Is It Still Worth Visiting During “Fall” Off-Season at Disney World?
For over a decade, we’ve been singing September’s praises. No, not the Cosmic Rewind song. That along with mid to late August, it was part of the early “fall” off-season that’s among the best times to visit Walt Disney World. (Air quotes around fall since the Disney version of the calendar looks very different from actual seasons!) But is mid-August through late September still a good time to visit Walt Disney World? That’s the question this post will explore.
We’ve been doing WDW during the fall off-season as long as we’ve been visiting together as adults. It started by accident, as there was a brief window when Free Dining was offered but our school had yet to go back into session. We took advantage, and noticed that crowds were much lower than our prior summer visits but hours were still just as long.
It was a fantastic experience. We did the now-defunct Pirate & Princess Parties (back then, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party didn’t start until mid-September), saw SpectroMagic (sometimes more than once per night!), enjoyed evening Extra Magic Hours until after midnight (it wasn’t uncommon for them to run until 1 or 2 a.m. at MK), all while having ridiculously good–and huge–meals (the Disney Dining Plan included appetizers). These trips quickly became an annual tradition while we were living in the Midwest.
We became hooked on this time of year and found ourselves routinely returning during the ‘sweet spot’ when hours were still long but schools were starting to go back into session. Over time, we also began doing getaways in September and October, empowered by cheap flights from Indianapolis paired with Southwest Companion Passes, Annual Passes, and lower rate seasons for Disney Vacation Club (or room discounts, when we ran out of points).
Then we started spreading the good word about mid-August through September to anyone who would listen. Long-time readers of the blog probably already know that our #1 month of the year at Walt Disney World is September. That’s been true for a long time, since it passed the final three months of the year as those–especially October–became busier.
As we’ve pointed out for several years, mid-August through September have remained reliably uncrowded even as other past off-season months have gotten busier. For us, what fully and finally “cemented” the status of September was when not even the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge moved the needle on crowds. (I’ve gotten a lot of predictions wrong over the years and am not afraid to admit it, but confidently calling the low crowds of September 2019 months in advance even as fans were freaking out remains an odd point of pride.)
September 2019 was our first time experiencing the month as Floridians, and we took full advantage. If you weren’t there, it’s impossible to explain how gloriously uncrowded the parks were and how awesome ‘Extra, Extra Magic Hours’ was. Even having lived through that stretch, it’s almost unbelievable given how things changed ~6 months later. But it really was incredible, and I have thousands upon thousands of empty park photos from our many visits during that stretch to “prove” it actually happened.
To be entirely honest with you, nostalgia for both our first off-season visits together and those more recent heyday of early fall off-season has probably clouded my judgment, and caused me to keep on my rose-colored glasses about this stretch. However, reality has really set in over the course of the last couple years…
The big eye-opener the last 2 years has been the weather. It was uncomfortably hot last year to the point that we found ourselves taking more midday breaks than normal and really being ‘beat’ by the weather. At the time, that felt like the worst weather we’d experienced during the August and September off-season. It was noticeably hotter, but not necessarily unexpected or historically bad. Just worse than normal.
Then the early fall off-season of 2023 happened. I’m no stranger to hot summers in Central Florida, and the couple weeks I was there in mid to late August were the worst weather I’ve ever experienced at Walt Disney World. My return for Destination D23 in September wasn’t nearly as bad, but then again, I spent a lot of time in icy-cool convention centers.
August was so awful that there were excessive heat advisories on a regular basis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management warned residents and visitors of dangerously hot and humid conditions. Actual temperatures often flirted with triple digits, and feels like temperatures routinely hit 110-115° throughout month. It was a record-breaking summer for Central Florida, with August being especially awful.
I can understand why some of you might be dismissive of that. After all, Florida is always hot and humid this time of year. Not only that, but weather forecasts are frequently filled with hyperbole, finding new ways to sensationalize and scare. So maybe those 110°+ feels like temperatures aren’t actually all that much worse than the 90s you’ve experienced in Florida and elsewhere in other months, right?
