August in Disney

[Paigevon]

So funny to hear about Florida weather from a non-Floridian perspective.. hehe. Be sure to wear sunscreen and a visor to keep the sun off your face and visit one of the medic areas if you're feeling too heated! I recommended going at opening, get an AC lunch by 11, and not coming back until 4 pm or so. That would be avoiding the hottest time of the day.

I didn't realize how bad Florida's humidity was until I arrived back to an airport after visiting California. Degrees-wise, it was almost the exact same temperature, but California was comfortably warm and sunny, and when I arrived in Florida I thought I was drowning in a sauna. Quickly adapted back to it, though.

 

[DisDadDVC]

It's not too bad, here is a pic of me with the family last August.

 

[Marbel]

The pools aren't even that refreshing when it's that hot.

 

[DisDadDVC]

The pools aren't even that refreshing when it's that hot.

Right. It feels like it has been peed in (more than it normally is)

 

[Lmans77]

I'm in Houston so I feel pretty heat adapated but where it got me is one day we ate lunch at Mama Melrose. I was stuffed beyond belief and I had also had 2 cocktails. After that, we went to Lights Motors Action show and I thought I was going to die. It was a combo of the heat, food and alcohol. So my advice is to eat light when you're out in it and save the booze for later.
Another day, we were walking in World Showcase, and I had no shade. I was thinking to myself that I would be fine if I just had a tiny umbrella to hold over my head. So that's my other piece of advice, sometimes you just need some shade and get out of the rays.
Other than that, we were fine with the usual advice of water, breaks in the mid afternoon, spray fans and Frogg Toggs.

 

[aretha30]

It's HOT! We go every August. We go to RD and stay until 1 or 2 and then take a break. We go back around 6 and stay until close. It tends to cool off some in the evenings after it rains and the sun is down. Drink plenty of water, take breaks in the AC, and don't try to do too much. The heat can slow you down some.

 

[bball15fan]

We always go in August. The rain sometimes is nice for a little, but don't count on it to cool you down. Plan indoor attractions during the hottest hours of the day. Quick service gives out free water, so what we do is bring a water bottle that has a filter in it and fill that up. It works great.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I think it all depends on where you're from. This whole discussion is really just the opposite side of the coin of northerners mocking southerners for their thoughts on 'cold.' If you can handle an avg of low to mid 90s with high humidity, you'll be fine. Personally, we won't go swimming if it's under 90s degrees...too cold. And while pools warm up over the summer in relation to the summer temps... the pool is usually still cooler than the air temp and can be refreshing...well, sort of. Sometimes it just feels like bath water if it's a more shallow pool.

I lived in the northeast until my mid 20s back in the 90s, then lived in FL and now southeast TX...so I've dealt with the heat on both sides. i.e. a northerner who thought 80-85 was warm and a southerner who now doesn't really get annoyed until it's 97+ each day. We actually once traveled from TX to WDW in August and experienced temps 15+ degrees cooler in FL. Yup...went to Orlando in August to cool off!

That being said, August is a great time to go, but if your body isn't used to this...here are my tips...
1. Stay hydrated
2. Wear a hat to shield your head from the sun
3. Wear clothes that have good ventilating aspects and are moisture wicking
4. body glide- it really helps
6. lighter color clothes seem to work better in heat
7. walking sandals - just like you bundle your feet in the winter to keep warm...you should keep air flowing to your feet in the summer to cool off
8. good sunscreen
9. misting fans sometimes can do more harm than good since a lot of people feel they boost the feeling of the overall humidity for their body
10. plan mid day breaks...time in the pool and the a/c in your room can be great + the parks are usually open really late in the summer (esp MK) so you don't feel like you lose out
11. plan to arrive at the parks right at opening and get in the bulk of your outdoor touring and attractions before the mid day sun
12. slow down in the afternoons if you plan to stay in the parks...you can pick the pace back up at night once it starts to cool and you don't have the sun on you
13. go for lighter meals- meatloaf at 50s PT may sound great, but it's not the best summer meal
14. this is the perfect weather for Dole Whips and Mickey Premium bars...so enjoy them!
15. If you think you're having a problem, get into the A/C in a store. Better to cool off for a bit vs. have a real health problem. And ask for help if you need it.
16. Know the air conditioned attractions, especially those with normally little to no wait so you can take a break in there
17. Just like spray fans can boost how you feel the humidity, holding ice bottles to your head too often may make it harder for your body to acclimate. i.e. use these things sparingly.
18. Avoid caffeine if possible. Alcohol can also present issues. So, just be careful with both in the heat.
19. Maybe plan a water park day. It's the best time of year to do it.
20. Try conditioning at home. As your home temps heat up, get yourself out walking in the warmer temps to start prepping your body.

Obviously, I'm no doctor...but I know a lot of this helps for many.

 

[Raya]

It's a dangerous level of hot. Our last trip included days right at the 100' mark, making it 110' with heat index. Disney employees on boats and in lines encouraged us to drink 8 ounces of water (half a water bottle) every hour. You can expect to reapply sunblock every two hours. The heat is unrelenting - there isn't much of a breeze or if there is it's a hot breeze - so plan on going into air conditioned shows, restaurants, and shops. Don't expect to eat as much or be tempted by hot foods. Growing up in Florida the rule was you got out of the sun between 10 and 2, so at the park for RD, out of the park after a few hours, back on the bus to the park after 2pm.

 

[eliza61]

I was wondering about August myself, our trip is up in the air now and that might be our month.

For those of you that do RD, leave for a break, then return, what time do you RETURN? I'm wondering about parking mostly, but also what time it is when it starts getting cooler (not that it will be cool, lol).

