Is everyone going in september?

[Bamf1000]

Reading posts around intercot, seems to me a lot of people are planning to attend in September... is it a really crowded time to go? :mickey:

[elmjimmlm]

2 words... Free dining... I hope if everyone is there in Sept. Then maybe June will be empty...:blush:

[afowl1017]

This family is going in September....not for the free dining though ( we have done the free dining the very first year they offered it). This year we are going for the "kids stay and play for free". We have four children now and it is just more economical for us this way, otherwise we would not be able to go this year. I hope it won't be overly crowded but we are just "jazzed" about getting to go :mickey:

[Strmchsr]

After having been around Intercot for 6 years now I've discovered there are 3 main times folks talk about going to WDW - December, May, and September (since "free" dining started). The main reason is everyone talks about wanting low crowds and those used to be 3 of the best months - special events, good weather, and really low crowds. With sites like Intercot everyone discovered those times so now all 3 of those months have become fairly crowded. Of the 3, though, September is still probably the least crowded. Expect the restaurants to be jam packed, but the wait lines probably won't be too bad.

[Disneyfirsttimer]

We are going back in September because our most recent Spring Break trip was crazy crowded :eek:. I knew to expect crowds, but it was really bad. Much worse that our previous Spring Break trip. MK closed to Phase 4 three times towards the end of the week. We were there the week before Easter.

I am really hoping Sept is not that bad. We are only going for 4 nights/5 days and picked this time because the kids only have 2 days of school that week (and it is only the second week of school). My son is starting junior high (6th grade) and don't want to take them out.

I will be so upset if the crowds are bad. When we went in Oct we felt the crowds were high too (almost as bad as April 2006) because the parks close much earlier so you have less time to visit. That is also the case for this coming Sept.

Karyn

[lightyearfan]

me and dw went for the first time in september last year (for dw bday + free din), and with the exception of the first day, in which we went to epcot the rest of the trip was very crowded. we couldn't believe on how crowded it was to be honest with ya. we were there during the 2nd week, at 1 point i said to dw this feels like a may/june trip, but we didn't let bother us were in WDW everything is great

victor

ps we will be there again this september:mickey:

[afowl1017]

We used to love going in OCT. but you are right Disneyfirsttimer. It is crazy now. We went on our honeymoon 13 years ago this October and it was perfect but I wouldn't go during this time now with the family, it has become busy busy busy!

[Tinker Fan]

We have went to WDW 4 times end of Sept. to first part of October, 1 time in May and 1 in June and the Sept. trip is by far the least crowded. Although all the trips were a good time of year for us i love the weather and crowds much better in Spet./Oct. It is our favorite time to go even with the free dining. Just being at WDW if it is busier this year i will gladly take it!!!:mickey:

[afowl1017]

Just being at WDW if it is busier this year i will gladly take it!!!:mickey:

That is what I say! It least we are going this year...thought we might not make it at all! :cloud9:

[disneymom15]

Husband and I went 1st week of Sept last year. The crowds weren't to bad. It did get more crowded for the weekend.

[disneymom2000]

I am going back at a time nothing is being offered only because I have become so disappointed by the crowds when it was suppose to be a "Non-crowded" time of year. I can't believe how many kids come during these times when they are suppose to be in school. Do parents take their kids out of school this much just to come to Disney??? I love Disney but not at the cost of my kids education.

[disneykid@hrt]

We went in October and it was pretty busy. I blamed free dining. We went in January and although it was FREEZING (for Florida anyway) the crowds were low- and that was during the buy 4/ get 3 deal.

When I think about what the people that come for Christmas and in the summer have to go through... I don't know if I'll ever have the patience to go through that!! I'm shaking my head at 20 minute wait times... :mickey:

[MuchLovedMama]

We are going again this September. We went in 2008 and loved it. September has always been our favorite time to go. We went in 2000 before the free dining offer started and it was extremely slow and although crowds have grown it's still not bad at all. We also are not taking advantage of the free dining this time. We are doing the kids stay and play free as well. For us it works out better having 2 children. We want to eat at Rainforest and T-Rex which you can't do on the dining plan.

[ANG]

We went last September and the crowds were fairly large. But the waits weren't too long.

[Alaska Disney Fan]

I can't believe how many kids come during these times when they are suppose to be in school. Do parents take their kids out of school this much just to come to Disney??? I love Disney but not at the cost of my kids education. (

We have always taken our kids out and not only in September, 1 week out of school does not cost a child their education. If you treat it right it encourages their education. 1 week out of school will not "cost a child their education", in fact our children are encourage to do well so they can take the time off during the school year to go on vacation. One of ours is a 4.0 student and the other is pretty darn close and they have missed at least a week the past 5 years.

[Dragongirlx]

We have been going for 5 years and we always go in September. We have never had a problem with crowds

[grumpyguy]

put us down for sept 17th-26th.no more kids in school to worry about and it helps me brace for a long winter here up north:thumbsup:

[CosmicRay]

I can't believe how many kids come during these times when they are suppose to be in school. Do parents take their kids out of school this much just to come to Disney??? I love Disney but not at the cost of my kids education.:(

We home school and I know that more and more families are turning to home schooling these days. We are going in September because we do year round school (3 months on 1 month off) and that is our break. I know in September WDW is having home school week the first week of September, just an FYI.