Wrong. At least, in my opinion. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a tremendous tolerance for heat and humidity, but I at least became accustomed to it while living in Florida. This was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in Orlando. About the only thing that compares was a summer a few years back at Hong Kong Disneyland, which somehow manages to surpass Central Florida when it comes to heat and humidity.
By definition, record heat waves are unprecedented and atypical. But this was the second year in a row that I’ve encountered unseasonably hot weather during the early fall off-season. The next few years could be downright pleasant by comparison, but the trend is not your friend when it comes to temperatures. To each their own, but I’m not inclined to gamble on better weather next year. Walt Disney World trips cost too much–the stakes are too high.
It wasn’t just triple-digit temperatures and feels like heat this off-season in Florida. Add to that humidity above 75% plus UV indexes of 10/10, and it was a perfect storm of uncomfortable weather. About the only positive I can say about the weather during my weeks in Central Florida this August and September was that it was, thankfully, a reprieve from storm season at Walt Disney World.
Sarah was unable to join me for obvious reasons. When I first bought my ticket to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party–the first she had missed in over a decade–she was disappointed to be missing out. That wore off by the time the party rolled around. I had been sending periodic updates on the weather, with screenshots of the temperature when I first left my room each day.
The day of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was particularly brutal. After leaving Magic Kingdom for a meal outside the park and returning for MNSSHP, the temperature was 100° with a feels like of 115 degrees. This wasn’t even as bad as it got this particular day–the actual temperature hit 102° and the feels like reached 118 degrees. I don’t know about you, but nothing says “Halloween” to me like triple-digit heat in the middle of August!
It wasn’t just that afternoon. There was almost no reprieve from the heat and humidity. I got up every day at the crack of dawn for Early Entry, which started because I wanted to test strategy for park opening reports but continued because it was the second-most pleasant time of the day. It was hot even at 7 am–to the point that I began keeping my camera bag on the balcony overnight so my lenses wouldn’t be fogged up when I needed them the next morning.
Evening was a similar story. Sunset was a welcome relief, but only in part. There were nights when I left the parks and the feels like temperature was still over 100 degrees. Now in fairness, when you go from blazing sun and 118° feels like temperatures to darkness and “only” 101° feels like temperatures, the difference is pretty pronounced. But I was still sweating like crazy at pretty much all hours of the day.
This was unpleasant even for me, but I worked around the weather to the greatest extent possible. Plenty of midday breaks, taking things slow after Early Entry and rope drop, and finding ways to avoid the heat. I couldn’t help but think about how much my Walt Disney World experience differs from the average guest, as I do the parks in atypical ways and “for the sake of research.”
As just one example, I dressed like a total doofus. I wore my dorky bucket hat paired with athletic shirts, and still managed to sweat through those every day by like 10 am. I have this really thick sunscreen that gives me the complexion of a ghost (better than cancer!) and that plus the debilitating heat, getting up early and staying out late, gave me a nice near-death appearance.
If you’ve seen the PhotoPass Shots from MNSSHP, you already know this. Just keep in mind that those are the best photos. There are way worse ones that’ll never see the light of day. This is a family-friendly blog and I don’t want to scare the children. Well, on second thought…
Point being, if this were a trip with Sarah and Megatron, we would probably want nice family photos. I’m not sure the extent to which that even would’ve been possible unless we prioritized pictures first thing in the morning (many families definitely did this–lines for PhotoPass early in the day were far longer than normal) or took second-showers and returned for post-sunset photos.
Of course, it’s not just the photos that would be unsustainable were we visiting as a family. That’s actually something about which I thought a lot during my visits these months, concluding that August and September family trips probably will not become a family tradition going forward.
The heat gives everyone a shorter fuse, too. Although it’s not something that’s measurable, I can say with complete confidence that I overhear and observe more meltdowns–among both children and adults–in August and September than during November and December.
