Jersey week crowds this year (2017)

[G719]

Were the MK hours always 8 am that week or did they change that recently? We've decided to do Jersey Week instead of August next year. Want to see decorations, avoid hurricanes and not have to deal with the heat as much. It'll just be me and DD12 and she really pushed for November so I'm gonna try it out.

Hours were just recently extended. The best part of November is the weather. It's usually gorgeous.

 

[JJ2017]

Flights from Newark on united were unreal. We like to book way in advance so booked as soon as the window opened. We are taking the first flight out of Newark our morning. 3:30 wake up call. Ugh. Nothing planned for arrival day though.

 

[ashnicole]

I usually book hotels about 7 months out and have a wide variety but not this time. I was hoping things would open up but I’ve had no luck.
Wait times on TP don’t look too bad for our days but I’m getting really nervous because the crowd numbers reach 7 and 8 some days. I know they are just predictions, but preparing for the worst and hoping for the best! I'd rather be in crowds at WDW than not be in WDW

 

[amylevan]

For those flying out - how bad were the airfares? That's my biggest concern and driving to Philadelphia isn't an option so we'll have to leave out of a major NJ airport (we can always get to a major NY airport, but NJ is easier for us).

For those still looking for flights...don't forget about our tiny airport here in the Lehigh Valley. You'll have to fly into Sanford from Allentown, but both airports are small and a pleasant experience. Allegiant Air is budget but we haven't had a problems with them.

 

[holden]

We’ve been going this week since DD14 was in kindergarten. Looking forward to it once again! The weather last year was gorgeous.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Flights from Detroit were very reasonable. Paid $270 out the door round trip on Spirit. We booked as soon as the window opened, but the prices haven't changed much since then.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Flights from Newark on united were unreal. We like to book way in advance so booked as soon as the window opened. We are taking the first flight out of Newark our morning. 3:30 wake up call. Ugh. Nothing planned for arrival day though.

when you booked as soon as the window opened were the airfares any better? we usually depart on first morning flights too.

 

[JJ2017]

when you booked as soon as the window opened were the airfares any better? we usually depart on first morning flights too.

Pretty sure yes. We sat on it for a day or two and flights went up in those couple of days. The issue is also that Newark is our only option and United is all we will fly and while there are many flights a day, we only wanted the early ones. So the lower rates get booked up quickly. We will be watching for 2018 at the window opening again. We always buy the trip insurance just in case.

 

[Ermise]

We will be joining everyone that week as well! Our school system in Massachusetts has that Monday and Friday off, plus Thursday is a half day so the kids will only be missing half a school week which is nice. We've been this time of year a few times and have always had a great time. We paid a little more for flights from Providence than we usually do to be able to fly Sat-Sat at reasonable times in the day - about $290 on Southwest. We will be spending two days in each of MK, EP, and AK and a half day at HS. We finally decided on the 2nd Christmas party (Friday night) after trying to decide between the 1st and 2nd for a while. We are excited about the extended MK hours and hoping for great weather! We are staying at the Cabins and are curious to see if we notice any impact from the new dog policy while there. I hope everyone has a great trip! See you there!

 

[Gentry2004]

Is the first half of the week any better, crowd-wise. Unlike the NJ people (who have Thu/Fri off I believe) our school system gives Mon/Tue off.) Wondering if that will make any difference.

 

[mjkacmom]

Is the first half of the week any better, crowd-wise. Unlike the NJ people (who have Thu/Fri off I believe) our school system gives Mon/Tue off.) Wondering if that will make any difference.

It is. We went from the Friday before, and crowds were definitely lighter in the beginning of the week.

 

[Gentry2004]

It is. We went from the Friday before, and crowds were definitely lighter in the beginning of the week.

Good to know. I think this will be our plan for 2018.

 

[Jetta8300]

The completely booked hotel situation has nothing to do with Jersey Week. We are going that week (not from Jersey) from 11/6-11/11 but honestly we could have gone any time from 10/1-12/31. And there was ZERO weeks within that 3 month time period that hotel availability was any better. This was a common question asked on the resort thread. People came up with many factors... lots of rooms out of commission due to hotel construction, faulty website, fall in general being busier than it used to, etc.

We checked every single week M-F for 3 months and all availability was horrible. Including the week after jersey week, which crowds are supposedly a lot lighter.

 

[Jetta8300]

We are heading down for 2 weeks - the first being Jersey week. It'll be nice not having to deal with early party closing at MK until the Friday of that week.

We've been relegated to October for the past few years due to my DDs post secondary school schedule (fall break). The October crowds are out of control now so I figure we can handle whatever Nov has to throw at us.

I will say our last November trip there were 2 or 3 days where the weather got cold - and we're Canadian so that's saying a lot. Bring layers people! You just never know what Mother Nature will hit you with.

While WDW fall is nice, it's nothing like the real thing up here in Canada. We much prefer Christmas in the World. And since we have Thanksgiving in October we don't have any guilt about starting the holiday celebrations in early November.

I believe there is a party that Thursday as well. On 11/9. MK closes at 6.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

We put in our request with Davids when the window opened for Nov 4 and we were told there was zero availability. Three weeks later we got the news that we were in! I thought the trouble for us was because of race weekend and I was really worried about crowds for our trip. We planned our ADRs and FP very carefully, have park hoppers, and are staying at AKL with a rental car. If we can't find a way to have a wonderful trip we don't deserve to go!

The completely booked hotel situation has nothing to do with Jersey Week. We are going that week (not from Jersey) from 11/6-11/11 but honestly we could have gone any time from 10/1-12/31. And there was ZERO weeks within that 3 month time period that hotel availability was any better. This was a common question asked on the resort thread. People came up with many factors... lots of rooms out of commission due to hotel construction, faulty website, fall in general being busier than it used to, etc.

We checked every single week M-F for 3 months and all availability was horrible. Including the week after jersey week, which crowds are supposedly a lot lighter.

I am oddly happy to hear this, Jetta8300.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

The completely booked hotel situation has nothing to do with Jersey Week. We are going that week (not from Jersey) from 11/6-11/11 but honestly we could have gone any time from 10/1-12/31. And there was ZERO weeks within that 3 month time period that hotel availability was any better. This was a common question asked on the resort thread. People came up with many factors... lots of rooms out of commission due to hotel construction, faulty website, fall in general being busier than it used to, etc.

We checked every single week M-F for 3 months and all availability was horrible. Including the week after jersey week, which crowds are supposedly a lot lighter.

Totally agree!

 

[ErinsMommy]

Pretty sure yes. We sat on it for a day or two and flights went up in those couple of days. The issue is also that Newark is our only option and United is all we will fly and while there are many flights a day, we only wanted the early ones. So the lower rates get booked up quickly. We will be watching for 2018 at the window opening again. We always buy the trip insurance just in case.

good to know, thanks! and we're the same - out of Newark and prefer United, but will go to JetBlue if cheaper/better.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

For those that live in the Philadelphia area I notice that flights are cheapest the day they are released. Especially thru Southwest. And if you can swing it Baltimore has many more flights and much cheaper especially when they are first released too. I'm 1.5 hours from Baltimore so it's an option when we look for flights.