Quietest time In Sept/October?

The only holidays are Columbus Day in the U.S. and Thanksgiving in Canada, both of which fall on the second Monday in October. For most kids, it will be no more than a three-day weekend, but that weekend will be more crowded than other times in October. Some urban school districts also close for the Jewish high holidays, and if one of them falls around U.S. Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving it could make that weekend even more crowded.

You can also count on lots of families from the U.K. flocking to Disney World during your autumn school holiday. I recall being quite surprised during a late October trip that I thought fell during a quiet time of year, when in actuality the parks were full of happy British families. Not summertime or Christmastime crowded, but still, more crowded than I'd anticipated.

Ocarina I was just in WDW 9/30-10/4. It was not crowded at all. Walked on all of the rides and attractions. Weather was still warm but well worth it. Went to MNSSHP and had a blast. When I go back this is definitely the time I will return.

I HIGHLY recommend the week after labor day (first week in Sept) but I don't think MNSSHP is going on then. I was there from 3-8 October and it was pretty low key. There were still lines at some of the really popular attractions, but nothing as bad as you'd see in the summer.

I believe WDW 'slow' times have historically been in late September through mid-November because there are relatively few holidays (Labor day at the start of September, and Columbus day in early October), and by the second week of September most, if not all, of the schools in the U.S. are in session. I'm really not an expert on crowds though, I haven't been to Disney in the daylight in at least a decade (hoping to change that soon!).

You may also want to consider the weather in Orlando. While, it can be hot in October (and this year, it has been!), generally we will at least have cool nights by then. There is no escaping humidity in Florida, but rain tends to tapper off as the month of October progresses. If you are someone who loves the heat, the middle of September might be a good choice, but if you are like me and melt at high temperatures, you may want to opt for the middle to end of October.

Since 2008, My husband and I go to WDW every October, sometimes two weekends in October. We live in Florida and I would say the ideal time to go to WDW would be the third or fourth week of October. The crowds are medium to low and the weather is beautiful.

By the third week of October it is usually mid-high 70's during the day and high 60's- low 70's at night. The humidity is much lower by then also.

We are still in our "summer weather" until the second week of October. All through September and the first week of October it is still in the high 80's or low 90's here in Florida. With very high humidity.

Every time we have gone the third or fourth week of October, it has been very nice weather and low to medium crowds.

Traditionally it might be cooler, but not this year. It has been a scorcher all week until today. we've had highs in the mid 90's. to day was a little better wit a high of 81, but not much humidity. Crowds are med to light.

We went the first week of October...humid...oh yes.... but most of the rides were waits of 10 min or less

Hi Ocarina, I use a combination of Touringplans.com and UndercoverTourist.com to check the crowd calendars and get an idea of expected attendance. They miss the boat sometimes, but they will at least give you an idea of the best times to visit. (Case in point, last year I went to WDW for a few day in late August which is usually a low crowd time, but touring plans was not aware that there was a nearby offsite Star Wars convention that weekend. It took longer for me to get on Star Tours with my fastpass than it took the rest of my party to get on Tower of Terror without a fastpass!

There are Jewish High Holidays in late September in 2014 (I only know this because my husband is off work for the holidays on September 25-26, so we are using them to extend our vacation. I'm not sure which holidays they are. All I know if taht they make my vacation longer ). Also, the Tower of Terror 10-miler runDisney event will likely take place on October 4 next year. With Columbus Day the following weekend, the end of September/beginning of October may be slightly busier than usual next year, but it still will probably not be too bad.

If you can extend your vacation into November, you may be able to catch MNSSHP and MVMCP in the same visit and see both the fall decorations and the Christmas decorations. Based on this year's date, MNSSHP ends on Nov. 1 and MVMCP begins on Nov. 8, so if you are able to go the first week of November and add a few days onto wither side of the week, you may get the best of both worlds!

Good luck with your plans! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful trip no matter when you go.

You aren't kidding mrhub, it was incredibly hot this week. We were there 10/18-10/20 and we couldn't believe how hot and humid it was! But I can say that it was definitely an anomaly. We have lived here 10 years and this week has been nice every other year. It's usually much cooler than it was this past week.

I hope it's cooler, less humid weather for the rest of your Disney vacation
Unless you like the heat and humidity, in which case, enjoy

I agree with JMUDukz that the week after Labor Day is the best time to go! My DW and I went on our Honeymoon that time last year and it was sooooo slow! The NSSHP started while we were there too (although we didn't go) so you can still catch that too!

We went the third week in October last year and it was perfection! Great weather and low crowds!