Best way to DVC at WDW in the month of July??

[KYCruiseCrazy]

How do you do it? How do you make it through the heat/humidity or rain at WDW? How do you enjoy the parks? Do you get up early and enjoy a park from open til it's too hot? Or do you wait til a park has a night time EMH? What do you do when it rains? Are the July storms the thunder and lightening kid or just rain (just a lot of it). When it rains, do you leave the park for the day? Or do what? How do you DVC with a full size kitchen, do meals in our room and still enjoy your vacation? Or do you combine a DDP (DDP,QSDP,DxDDP) with your in room cooking?

Please help my to survive WDW in the summer. Large crowds, longer hours, very warm temps, heavy tropical rain, a hurrican or tropical storms? What about sweating your butt off. How many sets of clothes do you bring with you with a washer/dryer to use for free in the bldg while in a studio?(or a washer/dryer in your 1Br or larger room). What are some ideas to stay cooler while at the parks?

Thanks for your help, or trip reports:rolleyes.

Thanks,

John

 

[Buckeye Fan]

How do you do it? How do you make it through the heat/humidity or rain at WDW? How do you enjoy the parks? Do you get up early and enjoy a park from open til it's too hot? Or do you wait til a park has a night time EMH? What do you do when it rains? Are the July storms the thunder and lightening kid or just rain (just a lot of it). When it rains, do you leave the park for the day? Or do what? How do you DVC with a full size kitchen, do meals in our room and still enjoy your vacation? Or do you combine a DDP (DDP,QSDP,DxDDP) with your in room cooking?

Please help my to survive WDW in the summer. Large crowds, longer hours, very warm temps, heavy tropical rain, a hurrican or tropical storms? What about sweating your butt off. How many sets of clothes do you bring with you with a washer/dryer to use for free in the bldg while in a studio?(or a washer/dryer in your 1Br or larger room). What are some ideas to stay cooler while at the parks?

Thanks for your help, or trip reports:rolleyes.

Thanks,

John

We go to Disney every summer, because DH is a teacher and the kids are out of school. We almost always go in late July/early Aug.

For us, we hit the parks early. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot, but not nearly as bad as it is at 2:00. We try to each around 1ish so we are in an airconditioned place, and then we finish up the park and leave for the day. We are almost always finished by 2, with the exception of MK. Seems like we're always there until 4 or 5. All I can say is THANK HEAVENS for Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents! The other thing that is helpful is we scatter a pool day in between our park days so we're not walking around in hot weather all of the time.

As for using the kitchen, we've kind of fallen into this pattern:
- Breakfast - We always eat breakfast in our room. On park days, we do cereal or bagels and fruit. On pool mornings, the kids get up later, and I fix a big breakfast.
- Lunch is situational. Park days means lunch in the park, and we usually eat somewhere nice as our big meal for the day. Non-park days is usually something light (sandwich and chips or soup) until dinner reservations.
- Dinner - If we've been in the parks, dinner is usually light and may or may not be in the room. If we're at OKW or SSR, we love going to DTD and getting a sandwich at Earl's. YUM! If it's a pool day, we usually go to a nice sit-down restaurant or cook. We try to cook one or two evenings for two reasons - 1) because it's a nice break, and 2) saves us some money.

Washer and dryer - All I can say is we pack really light (3-4 outfits, two bathing suits for 10 day vacation), and use the heck out of it. I love having a washer/dryer in my room and find it very convenient.

If it rains, embrace it, especially if it's in the afternoon! We usually hop into a store and wait it out. What we have found is that the rain cools the park off considerably, and if it's in the afternoon, clears it out a little as well. All of those early birds call it a day, and the evening crowds aren't always there yet. We were at AK last year and it POURED for about 30 minutes. I was amazed at how many people left the park!

Lastly, wear really light, cool clothes, drink plenty of water, and don't forget the sunscreen! Drinking cold water really helps when you're losing fluids and it's hot like that.

Have fun!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We go to Disney every summer, because DH is a teacher and the kids are out of school. We almost always go in late July/early Aug.

For us, we hit the parks early. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot, but not nearly as bad as it is at 2:00. We try to each around 1ish so we are in an airconditioned place, and then we finish up the park and leave for the day. We are almost always finished by 2, with the exception of MK. Seems like we're always there until 4 or 5. All I can say is THANK HEAVENS for Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents! The other thing that is helpful is we scatter a pool day in between our park days so we're not walking around in hot weather all of the time.