This isn’t me passing judgment. The heat and humidity are to blame, and it’s not like I’m immune to it. The weather causes crankiness, and I found myself being a bit more irritable than normal, and annoyed by things I typically would’ve brushed off. The difference is that I was flying solo, so it was simply an internal grumbling to myself and not outward orneriness.
Even stopping short of full meltdown territory, the heat and humidity just beat you down. The weather is exhausting, making it exceedingly difficult to do a full day in the parks without a midday break or taking time to decompress. This alone can undermine any efficiency gains from the lower crowds.
If you’re skipping a few hours or going at a slower pace due to the weather, you might end up accomplishing just as much during the slowest days in September as you would during slightly busier (but much more pleasant) weeks in late October to December.
Unscheduled breaks or necessary downtime can also exacerbate tensions and stress. If your months-in-the-making plan dictates being in the park from opening until closing–but it becomes clear that’s not feasible–it can be crushing to see that slip away. One of the reasons we are vehemently anti-spreadsheet is because we’ve seen exactly this scenario play out too many times.
Parents set unrealistic expectations, things don’t go completely according to plan (they never do), and either disappointment ensues or misguided efforts are made to ‘course-correct.’ This is not to say all spreadsheets are bad or anyone who uses them is “wrong” for doing so–different strokes and all that–but we’ve seen enough to not actively recommend them. But I digress.
While I did several full days from Early Entry until after park closing in August and September, my batting average was probably less than .500. And that’s just me, an adult who likes to power through whenever possible. Envisioning how we’ll do Walt Disney World as a family with a child in tow…I just cannot fathom full days during this time of year.
By contrast, I can do full days during the holiday season with ease. The temperatures are much more conducive to it, as are the fewer hours of daylight. Even if crowd levels are higher, that might only amount to an extra ~5 minutes of waiting per attraction. But if you’re spending an extra ~2 hours in the parks per day, you’ve more than offset the added wait times.
And although it’s tough to quantify, I’d argue that the whole vibe is merrier during that time of year, from guests to Cast Members. Silly as it might sound, I fully believe you feed off of the energy around you at Walt Disney World. It’s much easier to be reinvigorated and upbeat thanks to the collective energy in November and December than August and September.
Another issue that’s becoming more pronounced is park hours. Long gone are the days of Magic Kingdom staying open until midnight for regular guests. Obviously, Extra Magic Hours are a thing of the past, too. Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours are not the same, either in duration or eligibility.
The end result is that there’s now fewer hours that the parks are opening after dark, which is the most pleasant time of day to do Walt Disney World during September. I did Extended Evening Hours a couple times at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT during the most recent off-season, and it was the busiest I’ve seen it at either park–worse than the peak of spring break. And that’s despite lower crowds across the board and the company self-reporting lower resort occupancy at Walt Disney World.
I’m guessing there are multiple reasons for Extended Evening Hours getting busier, but the most obvious to me would be weather. That more eligible guests took midday breaks with the intention of returning to the parks in the evening. (Rather than staying all day, getting burnt out, and heading home before ExEH started, as often happens.) The influx of guests at the start of Extended Evening Hours would seem to corroborate this.
Equally concerning is how Walt Disney World quietly shortened hours in September. A lot of attention has been rightfully paid to Magic Kingdom closing too early or now opening at 9 am on most MNSSHP dates. Walt Disney World cutting hours at EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is just as big of a deal–and one that has flown under the radar. It’s really unfortunate and if this trend repeats itself in September 2024–but not October, November, or December–it will significantly change the calculus on which of these times is the “best” to visit.
With all of that said, mid-August through late September remains a really appealing timeframe for a few reasons. First and foremost is that it’s consistently uncrowded. Yeah, it’s busier now than it was in 2008 or 2017, but relative to other months in the same calendar year, it’s #1 for crowds.
