August at Disney - Suggestions for touring strategy?

[erineab]

We are northerners who venture to disney each March. We were convinced to do a (non disney) cruise this year with friends so, rather than waiting until March 2016, I have booked an August trip (I am a teacher so have restrictions on when I can travel). We typically are rope drop people and leave the parks by 2:00 for pool time, a nice dinner and getting our 5 and 8 year old to bed at a reasonable time. I am wondering if given the august heat, we would do better to book fastpasses for after dinner and close the parks instead of opening them? Is it typically a bit cooler at night?? I would love to be able to go for rope drop, take an afternoon swim/ dinner break and then close the parks down but my kids are still a bit young and need a good rest at night. Any suggestions from those who have braved the august heat would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The last time we went in August was pre FP+. We would do rope drop, midday break for the pool (no naps) and a park in the evening.

This time around I have the same plan. I will be getting FP+ at our evening park except for the day we do DHS at rope drop. We will get our FP's at DHS.

Two days we are starting late and doing PM EMH at a park and just getting the FP at that one park.

 

[Madame]

Hello! Ontario teacher here too . We did the last week of August last year at AoA. DD7 DS5 & DS5. I scheduled our FPs starting at about 11:00. It was brutally hot (but not enough to stop us from going in Aug again as it's the only 'non' peak time I can go lol!).

Between FPs we ducked into cool places like the Dumbo tent or played in the splash area in Fantasyland. My kids were wiped out by about 4pm. We did rope drop every day & the heat was taxing - the effort it would take to get us back to AoA was not worth it. I knew if we left midday we'd never get back on the bus!

Going back this year end of Aug again but at BC. I am going to make our FPs for later in the PM as we'll be able to walk to EP/DHS. Happy planning!

 

[glassslippergirl]

Honestly, in August, it won't get comfortably cool until after the sun goes down, and that will be around 8:00. With young ones, that's late to start your FP's. You're probably better off doing RD, and booking FPs for late morning. Leave the park at or right after lunch for a break (it will more likely than not rain in the late afternoon, which can make the humidity intolerable for those unaccustomed). Return in the evening when you feel comfortable. With a good afternoon break, your kids will be able to stay up a little later than usual.

PS-- before you leave for break, book a fourth Fastpass for the evening.

 

[Disneylover99]

We go every August. When my kids were 5 and 8, afternoon breaks never worked well for us. We either went early and stayed until 2 or 3 pm. Or we went to the parks at 2 or 3 pm and stayed for fireworks.

I would suggest doing rope drop and booking fp' s some days from 10am - 1pm and also arriving later in the afternoon some days and booking fp's for 4-7pm. See which works best for your family.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Another Ontario teacher here As you can see from my signature, we almost always go in August. This year youngest DD is starting high school, so we need to be back by September 3rd for high school orientation. It's so nice going back after a late Labor Day this year You will enjoy the moderate to low crowds. It is HOT - when our DD's were young, we purchased Frogg Toggs and still use them today. They really help keep body temperature down.
We alternate between these two plans...
1) rope drop, FP+ booked 12-3, then spend rest of day swimming at resort.
2) rope drop, resort 12-5 swimming, then FP+ 6-9
* in both cases, we drink lots of water, alternate between rides / shows for air conditioning.
* we try to make a resort day every 4th day as the heat can really wear you down.
Have a great trip!

 

[DCbride]

We have gone every August for the past 7 years. Our plan is arrive close to rope, book FP for 10-12, add a new FP and exit the park by 12. We usually swim, nap or simply shower and watch some tv, let DD play. Then we head back to the parks after dinner, say around 7. The mornings can be fine or you can be sweating within the first 10 minutes. But, we still go each August

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We're northerners who took a quick, 3 day trip this past August. Our general plan was RD-TS lunch-break-swim-nap/rest-back to the parks around 8:00 p.m., after the worst of the heat was over. The sun was much, much more brutal than I had expected, but the heat itself didn't seem as bad as I thought it was going to be. We had to slow down a lot, and we really were so uncomfortable in the heat that it wasn't worth it to us to try to tough out mid-day in the parks.

 

[aretha30]

Another teacher here We go every August also! We do RD FP+ are booked for between 11-1 depending on which park we are in and we are back at our resort by 2 at the latest. We take a break, nap and swim and head back to a different park after dinner (usually around 7). The evenings are cool and comfortable, mid to low 70's. Just be prepared for thunderstorms each day in the afternoon, they don't last long (most of the time) but they are part of FL summers.

 

[GAN]

We've been in August many times, but not since FP+. We would always make rope drop, and by 10AM we had most of the popular attractions out of the way and could move on to less popular. Honestly, with the parks open late and a plan to take an afternoon break -I would book most of my FP for later in the day/evening. Not sure how the New Fantasyland would play into this.

 

[Moms]

We spent years doing the August thing (teacher / principal) and like so many here we always arrived first thing in the morning and took a break in the middle of the day and generally returned for evening. It really isn't comfortable until after dark and in the summer that is late but if you can catch a nap during your break you and the kids should be able to hold up. Another advantage to the mid-day break is the fact that you will generally miss the afternoon thundershower that is so much a part of the summer Florida experience.

On the days we "stuck it out" and stayed in the parks we were strategic about our touring plans to allow for time out of the heat ... "show" type attractions (American Adventure, Captain EO, Hall of the Presidents, etc. ) were a good opportunity to relax in a cool environment ... even caught a "cat nap" or two in American Adventure or Hall of the Presidents! We also occasionally made late lunch ADR's which allowed some respite from the heat and a chance to refuel and hydrate.

Keep hydrated, be flexible enough to stop and cool off in a shop if you need to, and if it gets unbearable go back to the room and relax ... August is not the best time do the "commando" approach!

Have a great time ... we always did ... despite the heat!

 

[erineab]

Thanks for the advice everyone! It seems like sticking to our rope drop plan and leaving for the afternoon will be the way to go. We are staying for 9 nights at AKL so I think I will likely book a few days of late fastpasses and spend those days sleeping in, booking a breakfast ressie and enjoying some pool time. We are yearly visitors so no need to go commando and try to fit everything in!