2nd week of July???? I can take it...how bad is it??

[Ilovedis30]

Hi fellow Disers,

So I will be at the happiest place on earth the 2nd week of July from the 8th-13th and so I was wondering how bad that is?? Weather? crowds? I will be staying at CBR, anyone been there during or around that time?. I am expecting it to be crazy, realistically everyone is off during that time, but still curious. Will everything have 120 min waits??
Thanks in advance

Jen

 

[wdwfan1]

Hot and crowded. The upside is the parks will be staying open late. A good strategy is to go to the parks early in the morning and return in early afternoon for pool time and possibly a nap. Then head to a different park in the evening.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[pat fan]

That's our normal trip time, and we have found it to be very manageable. Just go early, leave when it get's crowded and head back to the parks in the evening. Use FP, have your "big" meal at noon, drink drink drink WATER and be prepared to go with the flow and you will have an awesome time!

 

[airhead]

You'll have a blast! Listen to the tips you just got!

 

[dd50]

It will be hot and crowded as you probably already know. I would get there at rope drop and use fast passes. We are going the week after.


Another tip is to bring a hand towel from the hotel and wet it and put it around your neck when it gets hot. Seems to help.

 

[stacy87]

Hi fellow Disers,

So I will be at the happiest place on earth the 2nd week of July from the 8th-13th and so I was wondering how bad that is?? Weather? crowds? I will be staying at CBR, anyone been there during or around that time?. I am expecting it to be crazy, realistically everyone is off during that time, but still curious. Will everything have 120 min waits??
Thanks in advance

Jen

I'm afriad I can't give any advice, but wanted to say hi! Myself and my best friend are staying at CBR 2nd-12th July this year for our first trip and can't wait!

I have been advised about similar things - go early, get FP's and try and take a break in the afternoon when it gets busy (either going back to the resort for a swim/nap or eat in an air-conditioned restaurant to cool down for a bit)

Have you been before or is this your first trip?

 

[Ilovedis30]

Hi all,

Thank you for the good info

@ stacy87 Hi, I went once before in 2008 for a couple days with my whole family DH and our 4DD'S at the time they were 10,6,4,and 1. We really didnt get to do much at all, still have never been on space or splash mountain !! We only did a couple hours at each park for about 3 days as we were in orlando for a family wedding, so this will really be like my first "real trip" to MK and it will be just me and my oldest DD who is now 12. I can't wait either!! CBR is exactly what I need,lol. Still trying to figure out if I should do a park that first day or maybe DTD and hit the hotel pool. Is this your first trip?

I hadn't thought about making our "big meal" in the afternoon, makes perfect sense to me. good tip.

 

[stacy87]

Hi all,

Thank you for the good info

@ stacy87 Hi, I went once before in 2008 for a couple days with my whole family DH and our 4DD'S at the time they were 10,6,4,and 1. We really didnt get to do much at all, still have never been on space or splash mountain !! We only did a couple hours at each park for about 3 days as we were in orlando for a family wedding, so this will really be like my first "real trip" to MK and it will be just me and my oldest DD who is now 12. I can't wait either!! CBR is exactly what I need,lol. Still trying to figure out if I should do a park that first day or maybe DTD and hit the hotel pool. Is this your first trip?

I hadn't thought about making our "big meal" in the afternoon, makes perfect sense to me. good tip.

Yes this will be my first Disney trip! It's actually my first long haul trip-I'm not a good flyer, so the 9 1/2 hour flight is worrying me a little bit! CBR looks lovely, and I think they have recently refurbished all the rooms, which is a bonus

do you mean your arrival day or your first full day that you are unsure of what to do? We don't land until 2:30pm I think, so by the time we get to CBR, we might just unpack and have a wander round the resort-or if we feel awake enough maybe take a trip to DTD

 

[Katnmouse]

My family has gone to WDW during July for the past 8 years straight. It is hot, humid and extremely crowded (lots and lots of teen/young adult tour groups from S. America during July). However, we have always had a great time by being laid back about planning and using fastpass. Obviously if we've gone 8 years straight in July it can't be that bad.

 

[Ilovedis30]

I am looking foward to July, I am just taking all the tips and advice I can, aand basically since it's just my daughter and I we can really just take it easy, take breaks, plan which things we definately want to do.

@Stacey87 Oooh 9 1/2 hour flight? Well you're doing it for disney I was talking about arrival day, we land at mco at 10:20 I think, so giving it about 90 min that would make it about 12 when we get to CBR. I know that we'll probably eat and our room will most likely not be ready so I was thinking of maybe doing epcot as it has pm emh that day.

@katnmouse I will definately be using your strategy

 

[JenSop]

I've mostly gone in the summer, as DH is a teacher. Plus, since my dad was a teacher, he wouldn't let my grandparents take us out of school to go when we were kids, so all my childhood trips were also in the summer.

It's gonna be HOT. I hate the heat, but I mentally prepare for it before I go. We go to the parks at rope drop (no sleeping in!) and head back to the hotel after lunch for pool time and rest. Then after dinner, we head out to a park again. This system has worked great for years.