Unlike other months that were once the off-season but have since seen spikes (looking at you, January and October!), September is likely to stay uncrowded. The main factors keeping attendance down–school schedules and weather–aren’t going to change. Walt Disney World can’t get crafty scheduling runDisney, ESPN Wide World of Sports, conventions, or other events in September to buoy attendance, as the weather makes it a non-starter for so much.
Most schools are going to be in session during the entirety of September, and parents are unlikely to pull their kids out after the new school year just started. For tons of people, September is simply an undesirable month to visit, and that has remained true no matter how many times they’ve heard effusive praise about the early fall off-season. Many fans, perhaps the wiser ones, might view that as the Siren’s Song of September.
Another is events. In an attempt to reverse the September slowdown, both Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween and the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival now start as school goes back into session in August and run for the entirety of the early fall off-season. Again, that didn’t always used to be the case–it wasn’t even that long ago that Food & Wine started 2 full months later than it does now, and MNSSHP began a month later.
Finally, there’s pricing. If you look at the Cheapest Times to Go to Walt Disney World, you’ll see that the early fall off-season typically trails only the winter season. Even that is no sure thing, as superior discounts in mid-August through September can more than bridge the gap. (That happened this year!) If Free Dining returns in Fall 2024, that’ll widen the spread even further for families that know how to leverage that promo.
An arguably better comparison is how the early fall off-season compares to the final three months of the year. Not only are room discounts better and rack rates lower, but there’s a wider range of deals–like the recent 4-Parks Magic Tickets. Then there are significantly lower prices for hard ticket events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. It all adds up!
Ultimately, I can see why the early fall off-season is still such an appealing time for so many Walt Disney World diehard fans to take trips. It’s cheaper and less crowded, reminiscent of simpler days in past decades when prices and attendance were lower. The seasonal events are a ton of fun, and there’s something so satisfying about walking onto attractions with virtually no waits. You feel like a VIP.
Personally, I love the idea of mid-August through late September. I see photos of us in empty parks that stir up fond memories, conveniently forgetting the heat we endured along the way. To some degree, I think that’s how nostalgia works–your mind savors the good and lets go of the bad, creating an idealized version of a past that never existed.
But like an egg on the Magic Kingdom sidewalk, this year’s memories of the heat are fried into my mind. It’s tough to see myself wanting that experience again. (Well, until I forget all about the weather but continue to remember the low crowds!)
In fairness, we have warned about weather and even made ‘qualitative’ recommendations to go later in September or October, avoiding the best stretch of crowds in favor of the likelihood of a more pleasant experience. Neither our Best & Worst Months to Do Walt Disney World nor our 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2023, 2024 & 2025 recommend the weeks that typically have the absolute lowest crowds.
We’ve instead advised waiting until later in September when it’s slightly busier (but still slow relative to the rest of the year), late October, or the low-crowd windows in November and December. Even though none of those dates are as objectively uncrowded as mid-August through early September, they’re subjectively superior.
I’ll definitely be back for the start of the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, but because I’m a blogger who doesn’t learn from past mistakes and that’s what my people do. When it comes to family for fun trips or recommendations to friends (including you all), it’s getting harder and harder to justify mid-August to late September without serious caveats. Even if you think you know what you’re getting yourself into…it’s tough to fully comprehend that heat until you’ve felt it. And by then, it’s too late!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you visited during the recent heat waves? Do you think it’s still worth braving the weather in August and September for the lowest crowds of the year at Walt Disney World? Or, would you take the slightly higher crowd levels but subjectively superior overall experience during the November and December lulls? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Having completed our last Disney trip in May 2022, we decided to do a late September ( last week) trip this year after reading a lot of your articles. Using a combo of early entry, Genie +, and your strategy on which park days to visit, our trip was so much better than last years. We arrived at MK on the 29th around 7:45 am, and it was a relative ghost town until 11am or so. Even having two kids under 4, we are able to ride so many rides as most of them were walk on’s. Appreciate your work!
