August trip ?

[MomE@Home]

My SIL asked me about going to WDW at this time of the year and I have only experienced April.
Has anyone been to WDW in August ? How bad is the heat & humidity ? Is it too hot for young children (3 & 4 yrs. old)? Can a family have an enjoyable trip or will they be miserable(sp?) ?
My SIL is a teacher so she can only go during the summer.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We usually go every aug., this year we are trying april. The heat is oppresive but you can deal with it if you plan well. Things like go to the parks when they open, take an afternoon swim, rest and ac break. Get fastpass, use light colored clothing, stay very hydrated. I always bring 2 big rubbermaid chugger bottles of gatorade into the parks and fill them up after our sit down lunch with our leftover drinks. Get a mister fan. This really helped to keep down the temperature tantrums. Go back at the night when its cooler. I must admit, this aug. was much more rain then I wanted to deal with. Definetely bring ponchos, or purchase them at the parks. Also extra socks. If our shoes and sneakers dont dry out then I make the ds walk around the parks with their water shoes on. Go early to the water parks. By 11 one day there were no chairs left at typhoon lagoon. Even the resort pool, poly, was very crowded in the afternoon. We then switched to the swan and had to make a mad dash out of the pool during a thunderstorm. I thought the lifeguard did not give enough warning. Next time I will decide when to tell my kids to get out of the pool. Have a rain plan. The parks are really less crowded during rainy times. In the mk at crystal palace lunch they turned down the ac because everyone was coming in soaking wet from the storm. Good luck and plan well. Make ps for meals so you can rest and get an ac break. If you want a favorite place make sure you book it as soon as you can. When we were there hollywood and vine and crystal palace were sold out.

 

[MomE@Home]

Thank you luvmarypoppins !

Anyone else want to add anything about August ?

 

[Mrs. Toaster]

I live in the South, and know all about what August is like! We are traveling to WDW this summer with family from California, and we have been trying to prepare them! August is an extremely hot month, but coming from the west coast, I find the humidity to be the worst part of it. As the previous poster mentioned, it is very important to take advantage of the coolest times of day. In Atlanta, we do everything outdoors in the mornings and then go indoors until the late afternoons/early evenings. Plan on heading back to your hotel for a pool/rest break around lunchtime, and heading out again later in the day. The nights can be my favorite time, warm but not so oppressively hot! It is really important that everyone stay well hydrated. Limit caffeinated drinks, and drink lots of water. Go to an indoor ride or attraction every so often to take advantage of the air conditioning. I sometimes take an icy cold shower in the afternoon just to cool down!

There can be a lot of rain in August. Oftentimes, they are just brief showers, but make sure to pack ponchos, so you don't get caught off guard. Often the rain strikes on the sunniest days, so just always be prepared. The rule at our local pools is that everyone is out of the water the minute you hear thunder, so I think that is a good general safety rule.

Summer is also mosquito season, so you may want to pack a sunscreen that has repellant built in. I also plan on packing some Caladryl to relieve the itching from the bites!

On a more lighthearted note, the humidity wreaks havoc on hairstyles, so you might bring a de-frizz conditioner or spray, if that matters to you! The good news is that it really moisturizes the skin!

 

[Mrs. Toaster]

One more thought about August travel...I often find that places are heavily air conditioned due to the hot weather outside. Therefore, it is not a bad idea to have a light sweater to wear indoors for meals at restaurants.

 

[Montana Minnies]

Hi
I just wanted to let you know I'll be there in August along with 7 other family members. There was a thread posted earlier ( not sure when or by whom), but there were a number of people who actually enjoy going during that time. Maybe some of them could respond to your post and give you more ideas.
We also have a teacher in the group so that is one of the reasons we will be there during August too. Luvmarypoppins had great suggestions. My sister and I were there last July and the rain did seem to last longer than when we had been there before during the summer;(many years ago). It did help to take a few hours during the afternoon and go back to the resort just to relax and cool off, then head back in the late afternoon or early evening. Sorry I can't be more helpful. In spite of the heat/ rain we still had a great time, hope you will too!
Enid

 

[melissa6631]

We went last August. I think the 16-23? if I remember correctly. I swear to you it rained every single day!!! Most days we had sun from 8am until noon and then rain ALLLLLL day!!!!!

I think we had two days that weren't completely all rain and one day a tornado came through by our hotel!

We are going again this year during the 4th of July! I'm sure it will be crowded. We did have a lot of crowds last August but we were kidless so I didn't mind it that much. This year, we're bringing a 9 & 10 year old along. BRING PONCHOS!!! you will get ROBBED if you buy them there!

This was our day at MK

 

[Mrs. Toaster]

Most of the southern schools go back in early August, August 9 here, so we have heard it is better to go the last couple of weeks of August. I have also read posts from people who love going at that time. We will be there on August 14th this year!

 

[prplcrzy]

We usually go the end of Sept. or beginning of Oct., but this year we'll be there in August. DD is too old to take out of school. We know it will be hot, but we'll just have to deal with it.

