Advice for the Dreaded August Visit

[PiratePixiePark]

Well, I tried to avoid it, but my schedule just didn't allow. I'll be at Disneyland August 10-13, against my better judgement.

I know it will be hot and I hope I don't live to regret it. Here's what I would like some advice on:

• Best advice for surviving the heat? Please give me your best tips.
• Crowd predictions for my dates?
• Would you prioritize early mornings or nights for crushing rides?
• Do you predict Pirates or Haunted will be closed for maintenance/refurb?
• Are there any events in August to be aware of? (that might affect crowd levels or hours)

Thank you all in advance!

 

[MillauFr]

The best advice I could give is the one you have already taken. Visiting California in August rather than Florida.

 

[Pluto468]

Well, I tried to avoid it, but my schedule just didn't allow. I'll be at Disneyland August 10-13, against my better judgement.

I know it will be hot and I hope I don't live to regret it. Here's what I would like some advice on:

• Best advice for surviving the heat? Please give me your best tips.
• Crowd predictions for my dates?
• Would you prioritize early mornings or nights for crushing rides?
• Do you predict Pirates or Haunted will be closed for maintenance/refurb?
• Are there any events in August to be aware of? (that might affect crowd levels or hours)

Thank you all in advance!

We went last June during a heat wave. It was difficult at times, but definitely doable.
For heat, we used sun hats, neck fans, cooling towels and took big breaks in the afternoon.
We rope dropped most days, which was great because it helped with both crowds and heat.

 

[mdmost]

I think August in Anaheim is better than September as far as the heat, no? Absolutely get there early and crush the rides at rope drop. It will be so pleasant when you arrive. Take a break around 2-3pm and go swim in the pool to cool down. Then return at 5pm when it's more pleasant, temperature wise. Cooling towels are a great idea. Aim for shows at the hottest part of the day. Mr. Lincoln, Tiki Room, maybe ride the train around the park.

Not sure on crowd levels but again in DLR, you can get so much done in the mornings at rope drop and then you can Genie+ when it starts to get busy. I think most rides will be up around that time. Haunted goes down for the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay but I think that's the final 2 weeks of August. Pirates should be fine as sadly, the long refurb was right when we were there in June of last year. I can't recall any August events. The Halloween stuff isn't until September.

And as someone who's been to WDW around that time, you are absolutely winning in your choice. You sweat the moment you get off the shuttle or boat in that swamp land. We were sweating just standing in line for rope drop.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

It will be hot but potentially not as bad as September/October. It tends to cool off after the sun goes down so that helps. It’s absolutely nothing like Florida in summer. I nearly died in Florida in October!

The two lower-level Magic Keys will still be blocked out during your visit so that works in your favor. My kids go back to school 8/15, but I do feel like summer travel will be winding down at that time.

 

[JavaDuck]

I agree with other posters, that morning will be cooler and better for crushing rides. We tend to shopping in the afternoon so we can be in the shade and air conditioning. Haunted Mansion might be closed for the installation of the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.

 

[Punzielostlady]

Well, I tried to avoid it, but my schedule just didn't allow. I'll be at Disneyland August 10-13, against my better judgement.

I know it will be hot and I hope I don't live to regret it. Here's what I would like some advice on:

• Best advice for surviving the heat? Please give me your best tips.
• Crowd predictions for my dates?
• Would you prioritize early mornings or nights for crushing rides?
• Do you predict Pirates or Haunted will be closed for maintenance/refurb?
• Are there any events in August to be aware of? (that might affect crowd levels or hours)

Thank you all in advance!

August has not so scary halloween

 

[GoingSince1990]

85-90 degrees, low humidity, and almost certainly zero rain? You should be looking forward to it, not dreading it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

August has not so scary halloween

OP is planning for DLR. There are no Halloween parties at DLR in August. OBB starts at DCA in September.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Well, I tried to avoid it, but my schedule just didn't allow. I'll be at Disneyland August 10-13, against my better judgement.

