Who was at WDW the last week of Sept. the last few years for free dining?

[g3pak]

Please tell me what it was like the last week of Sept. The weather? The crowds? The resorts full?

 

[disneyfan55]

Please tell me what it was like the last week of Sept. The weather? The crowds? The resorts full?

We were there last Sept 22-29. The weather was much hotter and humid than I thought it would be. I would say 85-90 with some days in the 90s. I felt the parks were much more crowded than I thought they would be and more crowded than the same period in 2006. Free Dining was offered and on some days if you didn't have a reservation there were no restaurants in MK and even some other restaurants. Disney was offering a CS and I think 2 snacks for an exchange for a TS. We did have reservations but most restaurants were very crowded when we ate and some of our reservations were not at regular dinner times (5-7pm).

 

[kathiep]

The restaurants were all very busy. You can probably forget about TS without an ADR.

It was hot and humid.

But, most of the rides had very little wait; under 20 minutes in almost all cases. This definately made it worth it!

 

[tiger4me2]

I agree with DisneyFan55. We were there September 22 through Oct 6th. It was hot & humid parks were jammed on weekends. Not too much of waits for some rides but at MK hard to get on some rides. It rained a lot last Sept/Oct so go prepared. It was doable but the year before went earlier & it was light still hot

 

[pta-mom]

We were there last year too...September 22 to October 3...beautiful weather!!! Nice & hot, needed lots of water but totally bareable. Rained most days in the late afternoon.

Restaurants were busy but fine as long as you went with ADR's.

Love bugs were out near the end of our trip but not too bad.

Ride lines were awesome with very little wait for anything. Only time the parks seemed busy was during the EMH.

We would totally do late September again but oldest son starting high school this year so we opted for late August instead.

 

[Bete]

and we wanted to catch the beginning of the Food and Wine Fest at Epcot; so, our stay was longer. If you are in Epcot for that time it will be super busy. Locals like that event and many others have the same idea of going to the fest with free dining. You can reedem snack credits at the Epcot booths and that makes it very popular.

Also, I thought MK was a zoo especially on the nights of fireworks with the parade.

It was so hot that people were cranky to a degree everywhere.

Because of the above, we decided against it this year. We had done it for two years in a row, but we are done. With paying full rack rate for the deal, it's not that great anyway; unless, you have a family of 4, etc. it's not such a savings.

We are going in December this year.

 

[disneyfan55]

We went the last week of Sept for the Free Dining. I feel the only way to get a bargain with the Free Dining is to book a Value Resort. I think better deals can be made with room discounts with anything higher. Just my thought.

 

[ElizabethB]

We were there last year September 27-30. The love bugs were out in force. It was hot and humid and rained alot.

 

[shyjade]

Weather: VERY hot & humid (to us, we are from WI). No rain (2006)

Crowds: EMPTY parks (for Disney), most rides were walk-on, restaurants were full.

Resorts: We stayed at AKL and it seemed to be rather empty. I think the Values usually fill up for free dining though.


Overview: We LOVED the low crowds but couldn't handle the heat. I'd rather spend more and go when the weather is cooler because the humidity makes us miserable.

 

[knightje]

I have to agree about the weather. I'm from the South so I'm used to the heat, but I guess all the concrete and lack of shade makes it super hot. I've been the past four years. I love the Food and Wine festival, but as said before, on weekends and the first week of the event you will be standing in long, unshaded lines with sudden rain bursts (oddly, they never seemed to cool things down). Also Mickey's Not So Scary is great, but the kids get so hot in their costumes in September and early October, we've had to change out of them in the past. I now go late October or early November. There are still lines, but not such a big deal when you're not melting. Well worth the extra money in my opinion.

 

[madcat]

we were there the last week of Sept. 2006, I dont think that the crowding was all that bad except on the weekend (it was also the start of the F/W festival)

 

[knightje]

Let me clarify my previous post: The past couple of years that I have been during the last week of September/first week of October, the lines for the Food and Wine Festival booths were long and hot. The lines for rides in the parks, however, were relatively light.

I also went last year during the last weekend of the Festival (Nov. 8-11) and it was a completely different experience. I had virtually no waits anywhere and much cooler weather.

