August Trip

[starvenger]

This is pretty much why I've never taken the plunge with a resort and remained an offsiter (if that's a word. I know it's not 'cause I looked it up).

 

[kuhltiffany]

We went last summer from August 20 to September 1. Great trip! Yes, it was hot and humid, but we had the Free Dining Plan so used the snack credits to try all kinds of frozen drinks and slushies

All 3 of us wore Keens, my 13 year old actually wore his tie-dye ones like @Donald - my hero pictured.

We used the afternoons to shop, see the different movies and indoor shows.

 

[AngelDisney]

As a teacher, I have no choice but to travel in the summer. So, I prefer going from mid-August to right before Labour Day for lower rates, lower crowds and MNSSHP! In 2017, Food and Wine Festivsl started in late August. Having Food & Wine and MNSSHP on the same trip was awesome! We usually stay a week at Universal then about 9 days at WDW. Well, the heat was not pleasant though! We must take a hotel break after lunch to rejuvenate.

 

[giovanni2231]

You will get to experience Mickeys No So Scary, which is always nice... It will be hot and humid, but i think you will find it surprisingly not too crowded. I believe some of the southern states like Florida start school by then, so that helps with the crowds a bit.

I wouldn't worry about a hurricane, but be aware that there will be a chance of lots of thunderstorms. We went a couple of years ago, it rained 8 out of the 12 days we were there at some point during the day. Not enough to ruin the trip, but enough to get annoying (and soaked). If weather holds up, it is the best time of summer to go....

 

[deedubb]

We used to go every March break but are now limited to either summer or Christmas. We have not been brave enough to go during the summer yet. I know I can barely stand to do anything outdoors here in the summer on those high humidity days when it's over 30º, so I can't imagine how we would fare in Orlando. We went to DLR last Aug instead, and it was wonderful. It was really hot, and locals said it was extra humid last year, but I didn't feel any humidity at all. We are headed there again this summer, but I think we are going to attempt WDW next July.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Thanks again everyone for the replies. We are definitely going to give it a shot and see how it is.

 

[MommyBG]

FYI - They just announcement Star Wars Galaxy's Edge will open on Aug 29. We really liked August when we went 4 years ago. Had booked the last week of August for this year but changed it to the end of July because of my husband's work schedule. I'm a little relieved because although we are Star Wars fans, we want to wait a few years before tackling those crowds!

 

[Disney Addicted]

FYI - They just announcement Star Wars Galaxy's Edge will open on Aug 29. We really liked August when we went 4 years ago. Had booked the last week of August for this year but changed it to the end of July because of my husband's work schedule. I'm a little relieved because although we are Star Wars fans, we want to wait a few years before tackling those crowds!

I'm torn! We are arriving on August 27. I would LOVE to go somewhere along September 2-5 (Mon-Thurs). We were planning on going to AK on September 1 and MNSSHP on September 2 but I'm ok with using the MNSSHP money for this tickets to go to DHS instead! However, my husband's first thought of course was the crowds.. then someone posted a photo of the crowds on opening day for Harry Potter... I know my daughter does not do crowds well (or my husband)... my husband said he was looking forward to MNSSHP...

Ugh... I don't know now. This trip will be 9 years from our 1st trip to WDW. We left AK early (two of us sick), which is why we are going there on our 1st Universal Studios trip. It will probably be another good 9 or 10 years until we visit again, if ever. I think we'll end up passing on Galaxy's Edge (sigh). Ah well. The ride I'd really love won't be open until Phase 2 anyways.

 

[starvenger]

Since I’ve already got my vacations lined up for 2020 I don’t see us getting to WDW again until 2021. Hopefully the crowds will be “thinner” by then...

 

[hdrolfe]

My trip is Aug 24 to 31 and the 30th was when I was planning to spend the day at Hollywood Studios so we would be able to get FP for Slinky Dog... now... well we'll see but kiddo is super excited because he loves Star Wars! But he isn't sure he'd want to do the ride because he's worried he wouldn't be able to fly the ship properly Hopefully we will be able to watch videos of the one in Disneyland before we go so he can see what it's really like. He does really want a Porg (is that right?) and a droid. So we will hit it up early as possible and check things out, and hopefully do some shopping, try a blue milk, and maybe a green one. I told him to make sure he doesn't spend all his money earlier in the trip. I am planning to do an EMM now earlier in the week so we can ride Slinky Dog multiple times without worry. Had to change up my plans, but I think I've got it sorted now. I also currently have Mama Melrose booked for dinner on the 30th, and am not sure if I should change it or just leave it and brave the crowds. That is our last night so I wanted a nice-ish sit down dinner to end off the trip. I may switch to something in Epcot instead, I'd go with Magic Kingdom but there's a party that night and I didn't want to buy tickets since we will be doing the EMM and it all adds up! Especially when you convert it to CAD

 

[Silvermist999]

