august crowds?

[disneyobessed]

we are going to WL august 12-17th. Im thinking or actually hoping the crowds will be low with the free dining starting the following week. anyone know how booked up they are for that time or if there is anyword if the crowds are expected to be low?

 

[mpbs]

I don't thinks so, but you can always hope. I will be staying at BWI the week of Aug 7, I too am hoping for low crowds. Most schools (including my children) do not go in session till the very end of Aug or after Labor Day.

 

[aengus]

It's not that I want to burst your bubble, but crowds are probably going to be pretty busy at that time. If you go there hoping they wont be it may ruin you and your family's mood. Start looking at your itinerary now and think about the possibility of there being large crowds and start making adjustments to your schedule.

If you plan for the worst, you will have a great vacation! If you focus on crowd levels only you might be disappointed. Keep in mind that the crowd levels are generally higher this year than the previous just because of the greatest celebration on earth.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We go the last week of August and have found the crowds to be manageable. Most of the schools are back in session except for the North which go back after Labor Day.
But with the free dining I expect to see more people this year.

 

[WillCAD]

The last week of August is usually pretty empty, because so many schools in teh US begin around the first of September, and few people like to plan thier summer vacations right before school starts. I have been to WDW during the last week of August and found the place deserted.

Over the last few years, more and more American schools have been pushing trhier start dates up into August. I have not been to WDW in late August in some time, but I imagine that this trend would make the slack season start a little earlier each year.

However, I would tend to think that the crowds up to the 17th are still at summer peak levels. It will not be as crowded as the July 4th holiday, but it will still be pretty crowded. You will need to use FastPass as much as possible and have at least a basic itinerary to maximize your time, otherwise you will wind up spending much of your day waiting in lines.

I do not expect the free dining plan to significantly impact crowds. If the 7 for 4 package last year didn't increase crowds significantly, the free dining add-on sure won't. Remember, it's an add-on; not many people outside of us fanatics here will actually schedule a whole extra trip just because of the free dining. Most people who hear about it will simply add it onto a trip they already had planned.

 

[jjohnson]

This is a survey that started a few days ago. I'm hoping along with you that we picked a good week.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=849354