As for using the kitchen, we've kind of fallen into this pattern:
- Breakfast - We always eat breakfast in our room. On park days, we do cereal or bagels and fruit. On pool mornings, the kids get up later, and I fix a big breakfast.
- Lunch is situational. Park days means lunch in the park, and we usually eat somewhere nice as our big meal for the day. Non-park days is usually something light (sandwich and chips or soup) until dinner reservations.
- Dinner - If we've been in the parks, dinner is usually light and may or may not be in the room. If we're at OKW or SSR, we love going to DTD and getting a sandwich at Earl's. YUM! If it's a pool day, we usually go to a nice sit-down restaurant or cook. We try to cook one or two evenings for two reasons - 1) because it's a nice break, and 2) saves us some money.

Washer and dryer - All I can say is we pack really light (3-4 outfits, two bathing suits for 10 day vacation), and use the heck out of it. I love having a washer/dryer in my room and find it very convenient.

If it rains, embrace it, especially if it's in the afternoon! We usually hop into a store and wait it out. What we have found is that the rain cools the park off considerably, and if it's in the afternoon, clears it out a little as well. All of those early birds call it a day, and the evening crowds aren't always there yet. We were at AK last year and it POURED for about 30 minutes. I was amazed at how many people left the park!

Lastly, wear really light, cool clothes, drink plenty of water, and don't forget the sunscreen! Drinking cold water really helps when you're losing fluids and it's hot like that.

Have fun!

Great advice!

We went in Summer instead of Winter last year while it was rainy. Here are a few things to add.

Stay at BCV for Stormalong Bay if possible.
Carry a bag. - You can put a few waters and your ponchos in the bag. The ponchos become impossible to fold so give up...wad it up and put it in the bag.
You can get misting fans and some sort of cloth thing that you put in the freezer that goes around your neck at Wal-Mart. We didn't need those because we were too busy with the ponchos.

STAY HYDRATED!!!

There are shady benches and places to sit in the air conditioning. USE THEM!

 

[kikiq]

Count us in with the early to the park group during the summer. We find out the EMH for the week. We get to the parks as close to rope drop as possible. As crowded as you think it might be, it isn't. We usually head back to the villa around 1 to eat lunch. It's surprising how many people show up after 11 as the day is heating up. Afternoon is for pool time, sitting on the balcony, resting, exploring the resort. Anything to stay out of the heat. We eat dinner BEFORE we head out back to the parks. At least one morning is a non park morning for extra resting or pool time or spa time.

We don't do a lot of TS, some CS but mostly cook in the villa. We pack one carryon per person. My DH packs 2 shorts, 4 shirts, his swim suit and wears his "nicer" clothes on the plane, aloha shirt and Dockers. I wash every other night, wash as people get ready for bed, dry while we sleep.

We freeze water bottles. In the morning, we wrap each bottle with a paper towel or two. As the ice melts, the towel absorbs the condensation and you can use it to put behind your neck if it just gets to be too hot and you're walking somewhere. Remember you can get ice water from any CS free. We fill up our bottles and drink the rest. My park pak has space to carry 2 water bottles and my DH likes to carry it because it's like carrying a frozen pack next to your body

We've been lucky the last several years as it hasn't really rained hard or long. If there was rain, we just went to the nearest attraction and waited it out. As for surviving the heat of the day IF you are in the parks, here are some of our favorite spots to cool off. During our "let's try QSDP" stay last July, we found the Norway patio in Epcot was WONDERFUL. In AK, the covered patio on the water facing EE under the fans...priceless with your free ice water. We're not in MK often during the day, it's our night time park. In DHS, we hang out in the Magic of Disney Animation. My DDs really work the late EMH parks, such a difference in the day time temps and night time temps.

Just remember to drink LOTS OF WATER.

 

[moredisneyplease]

i love the idea about the frozen water bottle and the paper towels!!!!

We tend to go in the summer (this year second week of July) and we spend a lot more time at the water parks/pools then we do the main parks. I agree with the "as early as possible in the parks" approach and then head home.

Hydrate, cool clothes, those spray/mister water bottles/water rides, etc etc.

