Re: crowds, How does Jersey week compare with the Holiday weeks?

[roliepolieoliefan]

We plan on going to WDW first week of Nov. Keep hearing about Jersey week now I'm nervous. Is it as crowded as the holiday weeks? We've been to the world the week before Easter and it was crazy. is it that bad?

 

[sue1013]

You are going to hear very different opinions. I was there this past Jersey week and did not think it was bad at all. Certainly nothing like a holiday week. I've been at Easter twice so I can compare the two. We usually go beginning of Dec, Jan or beginning of Feb so am used to almost no crowds. Before I left I read so many posts about how crowded it would be so I was prepared for the worst. It did pick up towards the end of the week. In the afternoon fantasy land was very crowded, I find that to be true whenever I go. The couple days when crowds picked up in the afternoon we would leave go back and swim. I was there with my sister and her kids that are up at the crack of dawn so were at the parks early everyday. We did get a few fast passes for test track, rnr and tot. The weather was great except one day it rained all day. I wouldn't hesitate to go that time again.

 

[Puffy2]

It's been a couple of years but it wasn't a big deal. The Animal Kingdom was crowded on our first day, but after that we were ok. (Probably because we arrived at the AK about 12:30pm, and the other parks we arrived when they opened in the mornings and took an afternoon break and then returned to a park in the evenings.)

If you hit it around Super Soap Weekend (which I think is actually the second weekend)- avoid MGM on those days.

 

[frazzled one]

Hi, roiepolieolie fan - I just responded to your post on the resorts board about crowds during Jersey week. I agree with those folks who say it's do-able. It's more crowded than other times during the fall, but I don't know how much of that is due to the Jersey folks and how much is because of all the special events going on at that time: Festival of the Masters, Super Soap Weekend, Food & Fun, etc. I'd take into consideration your own situation (how many? any little kids? what are the must-sees?), read the boards, and try to plan an itinerary that zigs when most folks zag. We only did EMH once and found that being in line at rope drop at a non-EMH park gave us plenty of time to do everything we wanted.

We were at USO on the Wednesday of our trip and it was darn close to deserted until mid-afternoon, when we'd seen everything on our list anyway. It was bizarre and really fun to walk down deserted walkways and right in to all the attractions. We were really in the zone that day - didn't have to wait a minute to be admitted to any of the shows.

Hope you have a great time -

fraz

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Does it stand to reason that this year will not be so bad because Super Soap W/E is not till the week after Jersey week?
I figure that not EVERY family in Jersey is planning to go WDW specifically for their time off, but SSW/E does draw vacationers specifically to the "world", so the crowds could be attributed to that and not Jersey week persay. Does that make sense to anyone?
Back me up Im panicking...I'll be there during that week. (coincidence)

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Are your daughters names Sydney and Claire? Love both those names. Actually Sydney was one of our final choices for our daughter but thought she looked like a Haylee. LOL OK now on to the subject. I agree with you. Does the whole state of NJ come to DW because they have some days off? We used some fastpasses when we were there in Oct. And some days were pretty crowded I thought. I just don't want it to be like when we were there during Easter. It was NUTS! All day at MK and we rode a handful of rides and FP for SM was about 5 hours from the time we got it. Plus it was 95 degrees. My cousins DH works as a manager in retail and thats about the latest in Nov. we can go. I have a will be 6yo DS and will be 13month DD. So we'll have to take it slow anyway. Any other opinions welcome!

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Having been there during "Jersey Week" twice, it's not that bad, but it was a little more crowded than I thought it would be, considering this time is supposed to be a slower time to go. But, I do think that other things contribute to the crowds...the Food & Wine Festival, Super Soap. If Super Soap Weekend isn't until the following week and the Food & Wine Festival is extended, I'm hoping "Jersey Week" won't be as bad as previous times, since, as you can see, we're going back the first week in November! Have a great time!

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Yep Sydney and Claire. And not till after the fact was it pointed out to me that these are both characters from Melrose Place! (and not so nice ones)

My fingers are crossed for us.

 

[Disney Ella]

No, we do not all come down during Jersey Week (although we really want to!). I have been considering a Jersey Week trip myself since we do have some of those days off (but not a whole week around here), but have been worried about the crowds. Sounds like it might be worthwhile!