How busy is WDW mid October?

[jacobsmommy]

We are thinking about taking a trip to WDW next October. We usually go in summer. What are the comparisons crowd wise?

 

[pooh4evr]

If it is around Columbus Day - slightly crowded. Not like summer, but more and more schools are having fall breaks during that week and crowds seem to be steadily increasing during that time. Very manageable, but not the quiet low crowded time it once was.

 

[BeerMe]

F&W gets very crowded on weekends, but that's only Epcot

 

[JanaDee]

October is much more crowded than it used to be. I would put crowds close to the same levels as summer.

Epcot is crazy on Friday nights and through the weekends

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

October has a lot of fall breaks going on and is a busy month. Before we moved here we came for fall break every year, and it seemed to get busier each year. It's not as crowded as summer, and will definitely not be as hot.

 

[smellyia]

Just went this last Oct 2nd & 3rd week. Got there at the tail end of southern public schools' fall break. It was definitely busier than January and on par with Memorial Day we go each year. The room availability was way booked to where we didn't get discounted and paid rack for GF. Our friends who hadn't been in a few years who went this same week annually said it was way busier than previously.

Still, it's not awful and with a touring plan our wait were minimal. Weather was FABULOUS.

 

[LovemesomeDW]

We went mid October 2013 and found the crowds much busier than expected, however still manageable. The first few days were very hot but cooled off halfway through the week. We have another trip booked for this year for the last week in October! I've thought about switching to the end of September as I hear crowds are supposed to be much lower but I hear the heat is brutal!

 

[Mikie]

My kids' school used to be "year round" starting in July and our break was September. Disney then was quite slow, but not dead quiet.i went this year for fall break but we're more traditional now and it landed Columbus week and it was much busier. The frequent WDW travelers here have said its just plain busier than prior years, with October moving up from "low" crowds to more "moderate" on top of it.

It seemed like the parks were plenty busy, but not packed, resorts were full. I kind of liked it over September because there were still enough people that park hours weren't drastically shortened and the weather was still warm enough for pool, but not sweltering like summer. I think it is important to peek at a crowd calendar to pick each day's best park, as there will be a pretty big difference between a crowded one and an emptier one.

 

[mickeymom55]

We visited WDW 10/16-22 this past year - it's our annual F&WF trip. We also found it busier than in the past. MK was the most crowded park we visited during our stay. We avoid EPCOT on the weekend (made that mistake once). With FP and ADRs, we did everything we wanted to do and didn't have any issues. We attended MNNSHP which was also more crowded than in the past. Weather was perfect and, as has been stated before on the Boards - a day at Disney (even a crowded one) beats a day at work anytime! Definitely a nice time of year to visit.

 

[mm1971]

October is much more crowded than it used to be. I would put crowds close to the same levels as summer.

Epcot is crazy on Friday nights and through the weekends

This exactly. While not super busy, it is crowded (more than in the past). We found that with more and more states adding a "fall break" and the Halloween and F&W activities, October is becoming the time to go. It is still a great time and with some planning the crowds are very manageable.

 

[bookgirl]

I've done a three Oct trips and it's not as busy as my July trip, but busier than my September trip.

The days surrounding the long weekend are busier, but I've been there Halloween week twice and it was completely manageable.

 

[mggeary]

Despite what many crowd calanders report, the last week of October that includes Halloween is noticeably less busy. Less fall breaks and many families simply don't want to miss Halloween at home.

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

Not to hijack this thread but...

Could someone compare Mid Oct to Spring Break? We went Spring Break 2014 and found the crowds to be completely manageable. We did have a pretty clutch touring plan, so I'm sure that helped.

Thanks!!

 

[Frozen2014]

We went Oct 19th this past October. It was our first trip so nothing to compare it to, but it was a great time to go. The only time it felt crowded was Monday at MK (hours will be restricted at MK due to MNSSHP nights), but otherwise we were fine. MK on a Thursday was fine (party night) as were Epcot and HS on other days.

Weather was perfect. We lucked out with not a drop of rain and high 70s to low 80s. MNSSHP was fun too if you end up going that time of year.

 

[Baptist]

We have been in October a few times. It's a great time to go. Expect crowds, but not crazy by any means.

Also, be prepared for some variable weather. It can be surprisingly hot in October.

 

[amg35]

We went 10/21-10/30 of this year.

Excellent weather - sun everyday, no humidity (but warm enough to swim), cool enough for a light jacket at night.

The only crowd issue we had was at MK on a Saturday night, but it was EMH, non-party, and we knew it would be packed for that reason alone. It was super packed.

Our Halloween party night (Sunday 10/26) was great, didn't feel crowded, rides were complete walk ons.

Epcot was crowded in the evenings Friday and Saturday for food/wine, but you would expect that. And the weeknights weren't bad at all.

HS was fine, but we were bored.

AK was great, especially in the morning, rides were all walk ons. Crowds built a little mid-afternoon, but still manageable.

If you are lucky enough, AK may be open until 8pm when you are there. We arrived at 5 and had the park pretty much to ourselves from 6 through to close. Beautiful in the dark, rode Everest 3 times at night, whole evening was the best experience of our trip.

I would not hesitate in booking the last two weeks of October again. Have a great trip!

 

[Vernie822]

Awesome! We are booked Oct 30 - November 7th. Originally we were thinking of Labor Day weekend, but we were there last September and it was really hot and humid. Plus we want to go to Food and Wine.

