Disney in August

[djscookie13]

My husband is a teacher and can only go on vacation during school holidays. We're thinking about planning a trip to Disney at the end of August to avoid this. I'm concerned about the heat. I've heard that it's unbearable. My kids will be 5 and 7 years old. Can anyone share their experience if they went in August. Thank you!

[monorailmom]

August can be a great time to go!

We were going in Nov. until our kids got too old to reasonably take out of school. We've done August now for 4 years, this will be our 5th.

Yes, it's hot and humid. But it can be completely manageable if you plan right. Hit the parks each day at rope drop. Do all of the major attractions first. Have lunch by 11:30, then leave and head back to your resort to enjoy the pool and take a rest in the a/c. Make a dinner reservation for about 5:30, then hit the parks again in the evening when it's cooler out.

Be careful about what you wear and what you carry. Make sure you wear loose fitting, cotton-y clothes and carry an umbrella! It rains pretty much every afternoon, though not all afternoon. The rains only usually last about 30mins at a time, but can be 'monsoons' when they hit! We don't like ponchos as it's just too hot to be wearing a plastic bag! We also find that good, supportive sandals are much more comfy than socks and sneakers.

We have a great time in August, good luck!!

[Gorechick]

Teacher here too. We took 7 year old twins on their first trip this past August. Totally bearable as long as you go to parks early or in the evening and definitely take swim breaks. We had quite a bit of rain during our trip which was unusual and made it less hot, usually there are quick afternoon thunderstorms.

[Kristian]

We went the first week of September, which is very close to August weather, and it was totally bearable. I agree with other's about doing rope drop, then having lunch and heading back to the hotel for swim time and naps. We always headed back out for dinner around 5-6pm and then went back to the parks...it was fine. We stayed hydrated, wore cool clothing, and paced ourselves.

I will add that it rained quite a bit. On our first day in the parks, we were at the MK. It started raining during the morning show at rope drop and didn't stop all day long. The rain, along with it being September, turned the park into a ghost town. We walked onto every ride with absolutely no wait time all day long, from literally 9am until closing that night. The temp only hit about 75 degrees or so that day because the rain started so early. We threw on our ponchos and never let the rain slow us down for a minute. It was one of the best day's at Disney ever.

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We went this past August for the first time in 10 years. We like February much better during Presidents week. It was really hot when we were there but we managed. It did rain everyday and that did cool it off. All 10 of us had rain ponchos so the rain didn't stop us and the lines were shorter. To beat the heat we would have our big meal at lunch so we would have a sit down lunch in air conditioning - that was perfect. Sometimes we would go back to the hotel and rest, then go back for the late hours. Enjoy!

[Disneylover99]

We are planning our 4th end of August trip and while I hate heat and humidity, I love my August trips.
Be prepared for rain daily and possible storms from hurricanes but the rain never slows us down. We just throw on our ponchos and away we go....

[poohguys]

We have gone several times in August. You do not say where you live, but it is hot and sticky at times here in NJ and I do not find Florida to be much worse. We got lucky this past August and it only rained one day. As others have said remember to stay hydrated. We also usually take an afternoon pool break. Have comfortable clothing and shoes. The rain is not a problem as long as you have your rain gear. Some of the best times we have had were in the rain. Hope you have a good trip

[DonaldnDaisy5]

I am a teacher, we went last August with a smoking hotel deal! We had a great time!

Dd and I get sun sick and dd doesn't do well in heat anyway, we live in MI and I have never heard that child say she's cold, it's currently10°! But by August we've adjusted to the heat and even with the 2 yr old we did rope drop every day, took a water park break when we got hot, and went back to parks for fireworks at night.

We did not do the dining plan and found we ate less because of being hot. Lots of free water for CS in parks flavored Mio or other mixes. We also brought Frog Toggs from bed bath and beyond they were life savers in keeping us all cool. I also found spray sun screen with a cooling agent in it. We'd rub everyone down in the am and spray to reapply. We did rent a ddl stroller mostly for 2 yr old but often let 7 yr old dd sit with her - she's the one with heat issues. Our ds 9 was a trooper. He walked and never complained about the heat.

