Advice on August please!

[PirateGirl]

Hi
I have been to Disney lots of times - almost always in Oct/Nov or Apr/May which are both fantastic times to go. This year however we are going with another family (who have never been before) and as they are teachers we have agreed to go in August (12th Aug - 02 Sept)!
I have always vowed to avoid this time due to crowds/humidity/rain etc. so I'm actually not looking forward nearly as much as usual, but maybe my imagination is worse than the reality?! Can anyone who has been at this time tell me what I'm letting myself in for & what tips they might have?
Thanks a lot ... Pirategirl

 

[dd50]

I was there August 8th last year for 7 nights. It was hot and that is to be expected. It only rained one day and that was for about 30 minutes. Of course that was the day we left the ponchos in the hotel. We ran into a counter service place and got a snack by the time we were done so was the rain. Crowds really weren't that bad. We used fast passes and made rope drop every day and did all the rides a few times over.

 

[stepdisney]

We always go end of Aug - Sept. Very low crowds but very hot. Also, free dining for the past 5 years! We love it but it's not for everyone.

 

[w-family]

We were there last year for the 3rd week in August. It was hot. Go to the parks early, go to the pool in the afternoon and go back to the parks at night. Use FP, some lines can be long. The crowds were not overwhelming, but mid afternoon it is busy which is why we would leave at that time.

Parks are open late which is nice. We actually did not have one day of rain, so it really depends.

Don't worry about what you can't control. It was the first time for us last Aug too (usually Oct for us) Brings LOTS of drinks to teh park and have fun!!

 

[3floridarays]

Since you are from the UK and probably not familiar with what we Floridians mean by hot, think "surface of the sun" hot with "suck the life out of you" humidity.

Spend some time at the water parks and/or the pool at your resort. Expect brief downpours/thunderstorms, especially in the afternoons, so ponchos are essential and be prepared to do something inside for a while.

Also, be sure to bring some good sunscreen with you, unless you want to pay exhorbitant prices at your resort.

 

[TMWilson7196]

We went the second week of aug last year and it was hot hot hot. When ever we felt overwhelmed by the heat we would slip into a shop or an indoor ride. It rained most days we were there but not for long. Take lots of breaks. Start off into the parks early. Take a break either have lunch or go back to hotel for a swim or a nap when the sun really starts to heat up. You can also go to any counter service restaurant and get a free ice water.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

We are going in Aug this year for the first time.
Last year we went in June during unseasonably HOT temps (120 degree heat index). It was brutally hot...drinking water isn't just an option...it is a MUST. All that being said we had the best time. You need to plan your days accordingly. We made sure we hit lots of air conditioned rides/shows...always left the park before the HOT afternoon hours so we could be in the pool or our air conditioned rooms...then returned to the parks at night. Honestly the nights are not that much cooler but at least you don't have the sun.
And don't forget to use seriously strong sunscreen (love Blue Lizard).
Another thing we learned..plan your dining accordingly...What might sound like a great meal while booking it in Feb, may not be that fabulous after walking around a HOT HOT park.

 

[Big Daddy Incredible]

We have made our last two trips to WDW starting Aug 15 or 16 in 2007 and 2009. My wife is also a teacher so our times are restricted as to when we go.

As far as the heat is concerned, it gets hot and very very humid in Michigan during the summer. Visiting Florida in August is not much worse than Michigan at that time so we really don't consider the heat to be an issue for us.

The very best advice is what others have stated before my post. Stay out of the afternoon heat. That can't be stressed enough. If you have to be in the parks during that afternoon, plan your time so that you are taking easy on yourself.

The crowds have not been bad in August 2007 and August 2009. You will definitely notice a difference in crowd levels between Aug 15 - 22 and Aug 23 - 29. Regardless, you should be able to enjoy almost all attractions with reasonable amounts of waiting time if you plan properly.

If you go during the free dining period, be sure to properly plan for that as well. DW got on the phone at 7:00AM on the first day we could call. She nailed down all of the ADR's that we wanted. It's been five months and she is still getting major kudos for that.

 

[happymommy]

We've gone to WDW twice in late August, plus also went to Universal one time late August. The WDW trips were great; Universal was just okay IMHO (rained more, and I didn't think the service was even close to Disney).

