July or not July , yea or neh!

[xipotec]

So, i will be in Ocala for my Dads 80th bday, and thats a little too close to the World to not consider a visit.

1. Am i crazy to think of going July (15-17)? Monday-Wed
2. Where to stay off site?
3. What should i expect?
4. Tips???
5. Am i crazy????

 

[Sandy Fisher]

Having lived just south of Ocala for over 5 years, I'd find it too tempting not to go, especially now since we've moved back north.
However, having lived there, I know the heat. And I don't enjoy the parks in the heat. Since we didn't go overnight at that time of year, I can't say much for park conditions or crowds.
The only place I'd stay off site would be the Downtown Disney hotel area. It's not ideal, but beats the other off-site hotels. Never stayed at Swan or Dolphin so maybe someone else would help with their information. They are not precisely Disney hotels, but have some of the benefits -- location being one.
If you've been a Disney regular at the parks, you'll know about crowds and heat, so I'd have no tips other than to go and enjoy yourself. I would even if (at my age!) we had to do a half day and take a break.
Enjoy.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've been in July before (over the 4th) and I would go back again in a heartbeat! Just be prepared for it to be smokin hot and steamy humid.

Go early. Drink lots of water and a powerade or two a day, to stay hydrated and to keep your body full of the minerals it needs. Maybe make an ADR for the middle of the day, so that you force yourself to get out of the sun for a while. Use lots of sunscreen. And have fun

 

[Mousemommy1]

We went for 11 days in July last year because we had no other choice due to DH work schedule. I actually dreaded it, thinking about the heat, crowds, etc....

However, we would do July again without a second thought.
1) you'll be there over value season for deluxes, so you will be getting the lowest rates and then if you have a discount on top of that,it's awesome!!!! (We had WL CL for just under $250/night!!)

2) the crowds ended up not being as bad as we imagined. We've been there during Thanksgiving week and over Thanksgiving and never again! but, summer crowds were there but seemed fairly dispersed. Never once did we stand on a bus, or wait in line longer than 45 minutes (w/out Fpass)

3) the heat was far better than I had imagined. I hate being hot and actually the first few days, I was shocked at how bearable it was....at night, the first few nights, we were even cool??
Later in the trip it got hotter but we utilized the pool in the middle of the day and going to the parks at night strategy.

The only negative we saw was the tour groups. Funny, I knew they would be there and thought that would be the least of my issues, but oh boy! There were many times when we would go to pick up a Fpass and two members of the group would hop in front of us and start getting Fpasses for 60+ people!!!!!!!
The return times would change by hours in a matter of seconds.

Also, we had a couple of times where we were in line and then all of a sudden we had a whole group coming through the line to meet the few group reps that were waiting up ahead.
One time a CM saw this happen to us, and pulled us in front of the group.

So, other than the tour groups, July was awesome! Dare I say, our best trip ever!!! So no, I don't think your crazy!

 

[DixieBelle]

I have never been in July, but last summer we went the last week in june. It was hot and crowded, but still a lot of fun. We started off hitting rope drop, but ended up sleeping in and staying out late at night at EMH. Park hours were really extended and the kids loved it a lot. They said it truly felt like vacation not to have to get up.
IMHO, on site would be better, so you can have EMH. But traffic around the parks was nuts, too.

 

[Art 1]

Why not? Just not over the 4th.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Nay, just did a trip the end of July.... After so many trips in Aug/Oct.... July was too crowded for our taste, but it was a conference .... Never again, same with Dec and January.... Too weather iffy for me to waste my money!!

 

[T. Baker]

We have done July 4 week two times because we have international students stay with us and it was the only time we could take them. We would never do this again. I watched my husband - a large strapping man -- literally fall out. He was leaning against the fence at LMA in HS and slid down the fence and was on the ground and could not get up ---heat exhaustion.

Disney was fabulous, however. Picked him up and took him straight to first aid station. We had to leave later and they had a private van pick us up behind first aid and drive us to our car.

Thought he was ok the next day, but he got very sick while in Epcot. They were beyond awesome. First, the security guard took him to a private, air conditioned location (very fancy room) to rest. Then he was transported to a deluxe resort (we were staying off property this time) and was given a room to take a shower in to cool down and to rest.

After this (about 4 hours), we returned to Epcot in the evening and he was ok.

The heat is brutal and we had a cooler of cold water all the time. We rented a double stroller for our granddaughter and put the cooler on the other side. Even all the water did not stop him from becoming ill.

The next time we did this, we knew it would be rough, so we paced our time out to mornings -- back to resort-- and returned to parks in the evening. It was still almost unbearably hot.

This year when we went by ourselves, we went in December. We still had some 80 degree days, but the summers we went it hit 105 and all that black asphalt is a killer.

I am sure it doesn't bother some people, but while we are not young, we are in good shape and would not do it again.

