When would YOU go? (Sept/Oct or late Nov)?

[MrsMud]

Okay, here's the dilemma:
I have been planning a WDW trip for this Thanksgiving period. We would arrive on Thanksgiving (11/23) and leave Wed (11/29). I know the first few days will be really busy, but I'm hoping it will slow down by Sun/Mon. I really want to see the Christmas decorations, Osborne lights, etc.
Now with the free dining promo I am considering switching to take advantage of that. My kids have off from school Mon 10/2 so I would use that as one of our days. I haven't narrowed it down to the exact days yet, we could either go the last full week of Sept and return on 10/2, or start and end our trip up to 4 days later. I love the idea of free dining, not crazy about the heat. And I have been reading about how packed it was last year at this time due to free dining, so I'm not sure how much less crowded it would be than TGiving and the days after, or is it not even comparable?

PROS TO NOV/DEC:

1) Better weather, I hate heat and humidity
2) Kids miss 1 less day of school
3) Christmas decorations, etc.


PROS to Sept/Oct:

1) Free dining
2) Probably cheaper airfare
3) Less crowds? Or not?

Which would YOU do?

 

[Skylarr29]

I do love Sept for the low crowds but I would never chose it over nov/early dec. The decorations are beautiful and just make Disney eeven more magical ( if thats possible) The weather too is much better and refreshing. September is very hot and humid with the chance of a park closure because of the terrible hurricanes we have been having down here. This season is also expected to bring alot of major storms. One more pro for Sept is being able to use pools. In dec the pools are heated but if your a chicken like me its still too col.

 

[2Xited4Disney]

Free Dining is worth it

 

[Micca]

If you really hate heat and humidity, go in November. Otherwise those are both great times to go and have their pros and cons.

 

[KLAIT]

We have gone in both Oct and during the Thanksgiving period and it is a hands down, no amount of food or money choice for us...NOVEMBER! We are not fans of heat and humidity and it was horrible for us....

Plus, the decorations are worth the trip alone.

 

[byoung]

We like going late Oct. and also mid Dec.

 

[eeyore45]

You may not believe this, but with free dining, there will be HUGE CROWDS... if you are debating it, so are thousands of others!! They WILL come, Disney is a marketing genius, they need to fill rooms during the HOT HUMID hurricane season, and they cut off free dining right before the Columbus Day crowds -

there wont be a low time frame in late Sept... everyone will change their plans!! It was hot, crowded during the first week of Oct last year, the last date to take advantage of Free Dining - expect the same- -

I believe the week after Labor Day is lower crowds due to school starting... and the same with that last week of August...

Luckily there is much to enjoy and do even when it is crowded, but dont expect low crowds, and you wont be disappointed...

 

[Toby]

I cannot believe I'm writing this, as my husband and I just got back last Wed. from 5 days in Spring Break Hell at DW Anyway, my college son, after a 4-year break from Disney World - can you imagine???, has asked if we could plan a trip there around the second week of May when he gets out of school. I have absolutely no ambition to go again any time soon, after last week's crowds, until later in the year. My husband is trying to push January - after New Year's - as a better time to go. Son wants to see Star Wars happenings, and Narnia exhibit before it leaves...I'd like no crowds...

What to do, what to do

 

[Toby]

Sorry, sorry, sorry - meant to hit "New Topic", not to reply to your post..

 

[wdwlvr629]

Stick with your original plans, that is the BEST time to go imho!!!

 

[jann1033]

i was considering the same thing but remember last yr how everyone complained about how packed all the ts was and with the heat and humidity ( one daughter couldn't handle it for sure with asthma) i figured i'll hope everyone goes in Sept and by nov they'll offer some good promo to get some one coming.

 

[MrsMud]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm still leaning toward Nov., but the free dining is just SO tempting!

KLAIT: How did you find the crowds around Thanksgiving? That's my biggest concern for that time period.

 

[bronwyn]

We were there last year from September 24 - October 4th. I'm not sure why everyone thinks it was so crowded! The only day we encountered any crowds was on Mon Oct 3rd at Magic Kingdom. Every other day, all of the wait times were very minimal. Aside from Soarin (which we used fast pass for) we never waited over 15 minutes and it was generally about 5. We took advantage of the free dining and yes, some of the restaurants were crowded. We planned ahead and made ADR's so didn't have any problems there. I do think that it may have gotten more crowded on the last week of the free dining promotion. I would avoid that!