We do August all the time. LOVE it. Yes it is Africa hot, lol. first the parks are usually open very late. so while we don't do rope drop, we usually get to the parks maybe 30-40 minutes after opening. then usually right around 1230, 1 ish we start heading back to the room. we chill out until dinner time and then head back to the parks right after.

I've never, ever had any issue with parking but we do go the last week of August and historically the crowds begin to go down.

 

[eliza61]

The pools aren't even that refreshing when it's that hot.

Really, lol my kids love the pools. that's pretty much the reason why we stick to hot weather. nothing worst than going to disney in December and it's always too cold to swim. lol we always seem to hit the unexpected cold streak. ala last week. My neighbors is in Orlando and it was 40 degrees.

We generally stay at the beach club which has stromalong bay. It's never been what we would call "warm"

 

[msb578]

If you have the capability of going at the end of August (the later the better), you'll at least benefit from significantly lower crowds than the rest of the summer.

 

[Arden01]

What TiggerTrigger said. We've been twice in late August and it's tough. However we'll probably go back in August because it's the best time we can go with school/work schedules. Getting to parks at RD, leaving between 12-1 and coming back after 5pm works best. The evenings are okay once the sun goes down. Dehydration is real! My daughters got dehydrated a couple of times, especially in Animal Kingdom. Drink lots of water. Body glide is also a must. My daughter got terrible chafing the day she wore a skirt. I like staying onsite because we don't have to deal with a hot car and the buses always worked well for us. The first summer we stayed at the Beach Club and Storm Along Bay was just wonderful. Hoping to stay there again if it's in the budget. A great pool helps with the heat. It's definitely doable, but just plan to stay out of the parks during the hottest part of the day.

 

[brockash]

How hot is it really?... Im not sure if we will be doing the whole stay on disney or rent a condo at wbc thing. Not sure how it is if we leave mid day to avoid the heat but come back to the parks later on. Is the parkling lot still crazy crowded to walk through? Ill have a 5 yr old and 2 yr old by then. Any suggestions on how to manage the parks in the heat is super helpful. Thanks!!

It's gonna be pretty darn hot, having said that it's still doable. We try to make sure we schedule longer indoor attractions during the afternoons or do a table service meal during the afternoon. I would also def. bring or rent (not from Disney) a good double stroller so the kiddos can nap when they're tired, because they're going to get worn out. Towards the end of our trips we'll often grab a snack and take an hour or so break just sitting/eating under a shaded area - at MK the Tomorrowland Terrace is a great place to sit, as there's usually ample seating and it feels pretty cool there with it being completely covered and concrete etc.

Also drink lots of water...a small fan (they sell cheap hand-held ones at walmart) for each kiddo or person might not be a bad idea either. -Since you'll probably already be lugging around a good amount of stuff with the ages of your kiddos, maybe doing a larger spray bottle/fan wouldn't be a bad idea. I don't like them because of their size, however if you're already taking a stroller then it probably won't make a difference and the kids will probably love using it.

My mom also swears by using "frogtogs"?? Don't remember if that's the exact name, but they're little wet cooling towel type things. I've never used them, but she does every trip.

 

[ScaryTales]

Think back to the hottest you've ever been. Now multiply it by 100 and add a sea of humanity all suffering along with you. But look on the bright side.. you're at the best place on earth.

 

[TI double-GUH ER]

As many have mentioned, it is hot. A lot of people will tell you to do the mid-day break. We didn't choose to do that. Instead, we often opted for a late breakfast/early lunch and made that our sit down meal for the day. It made us break up the day a little, got us out of the sun for at least an hour when it was scorching...
The other thing to remember is that summer in Florida is accompanied by afternoon showers. We found those quite effective at cooling us off. (We stayed in the parks). The last time we went in August we had several days that were wash outs - so much so that swimming wasn't an option due to the pools being closed. So you might want to take that into consideration as well.
Misting fans were a great favorite of the kids - and we also spent some serious time at the splash pads.

 

[AFwifelife]

August is definitely hot in general in Orlando (I went to UCF). The crowds and the asphalt just intensify it. The afternoon showers don't usually cool the weather down, just add even more moisture in the air and make you feel like you are walking through a sauna.

I've toured with breaks and without them. For us, we like to stay on property and go back to the hotel for a little after-lunch nap. Spending a little time in the cool and dark room really refreshes us to get back up and finish out the night.

Last visit we had our 2 year old and 4 month old with us in September. I used Enduracool towels and portable fans to keep them both cool and made sure everyone was drinking lots of water (and constantly nursing my 4 month old).

 

[Praying Colonel]

Typical weather report in Orlando during August:

 

[BeckyEsq]

We've gone in August several times. One tip is to use Disney transportation if you can. I can't imagine leaving the park and having to get into a car that's been sitting in the sun and probably 125 degrees inside it. It's better to wait a few minutes for a nice air conditioned bus to pull up. We also don't really swim during daylight hours because if you get too much sun you'll just feel hotter and weaker as the week goes on. If we swim it's at night. Schedule a TS meal for lunch to get out of the heat for a while. Character meals are good for this as you might be in the AC for about an hour. I like to keep my feet cool and wear Teva sandals instead of tennis shoes and socks. Plan your touring so you don't have to do too much cutting across the parks as that will exhaust you in the heat. Get up early and take advantage of the cooler hours. If you are from a part of the country that is hot and humid you won't be too surprised.

 

[LaurenT]

Picture yourself sitting in a steam room ...
That is on the sun.
It's a little hotter than that.
But if you know where the AC is and get there early, bring a mister and drink water ... You'll be fine