 10 minute wait on any ride we want to go on until we hit Friday or Saturday.

Mickey's Halloween Treat - CA park at dark with trick-or-treating and dancing, some shows, characters all dressed, and rides (although not sure all of them are all running - but those that my daughter can do at 41" were all open.) This past one we attended was REALLY packed and that was a bit disappointing since the ride waits got to be horrendous and that's what our short person wanted to do - NOT the trick or treating. Still, it's a really fun thing and the decorations and activities make it worth it!

 

[Leofoenget]

We went in October, before halloween last year. It was pretty crowded, but it wasn't horrible. Saturday was another story. As soon as we got there (early) there was a HUGE line outside It's a Small WOrld. Normally that is not a high-demand ride. That evening you could barely walk because of the crowds.

I was thinking of doing our trip in September this year, but now I'm having second thoughts. It sounds like it's crowded then too. The first time we brought the kids was in Jan/Feb, and it was cold and empty. We loved it. We didnt' have to really wait for any rides.

Could you tell me when in Jan/Feb? Was it the last few days of Jan that spilled over into the beginning of Feb? I"m keeping notes on slow days and i want to note when you went.
thanks

 

[mystic_path]

I went during the first week of October, and if you could only go in October then i would suggest as early as possible. Like the first of the month to the 7th. Other then that I would be going in September like others have suggested.

The halloween treat doesnt usually start until the 2nd week of October I dont think. Cause it was starting just as I was leaving on my October Trip and I went from the 1-9th. It got PACKED!!!!

Combined with people coming in for the Halloween Treat mixing with the gay days weekend going on,(a huge even during the first weekend every October) the parks got super busy. I was almost happy to be leaving it was so busy.

I dont think I would go back in October, I would rather be in September. But like I said, if I had to go in October, definately the first week again.

 

[godalejunior]

We went last Sept 20-23 and boy was it packed! Apparently is was the opening of Haunted Mansion Holiday and all the fall/Halloween decorations. We had a good time but Friday and Saturday were just too packed for us to enjoy. The kids were frustrated with the ride waits and we were frustrated trying to get thru the crowds.

So with that said, we are considering another trip this fall possibly Sept 17th-20th or Oct 12th-16th. Which of these dates would be less crowded??

I heard last year that Oct was crazy busy.

TIA,
Kelly

We also were there at from Sept. 20-23 and I did not think it was bad at all for a weekend. Yes, HM opened but we fast passed it and had minimal wait. We were in the park Thurs. afternoon, all day Friday and Sat. We had the park to ourselves, at least how it felt to us, until about 11 a.m. on Sat. I would definitely consider going in Sept. again. With the Halloween treat going in October, it seems that that month is getting a lot busier.

 

[Pinkstarblm]

We went last Sept 20-23 and boy was it packed! Apparently is was the opening of Haunted Mansion Holiday and all the fall/Halloween decorations. We had a good time but Friday and Saturday were just too packed for us to enjoy. The kids were frustrated with the ride waits and we were frustrated trying to get thru the crowds.

So with that said, we are considering another trip this fall possibly Sept 17th-20th or Oct 12th-16th. Which of these dates would be less crowded??

I heard last year that Oct was crazy busy.

TIA,
Kelly

Try for the first couple weeks after school starts. It's slower although you won't get the haunted mansion because they'll be getting it ready for the holidays... But there aren't that many people... My mom and i went Sept 16-21st and most fast passes weren't even open because it was pretty slow.