[Aliceacc]

We're both teachers. We ONLY go in August. (Actually, that's not totally true. My husband sometimes gets to chaperone the Senior Trip in April, the rat.)

I love it!!! The parks are open from early morning until late at night. Here's what works for us:

- we stay onsite. We're close enough to the parks that we can go back and forth between the resort and the parks without it costing us much time. If you're interested, take a look at the Dolphin's teacher rate. While we haven't tried it (we always seem to get a great deal or a PIN from Disney) last year I had reservations at the Dolphin that I cancelled. You're steps from both Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and the reviews of the Swan and Dolphin are great.

- we're at the parks for rope drop. (That's park opening.) We got so much done during those first hours when other people are either asleep or enjoying their Mickey pancakes.

- we stay at the parks until lunch, then head back for a swim. Otherwise, you reach the point of diminishing returns... the kids are crankier, the lines are longer, you're no longer enjoying yourself. My 3 kids are total water rats, so having a good pool is one of the things I look for in a resort.

- we love having parkhoppers. As a result, we sometimes do the EMH parks in the morning, getting there an hour before the general public. Yes, these parks do get more crowded later in the day. So after lunch we simply hop to another park.

- we invest in Mistymate personal misters. They're the size of an electric toothbrush, but don't need batteries. Each of us has one. That spritz of water makes a huge difference in temperature in August.

- we know the cooler rides in each park, and take advantage. So, for example, in Animal Kingdom (the hottest place on earth in August), we start at the safari, then pick up fastpasses for Cali River Rapids-- it's basically a spin on a log flume. That cools us off for a few hours. There are air conditioned shows-- I strongly recommend the Fesitval of the Lion King that make things more comfortable. We follow a similar plan in the other parks, mixing up the outdoor lines with those that are indoors.

- we stock up on dollar store or Walmart ponchos. For a 7 night trip, I bring 3 or 4 each. Some years we use them, some years we don't. But we're prepared for those mid afternoon storms that frequently pop up.

- we get trip insurance. Most of the summer is hurricane season in Florida. Knowing we have trip insurance just lets me sleep better.

Go ahead, plan a fabulous trip. Once next year's prices are released this summer, I'll be doing the same thing for 2014.

[cheshireqt]

End of August = lower crowds than rest of summer.
The week before Labor day is wonderful crowd wise, that is until the labor day weekend, when the wait times double. We walked onto nearly everything until that Saturday.
Go early and plan shows in air conditioning during the heat of the day. A lot of attractions are indoors so when crowds are low you are mostly in the heat when you walk from one ride to the next. Do Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. We are usually go until we drop but our last trip we actually took afternoon breaks at the hotel to rest and swim, we arrived back at the parks ready for fun. DH grumbled a bit about taking the break, although he understood why it was needed. it ended up being a really good thing and we will probably do it in the future even if it is just the four of us.

[taylor3297]

We took our kids this past August right before school started. At the time dd was 9 and ds was 6. We went all day long and had no problems. I will admit that since we live in the south we are used to heat/humidity and actually like summer weather.

We still make sure to drink lots of water and we don't rush to get from one place to the next. It also helps that you are in and out of attractions most of the time, so you aren't just in the heat.

We don't do the afternoon breaks at the resort. My kids rather do all we want to do at the park for that day. Then head back to the resort and chill out for the evening.

[cheshireqt]

Originally Posted by Aliceacc

We're both teachers. We ONLY go in August. (Actually, that's not totally true. My husband sometimes gets to chaperone the Senior Trip in April, the rat.)

I love it!!! The parks are open from early morning until late at night. Here's what works for us:

- we stay onsite. We're close enough to the parks that we can go back and forth between the resort and the parks without it costing us much time. If you're interested, take a look at the Dolphin's teacher rate. While we haven't tried it (we always seem to get a great deal or a PIN from Disney) last year I had reservations at the Dolphin that I cancelled. You're steps from both Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and the reviews of the Swan and Dolphin are great.

