WDW in October

[hidoll]

I am interested in hearing what anyone has to say about vacationing at WDW during Halloween time. I would like to experience all the holidays there and halloween seemed like a good time of year. My daughters will be 10 and 8 when we go and I wonder if there is anything scary about it. My oldest tends to be the fraidy cat and the youngest couldn't care less. Is Disney open on Halloween night after hours? What's the crowd like? I have a year to plan it, so any information will help.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

There is a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party that is a separate paying event (park closes early to the general public for this). So this is not included as part of a general admission ticket, hopper pass, etc., you must pay extra for it. Go to disneyworld.disney.go.com, search for "halloween party" and you should see a link for more info on this. WDW does limit ticket sales to the party so it shouldn't be overly crowded. I've never been to this, but I don't think it would be too scary for children over 6.

The weather in Oct is pretty good - not too hot or cold and the rainy season is pretty much over. So this should be a good time to visit. The only negatives I've read are that there are tour groups of teenagers from South America that visit around this time frame and that they can be a little rowdy. I have no first hand knowledge of this though. Maybe others can comment?

 

[skiwee1]

October is a perfect time to go! We love it then. The weather is not too hot, crowds are none. We never waited in any line. We went to MNSSHP last October and had a blast! My two year old daughter loved it and it was not scary at all. They don't do anything during that party that could be scary. The kids get to trick or treat around the park and the fireworks are better then on an average night. We are planning on going back again this year and go to the MNSSHP as it was the best time we've had at WDW. You will love it.

 

[MELSMICE]

Sounds like the Halloween party was better than the Very Merry Christmas Party. That was crowded, lines were horrible & there were only 2 hot chocolate stands. We went right to City Hall & got our money back. We had annual passes & paid extra money for it. Won't try that again!

 

[Dr. Happy]

We are going in October as well!! I have a conference in Orlando to attend, so my wife and our 2 DDs will be going as well. Who can resist it???

We haven't been to WDW around Hallowe'en. We generally steer clear of seasonal stuff, but I can say the Holiday decorations after Thanksgiving were really wonderful to see!

The last time my wife & I went to WDW in October was BC (before children). More than 7 years ago. We remember the balmy temps, the reduced crowds, but also the reduced operating hours (closed at 7pm) and no early entry. But, we still had a great time and lines were relatively short.

Should be fun!!! Hope you have a great time!!!

 

[hidoll]

Thanks for all the great info. Although our trip won't take place until next year, I'm already looking forward to it. My DD's are yelling at us for not taking them to Orlando this year and I really hope we survive until then. I never thought I could get so addicted to going to WDW but believe me, I have. My DD's have gone since they were babies and they haven't gotten tired of it yet. We really enjoyed Christmas time and if they can do such a good job then, all the other holidays will be just as nice.

Thanks again

 

[BethC]

We went in October a couple of years ago for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We had the best trip! The weather was perfect - hot enough to swim during the day, a little cooler at night (we would usually switch to long sleeves and/or long pants). The crowds were low and the party was sooooo much fun. We all dressed up (mom, dad, daughter, son, grandma and grandpa!) and there were quite a few adults dressed up as well, it wasn't just kids. We were all able to go trick or treating and they were giving out really good candy, handfuls at a time. We ended up with so much candy it was ridiculous!! I don't remember anything particularly scary other than Haunted Mansion type music and the projections of ghosts on the Main Street buildings. There was a fun Halloween parade and special fireworks that were incredible. We also managed to ride several rides that night.

Of course our favorite part was spending Halloween in Florida. Halloween here in Michigan is usually a cold affair and it was so nice to go trick or treating in warmer weather! The only downside was that the kids did miss trick or treating with their friends here in the neighborhood, but for just one year it was definitely a fun experience!

 

[iluvdamouse]

The past three trips my family has made has been in October and I can not think of a better time to go! We have done the Not-So-Scary thing, but to be honest, dressing the kids up and letting them trick or treat at Downtown Disney was alot more fun and a lot less expensive! Plus, all the shop keepers gave out very cool candy(Chocolate wonder balls) and with all the kids dressed up like various disney characters, it was a real treat for the entire family. Also, the lines are short, the weather is great, and the longest we have had to wait for anything has been maybe twenty minutes (and that's pushing it) I have never encountered any groups that held up our wait time, and to be honest, I don't really recall ever seeing any at all. I have been at various other times of the year, but for my money, with the entire family in tow, October is hands down the best time to see all that Disney has to offer. (Sometimes twice or three times!)

 

[isabella43]

We went last Oct. 10/23-10/31. The 1st 4 days were terribly crowded. I thought more than all the times we've been to Disney in May. Magic Kingdom was so crowded we had to leave by 10:30am. We tried 2 more mornings and then gave up. By the 28th Sunday it was much better everywhere. More like I had read about, no crowds and no lines.

We did the Halloween party on Friday OCT. 26th. It was really fun. No waits, lots of candy, even a free proffessional (sp?) family photo. Which arrived in the mail about 10 days later. My kids were 2,6,13,13 at the time. The teenagers wouldn't dress up but had a good time. I had my face painted at Animale Kingdom earlier in the day. We are going again this year 10/14-10/25. The kids have off 3 days from school so I have to go then. We go to Disney 3-4 times a year during school. The school dist isn't happy about it. So I have to plan trips when there are some days off.

The wheather the 1st 3 days was unseasonable hot, the next the next 3days were unseasonable cold ( we bought some warmer clothes while we were there) the last 3 days were perfert, the CM's said that was how OCt wheather usually is. They also told me that it was much more crowded for Oct. than normal.

 

[sgtpet]

Our family went last October and had a great time. Even went to the MNSSHP and had a blast. I highly recommend that time of year.

Good luck