Best time to go...July or August

[BlkBearSuz]

I'm hoping to get some opinions on which month you guys prefer. I haven't even left for my upcoming trip and already I want to plan for the next one!

I want to take my mom back to Disney, probably in 2005 (she's been once, her first real vacation). I think that we would stay at the Pop Century resort and I know she'd love it. She's a teacher so she can only take time off during the summer months. What month do you like the best and why? July or August?

Thanks for your help.
Sue

 

[Credit Man]

We like the last two weeks of Aug. The crowds are down, as the South is mostly back at school.

 

[Ratpack]

We always go the last week of July, one it is our anniversary and two, the hours seem to alwasy be long. MK is open until 11pm on some nights or at least it has been in the past. Just remember though, July and August are very hot months, so take that into consideration as well.

 

[Kallison]

Originally posted by Credit Man
We like the last two weeks of Aug. The crowds are down, as the South is mostly back at school.

Ditto - we just returned from our first ever summer trip, very last 9 days of August. I don't know if we lucked out with the weather, but it was overcast and not too hot (we are whiners). We did get the rainshower every afternoon, but it cooled stuff down and didn't really interfere with our touring. The only parks that felt crowded was the MK. There was one day when I felt like it was unbearable. The pool at Beach Club never felt crowded and we never had a problem finding chairs. The hours were shortened, but I prefer that to larger crowds. Since we have three kids ages 13-9, they can only take so many hours in the Parks anyway.

 

[TZMOM]

We went the last week of August this year also. I used to live in Clearwater & was kicking myself for planning a trip to FLORIDA in AUGUST (I went the same time to Texas one year also - go figure.)

It was not even close to as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, it was hot, but it's hot in the Northeast that time as well. We just went out a little earlier in the day, took squeeze breeze w/us, back to the hotel around 3:00 p.m. and then out again a few hours after that. I did not think the crowds were heavy at all. MGM was a ghost town in the a.m. - we left shortly after lunch. It seemed we had Epcot almost to ourselves, Magic Kingdom was a little worse - but it always is. Animal Kingdom was awesome & not too crowded for the times we were there.

I've never gone in July, but I would think it would be a bit more crowded.

Have fun on whenever you go!!

 

[MDDisneyFan]

I would recommend as close to the end or beginning of the school year as possible. Not every school system opens or closes at the same time. So . . . . I would go as early in June as possible. It's not as hot and, hopefully, not as many folks are there. (I know you didn't mention June but I work at a high school and school is out in June.)

 

[FloridaCat]

If your concern is heat, then take MDDisneyFan advice. If crowds are a concern then late August. Don't go by what others say about rain or heat they encountered as I have lived here 12 years and never saw two alike. It's pot luck as in 98 we had a drought, this past summer we had 24 inches of rain June, July & August.

 

[TiggerPiglet]

We also went the last week of this past August and the crowds weren't too bad, especially as the week went on. It was hot, but bearable.

 

[swilphil]

Since your mom is a teacher, look into the teacher discount at the Swan/Dolphin. We stayed for $129/night at the Dolphin. The rates may go up by 2005, but it's a deluxe hotel. The location is the best, too!! You can walk or take a short boat ride to Epcot and MGM and easily return to your room for a midday break. Both July and August are busy times, and it helps not to have to spend so much time on a bus or in a parking lot.

We went end of June/beg. of July (left before the 4th) as our school starts back in mid-August. It did get more crowded the closer to the 4th we got, but it wasn't too bad. Park hours were long, and we took afternoon breaks (during busiest and hottest times) then returned to the parks until close.

 

[bobcat]

I've been anywhere from the 17th of July 'till the 20th of August and anytime in between these dates is great. Being a teacher myself I have to be back to work around the 21st of August so I can't go too late in the month.

 

[BlkBearSuz]

Thanks for the replies. So far I'm leaning towards the middle or end of August. It's been really helpful hearing your thoughts. The only reason I didn't mention going end of June was because I realized that my sister would be getting married on June 25, 2005. I don't think she would be very happy with me if I went to Disney during her wedding!

I'm very excited at the thought that I can plan another trip to Disney. And swilphil, thanks for the tip on the teacher discount. I'll have to look into that. I think also that I would much rather deal with the heat than with the crowds anyday.

Thanks again everyone!

Sue

 

[FloridaCat]

If you take the advice of many and hit the parks early and take an afternoon break at the pool, resort it's surviable. Area schools start back the first two weeks of August, so that helps drop the crowd count.