Never again

[K8screen]

Sorry about my rant to start this thread. We are now sitting waiting for Fantasmic having done pretty much everything, though repeat rides were just not possible except single rider for RnRC. We are having a good time, but I agree there is no such thing as off season anymore. Thanks for listening.

[AndrewJackson]

A lot more schools are having "Fall Break" now, usually in October. This is also true of schools overseas in the UK and other parts of Europe. That could account for part of it. That and the Food and Wine festival, of course.

A lot of schools in my area are doing a "balanced calendar". This means they start in early August, the get a 2 week break in October, December, and March.

[d_m_n_n]

A lot of schools in my area are doing a "balanced calendar". This means they start in early August, the get a 2 week break in October, December, and March.

Our schools just started this last year. Fall break was last week and it seemed like everybody went to Disney this year.

[clarkee]

As a regular Disney vacationer, (we usually go in the summer) we were so pleasantly surprised with the low volume crowds when we went this year during the first week of October. I anticipated high crowds for Halloween activities and Food and Wine. This was not the case. We went to all of the parks and other than on our last day, none of them were busy at all. We found that for the most part, our fast passes were a waste. We were part of the Fast Pass + test but did not use them most of the time because it was walk on to most rides.

I don't know if a week or two really makes that much of a difference but we loved it. The waterparks had no line either and the weather was fabulous. I am sorry to hear you are having a hard time with lines but for us I would go again in October any year.

[wiltsan]

Will arrive at WDW on 10/25 after a three year break from fall trips (attending instead for Flowerfest in Spring). We went last March and crowds were ridiculous -- though, it was not good planning on our part because of spring break. Never again in March.

Was hoping to return to fall trip with lower crowds but looking like that will not be the case. Wait times at MK yesterday were really high (why?) and of course for Soarin and TSM.

I agree that there doesn't seem to be an off season anymore. We used to find late October and early November to be great even with MNSSHP and F&W - at times could even walk around WS without passing another person for two countries.

With park and resort prices being so high we are always amazed at how people can afford the trips. Someone once commented that it is the free dining that has drawn more folks/crowded ?

It is correct that Jersey week is in November.

[VWL Mom]

It is correct that Jersey week is in November.

Folks will start arriving Nov 2nd with a second batch arriving Nov 6th. The NJEA dates this year are Nov 7 & 8, some schools are also closed on Nov 5.

[waymickey]

Folks will start arriving Nov 2nd with a second batch arriving Nov 6th. The NJEA dates this year are Nov 7 & 8, some schools are also closed on Nov 5.

And some schools are not getting off at all for the NJEA conference in jersey and instead getting a week at Thanksgiving as a fall break. I am a teacher and my district planned the calendar very different this year after last years storm.

I agree there is no off season at Disney anymore and have looked into doing a cruise instead. I love Disney and will look to do a Disney cruise. No lines, no Fastpass+, great shows, great food and Mickey too!

[K8screen]

Today we were at Universal. The lines were almost nonexistent. Most rides were walk on. Rip ride rocket was 15 min maximum. This makes no sense.

[DisneyDawgette]

As a teacher in Georgia, I can vouch that a great deal of counties here are out for break! Wish mine was!

But I was there about two weeks ago (and returning in 9 days), and crowds seemed rough in certain parks but not others. MK was basically deserted, but EPCOT got rough around dinner time because of F&W. Having an app that tells wait times helps to plan your day a little better and alleviate stress. We got to the parks later and just grabbed FPs for the evening while riding more trivial stuff during he day.

[Aurora]

Today we were at Universal. The lines were almost nonexistent. Most rides were walk on. Rip ride rocket was 15 min maximum. This makes no sense.

I have three kids in three different schools this year. Only two were off of school for the actual Columbus Day holiday; the third was off yesterday. Besides the major holidays and breaks (Labor Day, Christmas, Easter, etc.), the only common day off all three of them have this year is Martin Luther King Day.