I'm going to keep an eye on this post for more great ideas!!

 

[HayGan]

Our summer strategy is like that of many others. At a park for rope drop, stay till mid-day (Usually around 1pm), go back and have lunch, relax/swim and then head back to a park in the evening. We like to ride what we can in the morning and accumulate FP's for use in the evening (if needed.)

We eat a vast majority of meals in the villa. It saves a ton of money and time in the parks. We have a few meals off-site as well as visit a few of our favorite on-site restaurants but we are kind of the been there-done that attitute in terms of WDW restaurants (some are good but most are really over-priced for what you get!)

Our packing is minimal as the we run a load of laundry every evening. We have so many pics of us at WDW that I really don't care of our pics show us wearing the same outfit in front of Spaceship Earth as we are in front of the Castle.

 

[sweetdana]

Ditto as others..
We go to the park between 8-9:30 every day, are done between 11:30 - 2.
Play in the pool until dinner. Then go out to dinner and sometimes back to a park. I LOVE the water bottle idea.. hadn't done that before.

Sometimes on MK days we take monorail back to Epcot and cool off for a bit in the air cond, and and walk back to hotel (BC or BW) leisurly. Epcot has a ton of stuff inside, on super hot days that is where we go. Innovations and making frogs, followed by a stop at the cooling station.

I would love to spend more time there in Oct or May, but the only time we can take a long trip is summer, without the parks being so packed you cannot ride TSM. If your sched allows there are much better times, if not.. I would rather be baking in the sun there than at home adding threads to disboards dreaming of being there. Also after going in Dec once and Jan once.. Going and not swimming stinks.. I will prolly not go back when I cannot use the pools. The pools just make for a more fun vacation to our family.

 

[kikiq]

Here's how the frozen water bottle and paper towel cooling method has evolved. I'm sharing all of it, because someone might like the other suggestions.

We were a BIG softball family. Tournaments in the most ungodly places in the US, nationals in July/August. I used to make those neck coolers. At the ball park, you can keep them in ice water in a cooler. Our first attempt at WDW with neck coolers, we kept them in the frig, but no one wanted to wear them first thing in the morning OR carry them along with the water. And they really do well when they are ice cold, how to keep them ice cold. Also left over from softball days were old wash cloths or rather those bundles wash cloths you get from Target/Walmart. Use to give those to the girls to wipe down and then rinse them out in the restroom. My DH still carries one in a baggie to wash his face and then put the wash cloth on his neck. You could wrap it around the frozen water bottle, but unlike the paper towel that can be thrown away, when the wash cloth gets yucky, you need to carry it around.

I will warn you now. Don't expect the paper towels from the resorts to hold up much pass going out the front door I bring one roll of "good" paper towel from home.(Target brand works) The paper towels in the villas, don't hold up well to this task. Besides carrying extra paper towels folded somewhere is effortless. You could use the paper towels from the restrooms during the day BUT they too do not hold up. Plus the "cheap" towels will shred after absorbing all the frozen bottle moisture rendering it useless and messy.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

We go to Disney every summer, because DH is a teacher and the kids are out of school. We almost always go in late July/early Aug.

For us, we hit the parks early. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot, but not nearly as bad as it is at 2:00. We try to each around 1ish so we are in an airconditioned place, and then we finish up the park and leave for the day. We are almost always finished by 2, with the exception of MK. Seems like we're always there until 4 or 5. All I can say is THANK HEAVENS for Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents! The other thing that is helpful is we scatter a pool day in between our park days so we're not walking around in hot weather all of the time.

As for using the kitchen, we've kind of fallen into this pattern:
- Breakfast - We always eat breakfast in our room. On park days, we do cereal or bagels and fruit. On pool mornings, the kids get up later, and I fix a big breakfast.
- Lunch is situational. Park days means lunch in the park, and we usually eat somewhere nice as our big meal for the day. Non-park days is usually something light (sandwich and chips or soup) until dinner reservations.
- Dinner - If we've been in the parks, dinner is usually light and may or may not be in the room. If we're at OKW or SSR, we love going to DTD and getting a sandwich at Earl's. YUM! If it's a pool day, we usually go to a nice sit-down restaurant or cook. We try to cook one or two evenings for two reasons - 1) because it's a nice break, and 2) saves us some money.

