AUGUST 2012 trip! Newbie needs advice.

[sarasplain]

Hello all! This is my very first post! While I have visited Disney World over 2 dozen times in my childhood, my family has our first ever trip together planned for August 2012. Traveling with husband, 4 year old daughter and nearly 2 year old son. Booked a Cabin at Fort Wilderness and we are counting the days. Finding it VERY hard to wait.
Anyone have a trip planned for August? What's it like in August(heat factor,park volume), we are coming the very last week.
Anyone have advice for me as far as traveling with 2 small children?
Also, any input on Fort Wilderness itself?
Wondering if we need a golf cart to get around. How accessible is everything in the resort? We will be bringing a Joovy sit and stand stroller for the kids. I know there are internal buses but worried it might be hard to load kids plus stroller onto it (thats why thinking golf cart?)
Help!
Sara
PS: how do I get a countdown clock on my page?

 

[TuneTownMagic]

sorry accidentally submitted twice!!

 

[TuneTownMagic]

Hey there, you must be so excited for the first trip with your family! I am sure it will be lots of fun to compare it with the trips you took previous to this to WDW.

I have never stayed at the Fort Wilderness grounds, so I can't advise on that aspect, but I have done August in WDW a few years back ; maybe it was the particular year I went, but I was surprised that the crowds were not unbearable. I think that may have been because some schools had started their new academic year already.....nowadays it seems like the school year starts in early September.

It is a great time to go, and I know when I went in August of 2009, we were on schedule for the free dining plan, which makes the trip even more amazing. If you are doing this, I would recommend planning Disney dining destinations according to what parks you are going to be at each particular day, but everybody differs on that! Do what works for you . I don't know if Fort Wilderness qualifies for the free dining plan, but if so, you may want to watch out for whether the dates you are going match with the free dining plan offered dates (I don't think they've released late summer dates yet for 2012).

I think the new Art of Animation resort will have started opening in phases by then too, it seems like with the theming of it, it would be a fun place for kids to see!

It might be a good idea to have ponchos or rain coats (the thin ponchos are sometimes easier to lug around in your bags though) as it can go from hot to rainy really quickly around that time of the year. When my sibling and I went, we did the waterparks package as well, and for some reason I feel like I enjoyed the water parks better in May and June (weather, maybe?).

You can find information on how to create a ticker at the Technical Support section of the site. There are discussions about avatars, signatures, tickers, etc. there.

Maybe this will help? http://distickers.com/ticker/

I never traveled with young children, so I may not be the #1 source on this, but I think the bus system is accommodating to people with strollers because they must encounter that on a regular basis what with the enormous amount of young families visiting the parks. From what I have observed, people have not had issues. There are stroller storing areas in the parks too (at least I've seen it at Magic Kingdom). BUT I do not know much about joovy strollers or which buses come to Fort Wilderness.

Good luck and hope you and the family meet Mickey!!

 

[3pletprincesses]

weather, it's hot ... very hot and humid. I hate humidity and yet am going for the 3rd time in August with my 5 yo triplets. We usually plan a break at our resort from about noon to 5pm because it's too hot at the parks and we prefer to swim instead. It keeps everyone happy and cool off and it makes it for a better evenening at the parks.

Last week of August is notthat busy. That's usually when we got and most rides are 30 minutes wait which is not that bad. we had many walk on last august too.

 

[roydavid7771]

I agree with everything the previous posters said. Late August is usually when we go, and in one word......HOT!!!

The key is to get to the parks early and spend the afternoons napping or swimming. Head back to the parks at night when it's cooler. With this strategy, it's imperative that you stay at a resort close to the park so you can beat a hasty exit when necessary. Taking the boat back to Ft. Wilderness from MK will be most convenient. As long as you're prepared for the heat and humidity, you should be fine.

Crowds tend to be very manageable towards the end of August as many souther schools will be starting up. Have a great time!

 

[jenjie]

We'll be there at the same time! Our trip is August 20-28, we are booked at Art of Animation.

You want to start looking at where you'd like to make reservations for Table Service restaurants. You are able to make reservations (ADR - Advanced Dining Reservations) beginning 180 days prior to arrival. I'm booking ADRs tomorrow, so that means you are eligible on Friday!!