Disney Orlando in Oct 22

[LambLamb]

Hello,
We are looking at potentially booking disney for next year's autumn half term, 2 weeks. We have never been to Disney before and have no idea where to start. Will be mixing it with elsewhere in the US so not looking for a package from the UK. Can anyone give us any hints and tips, where to stay etc. Is a week enough?

It is quite a rainy time of year depending - but then again you get Halloween so swings and roundabouts.
Are you doing just Disney or disney plus universal? How old are your kids? what is your budget?

I remember going to miami about 10 years ago mid October and it was ok weather but maybe we were lucky. The kids will be 10 and 6. Haven't thought too much about budget, I am not sure what the expectation is. Wondering whether a villa would be a better option than a hotel for some down time. I took a quick look on disney earlier and it looks like a hotel plus tickets for the week was about £4.k. I don't think it included food. Does that sound about right?

It’s a beautiful time of year to visit. I’m sure it’s rainiest during the summer.

If your budget can stretch to staying onsite in a Disney resort it’s really worth it, especially if you’re only there for a week. You’ll be able to use the Disney transport and get more time in the parks. Look out for deals that include a meal plan.

So a villa is much better value for money and you'll get your own pool and bedrooms and a kitchen BUT you wont get early entry and you'll have to hire a car. Downtime doesnt really matter as you'll be htting the parks at Rope Drop anyway and then maybe spending the afternoon at a waterpark or the resort pool before going back for fireworks in the evening.
If you stay on site you can enter the parks early and use the transportation but your rooms will be quite bad value wise. Unless you get a deal at one of the DVC resorts where they have kitchens and 1-beds like Old Key West.
If Disney Dining is available for your dates then stay onsite and take it.

Charter Travel are very good for Florida - ask them to cost out a villa or onsite and see where you get to.

I’d suggest getting a note book, joining the DIBB website and several of the Disney Facebook groups. Research, research, research.

Have a plan about exactly what you’d like to do.

A week is not long enough ime but it really depends on what you want to do.

Disney has 4 theme parks and two water parks alone (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach).
Then you’ve got the Universal theme parks and water park (Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay).

These is a lot of walking and so much to do - it is impossible to see and do everything, even if you spend a whole day at each place, and you will need a break in between for some pool time / down time.

We were lucky enough to go for three weeks a few years back and we still didn’t do everything we wanted to.

Facebook page "it's Orlando time" is brilliant for info

We went in October many years ago. One of the parks was closed (I can't remember which one) due to hurricane damage. October is slap bang in the middle of the season. We were lucky that there wasn't one while we were there but relatives were holed up in their hotel for a few days when one struck a couple of years ago.

We shopped in Walmart for picnic food after the first day when just pigged out at the restaurants on site.
I actually preferred Busch Gardens. It seemed more relaxed.

We also spent a week in Clearwater. It was a lot less humid than in Orlando.

@ChristopherTracy

It is quite a rainy time of year depending - but then again you get Halloween so swings and roundabouts. Are you doing just Disney or disney plus universal? How old are your kids? what is your budget?

It’s not! We’ve been several times during October And you can get an overcast day, but it doesn’t rain much. (I’ve double checked the average precipitation for October too)

It’s a nice time of year to go.
A week is fine, I’d make it your first week as getting up early is essential to not having to queue much.

We’re considering it, but I’m concerned that it won’t be back to normal in terms of fireworks/parades/masks etc.

I’d also stay on site if you can afford to stay in one of their villas - or get a dining plan. It’s much easier. You can go out early, come back for a rest and then head out to the parks again in the evening. Making use of the quieter times.

We went to Orlando for many years during October half term, weather was shorts hot with a lightweight hoodie if you were there early/late and felt the cold, except one year when it was cold, and by that I meant you had to wear jeans and a hoodie, not coats, hats and gloves.

Parks were generally quiet except Halloween events.

Staying onsite is expensive but if you are only doing Disney and don’t want to hire a car can be worth it. There are loads of non Disney hotels. For a week I would not bother with a villa.

A good website is thedibb.co.uk

I grew up in Miami, October is a lovely time to visit (we should have been there this half term...). We go to Florida a lot, and I've been to Disney more times than I can count, so for us, it's not a once in a lifetime trip, but something we dip in and out of. Orlando is a lot of fun, but there are some beautiful other parts of Florida, so for us, we would never stay for longer than about 5 days, and we would choose either Disney OR Universal, never both.

However, if this is your only time of doing it, then you may get overwhelmed in a week.

We would usually get a villa (or hotel if only staying a few nights - getting a Universal hotel that includes a fast pass is a brilliant option - you can stay for 1 night but get 2 days' fast passes). We usually make sure we get to the park at opening time, then by early afternoon we're done and head back to the pool for some downtime before going back in the evening for fireworks or parades.

I'd watch the promo videos and decide what you think you want to do, but for the ages of your DC, I'd say Disney now, and save Universal for a couple of years' time. Remember the parks are HUGE (the car park for the Magic Kingdom is bigger than Disneyland Paris), there's a lot of walking, a lot to take in, and you can't do everything (clever - it makes you want to come back!). But it's really magical, loads of fun.

I’d say a week is ok if you’re only doing Disney but if you want to do universal studios ( which were better IMO) you need two weeks to do it all and have some down time as well.
I went in October a few years ago and the weather was lovely although one water park closed one day as at 20 degrees they felt it too cold to open! Is hardy brits were shocked.

Can I just say that Disney is never quiet nowadays. They truly are "victims of their own success", and are now looking for extra charge-points, so everything that people used to enjoy for free when staying onsite is getting charged for... even the fast pass system is changing.