I see some disappointment in these comments from people visiting in September, but I took your advice and we went the week of the 17th to the 23rd. I’m from central Texas so the heat was unpleasant but manageable for us, with the heat index never breaching 100 degrees and in the evenings it was often in the high 70s/low 80s. It also rained way less than I expected it to! And crowds weren’t bad at all, Epcot was the busiest we saw and that was at a 6/10. With Genie+ we got to pretty much go on everything we wanted with one day at each park, even while getting to the parks routinely past 11 AM. Like you said, the weather isn’t the best but I would absolutely go again at this time for the Halloween festivities. One thing though that did contribute to getting everything done was taking advantage of extended evening hours for Deluxe resort guests. Thanks for all you do Tom and Sarah!
“I see some disappointment in these comments from people visiting in September…”
Per wait time data, crowd levels actually did spike rather dramatically September 23-25 across the entirety of Walt Disney World. You can expand that until September 27, depending upon the park.
So I’d hazard a guess that most of the crowd complaints are coming from those who visited during the last week or so of September. There are probably complaints from others, as it was possible to get unlucky earlier in the month–and feels like crowds were arguably worse–but those who went during that final week have a legit basis for it. Crowds really were unseasonably bad then!
Tom, we followed your advice on early September/weekend after Labor Day multiple times pre-kids/pre-pandemic and had a blast. This year, we visited 9/5-9/13 with our almost 4 and almost 1 year olds – split stay at Coronado and Caribbean Beach. Never so grateful for awesome pools when the weather was that awful! We agreed we can’t risk doing that time period again and have already booked next December on a bounceback at Wilderness Lodge. The low crowds were great, but I will follow your tips and buy Genie+ as needed rather than chance 100+ degree temps and cranky kiddos (and adults!).
It seems as though Disney has a serious institutional risk around climate change and Florida temperatures. They’d be well-served to make a few imagineers spend full days in Florida in early September with no VIP treatment. See if they ever visit Epcot again and hoof it across that park in the midday sun!
Best of luck with baby…can’t wait for “the” post when she comes!
“It’s cheaper and less crowded, reminiscent of simpler days in past decades when prices and attendance were lower. The seasonal events are a ton of fun, and there’s something so satisfying about walking onto attractions with virtually no waits. You feel like a VIP.”
We just got back from a mid-Sept trip, for the first time since 2018. The low crowds really made it feel like old times. Didn’t even need Genie+ or lightning lanes. I love the way you phrased it: “walking onto attractions with virtually no waits. You feel like a VIP.”
Your opinion is not wrong. I’ve been coming to Disney since the year after it opened, have been several times in September because of the low crowds (including magical 2019, when we got to experience a REALLY empty park during the brief time they opened at 6am, got some gorgeous shots in Star Wars Land), and this year was WAY worse than any I remember. I returned to my car to head to another park shortly before 2pm, and it was so hot, the car would not start. I’ve never known that to happen before. I nearly passed out from the heat when I had to walk BACK across the parking lot to find a security person to help start the car, only to be told to walk BACK to the car and wait in the heat with my hood up. They didn’t come and I finally got it started by holding the key near the push button start, a few minutes later I thought to check what the temp was, and it had come DOWN to 103- who knows what it was when I first cranked it, and the feels-like had to be 110.
We started using our first-ever annual pass mid-September so we could get in 2 Septembers with it, but right now, I’m not sure we’ll want to 9/2024. 🙁
I agree parents aren’t going to take their kids to the parks especially after school has just started. Therefore this is a time for adults. Disney states the official wait of 30 minutes. Since I’m not ridding the Carrousel or Dumbo this means nothing to me. I hadn’t been back since 2017, but we went in Sept 2022, the week before the hurricane. This was also supposed to be one of the slowest time last year. There wasn’t one adult ride in any of the parks that had less than an hour wait, many closer to an hour and a half. I’ve been watching the wait time on the Disney app and things haven’t changed by much. September is only a slow month for families with young kids doing the kiddie rides. The day we visited Magic Kingdom I didn’t even have enough time to get to Tomorrowland. It really peeves me to spend that kind of money and only get on 7 or 8 rides in a 12 hour day. It was the worst time I’ve ever had at Disney. Twenty years ago we use to take the kids out of school and go the first week of December. A 15 minute wait was a long wait. I guess those days are gone.
