October 2012 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: OCTOBER 2012 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews Walt Disney World in October 2012: crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, special events, and operating hours; and ends with week by week summaries.
OCTOBER 2012 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
October is one of the least crowded months at Walt Disney World. Crowds peak over the Columbus Day weekend–Columbus Day is 10/8 in 2011–but are low the rest of the month.
On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 9/29 has a ranking of 2/lower, 10/6 5/moderate-minus, and the weeks beginning 10/13, 10/20, and 10/27 all have crowd rankings of 2/lower.
See this for more on 2012 crowds at Walt Disney World.
OCTOBER 2012 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Prices begin the month 13% higher than the lowest of the year at the Value Resorts, 6% higher at the Moderates, and 16% higher at the Deluxe Resorts.
All resort prices bump up $25-40 per night over the Columbus Day weekend.
On 10/21, deluxe prices drop to 8% higher than the lowest of the year. Prices at the other resorts do not change.
Click the image to see a Pop Century Resort example of Disney World resort pricing. (When open, click again to enlarge.)
See this for more on 2012 prices at Walt Disney World.
OCTOBER 2012 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
As I write this, deals are not available for October. If any come out, you’ll be able to find the details here.
OCTOBER 2012 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
The second half of October has weather about as good as Orlando gets.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.
The hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but the peak of the hurricane season begins in mid to late August, and continues until early October.
It is very rare for a hurricane to ruin a Walt Disney World vacation. It does happen, though.
Click the chart to see more on the typical timing of hurricanes.
OCTOBER 2012 SPECIAL EVENTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party kicks off in September 2012 and continues in October.
2012 dates include
- September 2102: 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28, 30
- October 2012: 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31
- November 2012: 2
The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is a hit with many repeat visitors, and runs from September 28 to November 11.
OCTOBER 2012 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance, but changing during busy periods even the day before.
These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
The calendars can be tricky to use–see this for hints on how to work with Walt Disney World’s online calendars.
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR OCTOBER 2012 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow below are from 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2012 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
9/29/12 Prices are 6-16% higher than lowest of the year. Lower crowds–crowd ranking is 2. Week ranking=25. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary, but see this for required changes.
10/6/12 Prices are 6-16% higher than lowest of the year most of the week, but kick up over the Columbus Day Weekend. Moderate-minus crowds–crowd ranking is 5. Week ranking=28. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary, but see this for required changes
10/13/12 Prices are 6-16% higher than lowest of the year. Lower crowds–crowd ranking is 2. Week ranking=4. Recommended Week. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary, but see this for required changes
10/20/12 Prices are 6-8% higher than lowest of the year for most of the week, but have an uptick on Friday and Saturday. Lower crowds–crowd ranking is 2. Week ranking=5. Recommended Week. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary, but see this for required changes
10/27/12 Prices are 6-8% higher than lowest of the year for most of the week, but have an uptick on Friday and Saturday. Lower crowds–crowd ranking is 2. Week ranking=6. Recommended Week. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary but see this for required changes
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the next best dates, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
- For the 2012 Week Picker, see this
- For 2013 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2012 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2013 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2012 price seasons, see this
- For 2013 price seasons, click here
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
4 comments
I WAS WONDERING HOW MANY RIDES YOU ARE ABLE TO RIDE WHILE HOLDING CHILD LIKE A ONE YEAR OLD?
Heather, I focus on older kids so can’t give you a count…the answer is somewhere between half and 75%…
We will be at the World Sept. 29- Oct. 5. We will be attending MNSSHP for the first time! Will we encounter much for crowds? I know that the wine and food festival is going on at Epcot, but if we visit during the week will it be crowded?
Hi Michele! That’s a low-crowd period. The weekend will be crowded, and Epcot’s 30th is on the 1st so Epcot may be crowded that day…
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