Best time to go to Disney in the summer?

[mscmom]

We are planning to go to Disney for a week in the summer. From your experience, is there any time crowd wise that is better or worse to go?
Thanks.

 

[Bob P]

Hi and welcome to the DIS!

Our experience has been that from mid-August on crowds are significantly lower. Many schools re-open by mid-August and that keeps crowds down a bit.

By all means, avoid the last week of June and the first week of July. those are the two most crowded weeks of the summer.

Enjoy!

Bob

 

[donac]

If you can go during one of the last two weeks of Aug it is great. The last week is better but both are good.

 

[mscmom]

Thanks! It looks like we'll plan to go the last week of August!

 

[SuzEm]

We always go last week of May - our schools get out usually around May 23/24/25. It's always been nice crowd-wise and weather-wise.

 

[chobie]

First week in June is good too.

 

[Jasminetigger]

For the last three years we have gone the last week of June and left right before the 4th of July. It really wasn't that bad. We had everything planned out ahead of time but did not stress if we had to vary from the schedule a bit. We were in the parks in the morning, back at the resort for an afternoon swim and back out again in the evening. We managed to do everyhting we wanted to and had a very relaxing vacation.

 

[kittythepoohbear]

Welcome mscmom! I agree with the last couple of weeks in August but will go a step further and say if you can go the first week of September it may work out even better for you. Disney releases a lot of special rates/packages during that time period such as the free dining plan or very discounted rates on the hotels (I stayed in ASMo for $55/night in 2004). It is also generally cooler and much less crowded since most schools in the South have started. A lot of schools are starting after Labor Day and the long weekend has been managable these last couple of years. The days immediately following Labor Day the parks are dead - you can walk on to many attractions. It may be worth considering if it would work with your schedule.

Kat

 

[ericafny]

I feel like even if its crowded with the right planning you can pretty much stay one step ahead of the crowds.

We went in the end of July of 05 and we planned out which days we were going to go to which parks according to the UG crowd levels and we also used FP and took advantage of EMH (especially evening). When we were in MK we walked right on POC and HM TWICE on two separate days. We got an AMAZING spot in Frontierland for Spectro AND we got FP's for BTM handed to us by a CM because the machine was broken which then in turn allowed us to go grab a second one for SM without waiting until the time had passed.

My advice: Go whenever is convenient just educate yourself and prepare to be a superplanner! These boards will teach you almost anything you need to know... Have a wonderful trip

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Have gone twice at the end of June and it's their "rainy" season, downpours each and every day. Last summer we went August 18 for one week and it was much better, only occas. late afternoon showers(20 min),much less of a crowd ,too !!!!

 

[Bryce's Mom]

We went July 5th through the 11th in 2005 and had only a couple rain showers that did not affect our day at all. We choose July because of my son's B-day, and the rates for the deluxe resorts go down on the 5th. I have also been in the middle of May and that seemed a little less crowded.

 

[txgirl]

We went the second to last week of August last year (our schools start after Labor Day) and I think the crowds were manageable (but the free dinining plan made it a bit more crowded)

We rode everything we wanted to and never had to wait more than 20-30 minutes!

We could predict the showers with great accuracy (about 3:00 each afternoon) and we were usually in the room by then or at least running for cover to the room!

HOT! It was so stinkin' hot! We didn't care because we were so thrilled to be there but I know we gave up several times just because of pure heat exhaustion. We planned our days around the heat and because of the meal plan we could eat indoors.

Have fun!

 

[PrincessPurpleTink]

Schools here get out in May and start back the 2nd week of August. Going in the summer, you can expect an afternoon thunder shower every day. Typically they only last about 30 minutes and really help to cool things down. Summer is hot, but there are plenty of air conditioned buildings to use for cooling off. Fast passes are a must to keep from standing in the hot lines. Epcot is the best park for beating the heat. They have the most indoor activities and lines there.

 

[phisigprincess]

We like the week before the 4th of July and the last week in July.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

We are planning to go to Disney for a week in the summer. From your experience, is there any time crowd wise that is better or worse to go?
Thanks.

Our schools do not go back until after Labor Day. We went to Disney the last week of August and it was great. It's hot as Hades, but crowds were very managable. We plan to go back that same week in 2007.