September/October VS March/April

[somanyhands]

oh, dilemma, dilemma!

The first 4 times we visited Orlando, we went in late March/April time. It kind of became our assume time of visit! It was usually pretty busy (parks/ queues etc) and the last of these times was over Easter holidays so we obviously noticed some significant increase in 'other people', as you'd expect.

Last year (2009) however, we made the trip in mid September.
Boy, did we notice a difference! Parks were beautifully quiet with little queuing and it was really great. That said, the climate was hotter and more humid than we're used to.

We're considering our next trip now and aren't sure when to go.

Is it usual for mid-September/October (half term aside) to be so much quieter than late-March/April or, another consideration, did the recession affect the number of tourists meaning that it was much quieter in September than it usually is?

If it's normal for it to be much less busy then we'll definitely consider that time of year again. The climate we can handle!
If Orlando generally suffered as part of the recession, however, then we can decide between the 2 times of year based on other factors instead (ie kids holidays - Easter being a possibility)

I bow to your superior experience(s) and knowledge
Thanks in advance
Tracey

[caroline]

September and October are definitely quieter in Florida than March and April, even the October half term is quieter than Easter. That said I do love visiting in March and April [msnsmile2] I think I just love Florida[msnwink]

[somanyhands]

oh yes, we definitely share that sentiment!

It's great to know that even October half term is quieter than Easter though. I'll look into that, I think.
Mind you, my eldest will be in secondary school by the time we're planning to go so I guess I'll have to factor in 'time off school' too.
Maybe take a week out of school before October half term to make a 2 week break. Might be a though.

thanks for your reply

[jimiansville]

Hi Tracey,

We have visited in March/April and September/October and have found the autumn months are much quieter. We like to visit in September for a late summer holiday or sometimes November for an early winter holiday. We find both months are considerably quieter than March/April as is October. We went out on 1st November last year and it was so quiet - we loved it! The weather was fantastic and no waiting in line anywhere.

[ujpest doza]

will be considerably busier in March/April and could actually be pretty chilly in March as well.

[steph_goodrum]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by somanyhands
oh yes, we definitely share that sentiment!

It's great to know that even October half term is quieter than Easter though. I'll look into that, I think.
Mind you, my eldest will be in secondary school by the time we're planning to go so I guess I'll have to factor in 'time off school' too.
Maybe take a week out of school before October half term to make a 2 week break. Might be a though.

thanks for your reply
[/quote]

If youu check flight prices you may find it mcuh cheaper to take the week after half term off. 2 weeks prio it seems to be peak but often even switching to flying the first Mondya of half term the prices can drop by a couple of hundred per person.

[SteveandJan]

We usually visit in March/April during school holidays and always found the weather to be nice and if it has been overcast in Orland we have driven to one of the beaches and it has been hot sunshine. Although the parks are busier, we have always managed to get onto the rides in a reasonable time, we have gone to the parks later in the day. Have been in late September (before we had the children) and it was beautiful.

[somanyhands]

Hi folks

Am resurrecting my own thread here because we have had a change of circumstances!

We now live in Portugal so we shall be taking this trip at a completely different time of year now.

Here in PT, the schools break up in mid-June so we are planning to go probably last week in June, first week in July.
This means we can travel before the main peak season (ie when the UK schools break up for summer) and we don't need to take our boys out of school to go.
However, it's totally time of year for us when it comes to visiting Orlando!

What IS the climate like then? I've googled about a bit but I'd rather hear real people say it.
Is it a good time to visit?
Am I right in thinking it rains more at that time of year? Or is it just unpredictable?

Any words of wisdom re. visiting in June/July gratefully received :-)

Tracey

[Appledore]

Lets face it Tracey the weather is so messed up everywhere anything could happen, but I would say the weather should be just right. Although it should be hot the humidity hasn't built to much.
One thing to consider is that the US schools have their vacations at this time too, so the parks will be busy but still IMO not as packed as Easter.

Elaine

[somanyhands]

Thanks, Elaine, you're right of course.
Unpredictability seems to be the mainstay of the world's weather, never many anything else!

I realised the US schools would be off too. Luckily, most of the prices seem to increase in line with UK schools being off rather than anywhere else (is the UK THAT important? Really??) so we can benefit slightly from breaking up a month previous.

Thanks for your reply
Tracey