Washer and dryer - All I can say is we pack really light (3-4 outfits, two bathing suits for 10 day vacation), and use the heck out of it. I love having a washer/dryer in my room and find it very convenient.

If it rains, embrace it, especially if it's in the afternoon! We usually hop into a store and wait it out. What we have found is that the rain cools the park off considerably, and if it's in the afternoon, clears it out a little as well. All of those early birds call it a day, and the evening crowds aren't always there yet. We were at AK last year and it POURED for about 30 minutes. I was amazed at how many people left the park!

Lastly, wear really light, cool clothes, drink plenty of water, and don't forget the sunscreen! Drinking cold water really helps when you're losing fluids and it's hot like that.

Have fun!

Great advice!

We went in Summer instead of Winter last year while it was rainy. Here are a few things to add.

Stay at BCV for Stormalong Bay if possible.
Carry a bag. - You can put a few waters and your ponchos in the bag. The ponchos become impossible to fold so give up...wad it up and put it in the bag.
You can get misting fans and some sort of cloth thing that you put in the freezer that goes around your neck at Wal-Mart. We didn't need those because we were too busy with the ponchos.

STAY HYDRATED!!!

There are shady benches and places to sit in the air conditioning. USE THEM!

Count us in with the early to the park group during the summer. We find out the EMH for the week. We get to the parks as close to rope drop as possible. As crowded as you think it might be, it isn't. We usually head back to the villa around 1 to eat lunch. It's surprising how many people show up after 11 as the day is heating up. Afternoon is for pool time, sitting on the balcony, resting, exploring the resort. Anything to stay out of the heat. We eat dinner BEFORE we head out back to the parks. At least one morning is a non park morning for extra resting or pool time or spa time.

We don't do a lot of TS, some CS but mostly cook in the villa. We pack one carryon per person. My DH packs 2 shorts, 4 shirts, his swim suit and wears his "nicer" clothes on the plane, aloha shirt and Dockers. I wash every other night, wash as people get ready for bed, dry while we sleep.

We freeze water bottles. In the morning, we wrap each bottle with a paper towel or two. As the ice melts, the towel absorbs the condensation and you can use it to put behind your neck if it just gets to be too hot and you're walking somewhere. Remember you can get ice water from any CS free. We fill up our bottles and drink the rest. My park pak has space to carry 2 water bottles and my DH likes to carry it because it's like carrying a frozen pack next to your body

We've been lucky the last several years as it hasn't really rained hard or long. If there was rain, we just went to the nearest attraction and waited it out. As for surviving the heat of the day IF you are in the parks, here are some of our favorite spots to cool off. During our "let's try QSDP" stay last July, we found the Norway patio in Epcot was WONDERFUL. In AK, the covered patio on the water facing EE under the fans...priceless with your free ice water. We're not in MK often during the day, it's our night time park. In DHS, we hang out in the Magic of Disney Animation. My DDs really work the late EMH parks, such a difference in the day time temps and night time temps.

Just remember to drink LOTS OF WATER.

i love the idea about the frozen water bottle and the paper towels!!!!

We tend to go in the summer (this year second week of July) and we spend a lot more time at the water parks/pools then we do the main parks. I agree with the "as early as possible in the parks" approach and then head home.

Hydrate, cool clothes, those spray/mister water bottles/water rides, etc etc.

I'm going to keep an eye on this post for more great ideas!!

Our summer strategy is like that of many others. At a park for rope drop, stay till mid-day (Usually around 1pm), go back and have lunch, relax/swim and then head back to a park in the evening. We like to ride what we can in the morning and accumulate FP's for use in the evening (if needed.)

We eat a vast majority of meals in the villa. It saves a ton of money and time in the parks. We have a few meals off-site as well as visit a few of our favorite on-site restaurants but we are kind of the been there-done that attitute in terms of WDW restaurants (some are good but most are really over-priced for what you get!)

Our packing is minimal as the we run a load of laundry every evening. We have so many pics of us at WDW that I really don't care of our pics show us wearing the same outfit in front of Spaceship Earth as we are in front of the Castle.

Ditto as others..
We go to the park between 8-9:30 every day, are done between 11:30 - 2.
Play in the pool until dinner. Then go out to dinner and sometimes back to a park. I LOVE the water bottle idea.. hadn't done that before.