I know it will be hot and I hope I don't live to regret it. Here's what I would like some advice on:

• Best advice for surviving the heat? Please give me your best tips.
• Crowd predictions for my dates?
• Would you prioritize early mornings or nights for crushing rides?
• Do you predict Pirates or Haunted will be closed for maintenance/refurb?
• Are there any events in August to be aware of? (that might affect crowd levels or hours)

Thank you all in advance!

You should be fine for HM. The NBC overlay usually starts around the third week of August.

 

[godfather927]

Well, I tried to avoid it, but my schedule just didn't allow. I'll be at Disneyland August 10-13, against my better judgement.

I know it will be hot and I hope I don't live to regret it. Here's what I would like some advice on:

• Best advice for surviving the heat? Please give me your best tips.
• Crowd predictions for my dates?
• Would you prioritize early mornings or nights for crushing rides?
• Do you predict Pirates or Haunted will be closed for maintenance/refurb?
• Are there any events in August to be aware of? (that might affect crowd levels or hours)

Thank you all in advance!

We are going in July and are trying to prepare ourselves for a possible heat wave as well. We did Florida in April, so we have a rough idea of how bad it can get. Best advice I can give is to buy a couple of those chilly pad evaporative cooling towels. Those seemed to help me and the kids quite a bit. There are neck fans that you can buy too, aren't as effective as the towel, but every little bit helps.

As for mornings vs nights, I'd say do both with a looong mid-day break in between on especially hot days. We prepaid for G+ on all our days partially as a hedge against the heat. The thought would be to go early in the morning to start our G+ clock for the day, then ride something with a short standby wait, grab something to eat, then go back to the hotel to stack up G+ return times for later in the evening. If you're planning to forgo G+ and you had to pick between morning or nights, I'd imagine nights are probably going to be less crowded for obvious reasons.

 

[roctavia]

We were at WDW last May, looking forward to more comfortable temps at DLR this May.

But, in general- the cooling towels are great and give you flexibility in how to use them/what you need to cool down. just around the neck, the kids had them tied around their heads in various ways- we got some funny pictures including a great pic on pirates with purple and pink towels on their heads.
I have a neck fan that I use for travel (helps a lot with motion sickness on the airplane) that we brought with us some park days.
Lots of water- an insulated bottle you can fill with ice/water that stays cold throughout they day was really helpful- the ice didn't really melt so we just had to refill at the drinking fountains and it stayed nice and cool.

 

[mdmost]

Having just got back from a trip to Universal Hollywood, I will say one area they definitely have DLR beat is in refillable water stations. UH has them all over and at most restroom locations. DLR could really help out the masses and put in more. Even at WDW, I was hard pressed to find them and would fill up my water bottle at the soda fountain's water spout.

So on that note, remember you can ask for a cup of ice water at every quick service restaurant.

 

[chezcurrie]

Early Mornings
Genie+
Mid Day Break
Ice Water at QS locations

Even when it is hotter than hades the evenings cool down nicely. We were there last August during a heat wave and at night I was back in jeans. For early mornings prioritize the non G+ rides with outdoor/non AC queues - Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Fantasyland.

G+ is a must for me as it lets us get our top priorities no matter what. Especially in the heat - it’s the standing in those long outdoor queues where you will feel it the most. Remember to use the modify feature for more instant return times and then again to stack those LL for when you return in the evening. Mid day break also a must IMO regardless of when you visit. Get away from the stimulus, take a shower/change your clothes, get off your feet. Go back rejuvenated.

The fans on lanyards they sell are remarkable useful (could also pre-order non disney ones on amazon or elsewhere.) Fill them with the free ice water from QS locations (you can go right up to the pick up window for this, no need to stand in line) and you have yourself some awesome mist. My boys find all sorts of ways to torture - I mean entertain - themselves with those sprayers.

All this to say, you may be pleasantly surprised - August can be downright delightful weather wise!

 

[joseph821]

Early Mornings
Genie+
Mid Day Break
Ice Water at QS locations

Even when it is hotter than hades the evenings cool down nicely. We were there last August during a heat wave and at night I was back in jeans. For early mornings prioritize the non G+ rides with outdoor/non AC queues - Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Fantasyland.

