When to Go Next Year?

DisneyStarWisher

Love My DVC!!!
Joined
Jun 13, 2008
We are wanting to take our whole family to WDW next year. Party will include DH and me plus our DS23 and his GF22 and DS21 and maybe his GF21 (new relationship). We keep going back and forth on the dates: Fall Break October 9-13 or Thanksgiving Break November 27-December 1. We love going in October for the Food and Wine Festival. It's been a while since our sons have been to it, and they miss it. We have never been in Thanksgiving. One advantage of Thanksgiving Break is that they get an extra day off from school, so we won't be as rushed trying to get there. But I'm worried about the crowds, especially since there's a possibility SWGE could be open. Our sons would love to see SWGE. The ideal thing would be if it wasn't open yet, but if there were some soft openings (maybe DVC benefits?). Please help me decide!!!
 
You’ll have the holiday offerings (which include the mini F&W at Epcot) in late November. We always go the 2 weeks following thanksgiving and we love it. Weather is usually perfect too.
 
We scrapped our plan for fall break after reading the reports this year. We will do Thanksgiving instead. Yes it is crowded, but there aren’t any parties and the parks have extended hours. Weather is much better, too. We had a blast last year.

I would be shocked if GE opens before December.
 
October used to be great. Now it is awful. I decided last year to avoid it. At least at thanksgiving there won't be parties some nights and jam packed crowds the opposite nights.
 


I'd also choose the November dates for the same reasons others have mentioned.
 
So everyone thinks Thanksgiving is the way to go? Do you all really believe it will be less crowded Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving Break as opposed to Wednesday-Sunday before Columbus Day?
 
So everyone thinks Thanksgiving is the way to go? Do you all really believe it will be less crowded Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving Break as opposed to Wednesday-Sunday before Columbus Day?


For us it isn’t about the crowd levels. It’s about extended hours, no parties and better weather. That helps spread crowds out and it becomes manageable.
 


So everyone thinks Thanksgiving is the way to go? Do you all really believe it will be less crowded Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving Break as opposed to Wednesday-Sunday before Columbus Day?

The guys over at **************.net rank each week of the year. They use more than just crowds for their rankings (Christmas week is 47), but I think it's still a good barometer. They have your Oct week as the 24th and Thanksgiving week as the 28th. As others have said, weather and NO PARTIES are the reasons Thanksgiving becomes a better week over Oct. If they have parties the same dates, and no reason for them to have fewer, you will have a party at MK on your Thur, Fri, and Sun. You could embrace that and make MNSSHP a part of your plan.

You may want to also figure in your travel. If you're flying, prices around Thanksgiving may be higher. If you're driving, traffic around Thanksgiving will also be much worse.
 
It will be a lot more crowded thanksgiving break. Because the kids from around here (Orlando) have that week off and that means more local families get the opportunity to go when there's no school. The problem with October is that there is the parties which changes a lot but Food and Wine is an awesome experience that I will always recommend. Last year I went Nov 3-5 and then December 3-6 and the difference in crowd levels were insane. The weather is not that big of a deal, you'll get a heat break but Orlando never goes down further than 75 during the times you're considering. I wouldn't bank on SWGE being open yet. I might not want to put all my eggs into that basket. I would personally choose October but everyone has a different opinion so, to each's own I guess.
 
but Orlando never goes down further than 75 during the times you're considering.

I know you live there, but I'm going to disagree with the word "never" in your statement. We've been there at the end of Oct and the week after Thanksgiving and it was definitely below 75 on more than one day on both of those trips. We needed light jackets in Oct and we needed jackets and layers that week after Thanksgiving.
 
I know you live there, but I'm going to disagree with the word "never" in your statement. We've been there at the end of Oct and the week after Thanksgiving and it was definitely below 75 on more than one day on both of those trips. We needed light jackets in Oct and we needed jackets and layers that week after Thanksgiving.
Every state fluctuates its temperatures, I was speaking on a general spectrum. The average daytime temperature in November in Orlando, FL is 78 degrees. Yeah you MAY need a jacket but that's why you check the forecasts before you go. My point was that it's not a super huge deal IMO whether its 80 or 75, I wouldn't let it dictate my whole trip.
 
They are BOTH going to be super crowded. We used to be October Fall Break people (did 3 trips wrapping around Columbus Day weekend, our kids' Fall Break is similar: Thursday before Columbus Day through Columbus Day) and put those October trips in hiatus this year and went in mid-July, which was so much more manageable. Sure, it's hot, but the hours are longer and there are no parties, and the crowds seemed to just be more dispersed than around Columbus Day weekend.
 
Thanks for the replies. I’m not so worried about the temperatures as I am the crowds.
They are BOTH going to be super crowded. We used to be October Fall Break people (did 3 trips wrapping around Columbus Day weekend, our kids' Fall Break is similar: Thursday before Columbus Day through Columbus Day) and put those October trips in hiatus this year and went in mid-July, which was so much more manageable. Sure, it's hot, but the hours are longer and there are no parties, and the crowds seemed to just be more dispersed than around Columbus Day weekend.
Ok, let me clarify. I meant I'm not so worried about the temperatures being cool enough to need a jacket or not. I can handle that. Just as long as it's not 30 degrees. What I can't handle is heat. All of the kiddos going have the whole summer off, but they understand that summer is out of the question for me. I will never go to WDW in the summer again. I will take a 10 on the calendar before that.
 
Ok, let me clarify. I meant I'm not so worried about the temperatures being cool enough to need a jacket or not. I can handle that. Just as long as it's not 30 degrees. What I can't handle is heat. All of the kiddos going have the whole summer off, but they understand that summer is out of the question for me. I will never go to WDW in the summer again. I will take a 10 on the calendar before that.

October can still be VERY warm. It is still hurricane season. Go back and look at the temps and humidity from this year to get a feel for that.

Crowds are comparable, but you will have longer hours and NO PARTIES during Thanksgiving. You also have a much greater chance of cooler temps and no hurricanes. Of the two weeks you've put out there, I'd take Thanksgiving.
 
October can still be VERY warm. It is still hurricane season. Go back and look at the temps and humidity from this year to get a feel for that.

Crowds are comparable, but you will have longer hours and NO PARTIES during Thanksgiving. You also have a much greater chance of cooler temps and no hurricanes. Of the two weeks you've put out there, I'd take Thanksgiving.
Yes, we have been many times during October. I don't mind the temperatures in October. Last year, there was a cold front that came through at the end of October, and it was colder than our last December trip. But I know that's not usual. But we've never had heat in October like we've had in June and July. Thanks for the tip about hurricanes. We have been lucky at WDW for our October trips. Not so lucky at HHI when we got evacuated from Hurricane Matthew.

Thanksgiving is sounding nice. Thanks, everyone, for the tips!
 
I was there during Fall Break this year and it was close to 90 every day. So I would think Thanksgiving would probably be more likely for cooler temps.

Also, Fall break was SUPER busy
 
Not to hijack the thread, but we are planning on going the 2nd week of December. Usually, is that a decent time to attend? I know Star Wars will change everything, but traditionally how are the first 2 weeks of December?
 
Not to hijack the thread, but we are planning on going the 2nd week of December. Usually, is that a decent time to attend? I know Star Wars will change everything, but traditionally how are the first 2 weeks of December?
Quite busy when my family went last year. We were only able to ride three rides at MK when we went there on Dec 11, the wait times were insane. It was 120 mins for Big Thunder, and we just couldn't do the long wait times. This thread has a lot of tips https://www.disboards.com/threads/first-week-in-december.3711048/page-2#post-59936739 Good luck, I hope you enjoy your trip!
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top