Sometimes on MK days we take monorail back to Epcot and cool off for a bit in the air cond, and and walk back to hotel (BC or BW) leisurly. Epcot has a ton of stuff inside, on super hot days that is where we go. Innovations and making frogs, followed by a stop at the cooling station.

I would love to spend more time there in Oct or May, but the only time we can take a long trip is summer, without the parks being so packed you cannot ride TSM. If your sched allows there are much better times, if not.. I would rather be baking in the sun there than at home adding threads to disboards dreaming of being there. Also after going in Dec once and Jan once.. Going and not swimming stinks.. I will prolly not go back when I cannot use the pools. The pools just make for a more fun vacation to our family.

Here's how the frozen water bottle and paper towel cooling method has evolved. I'm sharing all of it, because someone might like the other suggestions.

We were a BIG softball family. Tournaments in the most ungodly places in the US, nationals in July/August. I used to make those neck coolers. At the ball park, you can keep them in ice water in a cooler. Our first attempt at WDW with neck coolers, we kept them in the frig, but no one wanted to wear them first thing in the morning OR carry them along with the water. And they really do well when they are ice cold, how to keep them ice cold. Also left over from softball days were old wash cloths or rather those bundles wash cloths you get from Target/Walmart. Use to give those to the girls to wipe down and then rinse them out in the restroom. My DH still carries one in a baggie to wash his face and then put the wash cloth on his neck. You could wrap it around the frozen water bottle, but unlike the paper towel that can be thrown away, when the wash cloth gets yucky, you need to carry it around.

I will warn you now. Don't expect the paper towels from the resorts to hold up much pass going out the front door I bring one roll of "good" paper towel from home.(Target brand works) The paper towels in the villas, don't hold up well to this task. Besides carrying extra paper towels folded somewhere is effortless. You could use the paper towels from the restrooms during the day BUT they too do not hold up. Plus the "cheap" towels will shred after absorbing all the frozen bottle moisture rendering it useless and messy.

Thanks for all of the wonderful ideas. I'm glad there are those out there who have done the summer months at WDW. I hope to hear from more people. Best ways to deal with the rain? How do you do it?

Thanks again,

John

 

[JenSop]

Almost all of my trips have been summer trips! (DH is a teacher.)

Our regular routine is this:

Light breakfast at resort

Parks at rope drop.

Lunch in park.

Go back to resort to swim and relax all afternoon.

Head out to dinner.

Go to a park after dinner.



We always get the DDP, sometimes if we're doing a split stay, we'll get the deluxe for the short portion of our stay so we can do some signature restaurants.

The midday break is key!

 

[Buckeye Bob]

I echo what everyone else has said about how to enjoy yourself at WDW in the heat and humidity. Due to school, baseball and softball commitments we typically go to WDW in late July through early August and have found that getting to the parks at rope drop, staying hydrated, using air conditioned attractions liberally, staying hyrdrated, heading back to the resort by 1 or 2pm, and staying hydrated are the keys to being successful in the summer. When we were there last summer the actual highs were in the upper 90's with heat indexes in the 100-115 range and we managed to not only survive, but enjoy our vacation.

Regarding how to deal with the rain, typically in July and August the rains come in the late afternoon (usually between 3 and 5pm and only for about 20 minutes or so) so if you went to the park at rope drop you're most likely back at your resort when the late afternoon rains come. If you find yourself at a park when the rains hit then I'd suggest hitting an indoor attraction or stopping inside a store and use the time to browse around. We also keep a set of emergency ponchos on us (DD, that's me, loves cargo shorts and I've found that unopened one-time ponchos fit very comfortably inside the pockets of my cargo shorts). If needed, we just slip them on and keep on going.

Finally, regarding crowd levels, we haven't found the parks to be terribly crowded when we go in the Summer, particularly because we take advantage of being at a park at rope drop. For example, at Magic Kingdom, we can comfortably enjoy 11 to 12 attractions before 1pm without feeling rushed or hurried and we don't experience any lines until later in the morning.

I hope that this helps and enjoy your upcoming trip to WDW!

 

[sweetdana]

Thanks for all of the wonderful ideas. I'm glad there are those out there who have done the summer months at WDW. I hope to hear from more people. Best ways to deal with the rain? How do you do it?

