2nd week of August - Am I crazy?

[jacknsally19]

Am I crazy for booking the second week of August? I had been planning the last week of August but something came up for work and I need to move our trip. I can get a great room rate for the second week of August at the Boardwalk.... but will I regret it? I have looked a few different crowd calendars on line and I'm seeing some mixed messages. I've seen heavy crowds but I've also seen moderate crowds.

We have gone fairly frequently over the years during fall, winter, spring. I've always stayed away from summer months but my DD asked to do a mom & dd trip and it just seems to me that is the timing that works best.

Would love to hear how regulars have managed the summer months and/or any tips for handling summer heat and crowds. Thanks!

 

[maryj11]

We went last year at that time. It is definitely hot and humid! Crowded but not so bad you can do everything you want with a good plan. Try to stay out of the midday heat, use a misting fan, drink lots of water and work that fastpass system. We did indoor shows in the middle of the day or went back to the resort to swim.
I don't know about it being more crowded than the end of August because we have not gone then in a long time. I do know it hasnt been any more crowded than any of the other summer months.
We are going the first part of August this year.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We have done that time in August, the longer you stay in August the better the crowds. We did not find the crowds to be that bad. A good thing is the big tour groups are usually gone by the 2nd week. Makes touring so much easier.

We had to plan our days a little differently due to the heat and humidity of August. We normally go in June and found August to be so much hotter and more humid! We hit rope drop AM, took a much longer mid day break and then toured again when the sun went down.

Sometimes we just toured at night as the heat was so intense during the day. We drank so much water, more than I ever had on a trip. Lots of Gatorade!! I ordered water and Gatorade from gardengrocer.com, so we always had plenty. I hear some people freeze the water bottles at night, so they have a nice cool ice pack until it melts.

I like to bring a frozen washcloth to wipe down my face during the day. I will freeze one over night and put it in a baggie. During the day, I keep it refreshed and clean with more water and ice. I also use a strong hand held fan, that has rechargeable batteries. It fold up small, but packs a punch. I do not like the mister fans, as I feel like it's adding more warm water on me...yuck.

The Boardwalk is awesome, we love it. You will really like being able to walk quickly to and from EPCOT. Take the boat to DS and save your energy. The walk is quicker but not always in the shade, so I use the boat.

Do laundry, we go through two full outfits a day. No jeans! Find clothes that are quick dry. Use Body Glide or a product like it. Gold Bond body spray is also good. Moleskin and good blister bandaids, I wear good flip flops and sandals instead of tennis shoes as my feet get swampy.

 

[jacknsally19]

We have done that time in August, the longer you stay in August the better the crowds. We did not find the crowds to be that bad. A good thing is the big tour groups are usually gone by the 2nd week. Makes touring so much easier.

We had to plan our days a little differently due to the heat and humidity of August. We normally go in June and found August to be so much hotter and more humid! We hit rope drop AM, took a much longer mid day break and then toured again when the sun went down.

Sometimes we just toured at night as the heat was so intense during the day. We drank so much water, more than I ever had on a trip. Lots of Gatorade!! I ordered water and Gatorade from gardengrocer.com, so we always had plenty. I hear some people freeze the water bottles at night, so they have a nice cool ice pack until it melts.

I like to bring a frozen washcloth to wipe down my face during the day. I will freeze one over night and put it in a baggie. During the day, I keep it refreshed and clean with more water and ice. I also use a strong hand held fan, that has rechargeable batteries. It fold up small, but packs a punch. I do not like the mister fans, as I feel like it's adding more warm water on me...yuck.

The Boardwalk is awesome, we love it. You will really like being able to walk quickly to and from EPCOT. Take the boat to DS and save your energy. The walk is quicker but not always in the shade, so I use the boat.

Do laundry, we go through two full outfits a day. No jeans! Find clothes that are quick dry. Use Body Glide or a product like it. Gold Bond body spray is also good. Moleskin and good blister bandaids, I wear good flip flops and sandals instead of tennis shoes as my feet get swampy.

This is great advice.... possibly a dumb question but how do you freeze things? Does the mini -fridge in the rooms have a freezer component. I'm drawing a blank.... mostly because I've never tried to freeze something while there.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

This is great advice.... possibly a dumb question but how do you freeze things? Does the mini -fridge in the rooms have a freezer component. I'm drawing a blank.... mostly because I've never tried to freeze something while there.

No they don't have freezers. I don't understand why either.
August is hot - some years hotter than others. We have to go in August because of everyone's schedule but it is manageable. We also really like the BW. Enjoy!

