September/October 2016 wdw crowds

[jody31]

I live near London in the UK ,and my family is planning a Disney holiday in September or October this year
It's a very nice time to go in terms of low crowds and not too much rain....my question is what dates are best to go ,because you have the Labor Day and Halloween crowds that I'd like to avoid
Any advice would be highly appreciated !!!

 

[DisneyRoy]

Those first two weeks after Labor Day will probably be the lowest crowds WDW sees all year. Schools have just restarted and most people will not be taking off that early. The more you get into October the more crowds show up for Columbus Day and Halloween.

Edit: keep in mind that is hurricane season though. Just as an FYI.

 

[sxeensweet]

I would say more near Halloween. Weather usually is cooler or at least a little less humidity. (Last year had record temps while we were there though for 2 weeks as it was unusually very hot 90-95 with heat indexes over 100! But that's not the norm when we go in October or November).
We did not find Halloween brought in huge crowds the last few years at all. Average but not uncomfortable crowds. We even went to MNSSHP on Halloween itself and it was not bad at all. We don't like going during large crowd times either as to why we do go mid to Late October-Mid December sometime minus thanksgiving week. Plus then you also get to do Food and Wine at Epcot. Mid September you could get to do that too but it will be warmer and more humid in Sept. So our pick is October out of those 2 months. We always visit sometime in Oct-Dec every trip and love it.
And yes as the other poster noted Sept and October is still hurricane season. But hurricane season is 6/1-11/30 so hard to avoid it completely if you want to go in late summer or fall.

 

[Andy_0410]

Normally good end of September beginning of October. Crowds are not large except for weekends and often we hit Columbus Day and wow magic kingdom is packed out then.
If you avoid these you will be fine.
Oh and I am from the uk also

 

[Clamman73]

If I was to go after I usually go at end of September, this year I would fly in on Halloween and be in the Parks that day and all during the week which would be the first week of November. No schools will be on vacation at that time and there's a better chance of a rain free day. Seemed like it was a little more rainy this past fall from the whole El Niño thing, but that's supposed to wane by the fall this year and La Niña makes for a drier Florida region.
Right after Labor is definetly good for low crowd levels, but it will still be steamy, thunderstorms and possible tropical activity, but you never know about that.

 

[Noellikechristmas]

I've gone twice in mid to late October. Perfect weather and crowds are not as bad. I like it so much, I'll be going the same time again.

 

[wendysue]

Pick whichever weeks DON'T have free dining and you should be ok.

 

[sxeensweet]

Pick whichever weeks DON'T have free dining and you should be ok.

We have been during free dining also many times and don't find it overall makes the parks anymore crowded etc. We don't use free dining (usually purchase it) but have been there for it when we go in November and December and didn't find it made a difference more then in October or other past blackout days for the offer etc. So me personally I wouldn't base it on that. We also had no problems getting dining reservations during free dining each night either.

 

[cdeev8690]

I usually try to go after Labor Day which has historically lower crowds. You can't go wrong with any week in September after Labor Day this year. I would watch out for October, as there are a few Jewish holidays which will result in higher crowds due to school closures (especially for North Eastern school districts). First week of November is Jersey Week which was kind of a nightmare for me. The following week you'll have Veteran's Day and some folks taking advantage of a shortened school week (add Election Day to the mix).

As another said, hurricane season is no joke and you really won't know until the storm is a day out whether it will make contact with the main land or not. It could also mess up your travel plans with the airlines. I would just get some travel insurance and take your chances.

 

[TXDisney]

We've done the 1st week of the F&W festival the last couple years and it's been very crowded. More crowded than we thought bc school is just starting. We might try to move those trips into October to see if the crowds go down. Also September is rainy season, so October is slightly better weather.