 

[auntie]

We are thinking of going at this time also. I wondered about the value. We are a family of four..and two of the adults will have AP passes..so we are only purchasing the one day base tickets needed for the package with each of those. My son has left over days from an old parkhopper, we won't have to upgrade him either..so just a base ticket for him also. We should only have to buy one 6 day MYW for my daughter. We are booked at the WL...and have stayed there many times. We do love this resort. Figuring that the dining was free, and we'd basically be purchasing only one 6 day park hopper for my daughter...we figured it might be a decent deal.
It's been years since we visited at that time, we aren't tha concerned about the heat. We've gone in August..and figure it can't be worse than that. More concerned about crowds and dining. I did make ADR"S for each table service meal..but is it going to be super crowded that the dining experience is horrible?


______________

 

[Maverick Mike]

If you are interested in hearing a few reviews of the resorts and parks during Free Dining, I would suggest listening to a few of our past podcasts. We have had several people talk about their experiences with Free Dining at WDW from last year!

Thanks!
Mike

 

[auntie]

I'm not sure if that means it's good...or bad...but guess I'll give that a try. Thanks for the tip.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

We have been twice during that time period and this is what worked for us.

I planned which park by going to the one that had EMH the day after when it was less likely to be crowded.

I planned our activities and THEN planned where we were going to eat according to what part of what park we were likely to be near.

I made ADR's sometimes taking times that were not exactly what I wanted knowing that I was able to adjust when I got there by showing up early when wanted or on time when I knew I wanted to eat a bit later and knew there would be waiting involved. I was even able to call the night before or day off and change some ressies as needed and if I could not I had somewhere to eat because of the ADR's.

I planned our TS meals for lunch, a healthier time to eat and what we are used to, as it was also during the heat of the day and much easier to get ADR;s for.

The first time around I resisted using snack points for iced tea, ,my only vice , but the second time I did, getting a large one before sitting down for a parade or whatever. I do not need the high calorie treats any way.

We stay for extended times and take it slow and maybe that is possible for you too. Think of this as more 'resort' than 'park'.

Have a great time. We will be there early this September. What is better than Free Dining? Free Dining two times with the same AP.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Payton45]

seems like weather and dining is bad, but lines arent. So swimming and ADR should make it okay~!

 

[knightje]

seems like weather and dining is bad, but lines arent. So swimming and ADR should make it okay~!

My thoughts exactly. Disney is never a bad idea, but if you only get to make that one trip every few years, this isn't the ideal time in my opinion. There are other times during the year that are just as slow in the parks, but with better weather and a more relaxed attitude. It seems people get so excited about free dining, they overlook better overall dates on the calendar.

With ADRs, you'll be fine. But be aware, there are going to be many disappointed, sometimes angry, visitors without them. This has definitely impacted my visits in the past. I was thrilled to have nabbed an ADR at Le Cellier during free dining 2 years back. However waiting at check-in, guests were downright hostile at the restaurant podium. I encountered more of the same back at the guest services desk of our hotel when people with free dining couldn't make or change their ADRs. I may just be hypersensitive, but the "I demand to see your manager!" vibe seemed rampant. That kind of kills some of the Disney magic.

But. But. But... You can definitely have a great time. Just go prepared and most importantly, relax. You're at Disney World!

 

[shyjade]

It seems people get so excited about free dining, they overlook better overall dates on the calendar.

Exactly! People tend to forget this is a value season and they offer free dining in September for a reason...if it was an "ideal" time to go, the resorts would already be full and they wouldn't have to give away free dining just to get people in their doors.

Fo some the free dining is worth it and to others (like me) I'd rather pay more, stay for fewer days and go when I can handle the heat.

 

[pta-mom]

So much of this is just based upon your own personal expectations & opinions. Last year, we were very nervous about going for twelve days at the end of September, with free dining. We had read all about the crazy heat, love bugs, packed restaurants, tempers, etc, but we encountered little of it! We made the decision that we were going, & we were going to enjoy it!

Of course it's hot...it's Florida in Sept!! Hellloooo!! We loved the heat (being poor, cold Canadians!!) Yes it rained most days....if you call a fifteen minute downpour rain! Fifteen minutes!! Big deal, bring a poncho!

Restaurants were crowded...make ADR's. Some people were crabby...who isn't sometimes? And yes, horror, there were even a few of those nasty love bugs around!

We loved DW in September!!! Hot, low crowds, great time! We would totally do that again! This year, we are going to try August....hope we survive the heat!