"Great Times to Visit" - October

[Phantasia]

I'm in a bit of a panic because of a WDW trip we're planning for this Oct. (Yes, as in a few short weeks from now...)

In looking at the "Great Times to Visit" page on the Disney website, the two weeks we're going to be down there (Oct 12-25) are not highlighted as good times (i.e. less crowded times) to visit.

Any idea why? The weeks before and after are highlighted... I'm worried that there's something going on that we should be aware of.

Whatever it is, it's making getting our last-minute bookings in a real pain!

[Jasper]

There are a lot of schools that have fall breaks that fall roughly during that time period and couple that with the Halloween parties that take place and I suspect that might be the reason why. However, I wouldn't get to worried. Even though it may not be the absolute best time to go it normally isn't too bad that time of October.

[Strmchsr]

October has gotten a lot more crowded for the reasons noted above, but it's not overwhelming. Just have a plan, use fastpass, relax and you'll be fine.

[RedSoxFan]

We're going 10/17---10/26. My kids have Thurs/Fri (10/23 & 10/24) off from school. We decided this week would be less crowded than Thanksgiving week (the time we've gone the past two visits). I'm hoping it'll be less busy!!

[nyobabe2]

We went Oct 20-27th last year thinking low crowds and a little cooler weather...not so much! Just have a plan, go with fastpasses and realize that this is probably not going to be the last time that you come to Disney. You'll never see it all in one trip anyway-that's why people keep going back!!

[SurferStitch]

DH and I will be there the 12-24, and are expecting pretty big crowds. We had quite large crowds the first week of October in 2005, with long waits at the moderate to popular rides at all of the parks, and plenty of people bumping into us. So, if it's like that, we'll handle it, although October is nowhere nearly as enjoyable as it used to be. Special rates and lots of special events have closed that gap for Disney.

But, we have 13 days to do everything, so we can still relax, take our time, and enjoy ourselves.

[Disney Doll]

I'm right there with you! We're going Oct 19-25. We usually go in Feb and I know crowds are going to be bigger than what we're used to. However, we really wanted to do MNSSHP at least once and I wanted to wait until later in Oct for cooler weather so I guess we'll deal with it. We'll have a baby in tow so we are not planning to do any of the thrill rides. Hopefully that will save us time and we can still do everything we want even with larger crowds. Hope you have a good trip! Remember, it's still Disney so you will have a magical time no matter what.

[SurferStitch]

Phantasia....

Are you going to MNSSHP? If so, what night? We'll be there on the 16th. I'll be Tinkerbell (costume is aaalllllllmost done), DH is going as Captain Hook.

[Phantasia]

We're still trying to decide whether or not to go to MNSSHP ...

A bunch of my family members are traveling down to Florida to all be at Disney at the same time, and the one group with lots of kids will be doing it (they are just putting the finishing touches on their costumes!), but they're doing it as a "just the immediate family" thing.

So, if me and my bf were going to do MNSSHP we'd have to do it just the two of us.

Thoughts? Would it be fun for two young-at-heart 30 year olds?

[SurferStitch]

Thoughts? Would it be fun for two young-at-heart 30 year olds?

Absolutely!! It's fun for us two mid-30's folks.

[goofgal]

One thing that may affect at least the first part of your trip is that 10/13 is Columbus Day. Since private industry typically does not close for this day, a lot of us government types take it as an excuse for a long weekend at WDW.

Epcot Food & Wine here I come!

[Stich8818]

We went the last week of October and it was managable crowds...you know it's Disney. Fast Pass what you need, relax, enjoy vacation!

[Polynesian Dweller]

We go every year in October and its our favorite time. The crowds are manageable and not overwhelming. The week of the 12th is also the week of Canadian Thanksgiving so lots of us from the north take that week to head down.

The week of 18th to 25th when we are going this year, used to be the PGA golf tournament and the crowds could be on the heavy side. It was only last year (or year before?) that this changed so that may still be in the averages. All that said, another big factor is the F&WF which has become increasingly popular but is worth planning for and of course MNSSHP is a big draw.

[laward32]

We went Oct 26-Nov 2 last year and crowds were very manageable. I don't remember having to use fastpass. I think the longest we waited was about 20-30 min for Soarin' and about 20 min for KS. Everything else was walkon to 10 min. We went to the MNSSHP and everything was a walkon.