We are hoping to travel to Disney World in 2024 during the week of December 15th thru December 22nd. Has anyone been to DW during that week and can let me know what the crowds were like during that week before Christmas? The less crowded and cooler temps is what we are looking for.
Thanks
I took my about to start college son to WDW in August 2018. Still very much summer as it was the beginning of the month. We did four parks in four days from the CBR. Even with the travel being easy the weather was debilitating. Morning night with rain. Didn’t matter. By day 4 we we just beat.
I will never try WDW in the summer. If someone has to go then the only way is to build in at least one or two No Park days. It was just too much.
Tom,
Headed down for Halloween week. In your opinion, do you think MK will be less crowded Oct 31 or Nov 1 with the Halloween party? Appreciate all the good info!
Our Boys are in the DCP so we planned several trips to see them this year as we live in AZ and don’t make it to FL all that often. We wanted Oct but prices pushed us to Sept 24 week with MNSSHP on 26th. Boys said the parks had been pretty dead but Sun 24th at AK was horrible. Weather not awful until about 1pm but lines were crazy. 25th at EPCOT was scorching until it rained. Now, we’re from AZ, we know hot but burning and drowning at the same time…that’s not something we are familiar with. Tues party was sweltering at 4pm entrance time but by 6pm it was TORRENTIAL rain. I mean, soaked to the skin, thru all layers of clothing. Virtually everything closed that was outside. We did get to ride Tron and a few awesome pics of characters who are inside. Trick or Treated way more than we expected because there wasn’t much else to do. All fun pic sites were down. Candy got soaked, only really effected M& M bags. Final parade was super late and no headless horseman but we did see the fireworks and that parade. Never saw the Sandersons. Weather in FL is just nuts and you have to roll with it, I guess. I just have never been so many temps in the same day. Once you’re wet and go inside, you’re now freezing. So sweltering, covered in sweat to drenched in rain to frozen all in about 2-3 hrs. Woohoo….can’t wait to go back!
Just came back from a WDW trip September 19-27th and WOW, it was hot and crowded. We spent an entire day at Hollywood Studios and couldn’t do Smugglers Run or Rise of the Resistance for lack of time, barely made it on Slinky Dog and no Toy Story Mania -everything was over an hour wait so we concentrated on things that were available plus Ride Shutdowns foiled us, at Hollywood, Magic Kingdom and Epcot. There of course there was huge thunderstorm with a 101 seek shelter alert and Disney wouldn’t let us inside the restaurant because they were preparing for MNSSHP. Great idea, have a bunch of kids and their parents stay outside in an intense lightning storm. We have done WDW the last two years in September and this was the worst, to the point where I would not do it again.
We visit every year in the week around Sept 26th for our daughter’s birthday. This year, we were at WDW from 9/22 – 9/27. We also used to live in Orlando so we were prepared for the weather (actually less rain than normal this year!). What we were surprised by were the crowds – despite doing MK on a weekend and a party day (9/24) and DHS on the weekend (9/23) as well. Granted, we’ve also been Christmas week so we know what heavy crowds look like. But we were caught off guard by what definitely seemed like heavier crowds this year relative to the same week last year. Hoping this was just a one-off this year for some reason!!
