August 2017

[pigletto]

It's hot and humid with afternoon rain on many days with a chance of a hurricane. Miserable really.
But we love it and go every August. The later in August you can go, the better it is in terms of crowds.
Go early in the morning or in the evening. Try to avoid the parks in the afternoon. Enjoy.

So true!
We haven't been in late August for a few years now, but we went four years in a row during that time for free dining when the kids were younger.
My husband and I were just saying we're five years older now, I wonder if we are still cut out for that heat?! With an 8th grader and a University student we need to go when everyone is off of school and when dd is not working so our choices were limited.

It's still possible to have a great time, but it's imperative to plan the day and leave for the mid day heat. It's not something we've dealt with on the past few trips in cooler months. I'm starting to recall that we would hit every rope drop and high tail it out of the park for a swim and a rest as soon as it got close to noon. We would wait until after dinner and then head back. The few times we tried to push through were not pleasant for anyone.

 

[mchllevns]

Also depends on what you are used to...we're from South Jersey and often it is more hot and humid back home in the summer then it is when we are at Disney....I think the difference is we are in and out of air conditioned attractions and take full advantage of planning with our fast passes and dining so we don't spend extended times just standing around outside. That said, we feel the heat more in Animal Kingdom of all the parks...

 

[Darcy03231]

Just booked AKL for the end of August. Got a great agency deal thanks to these boards! I don't bother with free dining as we've found we do better paying OOP.

 

[ixDreamxofxDisney]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 5-night stay at All-Star Sports in mid August

I've been eyeing the summer QS package offer (1 QS per person per night) and want to book before the offer expires this week. I've seen on the Disney site that if you cancel prior to 30 days from arrival then you'll get back your payments made. I want to be sure this is for the whole package, not just the room rate. I believe park tickets are non-refundable if you buy them on their own, but wasn't sure if this is true when booking a vacation package.

I'd hate to be stuck with $650 worth of park tickets if I have to cancel the trip.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 5-night stay at All-Star Sports in mid August

I've been eyeing the summer QS package offer (1 QS per person per night) and want to book before the offer expires this week. I've seen on the Disney site that if you cancel prior to 30 days from arrival then you'll get back your payments made. I want to be sure this is for the whole package, not just the room rate. I believe park tickets are non-refundable if you buy them on their own, but wasn't sure if this is true when booking a vacation package.

I'd hate to be stuck with $650 worth of park tickets if I have to cancel the trip.

I believe you get your full refund. Tickets and everything.

 

[ixDreamxofxDisney]

I believe you get your full refund. Tickets and everything.

Thank you! I think that is the case after reading the cancellation policy more carefully.

Officially booked for five nights in mid August Haven't been to WDW in almost 5 years and have been itching to get back. And even more excited with the news of the new Pandora-themed part of Animal Kingdom opening up in late May.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Just booked AKL for the end of August. Got a great agency deal thanks to these boards! I don't bother with free dining as we've found we do better paying OOP.

Also hoping for end of August.. and I agree with others weather is awful although we have hot and usually very humid summers in SW Ontario but not the rain... every August when we arrive in Orlando and I see the grey skies I think to myself... Florida the sunshine state my a.... anyway just kidding, august is awesome for swimming in the resort pools late into the evening
Question though, what are these agency deals ppl talk about in this tread? Is it for travel agents?
We are waiting for free dining hoping it's released for mid August, but are curious about these agency discounts.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

We just booked Yacht Club for the last week in Aug/ beginning of September through the great agency deal -- I'm SO excited to finally get to use SAB! Free Dining is usually a good deal for our family of 5 when we stay at a moderate, but the rate I got at the YC was too good to pass up ($255/night). Plus, we don't eat nearly as much food when it's hot & humid, so I'm sure we're coming out ahead paying OOP for meals and snacks.