As far as the humidity... yes it was hot and humid! We ended up using all of our snack credits for water. I prefer it cooler but we really did have an awesome time! We were able to experience some nice restaurants that we probably would have skipped over without the DDP.

Whatever your decision, have a great time! I'd love to see Disney during the holidays!

Bronwyn

 

[jennpug]

We will be going this year 11/23-12/03. Last year we were at WDW in September for free dining. (Actually booked the package well before the promotion came out.) Well, when I saw that free dining was back, for a moment I did consider changing our dates, but I am sticking firmly to our Thanksgiving plans. Here are my reasons why:

1) We definitely want to see the Christmas decorations that I hear are not to be missed.

2) The weather last year was very hot and humid, and while it did not bother me much, it bothered my kids. They are little furnaces, so I am sure they will be pleased with November/December weather.

3) Thanksgiving dinner at WDW!!!! Need I say more!

4) While free dining is tempting, and last year saved us quite a bit of money...we actually already decided to forego the dining plan this year in lieu of Annual Passes and (hopefully) the discounts that follow. My family can defintely eat a lot, but we found last time that we actually ended up a little frustrated by all the sit-down meals. They took up so much time, and we found ourselves cancelling several reservations because we didn't want to break from our activities.

5) DS(8), wished on his birthday candles last year to have birthday dinner at Chef Mickeys this year. Thanksgiving week makes his wish come true. So really, there is no choice for us to make!

But that's us.... Whatever you decide you will no doubt have a very magical trip.

 

[remfam5]

Are you there to EAT or are you there to have FUN!!!????

Need I say more?

We were there last year for the tail end of free dining ( which after pricing out for us--- really wouldn't have saved us much.) And I would say that it was pretty crowded. We were planning for Oct. again for next year-- but have changed plans and are now going the first of Dec.

I totally understand that for some people-- having the free dining and eating ALL day long is important, but we actually enjoy catching little bites here and there and enjoying the attractions more!!

I think we should let all those people who get all excited about FREE stuff-- go in Sept. and leave Nov./Dec. for the rest of us!!

 

[KLAIT]

To be honest with you, we went in October after the free dining plan was over and I honestly do not think there was much of a difference between crowd levels. The weekend of Thanksgiving is very busy, but if you plan correctly, it is not that much of a big deal...then on Sunday, the crowds thinned right out.

 

[MrsMud]

Thanks again for everyone's input.

RemFam5: You make a very good point. When we are at WDW, I always want to maximize our time on the rides/attractions, so I would probably not enjoy having to "Lose" so much park time at restaurants. Also, we usually don't eat NEARLY that much on vacation, so in terms of cost savings, it's not exactly apples to apples.

KLAIT: Thanks, I was figuring that there would not be a huge difference in crowd levels, given the end of free dining and all. And the weather of course is no comparison.

Thanks to everyone else, too!

 

[mdoc]

I'd choose late September/early October, and not even for free dining. I just like the lighter crowds. It'd be nice to see the Christmas decorations, but I'd still prefer the lighter crowds. I also prefer the warmer weather.

 

[Spartan]

We've done both timeframes (last year we did second to last week of Sept. with free dining, and have done a couple of trips starting on Thanksgiving into early December). Free dining was a lot of fun, but if you're worried about maximizing ride and attraction times, then it's probably not the best choice. We did pretty much have to plan our days around eating, as funny as that sounds. For the most part it worked out well, but a couple of times we had to leave what we were doing in order to make our reservations. It was also HOT last year, but then again, I remember one early Dec. trip wearing coats and gloves, thinking that I came to Florida to escape the cold, not bring it with me. We pretty much avoided the parks until the Sunday after Thanksgiving (back before the MMY tickets), so crowds were not an issue with any of the trips. From visiting the resorts and DTD on the Fri and Sat after TGiving, however, I could see that crowds were pretty high. If you're counting on those days as part of your park days, then the crowds will definately be higher on Thanksgiving weekend.

Good luck deciding - both would be fun.

 

[CinRell]

I, too, am confused about the posts about last year being packed. I was there the week after labor day and it was a virtual ghost town... I made my ADRs only a month before and got everything I wanted.. and the TS's.. frequently it was just us and a couple of other families. There were no crowds. We felt like we had the parks almost to ourselves!