We also visited 9/25-9/30 and I was astounded by the crowds and waits. Pulled my kids from school for their first trip to celebrate 7th and 5th bdays. I guess I fooled myself into thinking we would not *need* Genie+ due to the “less crowded” time of year, but it pretty much ruined the trip to have my kids waiting in 45-60 min lines with some estimated waits at 80-120mins. We had already splurged staying at Poly for convenience, deciding to do CRT and MNSSHP, and thought I would save the extra $400+ from Genie+ but now I sorely regret it. Even getting Genie+ on our last day only got us on to 2 rides we wanted. We also had a very rainy MNSSHP along with still pretty solid wait times. Magic was not what it used to be for me.
We also were down recently, arrived on the 22nd and did the not so scary party. I thought they’d have fewer tickets than the amount of people we saw there that night. I guess it’s just Disney and the almighty buck. We had gone to this party some years back and our candy bags were packed but this time it wasn’t close to getting filled. I guess I don’t regret going, I’d be sitting in the resort room otherwise. We left on the 28th. I found the crowds to be well, crowded. Early entry wasn’t the greatest, we did better with it on our last visit but we still got a few things done. I am not going to pay for Genie plus, those lines were also long on some rides. I miss the types of visits we did 10-15 years ago, fastpass was great and though the parks were busy, they weren’t in your face crowded.
We will still go in September but this year’s trip in mid-September proved to us that it’s not as economical as it used to be. We really NEEDED to be at one of the easy-commute deluxe resorts this time, and to take lengthy mid-day breaks out of the heat. That means more expensive lodging and a longer stay. It’s still fun but not a bargain anymore. ( We did save some money on food, because honestly no one wanted a heavy meal in that heat, and we had little kids with us who would have dictated the relaxed schedule anyway). I have never been more grateful for the themed swimming pool!
You mentioned two of the main reasons in this article on why we enjoyed being Annual Passholders when we lived in Fl, before moving to NC last year:
1. Seeing those families at their wits end and now arguing with each other, as we arrive to MK right before fireworks, maybe snuck a ride in, and then left with our sanity.
2. The ability to walk away if the day was just brutal and come back later.
For our family our biggest enjoyment of being APs was the flexibility and lack of stress it afforded visiting the parks. As someone whose wife and daughter have anxiety, I couldn’t put a price on my sanity.
We were just there for a week and a half at the beginning of September, and this was our first full week during slow/hot season. We’re Panhandle APs who usually drive down for long weekends and Christmas. This comes with a HUGE grain of salt because we were there to get married, so of course that is going to affect our perspective. But we picked that week because we wanted it to be cheaper/less crowded for our guests who were planning to go to the parks outside our wedding events. And honestly, it was GREAT. Since we’re usually there during the busiest times of year, we absolutely loved the shorter lines and less competition for ADRs. Some of our guests got amazing empty park photos, and we had one couple in particular rave about getting the Morocco pavilion all to themselves. Our wedding events were all after the sun went down (although our pre-ceremony photos were not, and I did almost pass out doing those), but a lot of our guests (not all FL people somewhat used to the weather) were out in the parks during the day, and while we were all definitely commenting on the heat, everyone seemed to find it doable. We did have one family majorly struggle because they live in Alaska haha, but even they pushed through and did a lot of park time. Granted, we also lucked out because the start of our trip was post-Idalia when there was about a 10-degree reprieve for a few days. But it was just a really great time to be out there with a bunch of Disney first-timers who I think would have struggled more with higher crowds and prices. Hubby and I are going to continue our Christmas tradition, but it’s hard to imagine we won’t also try squeezing in an anniversary trip moving forward so we can get some of this September time in, too.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That’s cause for celebration in the first place, and kudos to you for choosing a time that was cheaper for your guests. Great to hear that they, and you, had a great experience.
“…bunch of Disney first-timers who I think would have struggled more with higher crowds and prices.”
This is a very fair and good point, too.