We're only getting 4 day, non-hopping, tickets. 1 park/day is enough for us in the August heat. We did August 2 years ago and it was oppressively hot & humid every.day. Planning on lots of pool time

I'm trying to figure out how to plan our days and FPs with Pandora opening and F&W starting on 08/31.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

Thank you, I wasn't asking for a name specifically - I was just wondering if this is a deal for Travel Agents or for someone who booked through a specific travel agency... I just don't understand what this discount is....

It's an exclusive deal that you get by booking with this specific travel agency, not a deal for travel agents. Good luck!

 

[srauseo]

We are going August 18-25 (with two nights at Universal before). I'm keeping an eye out for room only discounts! We are doing a split stay at PO Riverside and Beach Club Villas. I stayed at Riverside last year and liked it a lot. Stayed in Alligator Bayou preferred. This time I'm hoping for Magnolia Bend - the rest of our family is booked in Royal Rooms but we wanted a king bed so I'm going to request a room in a building near the Royal Room buildings. It will be nice to try out the other side of the resort. I loved how lush the landscaping was and I loved the pool area. I am really excited to stay at Beach Club. My sister's kids are going to love the pool and I am going to love walking back from EPCOT and Studios at night!

The heat is bad but it's definitely manageable as PPs have said - and I hate the heat and humidity. We usually go early and tick off a bunch of headliners with short waits and head back to the resort after just a few hours. I love walking out as everyone is walking in. After a couple hours by the pool and a nap, we head back for a few more hours. FP+ makes this so much simpler.

I'm a little envious of the folks that do a long evening shift and skip the early mornings altogether. I just don't think I could get my sister with her young kids on board for that plan! But for the two days when DH and I are breaking off from the pack we definitely plan to sleep in and go the park for the night shift!

Trying to figure out how to work Pandora and Rivers of Light into our plans. Looks like ROL might be at 9:15 during the summer months? And very interested to start seeing reports once Pandora opens on how it impacts AK touring.

 

[kandb]

We had the same dilemma. We stayed at YC last August under the deal, but booked the free dining bounceback for next year at CSR. We have never done the dining plan, so figured we would do it and go to some of the more expensive single credit restaurants we hadn't been to such as Akershus, 1900 Park Fare, and Cape May.

Ohana's a great single ts credit when you have free dining.

 

[Darcy03231]

Also hoping for end of August.. and I agree with others weather is awful although we have hot and usually very humid summers in SW Ontario but not the rain... every August when we arrive in Orlando and I see the grey skies I think to myself... Florida the sunshine state my a.... anyway just kidding, august is awesome for swimming in the resort pools late into the evening
Question though, what are these agency deals ppl talk about in this tread? Is it for travel agents?
We are waiting for free dining hoping it's released for mid August, but are curious about these agency discounts.

I usually go the end of August. Did it for years when my children were young as our schools don't go back until after Labor Day and we found the crowds to be light to moderate during this time. I live in New England and really haven't found that Florida is any more hot/humid during August than at home. This year we're going during this time because we'll already be in Florida for a cruise. DH only wants to see a couple of things (he hasn't been back in 27 years) so I decided to tack a few days on post-cruise instead of doing a separate trip.

The agency deal is exclusive to a travel agency. If you do a google search you should be able to find it. If you go that route, though, you can't add the dining package or free dining. Generally, unless you have Disney children and do a lot of character heavy TS meals, I've found we do better taking a room discount and paying for meals OOP. Also, in the hot/humid weather we tend to eat much lighter. I'm also factoring in that we're coming off a 7 day cruise and probably won't want to look at too much food!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I usually go the end of August. Did it for years when my children were young as our schools don't go back until after Labor Day and we found the crowds to be light to moderate during this time. I live in New England and really haven't found that Florida is any more hot/humid during August than at home. This year we're going during this time because we'll already be in Florida for a cruise. DH only wants to see a couple of things (he hasn't been back in 27 years) so I decided to tack a few days on post-cruise instead of doing a separate trip.

