When to go to WDW in the Fall

[CTillberg]

I am starting to plan a trip to WDW next Fall and need opinions onthe best time to go. There will be myself, DH, DD - will be age 4 and DS - will be age 2.

My husband and I always liked October, but now it is considered "regular season" and the crowds are geting pretty heavy. But the parks are open later, which will be good if our little ones need to go back to the rooms for naps in the afternoon, then we can go back to the parks in the late afternoon/evening.

I am considering September, but it can be pretty hot and the worst month for hurricanes, and the parks have short hours - I think we would have to hope the kids won't need naps.

Then there is November, before Thanksgiving - I am worried we would hit a cool spell and not be able to swim or play at the beach. (We plan to stay at CBR). And then there is the short park hours again.

What do you think?

 

[Kate-n-sam]

We too are planning a trip for the fall of next year and struggling with the same issues as you are. Some other things to remember are, Jersey week (OCT), Super Soap (NOV) weekend and the food and wine festival (OCT), also I believe there was a PGA Tournament last year when we were there mid-October. I think we will choose shorter hours over crowds, which leaves September and November. 3 years ago in September we encountered Hurricane Floyd which put a damper on our WDW vacation, plus it was quite hot and humid most of the time....So, that leaves November, probably 2nd week, now I have to dig around and find out what event(s) are going on that week to make me nervous, LOL....I figure how bad can a Nov cold snap be? (wishful thinking)

 

[KathyK]

Originally posted by Kate-n-sam
Some other things to remember are, Jersey week (OCT), Super Soap (NOV) weekend and the food and wine festival (OCT)

The NJEA convention (aka Jersey week) is always in November. I believe that it always starts the second Thursday of November. The F&W festival typically runs from mid October through mid-November.

 

[WDWKim]

We just got back last Saturday, and I was absolutely thrilled with the week I picked. We were able to walk on any of the rides, no waiting...........or at the most 10 minutes! When do you hear that you can go on Space Mountain three times in a row without waiting at all? But that's what we did, would have gone on more but our stomach's needed a rest............Now that I've gone in September I don't think I could ever go during a peak week. We had the threat of Isadore all week, but we're speared except for a couple nights of rain. It was warm and humid around 90 each day, but to me that makes for great swimming weather at night too, and it wasn't so bad that it stopped us from doing anything.

Just my two cents, hope this helps.

Kim

 

[Kate-n-sam]

Sorry about the mis-info on Jersey week, I wasn't thinking! Thanks for the correction!

 

[heidihiden]

My family and I travel to disney on a yearly basis and for the past three years we have gone down for the week of halloween. This week is most likely the busiest in the month of October. And it is not that bad. Disney does now have a lot of conventions but you still are away from any school vacations. The magic kingdom is the most crowded. Usually, we may wait ten to fifteen minutes to get on rides. And in the other parks even less than that. With the four major theme parks the crowds are spread out even with the conventions. But if you would like to add something special to your vacation, consider the week of halloween. It is a lot of fun and disney has so many things to do especially on halloween night. Just remember that September is usually wet down there. I would rather wait a few minutes in the sun rather than avoid the raindrops... Good luck and have a great trip!!!

 

[crisi]

Minnesota has its MEA weekend (Thursday and Friday) the third weekend in October. I was there several years ago, and half of the people were from Minnesota.

 

[Disneyolic]

We are going next fall. In fact, we already booked for Nov 8 to 15 at PO-FQ. I had originally wanted to go the 3rd week in Sept but my 4-yo son will be in his 2nd year of preschool (only 3rd week) and I really don't want to pull him out that soon into the school year. Then, October is nice (been there 2x) but the rates are up on the resorts. Therefore, we decided on November. The average high in Nov is 78 and I think the low is 57. The only thing of concern is the early closing of the parks. We'll have to see what happens then. I'm looking forward the Food & Wine Festival. I loved it when we went in 1997.

 

[lauraljp]

In 2000, we went Oct 31-Nov 6. The weather was great. Low to mid 80s during the day and a little cooler at night--no rain either. The crowds were fine the beginning part of the week, but by the end--the weekend--it seemed much more crowded. It may have been because of the NJ convention. But we also were at MGM and MK on early entry days so maybe that was the reason.

We did love that time of year and will be going back the first week of November next year also.

You can take part in MNSSHP if you are there around Halloween. We had a great time!

I have also thought about going the first part of December because of all the decorations but the weather is probably cooler.

 

[MinnieGi]

We love November! Value season, low crowds, nice weather!! We've always have been able to swim still in Nov. and are usually wearing shorts around.

Now that being said, I'm thinking next year I'd like to try end of October b/c I'd like to do Halloween in the World and try out MNSSHP.

Enjoy, the fall is a great time to go! (IMHO)!!

Gi

 

[Princess_Aurora]

Well, we just came back from our first Sept. trip last week and it was HOT. We didn't have too much of a problem with rain, although it did shower off and on but nothing too heavey. I have found the best time to go when its not crowded or hot is at the end of October. Halloween is the BEST time to go. No heat, no crowds, and tons of fun! The kids get to dress up and go trick or treating if you go to the Halloween party (which you should). And if you go to the Halloween party it's even LESS crowded. They usually shut the park down at 6 and if you're already in the park you get the park to yourself for an hour before they let the people that weren't there in at 7. You can get a lot done in that hour and you might also get the chance to just stay on the ride and ride it again. It's so much fun! DH and I are gonna go back there for our 5th anniversary next year and I can't wait!

 

[AKASnowWhite]

We have been the first week of October, leading up to Columbus Day, early November (leading up to Veterans Day) and the first week of December....

Quite honestly, all were GREAT times to go! Crowds were low, with the exception of the long-weekends - got busy then - weather was warmer in October, not bad in November and too cold to swim in December (record cold that year )

We LOVE the food and wine fest in November, and the Christmas events of December......I can't think of a *bad* time to go in the fall at all (well, perhaps Thanksgiving, which is EXACTLY when we'll be at DL )!!!!

 

[jwolfe]

We just returned Saturday, so our week was October 7-13. This was an EXCELLENT time to go!!!! Monday was Epcot, not crowded, longest wait for an attraction 10 minutes, most we walked on. Tuesday-Animal Kingdom, NO waits, walked right on to Kilimanjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, etc....., Wednesday-Magic Kingdom, no waits EXCEPT for the Winnie the Pooh ride. Friday MGM, only wait was 20 minutes on the Aerosmith Rollercoaster. So......my opinion is that this is an excellent time to go. The crowds were light and at the Magic Kingdom we were able to get a "front row" view at the parade by only arriving 10 minutes before start time.

By the way, we did NOT have to use Fastpass for ANY rides.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions, please feel free to email.

Juli