August Or Wait For May?

[crazycatlady]

Due to work, college and sports schedules, the only week that we can travel this year is August 17th through the 25th. I have tentatively planned a 6 night stay at RPR to take advantage of the great PP rate and the Stay More/Pay Less resort sale. I am a little afraid of how crowded the parks will be because of the new Diagon Alley opening a couple of months earlier and Orange County schools not in session yet. We have a few other options for vacation destinations this summer and could postpone this trip until next May. What do you experts think? Should I take a chance that rates may be higher next year but crowds may be down some or take the plunge and visit the darkside this year?

 

[macraven]

august will be hot and crowded.
HP2 will add to that.

but, you are staying onsite, you can take a pool break back at your hotel.
the hotel perk of using express, will help lessen your ride/show waits.
but, you will possibly deal with waits for restrooms, eateries, etc in the parks.


early parts of May won't have the crowds/heat that you find in mid/later August.


flip a coin, i'm no help.........


none of us really knows how the crowd pattern will be once HP2 opens.
we are waiting for that to happen so we can prepare what to expect the next few months......


can't tell if you have booked yet or not but read you do have a plan.
if you have booked, keep it.
it would be a long wait to next May for a vacation.

 

[crazycatlady]

Thanks, Macraven! I do have a plan; 3 of them actually (one for Yellowstone, one for Disney and one for Universal). We were originally going to take a trip to Yellowstone this year so I have a few of our motels booked for that, but then I started reading on this board and got really excited about a Universal trip instead. We have been to Universal a couple of times for a day at the beginning of a Disney trip, but I wanted to try a solely Universal trip so that my family could give it a fair shake instead of seeing it as the "appetizer" to Disney. We love the HP books and are very excited to see the new expansion. We haven't booked anything for it yet because we are undecided. And I always have a Disney plan.

We will have a car because we would be driving from Milwaukee, so we would probably eat at least some of our meals off-site.

We will be taking a May trip in addition to this August trip, probably to one of the 2 that are "planned" for August.

 

[macraven]

Thanks, Macraven! I do have a plan; 3 of them actually (one for Yellowstone, one for Disney and one for Universal). We were originally going to take a trip to Yellowstone this year so I have a few of our motels booked for that, but then I started reading on this board and got really excited about a Universal trip instead. We have been to Universal a couple of times for a day at the beginning of a Disney trip, but I wanted to try a solely Universal trip so that my family could give it a fair shake instead of seeing it as the "appetizer" to Disney. We love the HP books and are very excited to see the new expansion. We haven't booked anything for it yet because we are undecided. And I always have a Disney plan.

We will have a car because we would be driving from Milwaukee, so we would probably eat at least some of our meals off-site.

We will be taking a May trip in addition to this August trip, probably to one of the 2 that are "planned" for August.

that makes youse my neighbor.
milwaukee is a 37-40 minute drive from my house.
i don't speed since i have illinois plates on my car and the WI po po always nail the illinois homies............

well, do the darkside trip i august.
the hours will be longer for the parks than they will in May.
you would need to book sooner than later for the onsite hotels.

once it hits early June, many will be starting to book late summer stays.

i'm sure the onsite hotels will have rooms but not at the lower prices, based on room type.

before the darkside hotels went up, i used to do day trips while staying at the motherland resorts.
once they opened onsite resorts, i would do split stays.

couldn't do orlando without hitting both of them and stay onsite at each place.

with the darkside parks and city walk so close to each other, my touring pace slowed way down. it made me feel like i was on a relaxing vacation instead of hustling to get everything seen and enjoyed in the parks.

i've driven to orlando three times.
then i learned how to scout for cheap airfare.

sw out of mke was $218 total for me on my fall trip.
i could't drive it for that cost.
but then, i am going solo.

 

[macraven]

do you know where the jelly belly store is in pleasant prairie?
off of green bay rd.

they sell the HP chocolate frogs and HP jelly beans at a price that are a million times cheaper than the HP shops at IOA.