G+ is a must for me as it lets us get our top priorities no matter what. Especially in the heat - it’s the standing in those long outdoor queues where you will feel it the most. Remember to use the modify feature for more instant return times and then again to stack those LL for when you return in the evening. Mid day break also a must IMO regardless of when you visit. Get away from the stimulus, take a shower/change your clothes, get off your feet. Go back rejuvenated.

The fans on lanyards they sell are remarkable useful (could also pre-order non disney ones on amazon or elsewhere.) Fill them with the free ice water from QS locations (you can go right up to the pick up window for this, no need to stand in line) and you have yourself some awesome mist. My boys find all sorts of ways to torture - I mean entertain - themselves with those sprayers.

All this to say, you may be pleasantly surprised - August can be downright delightful weather wise!

Hi. When were you there in August last year?
I am going this August between the 9th and 15th...I have been in August in previous years but later in the month. I find the crowds are better than in October.

 

[DLgal]

I don't know if this helps, but last August was pretty mild. My very heat sensitive son never even needed to use his cooling towel OR his UV umbrella last August at DLR. We had a new local water park open up last summer and we spent a lot of time there in August, wearing LONG SLEEVE rashguards because it was chilly and overcast a LOT.

This summer is predicted to be mild in So Cal due to the developing El Nino. It should be cooler, more overcast and "wetter" than usual, which means you MAY actually see some afternoon thunderstorms. This happened last summer as well.

It MAY also be more humid than is typical for so cal, so be prepared for that. Although it will not be anything like the stifling humidity in Flordia in the summer. It will feel "kind of" muggy, at worst. This phenomenon is usually worse in the morning hours when it occurs here.

 

[chezcurrie]

Hi. When were you there in August last year?
I am going this August between the 9th and 15th...I have been in August in previous years but later in the month. I find the crowds are better than in October.

We were there at the very end of August. There was a nasty heat wave in SoCal but again the evenings always cooled off (unlike in the midwest or elsewhere where it stays blazing due to the humidity.) As Dlgal said, last August was lovely except for those few days.

ANY time of year is better than October.

 

[GoingSince1990]

It MAY also be more humid than is typical for so cal, so be prepared for that. Although it will not be anything like the stifling humidity in Flordia in the summer. It will feel "kind of" muggy, at worst. This phenomenon is usually worse in the morning hours when it occurs here.

Whenever anyone at DLR says “it’s so humid today” my wife and I (east coasters) chuckle and think “no it isn’t”. We love the DLR weather in July and August, especially compared to the one time in our lives we went to WDW in July and experienced ths tropical heat and humidity with drenching daily thunderstorms.

 

[DLgal]

We were there at the very end of August. There was a nasty heat wave in SoCal but again the evenings always cooled off (unlike in the midwest or elsewhere where it stays blazing due to the humidity.) As Dlgal said, last August was lovely except for those few days.

ANY time of year is better than October.

True about the end of August last year. My kids are back in school the last week of August so we are never at the parks. But yeah, it was FINALLY hot!

 

[joseph821]

I don't know if this helps, but last August was pretty mild. My very heat sensitive son never even needed to use his cooling towel OR his UV umbrella last August at DLR. We had a new local water park open up last summer and we spent a lot of time there in August, wearing LONG SLEEVE rashguards because it was chilly and overcast a LOT.

This summer is predicted to be mild in So Cal due to the developing El Nino. It should be cooler, more overcast and "wetter" than usual, which means you MAY actually see some afternoon thunderstorms. This happened last summer as well.

It MAY also be more humid than is typical for so cal, so be prepared for that. Although it will not be anything like the stifling humidity in Flordia in the summer. It will feel "kind of" muggy, at worst. This phenomenon is usually worse in the morning hours when it occurs here.

Great. I have found the weather in August at Disneyland to be mild sometimes hot. But not as hot and humid as it gets where I am in New York/Long Island Metro area where it can get so hot and humid. We had a very hot and humid summer in 2022...I remember nights where the low was like 80..ugh.