Best time to go to WDW from my selection of months

DarthVader

Sith Lord
I'm at the beginning stages of planning a 2018 trip to WDW, it will be for at least a full week, maybe longer. I'm looking to stay at the Poly (my kids want the Poly, I'm thinking of some other resort). We cannot make up our minds of when to go.

Here's what I'm thinking (in no particular order).
1. Middle/late May (before memorial day)
2. Middle of June
3. Last week of August (go home on Labor day potentially).
4. End of October
5. Middle of November.

I've looked at the crowd calendars for an estimate and that virtually rules out June, the rest of the selections are all in the yellow.

Nothing exists in a vacuum, so I'd like to ask opinions of people who when in those months.

Except of August selection, I'll have to pull my kids out of school, which is something I'm not jazzed up over. The impact is probably minor in May and June but the crowds seem fairly high there. August, may have lower crowds but the heat may be oppressive. October offers the Halloween theme, which is a something that I think we'll enjoy. November may have the meal plan and also Christmas decorations.

Thoughts/opinions/recommendations?
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
I personally consider October heat to be more oppressive than August heat. August is SUPPOSED to be hot, so mentally it's not as much of a drain. I hate leaving New England in October, which I consider to be the best weather of any place any time of the year. 93 in August bothers me much less than 86 in October.

I vote keep your kids in school, drink lots of water, and go when the prices and crowds will be in your favor, which is August.
 
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Greg H

Active Member
We have been middle to late May, October, November, and December. Never in August. I found May was not bad crowd wise. It was hot, but we did not find it overwhelmingly hot. What I found most off putting about May was the rain. It rained almost every day at some point. Now, most days it was only a few hours, but it was heavy rain. If you go that time of year just make sure you have some solid rain gear for everyone. We love the fall. The theming around Halloween and Christmas is wonderful. Weather is much more moderate and there is very little rain the later you go in November and into December. Crowds vary a lot, but there are still days you can find lower crowds if you are flexible and plan ahead. I hear what you are saying about school though. Are kids are still pretty small, but I suspect once they get a bit older we will also be looking at August. My one major concern about August and early September is you are getting into hurricane potential...
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
I found May was not bad crowd wise.
Its been several years since I went to WDW in May, it was very crowded, I don't know if things changed since thern.

Are kids are still pretty small, but I suspect once they get a bit older we will also be looking at August
My kids are 11, so its kind of dicey to pull them out, though I think pulling them out in October gives them some time to catch up.

August and early September is you are getting into hurricane potential...
Good point, I forgot all about that.
 
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Greg H

Active Member
yea, don't get me wrong, May was not empty! I just found it was pretty consistent with what we had seen in the fall. There were dates last year late November and early December that were far busier than any days we had mid-late May.
 
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BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
There are no slow times any more. Crowd calendars are ridiculous. They show a 3, but what is that in comparison to? Is it 30% of the crowds that are there during XMas/NE? August/Sept are as hot as June. They may be slower, but they throw in the dining and it packs the parks. They cut the hours, so the lines are still long. Look at a calendar, look at historical weather, and decide when you want to go. If you are looking at a crowd calendar, good luck.
 
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TiggerDad

Well-Known Member
Here is my 2 cents. It's busy all year now and with Avatar opening expect more people.
Agree it seems busy all the time now. We have found the last week of August is a lot slower than earlier in the summer, as many school districts now start in August. We don't believe in taking kids out of school for this, but we don't start until after Labor Day.
 
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EricaG

New Member
My favorite week to go is the very end of October and stay through first week of November. Halloween and then magically overnight you'll get Christmas decorations. From my experience it's happened around 11/4. You also get food & wine festival and possibly free dining.
 
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Capsin4

Well-Known Member
I'd go in mid-November and come back the weekend before Thanksgiving week. Much warmer than we thought it'd be, but pleasant. Christmas decorations will be up if that matters at all and there will be christmas parties, if you're interested. Good crowds and great weather. End of August is good too, but the weather will be much more brutal than Nov. This year, there's a couple halloween parties the last week of August and we enjoyed those when we did it in Sep. They may have them in '18. They'll have the halloween decorations up Labor day weekend if you're interested. We like the fall decorations at MK more than the Christmas. The thing with the heat IMO is it can take a lot out of you and slow you down even if the crowds are somewhat lighter. I'd watch promotions and take the best deal you can get for those times.
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
My favorite week to go is the very end of October

I'd go in mid-November and come back the weekend before Thanksgiving week

These two weeks are on my short list. I'm leaning towards October just for the halloween stuff. I think we'll have less crowds in November though, so its a coin toss. We've been to WDW a couple of times during the Christmas season, so I think October may be the one we pick. The wild card in this decision, is the last week of August. The heat is a factor to be sure, but the upside is that the kids will won't get pulled out of school for a week
 
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jonabyte

Active Member
No one is mentioning the middle of June - is this a good time to go. Normally we go the beginning of May but just can make it this year. We have gone the end of Aug and found the weather not as nice for obvious reasons...:D
 
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SeanWM48

Well-Known Member
Thoughts/opinions/recommendations?
i've done mid/late October multiple times and mid/late (around the 19th) November once. November had the more reasonable crowds by far and the Christmas setup was nice. Definitely worth doing once.

October i find to be my favorite and worth doing again and again despite the higher crowds. It's a halloween vs christmas thing i guess. the weather was noticeably cooler in November when we went, to the point where we wore jackets in the evening. every october trip i've done the weather was basically perfect.
 
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Wendy Pletcher

New Member
I'm at the beginning stages of planning a 2018 trip to WDW, it will be for at least a full week, maybe longer. I'm looking to stay at the Poly (my kids want the Poly, I'm thinking of some other resort). We cannot make up our minds of when to go.

Here's what I'm thinking (in no particular order).
1. Middle/late May (before memorial day)
2. Middle of June
3. Last week of August (go home on Labor day potentially).
4. End of October
5. Middle of November.

I've looked at the crowd calendars for an estimate and that virtually rules out June, the rest of the selections are all in the yellow.

Nothing exists in a vacuum, so I'd like to ask opinions of people who when in those months.

Except of August selection, I'll have to pull my kids out of school, which is something I'm not jazzed up over. The impact is probably minor in May and June but the crowds seem fairly high there. August, may have lower crowds but the heat may be oppressive. October offers the Halloween theme, which is a something that I think we'll enjoy. November may have the meal plan and also Christmas decorations.

Thoughts/opinions/recommendations?
We have done option 3 and flew home on Labor Day! We loved the low crowds only complaint we have was it was VERY rainy and humid..awesome hair days..lol. We just bought ponchos and kept it moving I think it was worth it for the lower crowd levels.
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
Just to bring closure, after much discussions and waffling over what to do. I believe the wife and I have come to a decision that November with the meal plan (hopefully) offers the best.

I understand if we take the meal plan, then we don't get a resort discount, and I still need to run the numbers but since my kids are now "adults" at the ripe old age of 12, meal expenses are a significant portion of our vacation budget. While dinner shows like Hoop De Doo Musical Revue requires 2 meal allotments, it can still save me > 200 dollars, so there's that as well.

I'll look to start the booking process in July (499 days till November 2018), and my kids are anxious to stay at the Poly. I'm ambivalent towards that resort. It looks great, I love the fact that its on the monorail, but it is an expensive resort.
 
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