Been to WDW both late September and early August? Come inside! Help please.

[DisneyFive]

Please, give me the real scoop of early August versus late September! I’m really struggling whether or not to do an early August WDW vacation this year.



As you can see in my signature, all we know is late September. We’ve gone late September five times in the last six years. We love it. Crowds are low (3’s – 5’s), we’ve always had free dining, and the weather is great (88-90F with not much rain).



My DD14 is entering high school this fall, and my DW is going back to teaching full time. This means no more pulling the kids out of school. Bye, Bye September. So…..



I’m looking at early August (3rd – 12th or so). Crowd predictions are solid 8’s, temps are a few degrees higher, average rainfall is about double late Sept, and we wouldn’t have free dining. (we get a small 20% room discount instead). Park hours are almost identical to what we’re used to in Sept, except MK is open until 10pm instead of 9pm.

My main concern is the crowd level. We can handle the heat, I think. Our 2011 trip averaged 93-94F with 90%+ humidity. We managed, but it was stupid hot. The pools felt great. We would also cut down on our favorite TS meals due to the cost, bummer.

• What does a park feel like at a 8 or 9 crowd level? Is it just ridiculous? I just have no reference.
• Are there ANY advantages to early Aug?
• What kind of rain is typical? Are they all day steady rains? A brief shower? Multiple brief showers?

Thanks! -Dan

 

[ArwenMarie]

The weather is probably similar to September. It's those daily thunder and lightning storms. Lightning being the scary part. Rope drop is key so you get a lot of stuff done in the morning.
It's going to be much more crowded than you are used to. 9s are high. And the heat doesn't help (as you know!)
But hey if that is when you can go, go and have a good time. Just keep your expectations modest

 

[beccasmom]

We are kind of "stuck" in the August pattern due to school and sports. It is quite hot (surprise! ), but it would be close to the same at home anyway. Many school districts return to classes in early August (including Orlando). You get used to the drill of using common sense regarding touring early, taking breaks during the mid-day (thank heaven for pools!) & returning to the parks later. We have rarely experienced all day rain. The norm is a fairly brief thunderstorm in late afternoon/early evening. One time the storm "trained" and lasted the rest of the night, but we haven't seen that often. I don't think there is much appreciable difference in the weather between August/September.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We use to go then but want MNSSHP. August is really no different for the way we do Disney. You may want to start adrs now. Waterparks are good relief from the crowds. Utilize EMH.

 

[JoWilly]

Please, give me the real scoop of early August versus late September! I’m really struggling whether or not to do an early August WDW vacation this year.



As you can see in my signature, all we know is late September. We’ve gone late September five times in the last six years. We love it. Crowds are low (3’s – 5’s), we’ve always had free dining, and the weather is great (88-90F with not much rain).



My DD14 is entering high school this fall, and my DW is going back to teaching full time. This means no more pulling the kids out of school. Bye, Bye September. So…..



I’m looking at early August (3rd – 12th or so). Crowd predictions are solid 8’s, temps are a few degrees higher, average rainfall is about double late Sept, and we wouldn’t have free dining. (we get a small 20% room discount instead). Park hours are almost identical to what we’re used to in Sept, except MK is open until 10pm instead of 9pm.

My main concern is the crowd level. We can handle the heat, I think. Our 2011 trip averaged 93-94F with 90%+ humidity. We managed, but it was stupid hot. The pools felt great. We would also cut down on our favorite TS meals due to the cost, bummer.

• What does a park feel like at a 8 or 9 crowd level? Is it just ridiculous? I just have no reference.
• Are there ANY advantages to early Aug?
• What kind of rain is typical? Are they all day steady rains? A brief shower? Multiple brief showers?

Thanks! -Dan

The weather in July/August is the hottest and has the daily afternoon rain that you can almost set your watch to (if you still wear one). The crowds are exactly as you stated starting around noon and until about 4. If you get up and get going at rope drop you can knock out a lot of any of the parks before the herd arrives. Then back to the pool at noon to rest then head back to whichever park you desire at 5:00. This works like a champ every time.
As for the rains they arrive between 2 to 4 and last roughly ~ 30 minutes to an hour. *If* you happen to have a real rain that lasts longer then you are in for a great time as long as there isn't any lightning. In my experience the majority of visitors believe they were made out of sugar and fear the wet goodness. This means very short lines for many of the rides. Take advantage of the rain!

 

[BebopBaloo]

The first time we did an early August vs a late August/mid September type trip (that we were used to at that point)...it felt really crowded...probably more so than it actually was because it was still just as hot as what we were used to, but now just as hot with lots and lots of other folks. Since then we've been on a trip over New Year's week, which was even more packed and yet we managed with only a few minor problems that aren't even worth mentioning. I think with some light planning and a relaxed attitude, you'll be fine. It will be different, but it should still be fun. Prepare yourself and your expectations and you'll probably come out feeling exhausted, but pleasantly surprised. I know that's not a super help...but I really would give it a try. You go often based on your post, so using the knowledge you have from previous trips, I think you'll be fine.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I used to go in mid-October, and I've had to switch to August due to family schedules as the kids grow.