Make sure you utilize fast passes. Designate a runner or take turns. (I'm usually always the fast pass runner no matter who's on the trip, as I'm small and can weave in and out of crowds easily.)

There are always lots of tour groups in July. They were only occasionally a nuisance on our July trip two years ago. (Last year we went in June.)

We'll be there this year the last week of July, but it's Disney, so no matter what, it's an awesome time!!!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

This is a picture I took of the ride times board in Epcot, sometime during the 3rd week in July.

Don't worry though! It's totally doable! I have NEVER waited more than 20 minutes for a ride in July and we always do everything we want. You just have to be smart about everything. Make good use of the Fast Pass system. Figure out what's most important to you and everything else will just be a bonus!

Please join our Official July 2010 thread! We are counting down to the crowds and heat together!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2247684

 

[stacy87]

I am looking foward to July, I am just taking all the tips and advice I can, aand basically since it's just my daughter and I we can really just take it easy, take breaks, plan which things we definately want to do.

@Stacey87 Oooh 9 1/2 hour flight? Well you're doing it for disney I was talking about arrival day, we land at mco at 10:20 I think, so giving it about 90 min that would make it about 12 when we get to CBR. I know that we'll probably eat and our room will most likely not be ready so I was thinking of maybe doing epcot as it has pm emh that day.

@katnmouse I will definately be using your strategy

very true - the long flight will definitely be worth it! Epcot sounds like a good plan for your arrival day, especially if they have EMH that night

We're planning a full day at Epcot on the 4th July - we know it will be crazy busy, but we plan on being there from rope drop until closing! Can we do it? lol With several breaks I think we will manage I wanted to go shopping that day though! lol

 

[Ilovedis30]

Ok the wait times aren't really that bad totally do-able.
I guess me and DD will be runnin for those fast passes,lol. DD is totally ready for RRC, it will be her first one ever, she's always been scared of rc's. Excited about that.I can't wait to check out TSM as I've read sooo much about it. I guess now I need to kind of re-plan based on all the great advice and check out my ADR's.

PS. what is your definate can't miss ride????

TIA
Jen

 

[stacy87]

Ok the wait times aren't really that bad totally do-able.
I guess me and DD will be runnin for those fast passes,lol. DD is totally ready for RRC, it will be her first one ever, she's always been scared of rc's. Excited about that.I can't wait to check out TSM as I've read sooo much about it. I guess now I need to kind of re-plan based on all the great advice and check out my ADR's.

PS. what is your definate can't miss ride????

TIA
Jen

I've only ever been on one rollercoaster - and it was so timid compared to some of the ones at Disney!! But I am going to be as brave as I can be and try and get on a lot this trip!!

One of our must-do's is Tower of Terror (I also really want to go on Manta at Seaworld!)

 

[Pig Pen]

We have never been in July and I am really stressing about it. We are a party of 6 and two of the females are "high maintenance" and we will have a 2 yo with us. Translation...there is no way we will get to early EMH rope drop. Even if it was possible to force the issue, I don't want to have to spend my vacation being the clock nazi.

To further complicate matters, they will not have park hoppers! So, our plan is to visit the late EMH park each day...try to get there as early as possible, return to resort in afternoon, and go back for EMH.

Luckily, they are only with us for five days, then we will have five days on our own to recuperate!

 

[m&m's mom]

Dang it! I forgot about the tour groups in July!
This is our 1st July trip. I was preparing for the heat and crowds but the tour groups change a lot of strategies.
A couple of years ago we were there in June and DH went to get FP for Soarin.
He had a group in front of him where every FP machine was taken up by the guides with almost a hundred tickets each. Needless to say, the return time jumped by hours by the time they were through.
Well, good thing we go every year and will have just gotten off the DCL ship. Maybe I'll be in a better mood.

 

[courtneylauren]

It's not overly crowded. Use fastpass. We don't wait for anything over 20 minutes.

It's not overly hot. We're coming from Houston. It's hotter here.

 

[mh1973]

Check out the Y.E.S. program, open enrollment in June and July, deeply discounted tickets for attending a very fun program.

http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go....erview?page=OpenEnrollmentProgramOverviewPage

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I agree with everyone else in that Disney in July is hot and it's crowded, but it is most definitely managable. My family always heads down to Disney in July and I've never been "forced" to wait for any rides for longer than 30 minutes. We did hop in the line for TSM one evening right at park closing. We waited a little over an hour, and it was the longest I've ever waited for a ride in my 15 years of Disney trips. We had already ridden it twice earlier that day with minimal waits, but it's so darn fun that we just had to do it again.

As long as you follow the tips that previous posters have given- get there early, use FP - you won't be forced to stand in long lines.

The mid-day break is another excellent piece of advice. The afternoons are the hottest and most crowded parts of the day. This is mainly when the wait times for the major attractions will hit 120+ minutes. So in going back to your resort for a while and relaxing, you aren't missing much. It's nice to take that time to re-fuel and get ready to deal with the crowds for the evening entertainment. People camp out for the night time entertainment in each park hours in advance.

So over all, yes July is crowded and really hot, but these things won't stop you from having a magical trip unless you let them.