August crowds and historical park hours

[rentayenta]

Just wondering what the crowds are like in August? We live on the West Coast and early August is a crowded time at the Disneyland Resort. Wondering if the heat/humidity makes August a less desirable time to be at WDW? When is Peak at WDW other than the winter holidays and Spring Break?

Also the park hours listed seem a little on the skimpy side; MK 9a-10p nightly and all the other parks are 9a-9p nightly. We are going Sun-Friday though which may account for the hours.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Early August has extra magic hours till midnight at magic kingdom. Same at Epcot. Deff no skimping. ( if staying on site )

Based on reports lately, all times are crowded. No off season anymore.

Apparently summer is actually having less crowds

I’ll be there early August also. I expect it to be extremely hot with an afternoon storm daily with above average crowds.

Either way with the right planning it should be extremely fun either way

 

[CAS239]

Last year 9/10pm was usual closing time. Certain days MK had PM emh and stayed open until 11/12am for on site guests. I wouldn't anticipate regular park hours to extend past 10pm.

August is busy, as is every month. It's hot 10 months out of the year and a lot of people with kids plan around school. The later in August you go the less crowded it should be with schools starting back up. Around my area (2 hours south of Disney) school will be starting back up Aug 10th

 

[sjrec]

Many of our trips have been early to mid August. Several mornings we get to the park when it opens and we get so much done before we leave at 12 or 1:00. My grandson rode Buzz Lightyear three times in a row! Space Mountain was a 5 minute wait. The crowds seem to be pouring in as we head out. My grandson is up at 6:00 anyway, so early morning works for us. My daughter and her husband will go on their own and stay late and enjoy that as well, so if you don’t have early risers that’s another strategy.
One of our mornings we ate in BOG before the park opened and that was like having three extra fast passes-we didn’t schedule any of ours until after 11.
It’s crowded, but not so many people it’s terrible crowded, if that makes any sense

 

[stace1214]

We often go at the very end of August. For us, it seems less crowded than Feb break and Easter break. We rope drop each day, do a ton until lunch, take a break and go back for dinner and more rides. By that time of day it's still oppressively humid, but the sun isn't as strong as earlier in the day. We're limited to school breaks for travelling and I definitely prefer August over the other break weeks.

 

[rentayenta]

Early August has extra magic hours till midnight at magic kingdom. Same at Epcot. Deff no skimping. ( if staying on site )

Based on reports lately, all times are crowded. No off season anymore.

Apparently summer is actually having less crowds

I’ll be there early August also. I expect it to be extremely hot with an afternoon storm daily with above average crowds.

Either way with the right planning it should be extremely fun either way

Thanks! We went in Sept years ago and enjoyed the midday rains; sort of cooled and cleaned the air. The crowds were very manageable though.

Disneyland doesn't have an off season either anymore.

Last year 9/10pm was usual closing time. Certain days MK had PM emh and stayed open until 11/12am for on site guests. I wouldn't anticipate regular park hours to extend past 10pm.

August is busy, as is every month. It's hot 10 months out of the year and a lot of people with kids plan around school. The later in August you go the less crowded it should be with schools starting back up. Around my area (2 hours south of Disney) school will be starting back up Aug 10th

I found the historical hours on this site and they mimic what I am seeing now. We will be there Aug 5-10, too soon for school to be back in. Thank you for the insights.

Many of our trips have been early to mid August. Several mornings we get to the park when it opens and we get so much done before we leave at 12 or 1:00. My grandson rode Buzz Lightyear three times in a row! Space Mountain was a 5 minute wait. The crowds seem to be pouring in as we head out. My grandson is up at 6:00 anyway, so early morning works for us. My daughter and her husband will go on their own and stay late and enjoy that as well, so if you don’t have early risers that’s another strategy.
One of our mornings we ate in BOG before the park opened and that was like having three extra fast passes-we didn’t schedule any of ours until after 11.
It’s crowded, but not so many people it’s terrible crowded, if that makes any sense

Thanks! Sounds like a great way to tour. I like the idea of making the FPs for a little later and taking advantage of the light morning crowds. This trip will be just DH and myself so though so I don't think we'll hit many rope drops other than AK but I could see us arriving by 10 or so. Hmm....

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I took DD18 last Aug on a last minute short trip. Only 2 nights, but the parks closed so early. Since we didn't have her younger siblings along, for once, we were hoping to stay out super late. I am surprised they close so early in the heat of summer. Crowds weren't small, but it wasn't packed either.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

Last year, we went in August and found that park hours were very limited (as in no nights with MK open until midnight) due to the huge push to get everyone to Pandora, which was open late every night. Drove me crazy, because honestly Pandora was just not my thing. This year, it would be GREAT if DHS was open later so we can spend more time in Toy Story Land, though.

 

[JennyDrake]

I have been during the first or second full week of August every year for the last ten years.ROPE DROP IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. You can be very surprised at the low crowds at opening. Expect headliners to have waits of 55-75 minutes by 11am-12pm and waits will endure through the day. Most other attractions will be 30-45 minutes during that same time frame.

And it is HOT. REALLY hot. I live in The South and don't have a/c in my home, and the August afternoon heat in full sun can kick my hot, steamy buns. I usually do rope drop, then leave no later than 2 pm, swim, nap and return about 5 pm. The humidity does not break. Ever. _I_ and fine with overcast and humid or dark and humid but not all share my sentiments.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Thanks for this thread. I am going late August next year, for the first time. Now that my DD will be in High School, its too difficult to let her miss any school, I do not like vacation weeks as they are SUPER crowded.

I know MNSSHP now starts in August, so this might be a reason for the MK closing early, or no EMH. They will need time to decorate for Fall.

Was wondering too what entertainment happens in August at the parks/water parks. Like Eat to the Beat etc... Any insight what I should be reading about is appreciated.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

My son and I went the second full week last year. We never had more than a 20 minute wait. We utilized our FPs. We did the Keys to the Kingdom your, EMM in Fantasyland and got extra FPs doing the DVC tour.

This year we are doing the same time. We are doing EMM and staying CL so we are purchasing the extra FPs. If we can we will do the DVC tour. We do the extra park hours, single rider lines, etc.

We prepare by lots of walking. We drink plenty of water in the park and enjoy our time!