Are there ANY advantages to early Aug??

Longer hours at DHS, MK, and AK. And the water parks.

No Halloween parties closing the MK at 7 PM every other night. That means nightly MSEPs. I think Josh at Easy WDW did a post comparing crowds on non-MNSSHP nights to more-crowded days in July. Bottom line: the same number of people are in the MK on non-MNSSHP nights as there are on regular nights during the summer, if not slightly fewer people on summer nights being chased away by afternoon storms (the reason being that all the people that want to see regular Wishes or the MSEP get compacted into fewer nights).

Usually two Fantasmics per night instead of one.

What kind of rain is typical? Are they all day steady rains? A brief shower? Multiple brief showers?

Afternoon thunderstorm with heavy rain. Pretty much every day. Though some years are drier/wetter than others. On some of my August Universal trips we've had a few days with no rain. This past trip to WDW in August, we had a day or two (over the couse of 9 night) where it rained for a good 2-3 hours. But just afternoon or evening, not all day or the morning.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We toured about the same time in August a few years ago. The crowds, I thought were pretty good, better than July for sure. There were no big tour groups when we went, and the later we stayed in August the better the crowds were.

The heat did me in. I had to skip a day, as I had some dizziness/nausea one day. I think I was dehydrated, even though I drank lots of water and Gatorade. I just needed to drink even more than I thought was enough.

The daily thunderstorm was about 3:00PM, which was ok with us. We go early in the AM, take a midday break and then go back when the sun goes down.

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

No matter what, hydration is the most important thing when its that hot. It won't matter what the crowds are like if you're sick in bed dehydrated!

 

[DisneyElite4]

A trip to Disney in August is better than no trip to Disney.

 

[mm1971]

September crowds are usually lighter than August as most are in school. We have been both and prefer September. The risk is that there can be longer rain storms that last full days and not just the afternoon storms you see in August. I think it's similar temp wise, maybe a few degrees warmer in August. Definitely a little more humid than late September, but again not all that much. MNSSHP can be a plus or minus depending on if you like to attend. In August, there are no early closures for the party so you get full days. Depending on how many party dates there are during your stay, that could be a factor. For us, we would do the lower crowds, free dining in September. We go in August now due to school/sports. We always took the kids out of school before they got to middle school.

8-9 crowds are tolerable, especially if you do rope drop and/or later in the evening. We typically went back to rest from 1-5 PM. I would say wait times 10-30 minutes until around lunch time for standard attractions. The busy ones will always be busy. Afternoons, the lines got really long in our experience. Some well over 60 minutes (7DMT was always 80-90).

Advantages in August: Less chance of lasting rain, no MK closures for MNSSHP, more night parades and fireworks that you can attend. Otherwise it's pretty similar, but higher crowd levels. It seems that the rain almost always includes lightning in August, meaning some ride closures during the storms and up to 30 minutes after to let the lightning clear. Oh, a big one. Depending on when in September.....NO CRANE in your castle pictures. No missed school.

The rain is pretty much 30-60 minutes most days in the afternoon around 3/4PM. We did have one day where the rain lasted a few hours, but no full rain outs. The rain is usually a welcome addition as it can cool things off for a short time if the storm goes long enough. The shorter storms just make it more humid.

Hope that helps.

 

[lustergirl]

Sorry, we have only been in late September and it was bad for us. I imagine the weather isn't that different: still hot. We managed by going to the parks early, taking a breaking around 1pm, go back to our hotel for a break, and then head back out around 5pm.

 

[DisneyFive]

Thanks for the replies. Hmm, seems manageable. I think? I'm just looking for realistic expectations versus late Sept.

The afternoon rain showers don't seem so bad since they are relatively short. The heat we can deal with.

It's the crowds...

Plus, only MK and HS are open slightly longer than we're used to. MK until 10pm rather than 9pm, and HS 8:30 rather than 7:30 or 8pm. I wish the parks were still open later in August so that we could enjoy the cooler temps and lower crowds later at night.

Dan

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Plus, only MK and HS are open slightly longer than we're used to. MK until 10pm rather than 9pm, and HS 8:30 rather than 7:30 or 8pm. I wish the parks were still open later in August so that we could enjoy the cooler temps and lower crowds later at night.

They'll be extended. Take a look at last year's final schedule, and you'll see that MK is midnight and DHS 10 PM pretty much every night. See this post too.

 

[DisneyFive]

They'll be extended. Take a look at last year's final schedule, and you'll see that MK is midnight and DHS 10 PM pretty much every night. See this post too.

Nice! Now we're talking.

Dan