August Do's and Don'ts

[disneychic]

We are tentatively planing for Aug. We will have 4 kids ages 5-11 with me and my mom, 2 kids who have not been before and really have no idea about Disney . They will be happy just to go on vacation. Anyway, we were thinking that we would hang out at the pool in the morning, eat some lunch, nap and then head to the park in the evening. It's not a priority to see everything or ride everything. Has anyone ever done this, does it work? It's seem like the best for us. What do think?

TIA

This is what we usually do when we go to WDW in the summer. Spend the morning/afternoon at the resort, swim in the pool, have lunch, & just relax. Then we head out to the parks in the evening (5:00 or so) and stay until closing. It's still hot out, but much more managable w/out the sun beating down on you. I know this won't work for a lot of people, but it's ideal for us. We are DVC members, and usually travel to WDW quite a few times per year so there is no urgency to "see it all" on every trip.

 

[Janell]

I keep reading that its best to go when the park opens, take a break in the afternoon and go back to the park. Sounds like a good plan to me. My question is we don't have park hoppers, so what would you suggest for days when you go to AK? When we are there(late Aug), the hours on most days are 9-5. I do plan to go when they have evening hours are extend for hotel guest till 8:00pm.

Do you go at 9:00, leave at 1:00 and come back at 5:00?

 

[Disneygirl 792]

I read that you can keep the thermostat on I think for 24 hrs instead of it shutting off automatically. They have a sensor that you can override.

 

[TARAMEOW]

I am going on Aug 15 for my first Aug trip, I usually go the second week of Sept. Is the weather the same or much hotter?

 

[SHOREDAD]

I keep reading that its best to go when the park opens, take a break in the afternoon and go back to the park. Sounds like a good plan to me. My question is we don't have park hoppers, so what would you suggest for days when you go to AK? When we are there(late Aug), the hours on most days are 9-5. I do plan to go when they have evening hours are extend for hotel guest till 8:00pm.

Do you go at 9:00, leave at 1:00 and come back at 5:00?

Our plan for AK is to go in at RD and stay until we have had enough, then off to the pool for the rest of the day maybe DTD.

 

[Emily Louise's Mom]

Our family went last August and it was very hot. Lots of sunscreen, lots of water and cool clothes. Had my hair down for some pictures upon entering the park and then up the rest of the day. We never took a break and we did fine. So many of the attractions have air conditioning it was fine. Just make sure you drink alot. Going again in August because my daughter is in Jr High and it is too hard to take them out of school at this age. So in my opinion I would much rather go in the heat then over a holiday from school.

 

[twinklebug]

Bring sunblock in your bag.

Make sure you get a sunscreen higher than what you think you need, and that it won't clog pores (non-comedogenic) Note - almost all sunscreens state they don't clog pores, but it's best to try it for yourself before heading to FL. I found sports and spray sunblocks typically make our skin hotter.

I have a small trigger bottle from years back that I refill with lotion nightly so I don't bring 8 oz with me each trip. Every oz of weight in that bag counts and the trigger makes it easier to apply.

 

[Greta]

I keep reading that its best to go when the park opens, take a break in the afternoon and go back to the park. Sounds like a good plan to me. My question is we don't have park hoppers, so what would you suggest for days when you go to AK? When we are there(late Aug), the hours on most days are 9-5. I do plan to go when they have evening hours are extend for hotel guest till 8:00pm.

Do you go at 9:00, leave at 1:00 and come back at 5:00?

On the day you go to AK you could go to DD or Boardwalk in the evening, or go to dinner at Ohana or Boma! (yum)

 

[VickiVM]

On the day you go to AK you could go to DD or Boardwalk in the evening, or go to dinner at Ohana or Boma! (yum)

We are planning to go to one of the WP's after AK, then relaxing @ the resort for the rest of the evening. We aren't planning on returning to AK. 4-5'ish is probably the hottest time of the day...everything has been baking all day. I would think that returning to a park after 6pm will feel much more comfortable and since this isn't really possible with AK, we'll skip it altogether.

 

[tiki23]

I am going on Aug 15 for my first Aug trip, I usually go the second week of Sept. Is the weather the same or much hotter?

There's not much difference between August and September. The year we went in August it was hotter, the year we went in September it was more humid. It felt about the same: HOT

You can go to wunderground.com and check on historic temperatures in their trip planner section.