We went the Thursday before Labor Day, and did MK on a party day that Friday. It was hot, but it was great. MK opened at 8 am, we did so much. It’s been years since I’ve seen it uncrowded like that. We weren’t going to stay all day, but it was just so easy to go on the rides that it was hard to leave. We left at 5:00 pm just as a storm broke out. Felt sorry for those people coming in for the party!
We did HS that Saturday and we did buy Genie Plus that day. Pretty much did everything except Rise of the Resistance, took a midday break, and came back to the park for a nice evening. Crowds were there but not as terrible as the past 2 years.
Sunday before Labor Day at Epcot our luck ran out and it was busy. But we expected this, Epcot on the weekends is not ideal. It was a great weekend, and I would do it again!
I love your blog and read it frequently but the amount of ads that slow down the loading of the page and, even worse, cause the page to reload and go to the top again — making me lose my place! – is maddening. I know ads are how you make money, but is there a way to improve the reading experience?
I keep having the ad server remove certain ad types that I’ve noticed are particularly problematic to my own reading of the site, but it seems like whenever I identify one issue, they ‘invent’ a new ad type that causes different problems.
Tom, we started doing WDW in August of 2019 (bought into DVC for, among many reasons, NOT having to come back in August again to save money/crowds,) but it was gross then.
Then we did Labor Day week extended when they brought back APs so we could bridge our day tickets and convert them to APs (scarcity mindset.) Again, heat was gross and I kept promising my husband no more summer trips! LOL.
Soooo, wanted to hit 4th of July fireworks this year and had a good window of time off from work and dragged my poor husband AGAIN in the heat.
July was not crowded, but it didn’t matter. It was just disgustingly hot and miserable. Visited friends at AKK pool and had to find the waterfall for cold(er) water because the Kidani pool was like swimming in pee — so hot.
Tried doing Riviera pool (home resort) next — too hot to be poolside, got headaches and went back inside to AC.
Split stay over to OKW and went INTO THE HOT TUB so that the pool water would feel “cool” by comparison. Just too darn hot for us.
So, now I have pinky sworn AGAIN to my husband no more summer trips. It’s just not worth it. We only do DVC EEH and dinner in AC, which is a waste of a trip at this point.
Am I hallucinating that I remember back in 1996 Epcot used to have covered canopies with misters while we waited in line and near the dancing fountains or something? I remember our first trip in 1996 with way more shade protection and those misters for the queues, unless I am totally off base here. It’s frankly dangerous for the poor CMs and guests alike to work in these conditions. You’re smart to swear off the summer months when Megatron gets here. It’s just not worth it on any level, and yes, tempers are very short in those conditions.
Here are 15 smart ways to beat the heat at WDW… wink-wink 🙂
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-bars-lounges-disney-world/
I grew up in Florida and like you adored my Autumn visits. As an adult living in CA, we have clocked at least eight early September trips to celebrate our my birthday. Last month was my last ever September trip. The weather was so miserable that we found ourselves canceling meals and events and staying in our room (Wilderness Lodge) for hours. Such a major disappointment. The magic was still there but much harder to find in the heat.
If some of the more dire global warming predictions are correct (big if), Disney World may have to become a seasonal park like Six Flags in 20 years. Where July-August are dangerously hot on a daily basis, making it unsafe to be outdoors for long stretches, I can imagine a world where WDW has to close for 2-3 months of the year.
(On a side note, that would lead to major problems with DVC contracts).
“If some of the more dire global warming predictions are correct (big if), Disney World may have to become a seasonal park like Six Flags in 20 years.”
Even assuming for the sake of argument that this is a ‘big if’ (and I really don’t want to open that can of worms), I’m very surprised that Walt Disney World hasn’t hedged its bets with recent additions. They know Florida is hot, humid, sunny, stormy, etc. right now. Literally nothing has to change for all of that to be true.
Why not build more shade/rain cover in all of the recent additions?! It feels like such an obvious oversight. (I also think the new pavement choices seem to be hotter and more reflective. Some of those new walkways in EPCOT are brutal.)