 

[amg35]

here, I found my mini-report for October , hope this helps! :

Through no fault of Disney, this wasn't our best trip, our cat Phil got sick while we were away. Luckily he was staying the vet so they could treat him. It did put a little black cloud over our trip. Other than that....

So....we had such a great time (outside of above). Two adults. We are home now and just kind of blah.

Stayed at Beach Club. We liked it, but I think I'm tired of staying there. I have stayed in Epcot resort area 3 times now, want to try something different.
Crowded lobby while people wait to eat at Cape May, but lobby smells amazing!
Rooms clean, nice.
Sooooo dead after 9, kind of dull.
Buses - for us- were very bad. Long waits when going to a park. Twice had to wait over 35 minutes for AK.
Enjoyed sandwiches at Marketplace, tasty and filling.
Hurricane Hannah's - average, but fine.

Animal Kingdom- still is my favorite park. I was worried about the construction walls ruining the ambiance, but at least for me, wasn't a problem at all.
Lines were short both days we were there. Everest was a walk on in the morning, rode twice in a row. Also after 6, could go on it over and over. All the rides were pretty much like that. Did not notice that much crowding at this park.
So beautiful there. We were lucky to be there on an night it was open until 8. AMAZING - we walked the paths, we were the only ones walking!!
Food - we ate at Tamu Tamu and had a wonderful spicy beef pita sandwich with a yogurt sauce on it. Soooo good.
Had the chicken fried rice from the Yak/Yeti to go, enough for a meal for one or a snack for two. Really good.

Magic Kingdom- we went on a party day and EMH morning. EMH morning is still good, but lines did build pretty quickly. Still got on everything we wanted and finished the park by the 3 pm parade.
Mine Train, cute, but short.
BOG lunch, was actually really good!!! I wasn't thinking it would be, but we really enjoyed it. Had the roast beef sandwich.
Fried Shrimp at Columbia Harbour House - good.
Other than that.....we did not like the food at all at MK. There's really not much else to say about that.
Halloween party - we had a lot of fun! Rides were walk ons. Had no trouble getting a spot in Liberty Square for early parade.
I doubt we'd do it again though.
We also tried to go Saturday night, had fast passes, but we let them go. We got there and it was sooooo crowded. We knew it would be, so we just went with plan B.
I would say Magic Kingdom felt pretty crowded while we were there, but manageable.

Hollywood Studios- I don't like this park much, so not much to say. TOT is still fun!!

Epcot --- hmmm, Food and Wine was kind of a disappointment to me. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I was just thinking it would be "more" somehow. Some of the food was good, some was eh.
Counter service is still fantastic there! France, Morocco, Germany, Mexico, England - had good counter service from all.
We enjoyed (again) Via Napoli very much.
Spice Road Table in Morocco - a great find!! Great tapas, drinks, and we watched Illuminations from our seats, perfect viewing. Everyone should try this place if they have the chance.
Future World - I still love it there. I rode Living With the Land to my heart's content. Soarin twice, still fun. Test Track twice - personally, I like this version even better!

Dinner at Jiko- fantastic!!! Highly recommend.
Breakfast at Flying Fish - awesome!
Crew's Cup Lounge at Yacht Club - had a late dinner, really good!
Beaches and Cream - snagged a last minute ADR - could take it or leave it.

Magic Bands - not a bad thing to say. We loved them.

Fast pass plus- worked well for us and the way we tour. Also, I was able to change times for both TOT and Soarin the day before we used them.

Can't wait until the new things are built at the parks, especially Hollywood Studios, it needs it.

Weather - Perfect. Sunshine everyday, low humidity, needed light sweater at night. Couldn't have asked for better weather.

Crowds - I know everyone said it, , bigger than I expected. Still manageable though.

Seating- um there is none. At any parks. Pretty annoying.

One thing we noticed...not that many school aged children!! It was so weird, but Epcot especially, all adults! Lot's of toddlers, pre-schoolers, and older couples and couples like us w/out children.

Anyways, we had a blast, and we are sad it's over. We did learn we need at least one table service restaurant a day. Days we didn't, we were more tired, we needed a break. 9 nights is one night too long for us.

We won't be coming back until at least Avatarland is finished. Will probably try to stay in MK resort area next time and may wait until November.

Okay, we think next year we are doing a RC cruise....hopefully we'll enjoy it as much as this trip.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Davey Jones II]

We were there in mid-October, and yes it was crowded. The basic strategy is to go to Magic Kingdom on Halloween party days, when crowds are much lower than usual. Go to the other parks when MK has a party planned that night.

If you want to enjoy the Electrical Parade/Wishes, go to another park that day, then hop over to MK in the evening.

If you are doing one of the parties, that will be your best chance to do rides with a minimal wait. Last October, only Haunted Mansion and Mine Train had a fairly long wait (and even Mine Train was about half the usual wait, because no Fast Passers slowed the standby line).

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

We went Oct 19th this past October. It was our first trip so nothing to compare it to, but it was a great time to go. The only time it felt crowded was Monday at MK (hours will be restricted at MK due to MNSSHP nights), but otherwise we were fine. MK on a Thursday was fine (party night) as were Epcot and HS on other days.

I think this is one of the biggest things to remember about traveling in October. MK can be very crowded on days without a MNSHHP. We usually go to MK on party days and pick one night to vist MK to see the parade and fireworks.