I find that although it's hot and humid, and we do experience occasional rain, we still have fun! I get a GAC for my son, who has asthma and can't handle too long in the humidity. I also brought a stroller until my kids were 7 and 9, to share. Yes, they were old for one, but it helped immensely.

We never experienced bad crowds, and always had fun. Evening dips in the pool were nice to cool off!

Since it sounds like you have two weeks, I think you will likely have many nice days in there.

We do try to keep cool by staying out of the sun as much as possible, enjoying the pavilions in Epcot more, resting a lot, drinking lots of water, eating light, and only going to MK early in the morning.

We've gone early June a couple of times; once it was absolutely beautiful weather, and once it was scorching hot. Still, we managed to really enjoy it!

 

[MelanieC]

We love July & Aug.

Check out my partial live report (need to finish it) starting on 8/7 last year. We went for 18 nights and had very LITTLE rain! The lines are pretty do-able and maybe you'll get lucky that part of your trip will be during free dining like we had. It's definately hot, but there were days I was freezing because the buildings are so cold (my first day at MK I was about ready to go buy a hoody). I find if you mix up going inside buildings with being outside it's not bad. AK is the worst for the heat and we always plan Kali river rapids for the early afternoon to cool us off. Try to save indoor shows for the afternoon, do the long lined stuff in the mornings.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2251829&highlight=Live

 

[marymac123]

We went last year Aug/Sept. Like everyone said before me, it was Hot! But, honestly not that bad because we just walked onto just about every ride & attraction-NO waiting in any park. It rained everyday we were there but for an hour at the most, so bring the ponchos. But, it was so great that we booked the same week this year.

 

[Corysmom]

I have to agree with everyone here. My friends and I have traveled several times in August to accomodate teachers. It can be REALLY hot, but if you are prepared to take breaks in the middle of the day, dress properly, and drink a lot of water, you should be fine - we have never found the heat to be a problem. Last time we went down it was in the middle of hurricane Faye - all it meant was the ponchos and rain hats had to come out. It also drove a lot of folks from the parks, and we had a blast. Just make sure you have extra shoes, in case you are out one day in bad rain and your sneakers get soaked!

 

[schmoopypoo]

Honestly don't think the worst. We went Aug 27-Sept 2 last year and it was not bad at all. Yes, it was hot, but just drink plenty of water and take a break everyday to go swimming or what not. That really helped us alot. Crowds were great too and very manageable. Most waits were no longer than 20 minutes or so, besides Splash for obvious reasons. So dont get discouraged, we're even going back the same time this year!

 

[sharadoc]

Honestly, we hated it. We went August 16 -30 last year. We don't do free dining, but we got a great room discount. The restaurants were crazy busy because of free dining, but the overall park attendance was very manageable.

The humidity was SO oppressive that no amount of water could cool us down. We were constantly bathed in sweat, even at midnight. Our best day was walking around World Showcase in the intense sunlight, since it burned off the humidity.

Our kids refuse to go back in August.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

October used to be our month, but no more with kids too old to miss that much school.

We were there the last two weeks of August last year. To compare it to October:

Crowds - MUCH lighter than October. There were times that we felt like we had the parks to ourselves.

Restaurants - TS are much busier (free dining), QS are less busy than October

Temperature - October has some very hot days mixed in. August is like that, but every day. That actually helped us as we acclimatized by the middle of the first week. We had no issues coping with the heat after the first few days, which we actually spent at Cocoa Beach, before our 2 weeks in WDW.

Rain - varies, but it doesn't rain at all in October and it might rain every day in August. Last year, we had very little rain, but that is not typical. We went one year and got hit by a tropical storm and it rained buckets almost every day. The good news - those days are much cooler, so there is a trade-off.

Our family really enjoyed the 2 weeks in August last year - so much so that we are doing it again this year.

 

[PirateGirl]

Thanks everyone for your great advice .. I feel a lot happier now, especially as it seems that although it will be hot hot hot, the crowds & rain might not be as bad as I feared! I just hope that we have one of our rare English 'heatwaves' in July so we can get a bit used to the sun (fat chance ).