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disney crazy family
06-12-2007, 11:20 PM
I am going to the world Sept 16-21 to take advantage of the free dining and after reading all of the posts, I am beginning to see that alot of people are going at this time.
What should I expect for crowds? Is it really going to be busy? :confused:

snifflesmcg
06-12-2007, 11:24 PM
I was there Sept 25-30 two years in a row and the crowds are pretty good. Free dining has increased the crowds a bit but the biggest problem you are going to have is getting ADR's. I had half hour or less waits on most rides.

KAJUNKING
06-13-2007, 12:53 AM
we were there last year for a week starting at labor day, and the crowds were not bad, but the ts resturaunts were busy, we are going again this year but moved away from labor day, reading the posts on intercot you would think the parks would be busy, but the fact of the matter is that most of the people on intercot know what they are doing so a large percentage of intercotees are going at this time, but most of the general population does not see this as a good time to go, when we were there last sept at one point we rode soarin (which usualy has at least a 60 min wait) and at the end of the ride the cast member asked if anyone on the ride wanted to ride again, so we did, it was great, dont let the amount of intercotees going at a specific time change your opinion, not everyone is this well informed, as a matter of fact most are not, Good luck :mickey:

Spaceship Tigger
06-13-2007, 07:39 AM
I too, have worried about September crowds but figure that things are probably fine. It does seem like a lot of people on the boards are talking about going for Free Dining, but Free Dining is such a good promotion because for the majority of the population this is a bad month to go. Most kids have just started school back in August and even people that are willing to take their kids out of school aren't willing to do it this soon in the school year. Add to that the people that want to avoid the heat, avoid hurricane weather, or hold out for the Food and Wine Festival...

jennifer99
06-13-2007, 08:27 AM
Everytime we go I worry about the crowds. I was really worried when we went last Sept. for free dining. We went the same week you are going and are going that same week this year. It turned out to not be too crowded last year. The longest lines were for Soarin' and EE - both with 20min waits. We fass passed those lines and hardly waited at all. It was a great trip - hot but great:mickey:

Have a Magical Trip.

r4kids
06-13-2007, 09:47 AM
We are going Sept. 22-Oct. 2. We will be there for the start of F&W festival. We took the 6:30 flight just to go to the festival.(never been) Will it be increasingly crowded toward the end of the week?

Ian
06-13-2007, 09:54 AM
It depends on what you're used to. If you have gone to Disney in September before they started offering free dining then it will definitely seem a lot more crowded to you.

I have gone to Disney in September just about every year since 1997 and on our September '06 trip (the first where they offered free dining) it was quite a bit more busy than we were used to.

During mid-week it was mostly okay ... wait times averaged 10 to 20 minutes for most rides ... but near the weekends and during EMH it was actually quite crowded. We saw wait times in excess of 60 minutes for some stuff and that used to be unheard of in September.

DisneyFreak23
06-13-2007, 10:42 AM
i am going sept. 7-16 and everything i have heard is telling me that the parks , even though there is free dining, will not be nearly as crowded as on other days.

Does anyone think i will have any problems?

:mickey3:

:stitch:

DizNee143
06-13-2007, 11:01 AM
i was in Disney from Sept 21-25th last year..and i have to say the crowds were not that bad...seems like a lot of people are going..but really there wasnt...i think the longest line we waited on was like 40 minutes and that was test track and it was down for 15 of those 40 minutes waiting in line...if it didnt break down it would of been faster!!
so dont worry...it wont be too crowded..hope you have a great time!! :mickey:

bleukarma
06-13-2007, 11:20 AM
I found this helpful piece on the free dining on some other Disney website:

September bookings in the Disney resorts are up due to the "free" dining plan special that was included in some packages during the slow season of early fall. The special promotion was done to increase business at the Disney hotels during this very slow time of year. What many Disney vacationers forget, however, is that the reason the peak times are so crowded is that all of the offsite hotels are full as well. At this time of year, the offsite hotels are not full at all, nor would the Disney resorts normally be as full without the free dining promotion.

I doubt the parks will be very much more crowded than usual for that time of year. Kids are back in school, and hurricanes are still a possibility. In addition, many people will choose to vacation during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival that begins in early October, instead.

Although the parks won't be all that crowded, I think where you will see a difference is in the fewer Advance Dining Reservations available at the table service restaurants, and the larger number of people dining in them due to the dining promotion.

:mickey:

DisneyFreak23
06-13-2007, 11:30 AM
I just thought of something else. If there are so many ADR's taken then, if you have an early or late ADR most people, since they are there for free dining, will be eating, so you could have most of the park open to yourself.:mickey:



:mickey3:


:stitch:

MMouse6937
06-13-2007, 01:08 PM
We have almost always gone the second week of Sept and have found that with the free dining it has increased crowds somewhat but as previous posters have said mostly the increase we see is at the TS restaurants. The waits for attractions are still very short and the overall crowd level is decreased. Two years ago the weather was unbearably hot, but we'll take that trade off for the short waits and free dining! :thumbsup:

kathiep
06-13-2007, 02:20 PM
Last year we were there the week of the 17th and are going back this year, checking in on the 15th. (93 days :cloud9:)

Anyway, as previous posters mentioned, the crowds really were not that crowded. We didn't use our fast pass once and waited no longer tha 25 minutes for any ride. My DS actually got off and ran right back on Buzz Lightyear 3 times in a row!

The restaurants were definately more crowded; you really did need reservations. But I can't say I had any bd experience with the food or service due to the crowds.

Sean Riley Taylor's Mom
06-13-2007, 04:24 PM
We always take our trips in September. Like Ian said, it is busier then it was before FD but, no where near as busy as peak times.

