Question about crowds

[PurpleDragon]

I'm trying to figure out when the best time to take my family to WDW. I was thinking about the 1st or 2nd week in June. I know the summer is usually busy but how early do the crowds start rolling in? Would we hit minimal crowds if we went in early June?

I was initially planning on going during my daughters Fall break in October, but that would only give us 3 days in WDW and I want to go for a full week so we have to go during the summer months.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[BigRedDad]

TouringPlans has the first two weeks of June pegged at a crowd level of 8 (high end of moderate and low end of heavy). There are a few days it indicates as moderate, but not many. The only time busier over the Summer is Forth of July.

Be prepared for high heat, high humidity, and large crowds at that time.

 

[Master Yoda]

Go as early in June as possible. Weather tends to be a bit better and the crowds really start in increase during the 2nd and 3rd week in June.

 

[PurpleDragon]

Yeah thats what I was afraid of. I was thinking of arriving June 5th, but we can go the Tuesday after memorial day weekend which may not be bad either.

If it looks like its going to be too crowded then I'll stick with our original October plan cause I know the parks are dead during early October. I was just hoping to be able to spend more time there so the kids can enjoy their first visit.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yeah thats what I was afraid of. I was thinking of arriving June 5th, but we can go the Tuesday after memorial day weekend which may not be bad either.

If it looks like its going to be too crowded then I'll stick with our original October plan cause I know the parks are dead during early October. I was just hoping to be able to spend more time there so the kids can enjoy their first visit.

October will not be completely dead as there are really no slow times at WDW anymore but it will be less crowded than June.

 

[wm49rs]

We went last year in June for two weeks, basically the 1-14. The first week was great; the crowds were managable and the weather wasn't too unbearable. But as the second week drew near, the crowd level really did seem to pick up exponentially, which in turn made the heat even worse with all of the people roaming about.

October will be nice, cooler, but the Food & Wine Festival will also be taking place at some point, so EP will be busier than usual during that period....

 

[PurpleDragon]

Its really a toss up at this point, I'll just have to discuss it with the wife and see what she thinks.

Thanks for the input guys.:wave:

 

[Philo]

For what it's worth, I would always vote for October (or anytime that isn't notoriously busy).

Big crowds can make the difference between seeing everything you want and having to limit yourself to spending hours in queues. Don't get me wrong, WDW is amazing even when busy but those crowds are a great way to make anyone frustrated. The heat wouldn't help matters either.

As an example. I've been during a very quiet January when riding almost every attraction in each park (except perhaps MK) was perfectly feasible within a day. Lines for big rides like Expedition Everest were only about 30 minutes at the minimum but often 5 or less. Fastpasses were also available pretty much all the time. I've also been during a busy period in April and whilst it was manageable, there were several occasions where we missed rides because the queues were too long and the fastpasses all gone.

Is there any particular reason why you were thinking of Summer instead of October?

 

[amykissangel]

In 2008, 17 members of our family went from June 13th to June 23rd. Yes, it was hot, but since we knew how to navigate the parks, the crowds were nothing. And I really mean that - yes, lines for Soarin' probably got up to 90 minutes but if you got on early in the morning and then got a Fastpass for later in the day, you were good to go.

We had an amazing time, and I'd ALWAYS thought there'd be no way I'd go in the summer after going in October for years and years. But my aunts are teachers so we had to choose June - and it was wonderful. We were even able to get ADRs at every place we wanted - for 17 people. So I say go for it!

 

[PurpleDragon]

I was thinking summer so we could spend a full week in WDW while the kids are on summer break. Our visit in October would be during my daughters fall break and it would limit us to roughly 3 days in the parks as opposed to 5-6 during the summer months.

We're going to try to book in early June and see how it goes, my youngest will be 3 then so he will pretty much dictate the majority of our trip anyway, so having more days to work with helps with flexibility. If its too crowded then lesson learned, but I want to have the time to be able to be flexible and not try to cram everything into a 3 day trip in the fall.

The heat doesn't really bother me too much, we live in Georgia and our summer temps are pretty much on par with Orlando, so I'm not too worried about that. Besides we can always hit a water park or even the pool at the resort to beat the heat.

 

[karenatwdw]

Just remember that the first week of June is Gay family week it does add alot more people we went that one week and there was alot more familys now if you still want to go. You can go to there web site and they tell what park they are visiting on which day just do not go to that park on that day and it is not as crowded.

 

[PurpleDragon]

Just remember that the first week of June is Gay family week it does add alot more people we went that one week and there was alot more familys now if you still want to go. You can go to there web site and they tell what park they are visiting on which day just do not go to that park on that day and it is not as crowded.

I think we decided on arriving on the 4th or 5th, so we'd be getting there at the end of that first week. But thanks for the heads up. :wave: