When to visit in Fall 2019?

[moose81]

We'd like to plan one last WDW trip while my son is still "free", right before his 3rd birthday at the very end of November 2019. However, we'd prefer to avoid the opening of Galaxy's Edge.

When should we go? We have previously visited over Labor Day, which was super hot but otherwise ok. October seems like a good choice, although I would love to see the Christmas decorations (we have never visited during the holidays). I know none of us have a crystal ball, but does early/mid November seem too close to the possible Galaxy's Edge opening?

My kids will be 5/6 and almost 3, if that matters. The older one will have to be pulled out of school, but she'll be in a 2nd year of kindergarten so I'm not worried about that too much. We'd probably go 4-5 days.

 

[kappyfamily]

We’ve done arrive on Halloween day and stay for week and have seen both Halloween and Xmas. That was about five years ago so not sure this is still the case, but loved that trip and loved seeing both holidays!

 

[g-dad66]

Early to mid-November is our favorite time to go (when the grandkids were young enough to pull them out of school). Summer weather is over, and airline ticket prices are good.

Hard to say if Galaxy's Edge will be open by then, but I'm guessing that it won't be. "Late fall" sounds to me like "maybe in time for Thanksgiving."

 

[Penmac]

If you are not willing to go before the end of summer, I think you are probably going to have to make the opening a secondary concern and take your chances on a date frame that works for your family's needs. I totally understand the need to get another trip in while you don't have to pay for little ones. Especially if you have more than 2 kids. These trips will only get more expensive as they get older. It sounds like you maybe want to avoid the high heat and possibly see Christmas stuff. I would plan an early Nov trip and keep fingers crossed the opening happens later!

If Galaxy is open, would you ever just avoid HS? We went to Disney this past July and it ended up being the same week as the opening of Toy Story. My girls were dying to ride Tower of Terror, but we collectively decided as a family to go to Animal Kingdom instead to avoid any huge surge in crowds. We were a bit disappointed because we haven't been to HS recently and had done AK last summer. And after checking wait times that day, it turns out we would have been OK had we chose to go to HS (maybe not able to ride Slinky Dog, though). Lines for other top attractions like Aerosmith and Tower of Terror were typical. We had a great time at AK though!

I expect Galaxy's Edge will draw a whole other level of crowds. Toy Story is cute, and people love it, but Star Wars? That will bring in a whole other demographic to the Disney Parks. I am sure crowds levels at all 4 parks will see an increase for this reason, but maybe if you avoid that one park it won't be terrible. Only time can tell, I guess.

Galaxy's Edge may or may not open on a particular date, but one thing is certain.... your baby boy will turn 3 late November. Get that trip in!

 

[SL6827]

Galaxy's Edge may or may not open on a particular date, but one thing is certain.... your baby boy will turn 3 late November. Get that trip in!

Totally agree! If it is open, I would just skip HS.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We are planning on taking our little girl for her first time over thanksgiving. All of the Christmas decorations and events will be going on. It’s a great find to go.

 

[CynBeth]

I would go end of November or beginning of Dec to experience all of the holiday stuff.

 

[gharter]

Early December has been awesome in the past, but is getting much more busy. Nobody knows when SWGE will open, but the later in the fall that you go, the more likely it will be open.
Seeing the xmas decorations in early December is a treat.
No good answers, but enjoy when you decide to go.

 

[mamaofsix]

My guess is that the busiest time for Galaxy's Edge crowds will be January-April, 2020. People who are serious about SWGE will book their vacations well ahead of time and aren't going to take their changes on a November / December vacation with the hopes that it will be open by then. I'd say the real surge in crowds (besides diehards and vloggers) will begin a month or two after opening.

Late November 2019 seems like a great time to go to me. If you go in early / mid November, you'll miss out on the Epcot festival of the Holidays...

 

[JennyDrake]

We'd like to plan one last WDW trip while my son is still "free", right before his 3rd birthday at the very end of November 2019. However, we'd prefer to avoid the opening of Galaxy's Edge.

When should we go? We have previously visited over Labor Day, which was super hot but otherwise ok. October seems like a good choice, although I would love to see the Christmas decorations (we have never visited during the holidays). I know none of us have a crystal ball, but does early/mid November seem too close to the possible Galaxy's Edge opening?

My kids will be 5/6 and almost 3, if that matters. The older one will have to be pulled out of school, but she'll be in a 2nd year of kindergarten so I'm not worried about that too much. We'd probably go 4-5 days.

October is now crazy busy! Think "spring break" level crowds the first 3 weeks. I would vote for last (partial) week of October into first week of November or first week of December.

 

[pde3b]

We are struggling with a similar decision. We have narrowed it down to the last week of September 2019 or mid November. We would prefer to avoid the opening of Galaxy's Edge, which would point to September, but we much prefer November weather to September. I think we will roll the dice and go with the November dates.

 

[moose81]

Thanks everyone for lots of good points! I'm leaning towards Nov now. Definitely we can just avoid HS if we somehow end up there after SWGE opens. I need to check all the dates for when the holiday stuff is available. Looks like mid-Nov might still work for us and I'm a little more confident we will beat SWGE if we go pre-Thanksgiving.

 

[rteetz]

If you want to avoid Star Wars than I say October. I’m thinking they want Star Wars open by Thanksgiving.

 

[Disneynerdz16]

mid to late october