 

[heidijanesmith]

This is great advice.... possibly a dumb question but how do you freeze things? Does the mini -fridge in the rooms have a freezer component. I'm drawing a blank.... mostly because I've never tried to freeze something while there.

The older minifridges used to have a tiny freezer shelf, top right. I did notice that my newer fridge at GF did not have this little shelf. I am not sure what mini-fridges are at BWI currently, it's been a while since we stayed on that side.

Recently we have been staying at a 1bd villa BWV and they have a full size fridge/freezer.

If I did not have a freezer, I would just get the washcloth wet and stick it in the back of the fridge, then keep it refreshed during the day.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It depends on your tolerance for heat. It's really hot. Really hot.

I think the biggest thing is to be ok with getting less done if the heat is too much for you in the afternoons.

 

[maryj11]

We have done that time in August, the longer you stay in August the better the crowds. We did not find the crowds to be that bad. A good thing is the big tour groups are usually gone by the 2nd week. Makes touring so much easier.

We had to plan our days a little differently due to the heat and humidity of August. We normally go in June and found August to be so much hotter and more humid! We hit rope drop AM, took a much longer mid day break and then toured again when the sun went down.

Sometimes we just toured at night as the heat was so intense during the day. We drank so much water, more than I ever had on a trip. Lots of Gatorade!! I ordered water and Gatorade from gardengrocer.com, so we always had plenty. I hear some people freeze the water bottles at night, so they have a nice cool ice pack until it melts.

I like to bring a frozen washcloth to wipe down my face during the day. I will freeze one over night and put it in a baggie. During the day, I keep it refreshed and clean with more water and ice. I also use a strong hand held fan, that has rechargeable batteries. It fold up small, but packs a punch. I do not like the mister fans, as I feel like it's adding more warm water on me...yuck.

The Boardwalk is awesome, we love it. You will really like being able to walk quickly to and from EPCOT. Take the boat to DS and save your energy. The walk is quicker but not always in the shade, so I use the boat.

Do laundry, we go through two full outfits a day. No jeans! Find clothes that are quick dry. Use Body Glide or a product like it. Gold Bond body spray is also good. Moleskin and good blister bandaids, I wear good flip flops and sandals instead of tennis shoes as my feet get swampy.

We put ice water in the spray mister, it is our favorite way to keep cool.

 

[philbrody]

Not to be nit picky but it's more humid than hot. Been in Phoenix and Vegas the days it gets to 115 and this is different. 92 with oppressive humidity is the norm. I find it to me very manageable if you plan it well. Rope drop is the best start. Have FP's for 9, 10 and 11. Get two rides in first then your three fast passes. in between go to the less visited indoor attractions. Carousel of Progress, Pixar Movie shorts at Epcot, Muppet Vision Etc. back to the pool by 1 or so. Nap or leisurely dinner then head back out around 8. Was disappointed last year that MK didnt have very many late hours. Mainly Pandora and it was crazy. Evening hours we spend walking around world showcase, use a FP if we can get one, and see some of the entertainment. other days it's water park from rope drop till about 2, then FP around 8 for the parks.

 

[maryj11]

We went last year at that time. It is definitely hot and humid! Crowded but not so bad you can do everything you want with a good plan. Try to stay out of the midday heat, use a misting fan, drink lots of water and work that fastpass system. We did indoor shows in the middle of the day or went back to the resort to swim.
I don't know about it being more crowded than the end of August because we have not gone then in a long time. I do know it hasnt been any more crowded than any of the other summer months.
We are going the first part of August this year.

i had written you can't do everything with a plan but meant to write you can so I edited it

 

[OneinThree]

As residents, we go often. Aside from holidays where it's insane, it's pretty much always crowded these days. Nothing wrong with your time slot at as far as that goes, IMO. Now the heat, that might be a little different for everyone. Biggest factor is the dewpoint, which is often 75. That means heat indexes of up to 120-130, and the fact that sweating isn't as effective at cooling your body. Unless it's the very young, the very old, or you aren't in good health, being in and out of the a/c in the attractions is usually enough of a break from it. Otherwise, tour in the AM and the evening as much as possible and hit Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Bleach during the day!

 

[jacknsally19]

Thanks for the tips! I figured we would go to the parks in the AM.... Head back at noonish for pool time and spend our evenings at HS or Epcot if we feel up to it. The one nice thing about going frequently (and with a kid that hates intense rides) is I am never worried about doing it all. I have been a few times where it’s so busy I just feel like I can’t move or see a darn thing and that’s not fun from my perspective.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I’m going first week of August. We’re gonna be fine.