June vs August travel? Opinions welcome

[scooz2]

We have gone to Wdw a few times in June, but are considering August this year. We are all teachers so summer is best. Anyone have an opinion who had maybe gone in both months before? Or even if you just went in August? Concerned with weather and crowds mostly. Thank you!

 

[staceyrhood]

August will be much hotter and more humid...our local schools here go back August 17. Crowd wise is similar either way. I would pick June for better weather, a littlecoolerandlessstorms Have a fun trip!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We had planned to go this past Aug until we saw the heat index of 117 - 120 and decided mid to late Sept was better. And it was. Crowds we low and temps much better.

June will be hot and very crowded. Gay days fall in that month as well.

 

[Barbydoll8]

Living here I can tell you that both months are hot. June can be brutal as our afternoon thunderstorms usually have not kicked into full gear yet. August is not only hot but 100% more humid. As a local, I avoid WDW in mid July through August. It's just too hot.

If you pack your patience, take LOTS of breaks from the heat, it can be done though. Crowds are not horrible but they aren't fantastic. I have seen similar crowd levels in June and August. June is Star Wars weekends so it can get a bit crazy. As one pp stated, schools here go back in August but on the west coast it's usually the 3rd week. Not sure about Orlando area. It depends on the county.

So if you can stand the heat & humidity and are ok with a T storm everyday around dinner time, you can manage August.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I love going during the last week of August. The parks are pretty empty considering FL goes back to school before then. Have you checked easywdw.com for the crowd calendar?

Everyone always says, "oh it's so hot!" but it's not bad considering you will have gone through an entire summer of PA heat... it's not completely different. It's much more different, I found, to go from winter temps to summer temps. Plus there is nothing better than going into an air conditioned ride or a pool in that heat, and the nights are so pleasant.

Also-- last week of August is value season. It's cheaper.

 

[fireflyer]

We have gone to Wdw a few times in June, but are considering August this year. We are all teachers so summer is best. Anyone have an opinion who had maybe gone in both months before? Or even if you just went in August? Concerned with weather and crowds mostly. Thank you!

As a FL resident, I say yuck to either of those choices. My idea of Disney fun doesn't include 4 to 12 hours of rain. Summer months are a huge rain risk. Is there no other time you could try? How about your spring break? I know it's crowded down here, but crowds are significantly more manageable than flooding-from-the-sky.

I know being a teacher leaves few options for large chunks of leave...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We have gone the last three Augusts.....2012, 2013 and 2014.

Its very, very hot (this past year in particular, the temperatures were incredibly high) and very, very humid.

For August visits, we primarily focus on the waterparks, the beach, pool time, and evening activities (mini golf, etc.). We honestly don't know how people do the Disney parks from sun-up to sun down, day after day, when its 100+ in the shade.

That said, we have very much enjoyed August (obviously....we went back twice more after our initial experiment!! ) and have had some wonderful vacations then. We must have been very lucky, because we didn't find the rain problematic on any of our trips (one week each in '12 and '13, and a full two weeks in 2014.....this past year, it literally only rained 4 times in 14 days). That said, when it rains....it RAINS. Harder than anything we see here in the north. So when you do get wet, you're generally gonna get soaked.

The heat takes a lot of of a person, so you have to be prepared for that too. Its taxing.

Drinking buckets of water is essential. Dehydration can be a real concern. We literally drank a dozen water bottles apiece on our SeaWorld days last August.....thank the lord for those inclusions on the all-day dining plan.

Orlando has some fantastic waterparks. Aquatica, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach are all great choices for summer visits. There's also Wet 'n Wild (but I haven't personally given that park a try just yet). You would definitely want to incorporate at least a couple of those in your plans. The beaches are also beautiful and surprisingly empty at the end of August.....we have done both Cocoa Beach and Daytona Beach, and would recommend either. There's nothing like a day at the ocean .

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I agree with the other locals that I'd avoid it completely from June-Sep. as you feel like you're on the surface of the sun some days.

That said, you mentioned that you've done June in the past. If that was tolerable for you, I'd suggest sticking with that. August/Sep. Can sometimes be the hottest months. Last year our heat index was through the roof until Oct.

I'd skip August for sure

 

[I M Fearless]

We were at Disney 14th - 28th August 2011 and 4th June - 18th June 2014.

Crowds have obviously increased steadily the last few years, but generally I think the closer you are to July the busier it gets during the summer. This is the case for both June and August.

Weather wise it was similar heat in June and August, but perhaps more humidity in August which is noticeable.

My advice would be to plan for the end of August (or even September before F&W) or beginning of June. Drier weather, and not as busy.

If you usually go middle to the end of June, I would think the crowds towards the end of August would likely be similar or perhaps slightly better. It does seem to rain more in August but if you work around the thunder storms you can have a lot of success.

 

[deb24k]

Also a teacher and cannot afford Disney for my family during our scheduled breaks. This leaves the summer for us. We have gone at the end of June, Beginning of August and the end of August. The weather is hot and humid; no getting around that. As a NewEnglander I thought June was marginally drier than our later trips but not enough for me to take real notice. The crowds and prices are better at the end of August. We have always rather enjoyed the late afternoon thunderstorms that come in August. The crowds clear and we use ponchos or take a break. It cools off the temps for a short while also. We utilize the early morning and late evening hour sat the parks for attractions and seated dining and the pools to stay cool during the peak heat hours. For us the cost decrease is worth the marginal weather difference between the two choices that you offered.

 

[thewilderness3]

Two teachers with kids here! We understand the limitation to only June and August and have actually experienced both.

Our first 2 trips to Disney were in August, but then we tried the beginning of June and haven't gone back. August was HOT and HUMID. June is hot, but humidity sucks the magic out for my group. The parks were a bit more crowded. Plus, Hollywood Studios has Star Wars Weekends during June, and that is a Must-Do for my boys.

Another woman in my building tried a June trip last year instead of her annual August one, and although she like the above mentioned items, for her it just didn't fit. She said her family didn't have a vacation left to look forward to throughout the summer. So, that might be something to consider. For my family though, it's the thing that gets us through those crazy final weeks of school and kicks off the summer fun!

 

[greentea]

I'm glad to hear June is a bit less humid -- we just switched our dates from 2nd week of August to 1st week of June. We can't do the end of August because of college schedules starting, otherwise I'd have gone for that for the lower crowds (even got a PIN for the last two weeks of August, but oh well). So, early June works out better for our schedule, and I am also hoping for slightly better weather! We do okay in the heat, but it's the humidity that really does us in.

 

[macfinn]

Going June 6th thru june 13 -- how are crowds -- heat doesn't bother us it is Florida people ---

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We've gone in July and August and the heat and humidity is high but not unbearable. I don't like anything over 80 but we had days in the 90's and as long as you are hydrated you will be fine. My family is a baseball family and we are outside in the summer always. Indiana summers are the same as Florida so it's not that bad. We have lucked out and it hasn't rained very often when we have been down there. In 2013 for 2 weeks, it rained 5 times and the longest was 3 hours.