The agency deal is exclusive to a travel agency. If you do a google search you should be able to find it. If you go that route, though, you can't add the dining package or free dining. Generally, unless you have Disney children and do a lot of character heavy TS meals, I've found we do better taking a room discount and paying for meals OOP. Also, in the hot/humid weather we tend to eat much lighter. I'm also factoring in that we're coming off a 7 day cruise and probably won't want to look at too much food!

The deal is really great for people who stay in Deluxe resorts or who want to stay deluxe. We'll likely need 2 value rooms (Sorry, but five of us in one room is just too many) so if FREE dining came out that would be the best for us. I'd LOVE to take advantage of the agency exclusive deal and stay at a deluxe, but it's my sister, brother in law and their two daughters' first trips, and besides the fact that the values appeal to the girls as more "Disney", financially the deluxe, even with that deal, would be out of reach. So here's to hoping for free dining!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Booked the Poly for August- first time to stay there! Got an amazing deal considering it's the Poly, thank you to kind people on these boards and especially the person that pm'd me - you know who you are. Greatly appreciated

 

[Darcy03231]

The deal is really great for people who stay in Deluxe resorts or who want to stay deluxe. We'll likely need 2 value rooms (Sorry, but five of us in one room is just too many) so if FREE dining came out that would be the best for us. I'd LOVE to take advantage of the agency exclusive deal and stay at a deluxe, but it's my sister, brother in law and their two daughters' first trips, and besides the fact that the values appeal to the girls as more "Disney", financially the deluxe, even with that deal, would be out of reach. So here's to hoping for free dining!

With 5 people and young children I'd definitely stay in the values and hope for free dining! Funny story - when we first started going (it was just me and four kids) I stayed at the Contemporary for our trips. I just loved the convenience to MK and being on the monorail. I decided to do a last minute trip one year (me & the youngest 3 of the 4 kids as DH & the oldest were going somewhere else) and couldn't get the Contemporary for my dates. Most of the availability was at the values so we ended staying at Movies. My kids loved it! When were going back for the next trip and they begged to stay there again. Since they were a bit older by then and we didn't have a stroller anymore that's where we went and we continued to stay in the All Star resorts for years. My wallet was very happy!

 

[James Yang]

We are going the last week of Aug and first week of Sept. Really would love to have room only discount.

 

[Marianm]

Going aug 19th. Hoping for a good discoint

 

[DisneyFreak06]

With 5 people and young children I'd definitely stay in the values and hope for free dining! Funny story - when we first started going (it was just me and four kids) I stayed at the Contemporary for our trips. I just loved the convenience to MK and being on the monorail. I decided to do a last minute trip one year (me & the youngest 3 of the 4 kids as DH & the oldest were going somewhere else) and couldn't get the Contemporary for my dates. Most of the availability was at the values so we ended staying at Movies. My kids loved it! When were going back for the next trip and they begged to stay there again. Since they were a bit older by then and we didn't have a stroller anymore that's where we went and we continued to stay in the All Star resorts for years. My wallet was very happy!

I love the Values! I've stayed at all of them. I have also stayed at the Port Orleans resorts (both) and loved them. And the GF. I love ALL the resorts! LOL I have issues, I know. I'm glad your kiddos loved the values, it is definitely easier on the wallets! My sister and I both agree we'd rather go longer and stay in a value than go deluxe and stay for 1/2 the time basically. Although with that deal, getting Yacht club for $255 would be lovely too. But then we'd have only one bathroom and I'd have to listen to my brother in law's snoring! He's so loud I can hear him on the main level when he's in the basement. But don't tell him that!

 

[Megsie1000]

We bought APs for the first time in a long time and are using them first time 2017 starting August 15th. Thanks to this thread I just sent a form for a quote hoping for a major deal on deluxes for 8 nights. We will see what happens! Waiting for AP discounts that don't even seem that great is tortuous. I will report back. So excited and thank you!

 

[Megsie1000]

Got an incredible quote, booked and we are staying at Poly Aug 15-23. Have wanted to stay at the Poly so badly but have always been priced out! We stayed there once years ago right after the 2008 recession began and Disney was giving out great deals but have not been able to since then. Cannot wait. The kids are so excited.