Thanks again,

John

I LOVE THE RAIN in summer. It usually just cools things down (and sends a large % of people out of the park for the day). They it dries up within an hour. Everyday storms in FL are short. Go on a few indoor rides, Buzz, Space Mt, Car of Prog, and by the end it will clear up. I cannot think of a time it rained for more than an hour ish. Even when it does, it is so warm, it is borderline refreshing. Walking around in wet clothes is another story, but pack doller store rain jackets and that will make 95% of the rain enjoyable. Also riding Dumbo in the rain, is about the closed you can get to a water ride at DW.

 

[Greysword]

I would echo the overall sentiment by my colleagues.

DVC allows my family to be more relaxed with our touring, as we know we'll be back again fairly soon The full kitchen not only allows us to save money, but is used as the main reason to structure our touring plan.

To that end, our day is like this:

Wake-up, get ready, eat breakfast in the room.

Tour a park in the morning (sometimes at rope drop, but usually within an hour after), and head back to the resort sometime between 11:30AM and 1:00PM

Have lunch in the room then take naps, enjoy the pools, do shopping, walk around the resort, watch a movie, etc till dinner/supper

Eat dinner/supper in the room before heading back into the parks about 6:00PM to 7:00PM. Many people are leaving between 5-6:30PM, so crowd levels seem a bit lighter at this time.

Enjoy till whenever, head back for a snack and bed.

We do laundry in the room in the afternoon or evening, usually cycling a load between the washer and dryer at these times. It makes packing lighter and laundry isn't a chore.

As for rain, it fairly easy to dodge the rain in Florida during the summer. The main reason for it is convection heating (clouds form and build during the day as the heat causes evaporation and rising of water vapor). Once the clouds are too full to hold their load, they dump it all quickly. This usually occurs between 4PM and 7PM, and the down pours are solid but only last a few minutes. As such, it will likely start and stop in the time it takes to get through the cue and ride/see something inside. Then, you are done for the day 9usually). Also note, these are thunderstorms and will likely be accompanied by thunder and lightning (in case that causes angst).

Fronts could move through, as well, which will causes several bands of thunderstorms. These are easy to predict, though, since they have likely already hit the rest of the country and the weather reports will predict their arrival.

I wouldn't worry about hurricanes that much. If the thought of riding out these storms is a concern, simply buy travel insurance, and it will likely cover you should you desire (or need) to evacuate. Hurricanes and very slow moving storms, and they are being tracked weeks before their arrival. You will know the likely path of a hurricane before you even leave for Florida.

If a hurricane does hit while you are these, know that Orlando is very much inland, and the result will be high winds, rain, and the occasional tornado. The most dangerous (and damaging) part of a hurricane is probably the storm surge (the wall of water a hurricane displaces in front of it), which only affects the coast. Otherwise, buildings in Florida are designed to withstand the high winds of these storms, and the biggest worry is what to to, cause you won't be going outside . Disney (and their Floridian employees) is very experienced with this, and it has been reported that the parks are uber empty right before and a couple days after a hurricane hits, as travelers cancels plans to WDW.

As for the crowds, travel planners like Tour Guide Mike (see banner on Theme Park board) or Touringplans (Unofficial Guide to WDW people) are a great way to plan your route to avoid the large crowds of uninformed Disney adventurers.

Good luck and have fun!

- Chris

 

[szymcl]

First of all, I love the heat, so July is fine for me. For the rain, I like that too, but it helps me to always have a hat clipped to my belt, to combat the wet bad hair! And sandals, so no wet socks!
We don't eat in too many TS restaurants, for me, the contrast between hot and cold is too extreme. I do like to wear a swimsuit under my dress or shorts just in case we decide to pool hop in the middle of the day.
Most of all though, I love the late nights in the summer. After the first few days of getting up early, we are loving the EMH at whatever park is open late, it cools down and just seems so intimate in the evening. Sometimes still crowded, but I love Animal Kingdom in the dark, sitting outside at the Yak and Yeti, listening to the music of India!

 

[crisi]

If its hot, you'll welcome the rain.

More than once though, we've missed the rain. You step inside a ride with clear skies, step out after and the pavement is wet and everyone has on ponchos...but there isn't any rain. It often doesn't last long.

