Greetings Shannan!
I have to admit that I have an extra smile on my face answering your question today! First off, thank you for being such a loyal planDisney fan for so many years! You are a virtual time capsule of memories for this amazing group of moms and now dads and grandpas who love to talk about our Disney experiences! The second reason I’m smiling is because you bring up a visit in September for just you and your hubby!
My wife and I celebrate our wedding anniversary on September 21. We plan most of our trips to Walt Disney World around the third week of September. My first piece of advice is that we absolutely love it! The crowds seem smaller; the weather is normally comfortable, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is playing our anniversary song on repeat!
We are Disney Vacation Club Members, so we usually plan our September trip eleven months out at either Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows or Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort since they are our home resorts. When it's just the two of us, we used to reserve a studio, but we really enjoy having a washer and dryer, so we have graduated to reserve a one-bedroom unit on most of our anniversary stays!
I’ll check the dates for
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and try to book tickets for a mid-week party. We plan our costumes for the next eleven months, or should I say my wife plans our costumes, and I readily approve of them! We really enjoy getting to the party at 4pm when early entry is allowed so we can people watch and stroll around the Magic Kingdom before the party begins at 7pm. I love the whole atmosphere of the park once the party begins! We trick-or-treat and have way too much fun! I really enjoy the ride overlays and I’m zooming down Space Mountain in the dark as often as I can! We are usually the last ghouls to leave!
I always set the alarm for 60 days before our arrival date to make sure that I’m up and ready to select our dining reservations for the trip. I look at this day as my first rope drop of the trip! We have a tradition of getting a late lunch one day at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney’s Beach Club Resort so we can share a No Way Jose desert after our delicious meal!
Shannan, we always feel like it’s a bit less congested during that third week of September, but it really would be based on other times of the year that you usually go. We find the decor of the resorts and the theme parks so spectacular no matter what time of the year it is, and the fall decorations certainly live up to that standard! I suggest taking some time with your hubby to do some resort hopping to check out a few of the resorts that you haven’t seen in a while.
One little side trip that is fun, after you get to shop at Disney Springs, take a water taxi from the Springs to Disney’s Port Orleans-French Quarter. Grab a couple of Mickey-shaped beignets and then stick around and listen to some jazz at Scat Cat’s Club Lounge! They have live jazz Thursday through Sundays at 7:30 pm in a really cool, intimate little lounge! It’s a great hidden gem of a resort!
Shannan, I will have to admit that we had to stay an extra day at Walt Disney World because of a hurricane one September, but for us it was an additional adventure, and we still talk about that trip to this day!
Shannan, September will always bring a smile to my face, I’m sure it will for you to! Don’t forget to enjoy a Mickey Bar or two!
Kurt