may or october?

[christophe]

Hi everyone,
i'm planning a trip to WDW . I want it to be perfect so i don't want huge crowds and rain the whole time.
When is the best time to go, may or october?I can't choose.
Are there any rehabs during that time of the year? I 'd hate to see splash mountain or test track being closed when i arrive.
And what about the weather then?

 

[SpongeScott]

I personally prefer October. Crowds are lighter and the weather is a touch cooler. School is in session and we get a two-week break in October from our school. The big drawback is park hours are drastically reduced (WDW is best at night), but the crowds are low enough that we don't have any problem doing everything we want to do. It's a tradeoff.

 

[General Grizz]

October, as sand said. It shouldn't be hot, there shouldn't be TOO MANY hurricanes... ...and chances are you will have a nice, breezy, sunny day. Crowds are exteremely low...and I feel that the MK setting works best during this month.

Christmas and October have a more magical feel on me, for some reason. Even though May is great, it'll be a whole lot hotter. (Plus, MK opened in October...not sure how "tributess" you are...)

 

[swordsman_24]

Weather in May Not that Bad

We went with friends last May to AK for a day and the weather / heat was not that bad. It was warmer than October (went in October of 1998 for honeymoon), but the hours were a little longer. We went the week just before Memorial Day, and the crowds at AK and Universal were reasonable. Interested to see everyone's thoughts. I really want to see some of the nightime shows we we go next time, and we are looking at October of 2003. Saturday night seems to be the only night that MK is open late in October, but do they run Spectromagic in October? I know that Illuminations and Fantasmic runs in October because we saw them last time, I am just not sure about the MK nightime shows.

 

[christophe]

It's interesting to read your opinions. It makes the choice even harder. I guess al little heavier crowds are not that bad, if the parks are open longer. Do the parks in may close before dark?
Is october warm enough for swimming?

 

[Erika]

According to the schedule, Spectromagic does run in October.

 

[SpongeScott]

Originally posted by christophe
It's interesting to read your opinions. It makes the choice even harder. I guess al little heavier crowds are not that bad, if the parks are open longer. Do the parks in may close before dark?
Is october warm enough for swimming?

I think park hours might be a little longer in May, not sure though. As for swimming, the pools are heated. I used to live in Florida and we could/would go swimming on Christmas Day for the novelty of it. It's not often that you can't swim in Florida.

 

[cruiseman]

I like may a lot great weather, good crowds and the flower festival at epcot is beauty

 

[RPMdfw]

I went in May 2001, and the weather was perfect. One more thing to consider is, that even though school is still in session, you're going to run into a lot of school groups at WDW on end-of-the-year trips. (At least I did last year) Also, May 2001 had Star Wars weekends, but I think they were cut down to only one weekend in May 2002. (But then October has the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, which sounds fabulous, and I'm trying to work out a trip for Oct 2003 so I can try it.) I guess, that either would be a great time to go, and each will have positive and negative sides to it.

 

[fallingdomino]

October!

Definately visit in October if possible. The weather is far better and the crowds are more tolerable.

The cool breezes across Central Florida in the Fall/Winter are one of the greatest things about living here.

 

[djmatthews]

I went in May 1997, we couldn't have asked for better weather, the weather was hot, but not "August hot". The crowds were good, not packed, nor totally dead (an empty park would be awful). The night time parades were running and the parks were open late too. The maximum wait was for Splash Mountain about 45mins. The rest were about 20 mins (remember this was before Fast Pass).

The last visit was September 2001, the weather was wet and horrible, crowds were low though, and the parks were not open as late.

 

[wdwguru]

May or October

I've been in May before and it was busy and hot, but still enjoyable. My favorite time of year to go, if it is an option, is early December. We have gone in December for the past 3 years and WDW is beautifully decorated, the rates are lower, and there are fewer people. Yes, the parks close early, but with fewer people and short lines, you can still do plenty and not wear yourself out. :sohappy:

 

[DisneyCP2000]

food...and...wine...food...and...wine! :slurp: I believe it starts sometime during oct.

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

BOTH!!!

 

[EthylCooper]

I went in both May and October last year and enjoyed them both. October was the definite winner for me, though. These are the pros and cons of each, as I see them.

May Pros:

*Star Wars Weekends at MGM (with special limited-time-only pins you can buy and Star Wars characters roaming around Star Tours doing 'impromptu' scenes, not to mention the block party)
*Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot (with daily concerts of 60's musicians and the ladybug and butterfly releases)
*Warmer weather, if you like that sort of thing

May Cons:

*Hot weather a good bit of the time
*A little rainier than October
*A good bit more crowded, especially around Memorial Day and late May

October Pros:

*Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! (Trick-or-treating all over the MK for both kids and adults, big Halloween parade with a long villains segment, Halloween Diamond Horseshoe show, and more)
*Epcot International Food and Wine Festival (begins in late October, booths set up all over world showcase offering snack-sized tastes of all different kinds of food and alcohol from all over the world for $1 - $4 each, and beer and wine tastings)
*Smaller crowds, shorter lines
*Less rain than May
*Cooler weather
*(Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, if you're willing to go)

October Cons:

*Can get a bit nippy at night
*A little more likely to have rehabs (though this wasn't a problem for us at all--check the rehab schedule)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this is how I remember my trips. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I lean even more heavily toward October. Hope this doesn't confuse you even more.

*Ethyl*

 

[christophe]

thanks for the good advice everybody!
I think i'm going to plan it for october, i only hope there are not going to be any major rehabs on e-ticket rides.
Planning is not easy...