September crowds

[DisneyFan79]

I haven't seen any posts of how the crowds are in September. Has anyone been during this time and if so how was it. Weather? Crowds? Parks? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[loveswdw]

We generally travel in Sept. As long as you go after Labor Day the crowds are generally extremely light. Most FastPass attractions won't even give you one since there is little or no standby line. There are some though that still usually have a small wait such as Test Track. But Sept. is GREAT!!

We love to go in Sept. but it is HOT!!!

loveswdw

 

[Gillian]

This year we went on the 6th & stayed ~9 days. We didn't find it to be as hot as our last trip, in July. That might be because the parks are so crowded in July that I think it raises the temperature

Crowds were virtually non-existant. When we came back from our cruise, on sept 15th, crowds were still very, very light, but there were more people than the week of the 6th

We had rain about half of the days, mostly in the late afternoon/early evening.

 

[jwfla422]

September is a great month to go if you like light crowds (I DO)...but the weather is another story. It's all the matter of luck. Usually it is nice and hot the first half of the day then rainy the second half however the last September trip we did it rained from 2 pm til late evening and it poured most of that time which really put a damper on things.

It's also peak hurricane season so there are a lot of tropical systems that can cause days of rain.

BUt, if you hit it just right September can be a great time to go. I do remember one year some years back it was comfortable and barely rainy when we went then. (sometimes if there are hurricanes sitting near the coast of FL they suck out all the humidity and ugly weather-that's what happened that trip, it was so nice

 

[Maria P]

We've been going every September just after Labor Day for the past 3 years. The crowds are really light, which is great!

However, it does rain quite often. We carried our ponchos with us- and used them just about every day.

One piece of advice- bring a back-up pair of sneakers or flip-flop type shoes. There's nothing worse than walking around for a long period of time in wet shoes & socks.

I always pack my flip-flops or sandals in my backpack and as soon as it starts to rain I quickly find a dry spot and change out of my sneakers.

September is definitely our favorite time of year to visit. Our Animal Kingdom experience this year was actually much better in the rain. I've never seen more animals on the safari! Rather than hiding in the shade, they were all out in plain sight, cooling off in the rain. It was great!

 

[magicalmickey]

Hi. We went this past year during the last week of Sept. Yes, the crowds are light, BUT, it rained way too much. It was also pretty hot and humid. That's the last time I'll go in Sept. because of the rain and the humidity (made my hair look yucky the whole time too!) We also went the last week of Jan. 2002. This was a much better time to go. The crowds were just as light, it was about 75 degrees everyday, never rained and very little humidity We are going to try the 1st week of Nov. in 2003! Anyway, have a good time whatever you decide!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

We've gone in Sept. the past 15 years--and it's hardly rained a drop outside of the usual thunderstorms. I guess we've been lucky, as it is the Hurricane season.
Crowds are light (tho not as light as they were in Sept. years back!!) and the weather great for swimming.
Just avoid Labor Day week--.

 

[alvernon90]

I've only been once, in September, and I can't imagine going at a more crowded time of year. At first I was a little disappointed because I was curious to see how Fastpass worked but the machines were never open. However, by the end of the week I was irritated if I had to wait more than 5 minutes for a ride. (And frankly, there are precious few rides at WDW that are worth a wait of more than 20 minutes or so.)

I didn't think it was too hot in the second week of September, but others tend to disagree. With smaller crowds, it's easy to avoid the heat. It seemed hottest at AK, and at Blizzard Beach because with no lines for the slides you spend an amazing amount of time climbing the steps!

Heed the warnings about rain, and plan on getting a locker every day to store your dry shoes and socks (and towel to dry your feet). And try to find a private place to change because you will get a steady stream of people coming up to you to tell you how jealous they are that you have dry shoes.

 

[kdibattista]

We always, up until last year, went every September the Saturday AFTER Labor Day. It has to be one of, if not the least crowded week of the year. The weather is great but you do have the potential for a hurricane. We always seemed to miss those by a few days though. We went in October and were shocked back into reality (with the crowds).

 

[Pat_Elliott]

DW and I tried September for the first time this year (20-26) and will never go another time. Reasons why: low lines, pleasant weather, low costs.

We found it to be busy enough to not seem desolate. DW likes sun and heat. I'm fair-skinned and don't particularly like the sun. The weather many people dislike (rainy afternoons) seemed to work well for us. DW had much sun opportunity in the morning, all I had to do was hang in there until afternoon, usually my worst time, and I had the cloud cover.

We were mighty lucky with few rain outbursts (we always seemed to be at the right place at the right time). And because of the light crowds, there was always somewhere to get to when it did rain. Plus, with proper planning (extra socks, raingear did it for us), you don't mind the rain. It's a great way to get in line first for the next attraction! Regardless, the rain never seemed to bother us.

Bang for the buck was incredible outside the park. And inside the park, we were able to do things without hassle (e.g. Illuminations from the porch of R&C) that we've never been able to pull off in more crowded periods.

To each his own. But if you aren't bothered by the rain (some are, some aren't, and the rain isn't a given in September, just more likely), to me September is the 'way to go.'

 

[Spartan]

We used to go in Sept every year near the middle of the month for our anniv. We ran into the hurricane the one year where the parks were closed for the day, but for the most part the weather was never a problem for us. The one thing I did dislike the most was that with the short park hours you get very little opportunity to be in the parks when it's dark (other than Epcot). This is the same thing that happened to us in May. We now prefer early Nov. or Dec., but those have their tradeoffs as well (unpredictable swimming weather).

 

[TiggerPiglet]

We've gone twice in Sept. Once in early Sept. '98 and the other time the last week of Sept. '97. Both times the crowds were not bad at all. It was hot and humid though, but since the crowds were small, the heat really didn't bother us too much.

 

[AmyA]

We went this last September (10-21), and enjoyed it. The crowds were amazingly light, even the biggest attractions were walkons most of the time. The only time we had to resort to using FP was Saturday at MK, and I think that goes for any Saturday at MK, any time of the year you go.

Even though we are from Nashville and are used to heat, it was pretty dang hot and humid. There was also thunderstorms/rain almost every day, but that didn't bother us. We popped our ponchos on, opened up the umbrellas, and had a great time!

IMHO, one of the major disadvantages of touring in September are the reduced park hours. Granted, with everything essentially being a walk on, you don't need 14 hours to tour a park, but there is something so magical about being in the parks at night. Plus, there are reduced firework/parade schedules and that can sort of stink, too.

The other major disadvantage to touring in September is the amount of rehabs going on. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that Disney is performing needed rehabs, it's just that if this is your once in a lifetime, see as much as possible trip, you may be slightly disappointed. While we were there Haunted Mansion and Maelstrom were completely closed for rehabs, 5 countries in WS had partial rehabs going on, Impressions de France was running on a reduced schedule, and (of course) Carousel of Progress and Timekeeper were closed.

Overall though, I would definitely recommend September---just make sure you go after Labor Day!