- we're at the parks for rope drop. (That's park opening.) We got so much done during those first hours when other people are either asleep or enjoying their Mickey pancakes.

- we stay at the parks until lunch, then head back for a swim. Otherwise, you reach the point of diminishing returns... the kids are crankier, the lines are longer, you're no longer enjoying yourself. My 3 kids are total water rats, so having a good pool is one of the things I look for in a resort.

- we love having parkhoppers. As a result, we sometimes do the EMH parks in the morning, getting there an hour before the general public. Yes, these parks do get more crowded later in the day. So after lunch we simply hop to another park.

- we invest in Mistymate personal misters. They're the size of an electric toothbrush, but don't need batteries. Each of us has one. That spritz of water makes a huge difference in temperature in August.

- we know the cooler rides in each park, and take advantage. So, for example, in Animal Kingdom (the hottest place on earth in August), we start at the safari, then pick up fastpasses for Cali River Rapids-- it's basically a spin on a log flume. That cools us off for a few hours. There are air conditioned shows-- I strongly recommend the Fesitval of the Lion King that make things more comfortable. We follow a similar plan in the other parks, mixing up the outdoor lines with those that are indoors.

- we stock up on dollar store or Walmart ponchos. For a 7 night trip, I bring 3 or 4 each. Some years we use them, some years we don't. But we're prepared for those mid afternoon storms that frequently pop up.

- we get trip insurance. Most of the summer is hurricane season in Florida. Knowing we have trip insurance just lets me sleep better.

Go ahead, plan a fabulous trip. Once next year's prices are released this summer, I'll be doing the same thing for 2014.

All great advice. We do all of it except the rope drop, DH would love to travel with your party instead of us lazy slowmovers. We get to the parks just after opening though due to his efforts. For the rain, we have hooded windbreakers that wad up pretty small. We bring those for the afternoon showers. Learned to love the showers. The park clears out and those of us who make do get to experience an almost empty park when the sun shines back through.

[KelseyLaPerle]

We went last August with a family of 12 and it was fantastic. Yes, it is hot.

The BEST thing we did was buy camelbaks for each child (we got them relatively cheap on amazon.com). We filled them with cold water and left them in our fridge overnight and they lasted all day. Kids who drink frequently throughout the day are much happier.

Also, many attractions are inside and air conditioned - when we got too hot we would step inside and cool off.


I think you'll have a wonderful time. It's Disney - even if you're hot, you're still at Disney and not at home!!

Best wishes.

[oufpat]

Love going the end of August, of course with 3 teachers in the family, and grandkids with lots of activities, it works well for us. Less crowded, long hors at the parks, and perfect weather for afternoon pooltime. Only only fear is that of hurricanes, but so far we've been lucky and hope it stays the same for this August.

[ALMinVA]

We typically visit in January and October, however, my sister lives in Ireland and only visits the states in August so last August we did what we said we would never do and planned a trip to DW. The group consisted of myself, DH, Sister, DD11, DS5, Nephew 8, and Nephew 7. We went the third week of August and stayed at AKL kidani and loved it. We had early morning breakfast reservations, were in the parks at opening, did rides first thing in the morning and then back to the room for rest, animal viewing, and swimming. Then dinner reservations and night park visiting. It was crowded but it worked well too. We did splurge on one VIP tour day figuring it would be a while before the Irish nephews would be back at the World but the tour was tough because each time we got up to a ride, it either broke down with technical difficulties (HS - Toy Story Mania or closed due to lightening MK Splash Mtn) with the VIP tour we did all 4 parks and had mapped out all the rides we wanted to do. I think we managed 12 rides plus the Talk with Crush and vip section viewing of illuminations. This worked well with the time we had down in Disney.
I say - don't worry about the heat. Take spray fans, drink lots of water, take breaks and you will be fine. Have a great time!!!