Last year, we waterparked in the rain. Had their been lightening, we would have been out of there, but instead, we just swam through a wet day. It was still warm enough to swim, not HOT, but warm - and the lines for the waterslides were all short.

 

[HayGan]

If its hot, you'll welcome the rain.

More than once though, we've missed the rain. You step inside a ride with clear skies, step out after and the pavement is wet and everyone has on ponchos...but there isn't any rain. It often doesn't last long.

Last year, we waterparked in the rain. Had their been lightening, we would have been out of there, but instead, we just swam through a wet day. It was still warm enough to swim, not HOT, but warm - and the lines for the waterslides were all short.

One of the things that is different about the rain in the summer months than in the cooler winter months is that you actually welcome the rain

We only do ponchos in the winter months. Ponchos in the summer are hot, sticky and uncomfortable! Would much rather get cooled off by the rain drops than have that plastic sticking to us - yuck!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

I LOVE THE RAIN in summer. It usually just cools things down (and sends a large % of people out of the park for the day). They it dries up within an hour. Everyday storms in FL are short. Go on a few indoor rides, Buzz, Space Mt, Car of Prog, and by the end it will clear up. I cannot think of a time it rained for more than an hour ish. Even when it does, it is so warm, it is borderline refreshing. Walking around in wet clothes is another story, but pack doller store rain jackets and that will make 95% of the rain enjoyable. Also riding Dumbo in the rain, is about the closed you can get to a water ride at DW.

Almost all of my trips have been summer trips! (DH is a teacher.)

Our regular routine is this:

Light breakfast at resort

Parks at rope drop.

Lunch in park.

Go back to resort to swim and relax all afternoon.

Head out to dinner.

Go to a park after dinner.



We always get the DDP, sometimes if we're doing a split stay, we'll get the deluxe for the short portion of our stay so we can do some signature restaurants.

The midday break is key!

I echo what everyone else has said about how to enjoy yourself at WDW in the heat and humidity. Due to school, baseball and softball commitments we typically go to WDW in late July through early August and have found that getting to the parks at rope drop, staying hydrated, using air conditioned attractions liberally, staying hyrdrated, heading back to the resort by 1 or 2pm, and staying hydrated are the keys to being successful in the summer. When we were there last summer the actual highs were in the upper 90's with heat indexes in the 100-115 range and we managed to not only survive, but enjoy our vacation.

Regarding how to deal with the rain, typically in July and August the rains come in the late afternoon (usually between 3 and 5pm and only for about 20 minutes or so) so if you went to the park at rope drop you're most likely back at your resort when the late afternoon rains come. If you find yourself at a park when the rains hit then I'd suggest hitting an indoor attraction or stopping inside a store and use the time to browse around. We also keep a set of emergency ponchos on us (DD, that's me, loves cargo shorts and I've found that unopened one-time ponchos fit very comfortably inside the pockets of my cargo shorts). If needed, we just slip them on and keep on going.

Finally, regarding crowd levels, we haven't found the parks to be terribly crowded when we go in the Summer, particularly because we take advantage of being at a park at rope drop. For example, at Magic Kingdom, we can comfortably enjoy 11 to 12 attractions before 1pm without feeling rushed or hurried and we don't experience any lines until later in the morning.

I hope that this helps and enjoy your upcoming trip to WDW!

I would echo the overall sentiment by my colleagues.

DVC allows my family to be more relaxed with our touring, as we know we'll be back again fairly soon The full kitchen not only allows us to save money, but is used as the main reason to structure our touring plan.

To that end, our day is like this:

Wake-up, get ready, eat breakfast in the room.

Tour a park in the morning (sometimes at rope drop, but usually within an hour after), and head back to the resort sometime between 11:30AM and 1:00PM

Have lunch in the room then take naps, enjoy the pools, do shopping, walk around the resort, watch a movie, etc till dinner/supper

Eat dinner/supper in the room before heading back into the parks about 6:00PM to 7:00PM. Many people are leaving between 5-6:30PM, so crowd levels seem a bit lighter at this time.

Enjoy till whenever, head back for a snack and bed.

We do laundry in the room in the afternoon or evening, usually cycling a load between the washer and dryer at these times. It makes packing lighter and laundry isn't a chore.