The waits are not bad, the longest we had was for Soarin and that was 45 minutes, we just used Fast Pass.

We walked on Splash 4 times in a row mid week last year.

The restaurants are very busy. We tend to eat a little earlier or later then the normal times and use the "prime" dining hours as a good time to ride the rides.

It does seem like there are a lot more people going this year. The FD period is also shorter. We are hoping that we do not see too much of an increase in crowds. We cannot participate in FD anymore since we are DVC members and we are still choosing to go during that time.

I'm more concerned with the love bugs then the crowds!! :sick:

Jared
06-13-2007, 05:01 PM
I think Ian (I'm still not used to the name change) made the best point. September won't be crowded compared to the rest of the year, but the free dining option may make the month more crowded than most Septembers.

It all depends on what you're used to. My family always travels in February during busy times. Any September would seem empty.

AllDisney
06-13-2007, 05:30 PM
Never been in September before & never taken advantage of the free dining.

I am counting on the fact that school has just started and people won't be pulling their children out just to take advantage of the free dining. I am expecting to experience the Florida weather (hot, humid, chance of showers or hurricane issues), but there are thousands of people that go to Florida this time of year & keep returning, so I will trust the hurricanes haven't played a huge part in their vacation plans.

I have already made ADR so dining shouldn't be an issue either.

Just waiting for our vacation to begin at WDW :thumbsup:

johnO
06-13-2007, 07:30 PM
We're also returning to WDW in mid Sept. We usually go in early February but decided to take advantage of FD. What can I say? FD is the very thing that makes it possible for us to go back this soon.

CaptSmee
06-13-2007, 07:31 PM
You are going during one of the slowest times of the year at WDW. That's why they offer the free dining during this time period. We went last year during the free dining, and honestly the only time we thougt it was crowded was at our table service meals!

Crow
06-13-2007, 10:37 PM
i went a few yrs in early Sept for birthday...not bad crowds. my next trip is Sept 21st. im hopeing its not bad. just was there a few wks ago and it was busier than ithought it would b. Sept is a good time from all i can gather for low crowds. the free dining will add some im sure, but not as bad as other times

cmay0507
06-14-2007, 10:03 AM
I went last year September 25th to the 1st during free dining and the crowds I did not think were bad at all most rides we walked onto or had a 10 min or less wait, it was great :mickey: The restaurants were very busy though but we had ADR and we did not have to wait more then 10 min at any location!! In fact we decided to do CP one day because we did not want to leave MK and we got right in w/o ADR and waited less then 5 minutes!! This was my first time ever at Disney World!!

TBY2225
06-14-2007, 12:47 PM
This same question came up last year and everyone was thinking that it seemed like everyone was going during free dining. Maybe we are just the smart ones :blush: Those of us who take the time to find and check on Disney related sites find out about these promotions. I have 2 sets of friends going down in August and neither ones had heard of the free dining. I had them call and rebook. We also went last year and mostly walked onto every ride. Longest wait was 20min and that was on a weekend. We walked onto Soarin twice. Don't worry and just get ready to have fun. There are always fastpasses if it were to get busy. I would be more worried about dining reservations that anything else!

SurferStitch
06-14-2007, 12:59 PM
We are going Sept. 22-Oct. 2. We will be there for the start of F&W festival. We took the 6:30 flight just to go to the festival.(never been) Will it be increasingly crowded toward the end of the week?

Most likely, yes. We went from 9/30-10/7 in 2005, and we saw a dramatic increase in crowd size just from the 30th to October 1st! It was literally overnight. Not July 4th crowds, but Epcot was crazy, and the other parks were more crowded, too.

KellAnneL
06-14-2007, 10:36 PM
We will be there Sept. 8-15, and I'm one of those parents who DO take their kids out of school. We do it for two reasons: 1. The Cost is cheaper. 2. The crowds are less. My kids are both Honor Roll students, and the principal says they will learn more that week with us than they would normally at school.

(Also, DH is military, and can be put on alert for deployment at any time, so school has a little more of an understanding than they might have for others.)

We go every other year, and Sept of '05 crowds were great except on the weekends, but we didn't have any problems at all.

85 days for us...:cloud9:

Kellie

disney crazy family
06-15-2007, 01:11 AM
Thanks for the reassurement! I am sooo excited!

GrmGrninGost
06-15-2007, 11:01 AM
Sept. crowds are usually not bad at all. We go in Sept. or Oct. most years and really enjoy it! The free dining has caused crowds to pick up, but it's still not bad! The weather is almost always great and they're doing MNSSHP at MK! The party may be my favorite thing at WDW! It is so much fun!!:mickey:

threeh
06-15-2007, 02:23 PM
Howdy!!!

we've gone 3 times in the end of Sept. In 04 it was right after a hurriciane so it wasn't real crowded. IMO 2005 was the crowded-est of all. Everything had a signifcant wait and everything just semmed busy and crowded. However when we went in 06 it didn't seem as bad, yeas it wasn't a ghost town but most things had only a 5-20 minute wait. Popular stuff we needed a fast pass for, but it wasn't bad. I think what is getting busier is the places to eat. They are mobbed with all the free dining. Not that service was bad, but you know how you just have to get all the ADR's in advance now?? My advice is to visit EPCOT before food and wine starts if you can, that seemed more crowded to me (go during food and wine as well becasue it's cool). Since I got soo long winded, let me re cap ala rusty scupper:

1. Still not as busy as summer
2. fast pass popular stuff
3. don't forget adr's
4. have fun and enjoy!!!
:mickey:

Crow
06-15-2007, 09:34 PM
i went a few yrs just after Labor Day n crowds were low. ill b going at the end of Sept this time and am expecting a lot lower than when i was just there.
Jan is supposedly about the lowest but Sept is good too