 

[Janell]

On the day you go to AK you could go to DD or Boardwalk in the evening, or go to dinner at Ohana or Boma! (yum)

Thanks for the idea. I wish AK was open later but I guess when sun goes down the animals sleep and would be hard to see. To bad there isn't a night safari lol.

I wonder if you could leave AK and go to BB? That's one way to cool off.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I'll be going this August, third time in a row. It's a great time of year for me to go on vacation.

I don't find the heat so bad if it's late August. The Southern kids are back in school by then so the parks aren't crazy crowded and that means most lines are short. All the indoor attractions are air-conditioned, and you get into them quickly enough.

I will never go in June again. Not only was it blazing hot, we had to wait in line for rides like Buzz in the sun. It was miserable.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I keep reading that its best to go when the park opens, take a break in the afternoon and go back to the park. Sounds like a good plan to me. My question is we don't have park hoppers, so what would you suggest for days when you go to AK? When we are there(late Aug), the hours on most days are 9-5. I do plan to go when they have evening hours are extend for hotel guest till 8:00pm.

Do you go at 9:00, leave at 1:00 and come back at 5:00?

When we go to AK in the summer, we DON'T schedule an ADR there (or we go to Tusker House breakfast before the park opens) so that we can maximize our time there. Usually we can push ourselves a little extra by hitting Kali River Rapids, but that park is hot! If you don't have hoppers, your AK night is a good night to either go to DTD, get in some extra swim time at the resort or go to bed early.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

Late August is my favorite time to go. It is hot, but with most kids back in school, the lines are short. It is important to drink lots of water, take indoor breaks, and don't let a little rain ruin your trip (it rains every day).

 

[vikkil70]

We are heading down to WDW for the first time this August as well. August 15-22 @ Pop. Our 2 DS (4&5) are early risers usually so we it should'nt be too hard to get to the parks for RD. Figured on trying to find air conditioned CS for lunch or just head back to Pop and eat at the food court, then swim a bit, and make the boys rest for a bit in the room.

Love the tips on this thread. Definetely plan on looking for the cooling neck things and packing extra clothes or planning on doing laundry. Seems to make sense that we would want to change clothes after a midday swim and shower.

 

[Minnie Lor]

Awesome advice. Lots of things I've never thought of. I'm going at the end of Sept. and know it will be just as hot and humid. I've never been when it's real hot and humid. Great thread!

 

[luvdisney00]

Great thread, lots of great advice. OP we are from the Jersey shore too (well almost, Old Bridge..LOL) and are going to POR in Aug as well.

I am interested in people's responses about Aug. because we have gone in June, July and Sept. but this is our first Aug. trip. It may depend on the year and slight differences in temp and humidity, but we found Sept. to be MUCH better than July. Yes it was HOT and HUMID but the parks were a lot less crowded and that made it feel less hot and sticky. We went the 2nd week in Sept and now we are going the last week in Aug. so I'm hoping it's more like our Sept. trip than our July one. July also had a lot of those HUGE tour groups and they were a little hard to manuver around.

We always start early and take a mid day break at the resort to swim or nap in the AC. After a shower we head out for the evening. It works well for us and we drink a lot of water as well.

 

[methestag]

Nice advice! Thanks!

 

[ummchacha]

We are heading down to WDW for the first time this August as well. August 15-22 @ Pop. Our 2 DS (4&5) are early risers usually so we it should'nt be too hard to get to the parks for RD. Figured on trying to find air conditioned CS for lunch or just head back to Pop and eat at the food court, then swim a bit, and make the boys rest for a bit in the room.

Love the tips on this thread. Definetely plan on looking for the cooling neck things and packing extra clothes or planning on doing laundry. Seems to make sense that we would want to change clothes after a midday swim and shower.

We will be at POP the same week. ) Never been in August before, but am feeling brave enough to try it.

 

[McSusan]

I agree with JerseyJanice. This August will be our 3rd trip the end of the month. We went in June last year and it was way worse. Before the kids were in school we only went the 2nd week of December and that was perfect. So when we went for the first time the end of August we thought it was busy. Then we went at spring break one time and discovered what busy was! Now we will only go the end of August and it is fine. Like others have said be prepared for the heat and to get wet. Have a great trip. Ours is Aug. 26-30.