Mrs. Toaster, thanks for the Thomas Fold & Go tip and maybe we'll see you there. We're going the 20th - 29th. We'll be wearing our lime green!

Nancy

 

[hogie1]

We're also going Aug 14 for a week. There's a group of 6 of us and the wife & I are used to going towards the fall & early winter. How bad is it to get PS made for that month? I'd like to make them at the end of May, but some people in our group don't want to feel tied down to a certain schedule for dining. We've always made our PS and it's better than to wait and wait and search for a place to eat. Help me help them to see the light!!!
Thx....

 

[Memaw2Wm]

We've gone the last week of August 2002, 2003 and are going back again this year.

Yes, it is awfully hot, but we get up and hit the parks early. We carry little mini-fans, duck into the a/c stores for a break. We drink lots of water.

I usually make ressies for a sit down lunch which gives us a break and when the kids reach their limit we head back to the resort for pool time.

And I ALWAYS carry ponchos and a mini-umbrella ... August = late afternoon thunderstorms.

 

[sumil67]

We have gone the last week in August for the last 2 years and are going again this year Aug 27 - Sept 6. We always butt our vacation up to Labor day weekend. As we come from the northeast, we feel the weather is no hotter at WDW than it is at home, and we actually fell the humidity is less at WDW. We chose that time of year because it's a nice final break before our kids head back to school and the FL kids are already back in school so the parks are not too crowded during the week (picks up on the weekends, however). In addition, most of the queue lines are covered so you aren't standing out in the blazing sun for the most part. We generally go to the parks fairly early (at opening and we avoid EMH) and head back to take a break midday. It seems to work for us and we have always gotten to see everything we want during our trip. Hope this helps. Happy Planning!

 

[MomE@Home]

Thank you everyone for your replies !

 

[melissa6631]

Good luck whatever you decide. I'm sure you'll have fun WHENVER you go!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Also forgot to add this, definetely bring some aloe vera gel. Even with waterproof 45 suntan lotion our 3 ds still got burnt after a long day at blizzard beach and reapplying too. It saved alot of painful grumpy moments, also I gave them all some tylenol too. That gel worked wonders. I am bringing it now for april even if we dont need it, better safe than sorry.

 

[dee2zo]

This is our first August trip...14th-28th. We usually go the last week in February and first week in March. The kids are too old to leave school for that long now. I am hoping crowds won't be too bad...I would take heat and rain over big crowds. We'll see how it goes. Although any trip to WDW is a good trip IMO!!
Dee

 

[N.Bailey]

We normally go the Wed. before Thanksgiving, because the kids have Thurs - Fri off from school, then we have the following Mon - Tues off here for hunting season. Going at this time has given us an 11 day vacation with the kids only missing 3 days of school.

This year however, under a new contract where my husband works, the company decided they were going to do shut downs 2 weeks a year so they tell you at least what 2 weeks you'll have off (they were nice and made one week Christmas). My husband has already used too much vacation this year, so we're unable to go over Thanksgiving.

So, we're going to try August for the 1st time ever. Aug 14th thru the 23rd. We don't handle the heat too well, and I'm a bit nervous, but we're going to do it anyway. Looks like we'll be drinking lots of water and taking lots of breaks to swim!

Looks like I'll have a few fellow Disers there too! I'll be looking for the lime green ribbons.

 

[deltachi8]

We are going Aug 25th-Aug 30th, our third late August trip. The crowds are very manageable! Is it hot? YEPP! Is It wet? YEPP!

Bringa poncho and drink plenty of water. You can ask for ice water from the concession stands and they will give it to you free. Definitly sunscreenand a hat. Plan yuor touring to have lots of stops in airconditioned attractions and take a brwak every so often.

Only down part of this time of year is usually the parks close a bit earlier, so plan accordingly.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We went last August with 2 DD (4 & 5) and DS (2 almost 3). Of course it was hot, but we found by getting to the parks early and leaving in the afternoon for a swim/nap we were fine. The misty spray bottle was a great idea also. When it got too hot in the parks we ducked inside Small world or Pirate of the Carribean or something of that nature and it did the trick. This year we are going in the middle of July so it couldn't have been too bad. Have a great time, heat or no heat, it's still disney!

 

[Bear Necessities]

For the kiddos or the big kids too, (adults) In Epcot there are several fountains to run through to keep cool on the really hot days in the park..

We went last year from Aug 17th to the 23rd like melissa6631 and it did rain almost every day that week exception of Sunday and Monday. Tornado? Yep! The thing to rememeber about August is that it really depends on what you are used to, for us we have been there in July for our honeymoon and now last year in August with the three kids and both times it was cooler in Fla than at home in Iowa, so humidity and temp were a reletive thing for us. Having said that keep in mind it really does rain and although the crowds were pretty high then, the rain really put a damper on it for us, as my dh does NOT like to be wet or get wet, so it slowed us down. As far as the rain ponchos go. Splurge on the mickey ones, they last longer and were a great souvenier that the kids still love... No matter what you decide to do, have a great time enjoy and sit back and notice the little things.......