So those that have been years ago are going to be talking about a very, very different Disney. Would go look on a specialist board such as the dibb.

Disney at October half term will be busy, so try to avoid that week. The weather is usually OK. I think I have spent about 15 weeks in Orlando in late October over the years and have probably had half a dozen rain days, but only for a couple of hours each time.

A week is not enough, but if you pick and choose what you want to do you’ll be fine. Another recommendation for the Dibb. Very knowledgeable folks.

I would say a week is not enough. If you just do Disney. That's 4 themes, 2 water parks. Disney springs.... plus you may need rest days or want to visit the outlet malls.
Minimum would be 10 days

Everything is changing at Disney at the mo and you don't get the perks like you used for staying on site. Yes you can get early entry but it's now only half an hour.
There is transportation around Disney but they no longer do magical express from the airport so transfers have to be thought about.

No more free fast passes that need to be booked 90days in advance. You can only book on the day and you have to pay for them!

We are looking at going the same time next year. If you look at the weather other there now it's fine. Some clouds maybe but temps in the high 20s. Rainy season is in the summer.

If you book everything separately you have to be aware that your booking won't be AToL or ABTA protected. But yes it is cheaper to book things separately. We usually look at flights on sky scanner but they aren't currently showing direct flights for next October yet.

Personally we Always stay in a villa. Eating out all the time soon adds up and I'd rather have the cash to spend on other things. Plus I wouldn't want to be restricted to just a hotel room. The parks are tiring and it's nice to be able to go back to a villa, sit around the private pool and chill out in the afternoons.

Florida Tix are very good for booking park tickets but look at other sites too to compare prices.

Car hire is looking really expensive ag the moment but using Ubers etc is a popular thing to do as it saves on the parking fees ($25 a day) but if travelling with kids that need car seats could make using Uber a difficult.

Also if you stay on Disney site and hire a car you still have to pay to park on site.

It's a great holiday and I love going but it can take a lot of effort and organising to make the most of it. But it's so worth it!

Look at the DIbb website and there are Facebook groups that are filled with knowledgeable people about planning a Disney trip.

Definitely stay onsite, will save loads of travel time. Get meals and drinks packages. You can't do it all, so plan realistically one park/activity per day.

Oct half-term is a brilliant time to go OP - we've been twice and it was perfect weather - neither too hot, nor too cold.

Both time we rented an Airbnb apartment and a car and we combined it with seeing MIL in the NYC area. From there you can get a JetBlue or United flight down to Orlando, which together with an air miles flight from the UK was MUCH cheaper than a direct flight from London.

Masses of people will tell you that THE ONLY way to do Disney is to stay in a Disney hotel with a dining plan and early entry and bla bla bla, but it really isn't. In October, the US schools are all in session and pretty much no one is on holiday at that time of year. We just used our jet lag to get up early and were at the parks at 8am each morning and we had a good hour or two to binge on rides before the parks got busier, but they're never super busy in Oct. When we just did Disney we stayed here: www.wyndhamhotels.com/en-uk/wyndham-grand/orlando-florida/wyndham-grand-orlando-resort-bonnet-creek/overview

We've been a few times in October half term and always had lovely weather. Had less rain (often none at all) and warm sunny weather every time. We've been in February, June, July and August and October has definitely been the best all round weather.

Whether a week is long enough very much depends on your plans and your stamina.

We've been a few times and now only ever do a week. But we do 6 parks in 6 days - 4 Disney and 2 Universal. We don't bother with water parks when we go for a week. And tbh we've never really had days of rest even when we went for a fortnight or when Dd was very young.

Re: how long. This REALLY depends on you. On these Disney/Orlando threads you always get lots of people who go every year, who think it's the best holiday ever, can't imagine going anywhere else, etc. But if you're not like that, are planning to go once for the kids and can't imagine spending 14 days straight in theme parks, a week is plenty. You DON'T have to go to all the parks! When we went to Disney we did five days - 2 in the Magic Kingdom, 1 in Hollywood Studios, 1 in Epcot and 1 at the Animal Kingdom and DH and I (and even our kids) had had enough of theme parks after that. On another trip we did 3 days in the two universal parks, 1 day at Kennedy Space Centre (amazing!) and another couple of days doing other things, but if you just want to do the Disney parks, IMO a week is plenty. It depends on you though.

I've been during October many times and it's never rained, and that's whether I've gone early October, mid or late. I only remember one very breezy day but sunny day at Disney, I wished I brought a light sweater or cardigan. I never stay on site as I like to do other things and visit other themes parks. We always eat out...I'm on holiday so I don't cook! The only problem for me now is if I want to go in Oct then it has to be during the school Oct half term and that's just not long enough. Also, as mentioned already Disney is never quiet, there was a time years back you could go in Oct and it would be calmer but not anymore.

HIGHLY recommend looking at the Dibb forums for literally everything you could possibly need to know about Orlando and Disney!

www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php

We've been in October twice (we have a 2 week half term)

Weather good, parks quiet, it is a lot to fit in though!

Last time we did 9 nights Disney, 2 nights Universal (as it gets you the fast passes and it's cheaper to stay there than buy them separately) then 4 nights villa

One thing to note is that it's the 50th anniversary next year so might be busier/more expensive

@ChristopherTracy

It is quite a rainy time of year depending - but then again you get Halloween so swings and roundabouts. Are you doing just Disney or disney plus universal? How old are your kids? what is your budget?

Huh? Rainy? We went first two weeks in November and it never rained once. It’s wetter in July and August!