[Michelle15]

Our first trip as a family will be this September:mickey: I picked this month because this was the only time I could go.

[BrownEyedGrrl]

We've gone in September many times, the last two times during free dining. Neither time would I consider it 'crowded'. I don't like for the parks to be ghost towns though. There are some crowded areas (Mickey's Toontown Fair was an utter nightmare), but nothing was unmanageable. With the exception of new rides like the TS one (which ran out of FP's FAST), 30 minutes or less was the standard wait times, most being in the 10-15 minute time frame, and a lot being walk-ons (we rode PoTC five times in a row in the middle of the day once). But then, we put a lot of time into planning our meals during non-peak meal times, not watching parades, and being flexible with our itinerary. So, I've never had a problem with crowds, going in September.

I also love coming home from vacation, and knowing that the big holiday season is here. :) I don't suffer any post-vacation depression, because it's time to pull out my Fall and Halloween decor and get Christmas lined up as well. While September may not be a best kept secret anymore, it's still an awesome time to go, IMHO!

In fact, we'll be there again this year. :mickey:

[BrownEyedGrrl]

I am going back at a time nothing is being offered only because I have become so disappointed by the crowds when it was suppose to be a "Non-crowded" time of year. I can't believe how many kids come during these times when they are suppose to be in school. Do parents take their kids out of school this much just to come to Disney??? I love Disney but not at the cost of my kids education.

Can't speak for everyone else, but my kids are homeschooled. We love taking advantage of the fact that many other children are in traditional schools during the months of Sept-May. Their education doesn't suffer in the least.
When I was a child myself, I went to traditional schools, and my parents took us out for family vacations. If the teachers are doing their jobs correctly, and you as the parent are doing your bigger, more important, job correctly, then your child's education will not suffer from spending a week outside the walls of the school building.
Although, I can see how this would be annoying to adults who were hoping to get a child-free WDW experience. ;)

[Strmchsr]

:cop: Alright, folks, we're a little :offtopic:. We don't need another "take kids out/don't take kids out" discussion. We've had 5 billion already. So, let's get back on topic of why September crowds, which is what the OP asked about. If you want to say "more kids are being taken out of school" that's fine. We just don't need a discussion on the merits of that (or lack thereof, depending on your position).

[azcavalier]

We went in October and it was pretty busy. I blamed free dining. We went in January and although it was FREEZING (for Florida anyway) the crowds were low- and that was during the buy 4/ get 3 deal.

When I think about what the people that come for Christmas and in the summer have to go through... I don't know if I'll ever have the patience to go through that!! I'm shaking my head at 20 minute wait times... :mickey:

Except that free dining ends Oct. 2nd (and in the past has ended around that same date). Don't blame the October crowds on free dining.

[michellerose1579]

I'm taking my Mom for her first trip in Sept (21-29th) I planned it in February, so I had no idea about the free dining, but we got a 40% pincode and that saves us MUCH more. I planned this time of the year because I was hoping it would be less crowded and not as humid as the summer..

[Goofy Pluto]

I hope everyone is going in Sept. Hopefully that means smaller crowds for us in August! :D

[afowl1017]

We home school and I know that more and more families are turning to home schooling these days. We are going in September because we do year round school (3 months on 1 month off) and that is our break. I know in September WDW is having home school week the first week of September, just an FYI.

Wow we are going to miss the Home School Days by just a couple of days. I didn't even know they had that! It is now on my radar. (We are home schoolers too! :thumbsup:)

[MikeyP]

We'll be there in September... 9/5 - 9/13.
I'm hoping that'll be a good time to go. The Touring Plans crowd calendar lists the 5th and the 6th (Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend) with crowd levels of 6 and 5 respectively, but the following days are listed as 2/2/4/1/1/3, so I'm hoping this is realistic.

Going to be hot that week, huh?

[Disney Doll]

We're going back for our second September trip. We don't do free dining, but it is still a good time of year. People seem reluctant to take kids out of school so early so it's not too bad crowd wise. The restaurants are crazy with free dining, but we stick to CS.

[BashfulMom]

Our DS's school is closed the last week in September every year for the county fair. Perfect time to head to WDW!! :thumbsup:

[agravette]

We also homeschool and find that September is an awesome time to take the kids to DW. We even use all the neat exhibits at Future World and the wonderful events at World Showcase to enhance what we've been learning. My DD, who is 9, adores Animal Kingdom and all the kidcot stops there. My DS, who is 14, is very interested in all the behind-the-scenes action at Hollywood Studios. It is very possible to use DW as a learning tool instead of using it as just a vacation. It's all about how you plan and your ability to actually interact with and teach your children. I know a lot of parents of kids who attend public school who use DW as a teaching opportunity. Last February our two nephews along with their mom went to DW with us. We took pictures of all the activities they were involved in during the week, and they did a presentation when they returned to school. The principal liked it so much that their absences were coded as a field trip. :mickey:

[DisneyorBust]

We had originally planned to return to WDW in December, but a variety of factors forced us to change to September. 'Free' dining will be a nice plus.

[RPHX2NC]

I just booked our 4th September trip, twice with free dining and new kids stay, we have 3. We love this time of year for crowds, discounts, and using the pools. We attend year round school that starts in July and has a 3 week break in September. Each time we have gone in September we run into others from our area. December is too cold, March too busy and June too crowded and expensive. September is a good fit.