Before age 3 or Food & Wine Festival

[jedijohn]

Posted this in the Families thread, but since it really isn't necessarily a "family" issue I thought I might get more response about crowd levels here...

Our DS who is now 2.5 will turn 3 on September 5th. We are thinking about going to WDW this fall since he will be at a great age to enjoy the Disney magic. On one hand I want to wait for the Food & Wine festival so that DW and I can enjoy some tasty treats, but on the other hand we could save a little bit of $$ by going before DS turns 3.

How are the crowds in September vs during the F&W festival?
How does the free before 3 thing work? Is it as long as we check-in before DS turns 3, we get him free for the length of our stay?
Which would you choose?

 

[bicker]

Crowds are a lot lower in September than October (for several reasons). It is also a bit hotter, and a bit more prone to storms. It all evens out. The one variable that doesn't get evened out by anything is your DS's third birthday. I would definitely capitalize on that if you can.

 

[vicki_c]

Just in case you didn't know, there is no free dining offer out right now for the fall. They had one but it had to be booked by back in December. No telling if they will offer it again or not.

But I definitely agree with getting a trip in before your son turns 3 - we always made sure to capitalize on that when we could (and before age 10 as well).

 

[jformica]

First of all there not going to i.d. your child, if you say he's 2 whenever you go (September of Food and Wine) it won't matter. If he turns 3 while your on the trip then they take his age at time of check in (which would be 2).

As far as time period, September (before the F&W Fest) is much less crowded. Once the F&W Fest begins it will get much busier (especially on weekends). We've gone the last 3 years to the F&W Fest in October and it's always busy. It's by far our favorite event at Disney but I would imagine it would be difficult to do with a small child as the World Showcase is shoulder to shoulder and there are people "partying" and having a good time. My wife and I take one family trip a year and then do the F&W Fest ourselves.

 

[YodaGirl]

I definitely say go before he turns 3. You can always go to another F&W Festival, but there won't always be another time when you can get him in for free.

 

[jayhjay]

We timed a trip before my DD turned 3. Technically they are then "two" for the length of the stay, meaning you don't need to get a ticket or dining plan partway through. As far as tickets it was a non-issue. Even if someone asked us how old she was, we wouldn't have been required to buy tickets once she turned three.

Dining is a bit different. It is really only an issue for buffets, b/c at any place else you just buy a meal for them if you want one. Buffets are potentially different. At least one place charged her once she was three (we went to 1900 PF for her third birthday so they knew she turned three and charged her). My guess is most places probably won't even ask how old he is if you are on the DDP b/c your cards will not show DS as a "child" on them (unless they know he just turned 3). If you are not on the DDP they might ask you his age at buffets so you will need to decide how to handle that.

 

[jedijohn]

Crowds are a lot lower in September than October (for several reasons). It is also a bit hotter, and a bit more prone to storms. It all evens out. The one variable that doesn't get evened out by anything is your DS's third birthday. I would definitely capitalize on that if you can.

Sounds like September is a good time to go. If it storms it storms; we survived the soaking rains that occurred during our May 2009 trip and still had a ton of fun. It looks like there is a 40% of rooms deal if we book by March 27th. This would pretty much let us stay in a Deluxe for Moderate prices or Moderate for Value price. Then throw our 400 Disney Reward VISA points on top of that and we should be getting a real good deal. Maybe I'll go ahead and book something now since we can always cancel if things don't work out.

 

[mccathy]

I agree that the F&W is hard to navigate with small children. We were there during that time and didn't partake in any of the food or wine, but we had to battle the crowds with a stroller - not too fun. Of course, we were in our Happy Place - so it wasn't too bad either. =)

I would say go before he is three - we did that with my youngest - it was nice not having to pay for park tickets or buffets for him.

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

We love going in October. Usually sometime during the first 2 weeks. This year we will be going the last full week of Sept. and we'll be there for the opening of F&WF. We chose to go earlier, because of the Free Dinning and our DD wants to run the F&WF 1/2 marathon on Oct. 1. The later in Sept. you go the less frequent the hurricanes, but they can pop up even in Oct. (But not as likely)

 

[EastonCat]

We went a few weeks after our daughter turned three. That pass stung!

 

[linzbear]

Yeah, I would go in September. BTW it's not just 'storms' it's hurricanes. Now WDW is probably one of the safest places on earth to be at during a hurricane, but I wouldn't compare a May storm to a hurricane! Technically though, hurricane season goes through F&W anyway, so either way you're dealing with the possibility of it.

Anyway, we went to F&W with DS when he was littler and barely took advantage of anything during F&W, maybe a few kiosks but that was it. It really wasn't anything that I'd schedule around if you're going with a toddler, as you're probably not going to go to any of the seminars which are the real attraction.

 

[pickles]

food and wine is best served on an adults only trip

you could do halloween party with the kid in sept

 

[fairestoneofall]

go before he is three!

 

[KellyWasHere]

I definitely say go before he turns 3. You can always go to another F&W Festival, but there won't always be another time when you can get him in for free.

I agree with this. And, I did not like going to F&W with my daughter when she was 1. The lines to all the booths were sooo long and slow moving and WS was just packed. I'd love to experience F&W but not until the girls are a good bit older, or maybe just a trip with my husband and I.

 

[nytimez]

If money is tight, go before. But if it's not a big issue, then I'd choose to go to F&W. I love F&W, it's the single best event they do at WDW all year, IMO. And I've enjoyed it even with a child in tow.

However, I would avoid Friday-Saturday evenings at F&W (with a child or without), as it does get quite crowded.