Thinking about booking a last minute short trip with my husband and 3 children (8, 5, 3). Our local budget airline has direct flights for $100 round trip Sep 26-30 or Oct 2-6. I’ll be honest, haven’t really been watching all things Disney as of late and this only popped onto my radar because of how cheap the flights are, so I did not realize that the 50th anniversary celebration was starting Oct 1st. Now I’m trying to decide the best option for us and I’m looking for opinions. Pros and Cons that I’ve come up with below:
September Pros
Super Low crowds
Slightly cheaper hotels
September Cons
No early hours for hotel guests or extra magic hours at night
October Pros
Extra hours for hotel guests
Night time celebration shows
October Cons
First week of 50th Anniversary celebration = maybe big crowds & longer waits???
What am I missing? What would you Disney experts do? Honestly, the 50th anniversary celebration doesnt really pull me one way or another, but more so juggling the crowds versus the special hours for hotel guests.
Since being at the 50th is not that important to you (ie it was not the reason you started digging around, but rather because of cost of flights) I would go in September. It will be really busy around the 1st, the week before and through that next week I expect. And I think in that last week or two before then (9/12-25) you’re likely to have some pretty low crowds
I will be there 9/30-10/5. There isn’t a lot of dining available if you are looking for anything popular, but I am not sure how it compares to the end of September. I would check and see which time frame has more options.
The evening hours will only be on 10/4 (only for deluxe), but the extra half hour in the morning will start on 10/1. Boo to You is on 10/5 but has been sold out for a while. Crowd levels are middle of the road 10/2 through 10/5 (MK & EPCOT still busier on 10/2 & 10/3 than the others).
Thank you for your analysis. I does look, based on bookings, that the end of that first week dies down a little for crowds, but I’m guessing it will still be busy. I didn’t realize that I’d really only be capturing 1 extra evening hours, which with my aged kids would be tough anyway, so now I’m really only looking at missing out on the extra 30 minutes each morning… That helps edge me a little closer to September.
There is another night of evening hours on 10/6 but you said that would be your departure day so I didn’t include it, but now I want to be thorough and not assume anything.
I’m right in the middle of doing Touring Plans for Sept 17 - 26. The queue waits are so reasonable. I go at this time of year frequently and love it. The only issue is hurricanes. Buy travel insurance!
IMHO - You are going to see an influx of people those first 10 - 14 days of October for the 50th & Halloween. I’d avoid it…
Hurricane season goes until November. IME, there can be extra rain in September though - even w/out hurricanes. (I don’t mind though… The majority of attractions are all indoors when you really think about it.)