 

[crazycatlady]

do you know where the jelly belly store is in pleasant prairie?
off of green bay rd.

they sell the HP chocolate frogs and HP jelly beans at a price that are a million times cheaper than the HP shops at IOA.

We actually live in a southern suburb of Milwaukee, so are not too far from the jelly belly store. We used to take our kids there when they were little. I loved the free samples! Thanks for the candy tip. I will have to make a trip out there.

We can't afford both Disney and Universal this trip. It was supposed to be a "cheapie" interim vacation, but the park tickets add almost a grand to the original Yellowstone trip. Disney tickets are so expensive now that I can't do 2 sets of tickets for 4 people in one trip. That is another perk of doing Universal this trip. We are buying APs (if we go) and will tack on a few days to the darkside in May if we go to Disney (probably will for SWW). I am looking for a slower pace this vacation and having everything within walking distance plus the beautiful resort to relax at is good.

I have been keeping my eye on airfare, but am coming late to the party so pretty expensive. And we would have to rent a car. Still checking the SW site every day, though. Whats another few hundred bucks?

I took your advice and booked RPR for August. I can always cancel later, but at least I got a great rate and a cheaper room.

Thanks again so much for your help!

 

[Lynne G]

I won't be of much help. We are so excited to see Diagon Alley, that we will be there 19 to 23 August. While we expect the crowds to be heavier than usual, we love the hot weather and enjoying the water rides without feeling cold. We will take advantage of early entry and the unlimited express pass from our hotel, and enjoy the pools.

Maybe next May will be less crowded, but for us, I will not pull my kids out of school as long as I can in the summer. We went the August the year after Hogsmead opened, and it was crowded, but we totally enjoyed it.

 

[Love Tink]

I am a little afraid of how crowded the parks will be because of the new Diagon Alley opening a couple of months earlier and Orange County schools not in session yet.

Orange County goes back to school August 18.

 

[crazycatlady]

I won't be of much help. We are so excited to see Diagon Alley, that we will be there 19 to 23 August. While we expect the crowds to be heavier than usual, we love the hot weather and enjoying the water rides without feeling cold. We will take advantage of early entry and the unlimited express pass from our hotel, and enjoy the pools.

Maybe next May will be less crowded, but for us, I will not pull my kids out of school as long as I can in the summer. We went the August the year after Hogsmead opened, and it was crowded, but we totally enjoyed it.

Looks like we may be there at the same time (18th to the 24th for us). I am glad to hear from someone who was there when Hogsmead opened! Were the rest of the park areas mobbed also, or just the HP area? We usually travel during fairly low season so not quite sure what to expect. Are the resort pools really crazy (can you still find chairs to sit in during afternoon hours, etc.)? Were you able to get a lot done in the Hogsmead area during early entry before the crowds got unmanageable? Any information is appreciated!

 

[crazycatlady]

Orange County goes back to school August 18.

Really? That's great! Someone posted on the Disney side of the boards that Orange County goes back the following week, but my husband can't travel Labor Day week because he works for Harley and they have their big rally that week. Thanks for the help!

 

[Lynne G]

Looks like we may be there at the same time (18th to the 24th for us). I am glad to hear from someone who was there when Hogsmead opened! Were the rest of the park areas mobbed also, or just the HP area? We usually travel during fairly low season so not quite sure what to expect. Are the resort pools really crazy (can you still find chairs to sit in during afternoon hours, etc.)? Were you able to get a lot done in the Hogsmead area during early entry before the crowds got unmanageable? Any information is appreciated!

The rest of the park was not too bad until around lunch time. Mornings are the best time for lower crowds. We use the express pass later in the morning and afternoon, and that helps a lot. We did not feel the pools to be that crowded, especially on the week day afternoons. We got a lot done during early entry. The first time through FJ first thing was very fast, by the third time, the line was a lot longer. We use single rider after the second ride. We like to hit Spider-Man and hulk after potter. We enjoy food at Thunder Terrace, and are going to try Mythos this time. You can make a ressie for Mythos on opentable.com. We never found the restaurants that hard to make ressies that far out. We have even done same day.