 

[melifeld]

We are going in July this year. We normally go in January, but it is not working out for us now that DS is in school. So we shall go in July, early mornings and afternoon breaks (which we NEVER do in January), then back to the parks again in the evening. Hopefully this will work out for us. We are looking forward to swimming while at WDW, which we have never done in January.

 

[maxiesmom]

We have done July 4 week two times because we have international students stay with us and it was the only time we could take them. We would never do this again. I watched my husband - a large strapping man -- literally fall out. He was leaning against the fence at LMA in HS and slid down the fence and was on the ground and could not get up ---heat exhaustion.

Disney was fabulous, however. Picked him up and took him straight to first aid station. We had to leave later and they had a private van pick us up behind first aid and drive us to our car.

Thought he was ok the next day, but he got very sick while in Epcot. They were beyond awesome. First, the security guard took him to a private, air conditioned location (very fancy room) to rest. Then he was transported to a deluxe resort (we were staying off property this time) and was given a room to take a shower in to cool down and to rest.

After this (about 4 hours), we returned to Epcot in the evening and he was ok.

The heat is brutal and we had a cooler of cold water all the time. We rented a double stroller for our granddaughter and put the cooler on the other side. Even all the water did not stop him from becoming ill.

The next time we did this, we knew it would be rough, so we paced our time out to mornings -- back to resort-- and returned to parks in the evening. It was still almost unbearably hot.

This year when we went by ourselves, we went in December. We still had some 80 degree days, but the summers we went it hit 105 and all that black asphalt is a killer.

I am sure it doesn't bother some people, but while we are not young, we are in good shape and would not do it again.

Drinking a lot of water is hard on your system when you are hot and moving around a bunch. You need to mix in a few power aides. That is what I did with my 70 yr old dad. That and lots of air conditioned breaks. You certainly can't go as fast and for as long as you can when it is cooler that is for sure!

July is doable but you do need to adjust a bit.

 

[North of Mouse]

The heat doesn't stop us from going to Disney in July, but the tour groups sure do. We used to go, but finally got enough, and never go that month anymore.

 

[srgibbs]

WE went last July 20-28th due to the fact we had to move our May trip bc of a move and job transfer. We live in the deep south and I assumed it would be hot and crowded. The crowds were not bad as we have been many times and really know how to do fastpasses ect. We have 3 kids with the youngest being 18 months and we had a great time. The evenings were very comfortable and we slept in some mornings and got up early others. We usually always took advantage of the late park hours. It was overcast a lot so that really helped with the heat. I was surprised and would def. go in July again if it worked that way.

 

[mickeypro]

I live here. July is probably the most crowded month and temps reach an excess of 90 degrees with silencing humidity.

That being said, the non-summer months can be better, but not THAT much better. Go when it's best for you.

PS Look out for the huge Brazilian tour groups!

 

[wvasweetness]

My answer is: doable, but not preferable. After being at WDW during the winter (here now, first time here that wasn't summer), we may never go back during the summer! The heat is draining and we are having a MUCH better time now than in June/July/August.

However, it is doable. We went to the parks early, came bak to the room during hot afternoon hours, and went back out during the evenings.

 

[SweetMissy]

So, i will be in Ocala for my Dads 80th bday, and thats a little too close to the World to not consider a visit.

1. Am i crazy to think of going July (15-17)? Monday-Wed
2. Where to stay off site?
3. What should i expect?
4. Tips???
5. Am i crazy????

If you're used to the heat then go for it! I personally wouldn't go to FL in the summer. It's cheaper to stay off site but there's many benefits to staying on disney property. Good luck deciding!

 

[cheesemouse]

We did July last year (19-26) and also about 3 years ago. On-site hotel prices are more reasonable. We found the crowds to be heavy but manageable. The heat is a whole different thing. It's very, very hot, and the humidity is what is the killer. Know that you will be sweating the entire time. We dress as lightly as possible and always leave from 1-5 or 6pm and take a break back at the hotel for a swim and some AC. It was always still 85ish at 10pm or later. So, if you can stand the heat, go for it. If not, don't waste your money.

 

[jennybdis]

It all depends on whether you can handle heat or not. We went last year during the last week of June/first week of July. It was hot, but I don't think it was as awful as some people had told us ("It's like Hades!" "Never, ever, again!" "I'd rather vacation on the sun.")... But we pretty much tried to do one water attraction (or water cool-down spot), followed by one outdoor attraction, followed by one indoor attraction, repeat. And that made things definitely tolerable. I think Disney does a great job of keeping queue lines cool and giving guest lots of opportunities to find something air conditioned or cooling when needed. I would think being in NC you would have an idea of what you could expect with the heat and the humidity, unlike some of the people we saw/met in lines who were from Canada or Alaska, and were clearly dealing with more heat discomfort than we were.

We're headed back again this June, so clearly, the heat wasn't so awful that we declared we'd never do it again.