My trip is Aug 24 to 31 and the 30th was when I was planning to spend the day at Hollywood Studios so we would be able to get FP for Slinky Dog... now... well we'll see but kiddo is super excited because he loves Star Wars! But he isn't sure he'd want to do the ride because he's worried he wouldn't be able to fly the ship properly Hopefully we will be able to watch videos of the one in Disneyland before we go so he can see what it's really like. He does really want a Porg (is that right?) and a droid. So we will hit it up early as possible and check things out, and hopefully do some shopping, try a blue milk, and maybe a green one. I told him to make sure he doesn't spend all his money earlier in the trip. I am planning to do an EMM now earlier in the week so we can ride Slinky Dog multiple times without worry. Had to change up my plans, but I think I've got it sorted now. I also currently have Mama Melrose booked for dinner on the 30th, and am not sure if I should change it or just leave it and brave the crowds. That is our last night so I wanted a nice-ish sit down dinner to end off the trip. I may switch to something in Epcot instead, I'd go with Magic Kingdom but there's a party that night and I didn't want to buy tickets since we will be doing the EMM and it all adds up! Especially when you convert it to CAD

That’s amazing you are already booked to be there when SWGE opens!! The same thing happened to us, they announced that Pandora would be opening, near the end of our trip, so I switched up our park dates just so we could be there opening weekend. It was awesome, super crowded, but awesome!

 

[hdrolfe]

That’s amazing you are already booked to be there when SWGE opens!! The same thing happened to us, they announced that Pandora would be opening, near the end of our trip, so I switched up our park dates just so we could be there opening weekend. It was awesome, super crowded, but awesome!

After the initial "holy smokes, it's going to be so busy!!" I think we are pretty excited. Also happy I switched us back to Beach Club (went through a lot of changes, YC - CBR - CSR - POP - back to BC, still sad I changed since it's costing me more and we prefer YC to BC), so we can walk to HS.

 

[ellbell]

I have my trip booked from August 24th to September 2nd and then they dropped the bomb. My HS day is planned for August 30th. I am going to see if I can get slinky dog fastpasses for what was suppose to be an AK day earlier in the trip and switch them because I don't want to be anywhere near HS on or after the 29th.

 

[quandrea]

I just looked at a calendar for 2020 and notice that my daughter won’t need to be back at school until September 9. We are definitely heading down as a family for twelve nights. We go often so I don’t care if we slow down.

I did have a thought though—I’m planning to bring my best friend and her two girls in June of 2020 when school lets out. If I move that trip to August 25, I can save four round trip airfares. Dh would follow us down after my friend trip is over. Would August be a good time for a trip with people who don’t go often and want to see/do a lot?

 

[starvenger]

Late August is good in terms of summer crowds. Many parts of the US have started school by then.

But of course August is pretty hot and humid. So be prepared for that.

 

[quandrea]

Late August is good in terms of summer crowds. Many parts of the US have started school by then.

But of course August is pretty hot and humid. So be prepared for that.

We’ve done first week of August and late September. Much difference?

 

[starvenger]

Closer to first week of August than late September imo

 

[CdnCarrie]

I found the rain a real nuisance. I was prepared for daily thunderstorms that we have had on previous mid September trips.
But in our last 2 weeks of August trip last year it would be a torrential rainfall that would last for couple hours. Most evenings were torrential rain so no nighttime entertainment, no pool, etc.
One night at UA we had gone back to the room to rest and were planning on going to Citywalk for supper but the torrential rain just turned us off so we ate pizza in our room. Just rained HARD for like 3 hours straight.
Another time in Epcot it rained HARD (not a light rain.... for like 3 hours. I'm fine with it for a day or two but two weeks straight got old quick.

We got to Volcano Bay at opening and the park closed at 1 due to the torrential rain. Lost most of our water park day.
Day of our MNSSHP it rained hard from 4-7:3ish.

We have never ever had that in our Jan/Feb trips so it was quite the eye opener. But crowds were great and some great deals.

 

[quandrea]

I found the rain a real nuisance. I was prepared for daily thunderstorms that we have had on previous mid September trips.
But in our last 2 weeks of August trip last year it would be a torrential rainfall that would last for couple hours. Most evenings were torrential rain so no nighttime entertainment, no pool, etc.
One night at UA we had gone back to the room to rest and were planning on going to Citywalk for supper but the torrential rain just turned us off so we ate pizza in our room. Just rained HARD for like 3 hours straight.
Another time in Epcot it rained HARD (not a light rain.... for like 3 hours. I'm fine with it for a day or two but two weeks straight got old quick.

We got to Volcano Bay at opening and the park closed at 1 due to the torrential rain. Lost most of our water park day.
Day of our MNSSHP it rained hard from 4-7:3ish.

We have never ever had that in our Jan/Feb trips so it was quite the eye opener. But crowds were great and some great deals.

This is what I worry about. Our early August trips saw heat and some rain, but nothing that interfered in any way. The rain was usually a few minutes during our afternoon down time. Torrential rain that last hours each day sound awful. We are planning September next year, but I think I’ll keep the June trip as planned.