As for rain, it fairly easy to dodge the rain in Florida during the summer. The main reason for it is convection heating (clouds form and build during the day as the heat causes evaporation and rising of water vapor). Once the clouds are too full to hold their load, they dump it all quickly. This usually occurs between 4PM and 7PM, and the down pours are solid but only last a few minutes. As such, it will likely start and stop in the time it takes to get through the cue and ride/see something inside. Then, you are done for the day 9usually). Also note, these are thunderstorms and will likely be accompanied by thunder and lightning (in case that causes angst).

Fronts could move through, as well, which will causes several bands of thunderstorms. These are easy to predict, though, since they have likely already hit the rest of the country and the weather reports will predict their arrival.

I wouldn't worry about hurricanes that much. If the thought of riding out these storms is a concern, simply buy travel insurance, and it will likely cover you should you desire (or need) to evacuate. Hurricanes and very slow moving storms, and they are being tracked weeks before their arrival. You will know the likely path of a hurricane before you even leave for Florida.

If a hurricane does hit while you are these, know that Orlando is very much inland, and the result will be high winds, rain, and the occasional tornado. The most dangerous (and damaging) part of a hurricane is probably the storm surge (the wall of water a hurricane displaces in front of it), which only affects the coast. Otherwise, buildings in Florida are designed to withstand the high winds of these storms, and the biggest worry is what to to, cause you won't be going outside . Disney (and their Floridian employees) is very experienced with this, and it has been reported that the parks are uber empty right before and a couple days after a hurricane hits, as travelers cancels plans to WDW.

As for the crowds, travel planners like Tour Guide Mike (see banner on Theme Park board) or Touringplans (Unofficial Guide to WDW people) are a great way to plan your route to avoid the large crowds of uninformed Disney adventurers.

Good luck and have fun!

- Chris

First of all, I love the heat, so July is fine for me. For the rain, I like that too, but it helps me to always have a hat clipped to my belt, to combat the wet bad hair! And sandals, so no wet socks!
We don't eat in too many TS restaurants, for me, the contrast between hot and cold is too extreme. I do like to wear a swimsuit under my dress or shorts just in case we decide to pool hop in the middle of the day.
Most of all though, I love the late nights in the summer. After the first few days of getting up early, we are loving the EMH at whatever park is open late, it cools down and just seems so intimate in the evening. Sometimes still crowded, but I love Animal Kingdom in the dark, sitting outside at the Yak and Yeti, listening to the music of India!

If its hot, you'll welcome the rain.

More than once though, we've missed the rain. You step inside a ride with clear skies, step out after and the pavement is wet and everyone has on ponchos...but there isn't any rain. It often doesn't last long.

Last year, we waterparked in the rain. Had their been lightening, we would have been out of there, but instead, we just swam through a wet day. It was still warm enough to swim, not HOT, but warm - and the lines for the waterslides were all short.

Wow, so many ideas and so many ways to have fun at WDW. Now i'm thinking rain will be fun!! I'm not to sure if the 2 grand parents will like the heat. The teens will just have to drink more water and DW and I will just have to have fun!!

What would be the best resort for location and 2 Br villas? We are AKV members and will be planning for 6 people, well more like 5 people since grand dad may not even go due to 900 mile drive and he hates planes.

Thanks for all of your answers and help. If you can't give more ideas, thanks again.


Thanks,

John

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

opps

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Wow, so many ideas and so many ways to have fun at WDW. Now i'm thinking rain will be fun!! I'm not to sure if the 2 grand parents will like the heat. The teens will just have to drink more water and DW and I will just have to have fun!!

What would be the best resort for location and 2 Br villas? We are AKV members and will be planning for 6 people, well more like 5 people since grand dad may not even go due to 900 mile drive and he hates planes.

Thanks for all of your answers and help. If you can't give more ideas, thanks again.


Thanks,

John

Boardwalk or Beach Club!

With a varied group...definitely stay at a resort with great access to 2 resorts.

BLT comes in a close 3rd because of the great monorail access.

 

[mattj009]

If you can swing the airfare, summer in Anaheim is MUCH more pleasant than in Orlando... There is no rain, little humidity, and even when it's hot, the shade actually works to keep you cool... And the more compact nature of DL/DCA/DTD also makes walking much more bearable... PLUS - Weekdays are somewhat more bareable crowd-wise than the weekends at DL... Give it a try sometime!