Whoo-Hoo!!!! (I love my husband)

[dragonfox98]

Hello, all!!! :wave:

As you can see, I do not post often, but I lurk almost everyday and I know I can count on my "friends" here to help me out with a question. And, I'm warning you now, the thread will wander a bit before I get to the point......

Well, hubby and I were planning a trip for the end of Feb 2009. We knew the crowds would be light, he could enjoy ESPN the weekend and my mother-in-law could see the World for the first time. But....plans have changed.

I realized we probably wouldn't have our tax refund (how we pay for our trips) in our account before we go. This also means that I would have to not pay the mortgage Feb 1st so I can pay for our rental home (we do not stay on property - less expensive to rent the house, plus we have our own pool - I have OCD, 'nuf said). And, as much as there is one week we could go in mid to late March, it would feel as if we were cramming the trip in. So....

We have decided to go at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct next year. Which I find absolutely fantastic because of the fall decorations and the F&W Festival (which we fell in love with last year). And as much research and knowledge as I have about Disney, I still need a little help for this one thing: how crowded does Epcot get that first weekend of the F&W Festival?

We are looking to leave on Thursday, September 24th and return on Saturday, October 3rd. As much as my trip has been pushed off by seven months, I don't care: we'll be there at a great time of year (not crowded...or will it be because of the free dining?) and during the F&W Festival (did I mention how much we love it? - we, literally, ate our way around the world last year! no alcohol for us - just lots and lots of great food).

Thanks in advance to everyone!

 

[EPCOT.nut]

And as much research and knowledge as I have about Disney, I still need a little help for this one thing: how crowded does Epcot get that first weekend of the F&W Festival?

I've been to FAWF the day of soft opening this year, the first Saturday and Sunday, and one week later on a Saturday.

Sooooo - here's the deal according to myself.

The soft opening was wonderful - no real lines at all. By that first Saturday the lines were still not too bad at most of the countries but they did get longer by about 3:00pm.

When I went back the second Saturday of FAWF the lines were getting pretty long by 1:30pm! In fact, trying to just get a beer around 5pm was stressful (it was an emergency situation, don't you know! :lol and we wound up at the regular booths for that due to the waits at FAWF.

So yeah, you have to be patient with the lines. I think the nice thing abut FAWF is that Future World as lighter crowds. It's really worth the wait, though - most of the food is just wonderful and if you are just walking and grazing and enjoying the wonderful atmosphere of World Showcase, you will have a nice time. I was taking the time waiting in lines to take pictures of the unique architecture in the different countries.

Have a nice trip!

(OH and a tip is to buy the FAWF gift cards that they are selling and use them at the Food booths...it makes it easier)

 

[gettingsmaller]

We went last year Sept 11-22. It was a little bit before FAWF, but it WAS during free dining. I think the weekends were the worst times for crowds. There were some long lines for Soarin' and TT sometimes, but good use of fastpasses kept us out of those lines.
All in all, I was very pleased with the crowd level. Of course, I am not a person who has been every year at all times of year. I CAN tell you that crowds were much better in Sept08 than in April06. Many things were practically walk-ons, and you waited maybe 20 minutes for the "big" rides if you didn't have a fastpass.

I could be wrong, but I DO think that you're likely to see the crowds pick up just a bit later in Sept... either because of FAWF or because people don't mind taking kids out of school after they've been in for a month or so... or something else... I don't know...

 

[Craig & Lisa]

Also remember, at the soft opening they may not have all the booths open yet, last minute decisions as to how good they look there and will they draw people in. They are the same way for the FGF, we were there for the first few days this past march and they hadn't had all the places opened yet, all the displays weren't set either, but each day brings more to discover.

 

[shoppingnut]

FAWF is always more crowded on the weekends, so if you plan going during the week it won't be such a problem.

Also, if you get the free dining, you can use your snacks for the food at most of the booths at the FAWF.