My point is that schools nowadays make their own rules regarding their days off, so there could have been a whole lot of families going to Disney if their kids had a day off Monday. We used to do long-weekend trips if we knew the kids had one of the days off of school. Willy-nilly school schedules and days off throughout the year make predicting crowd levels a lot harder.

[Faver]

Crowds and long waits are the reasons why I don't go in the summer or around holidays and special events.

Try booking in the off-season if you can. I hope you'll give Disney another chance.

I remember when THIS time of year WAS the office season.... oh well. I guess they'll always be January!

[GoBlueLacheta]

We are cycling through Fall Breaks right now in Tennessee. Some districts are off an entire week. Kinda crazy. Many went to DW last minute.

[Bass T-bone]

Could it be the fault of the new fast pass system, and not what "seems" to be a "crowded" park?

[Lindsey]

Could it be the fault of the new fast pass system, and not what "seems" to be a "crowded" park?

No, it really is crowded. I was there last week, my husband and I were trying to do the Pirate Treasure Hunt in Adventure land, but it was so crowded we decided to leave. We didn't care about the wait time for rides, we didn't plan on going on any, but it was difficult just to walk around the park. We gave up on the Treasure Hunt, (whenever we got to a Treasure location there was at least 3 or 4 people ahead of us in line), we decided to just go back to AKL and have dinner.

I don't think we will be going back in October anymore, which is too bad because we really enjoy the Food & Wine Festival.

[angua85]

Agreed. We just came back (Oct 18 - 24) and it was packed. Normally we go at slower times, but picked this week to accommodate my daughter's work schedule. It was hard to move around. Lines for everything were long- even Haunted Mansion, which we've always just walked onto.

Wristbands were a major pain- they were not scanning and took people extra time to go through as they had to scan and re-scan and then call over help to reset the wristband.

Long lines at the resort - I do online check-in but the actual check-in process took 45 min to accommodate the fool magic bands. Long lines at the concierge desk and guest services in the parks. Just a mess overall.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

These days many school districts have a fall break, so I can see many people opting for a vacation with their kids when it is cooler. I recently moved from Arizona where the schools were off for 2 weeks every October. Used to go to DL every Oct until it got to crowded. Now if you want low crowds you need to pay attention to school breaks.

[brownie]

That's sort of normal for Toy Story Mania. If I remember correctly, the posted wait time only reflects the wait from inside the building. The wait time is an estimate based on the cards they hand out to guests, and it may not reflect the current waiting time you'll experience. For Hollywood Studios and Toy Story Mania, you really want to get to the park at least 30 minutes before it opens so you can get in; those Fastpasses go fast.

I think Fastpass+ is still in testing and not available to everyone. So even if you're staying on property, you won't necessarily have that option.

Sorry you're having a hard time with the waits. That seems to be the way things are going these days at Walt Disney World.

[Daisy'sMom]

The past few times we have been there ( sept& Oct),we were disappointed with the fast passes. We would have had to wait five and six hours in order to use them. The regular lines were terrible. DH and I are rethinking renewals on our APs if this is to be the norm. Disney is better than this and we feel APs are being treated like stepchildren. WDW has really dropped the ball in this and several other areas in the past year.

[WiltonJohn]

Amazing how preceptions are reality.

I was just there Monday October 21 thru Friday Octrober 25th and though the parks were NOT that crowded in general...... other than World Showcase at Epcot.

But all past Disney experiences have been in August.

best,

..................john

[Middle of the Map]

I'm not sure there is an off-season any more. January used to be very quiet. Between the marathons and the tour groups, that does not appear to be the case any longer. October - particularly around this time - used to be a dream time to visit with low crowds and pleasant weather. With the food & wine festival plus the Halloween parties, that no longer appears to be true. Late August, though hot, used to be a good time to visit as schools were going back into session. We were there in late August this year and the crowds were much higher than expected. Sooooooo.....when is off-season??

Hmmm....apparently the off-season is never.
And that stinks.