calling the experts - August help me decide.

[heatherbelle]

Right, we have now decided that we should go in August and try out the free dining, it will be our first stay on site. We are looking to stay at Old Key West with Virgin, flying out on 22/08 and coming home 05/09.

I have been in late May early June, it was very busy in the parks and the weather was very wet, even in the morning!!

We then tried mid October to early Nov, fab weather and light crowds, plenty of us UK folk around, had a great time.

I'm trying to avoid taking DS (9) out of school, so am now looking at August. Am I mad? I know it will be very hot with rain in the afternoon. Will the crowds be light/medium, or should I look to going in early May,(13th for 2 weeks) and going back to Regal Palms, which we love.

 

[stal]

Hey!
Although later august/early september is much quieter than mid summer it is still quite busy. There will 1000s less in each park compared with only a few weeks earlier.
But, remember Labour Day is the first Monday in September so that weekend will be pretty crowded.
Weather will be similar s you experienced May and June!

 

[earthelves]

We Went August Last Year And The Heat Was Unbearable,So Nope I Wouldn't Go In August Again!! Went In May This Year And The Weather Was Great,We Saw No Rain Going Again At The End Of November So Looking Forward To This...

Goodluck With Your Decision

TTFN

 

[poohmadmum]

We went the last two weeks of August this year and yes it was very very hot. However, we had gone expecting this and daily thunderstorms although while we were there we only saw I think 3 thunderstorms although I think this is unusual. You must drink plenty of water but if you go to the parks at opening and have a break mid-day/early afternoon and return to the parks in the evening the heat and crowds are manageable. Depends I think on how well you cope with the heat as it was too hot for DH. However, when you're tied to school holidays it's the easiest time to go as the only other time the schools are off for two weeks is Easter and that's much busier. Just be prepared to take things easier and enjoy the air con. The free dining was great. DD and I are going again next August.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We have been the last 2 years in August, mainly down to school holidays - next year going in March.
To be honest if you can avoid going then I would , temps. last year were in the 90s most of the time, crowds not too bad but the Disney Dining Plan probably made the parks slightly busier than they would normally be.

It's true there is never a bad time to go to Florida but if you have other options I wouldn't personally go in August.

To be blunt August v. May is no contest, if you can choose go for the latter.

 

[paulh]

have done the ddp 3 times now 2 times free 1 time paid.We paid for it as in dvc did`nt have to get a park ticket.
We are going next aug for 3 weeks and was looking on getting DDP free for one week .Then did the math To qualify for free ddp had to book min a mod hotel and get min 7 day flex pass,as a 14 day flex pass only about £10 better to get that.usaly we stay in a value while on free ddp booking with the us direct therfore only having to get 1 days park ticket
Differance in cost next year room only 1 week pop v 1 week CBR Free ddp booked with disney uk £950
to us we can use that money towards our eating for our 3 weeks.
OK have bought 10 MYW park tickets with 10 day pluses.But they will last me 3 visits cost for 4 £1000. better than buying flex for each year
If it was like before and tip and app included would consider it and would jump at it if it was free,but as not offering it to values to the uk make it more expencive even free.
Dont forget that you have to pay OOP for tip and app next year so on your evening meal extra cost for 4 might be $40-$50 assuming verone had an app.
On the weather front we have always enjoyed end of may/june as humidity not kicked in but august hot and humid
Paulh

 

[team harris]

We were there this year from 17/8 - 31/8. Although it was hot, it was not as hot as I thought it would be. Drink plenty of water and have a water squirting fan to hand and you'll be fine!. We did everything we wanted. On one of our Universal days, there was a big storm in the afternoon and all the rides were closed. We sat it out, watching the world go by. By 5:30pm as we started to ;eave the park, the rides reopened and altough it was still raining, we did 7 rides in an hour! Only complaint was that the rain was a bit painful on our faces on Duelling Dragons and the Hulk, but well worth it! The only evening that we could not do what we had planned due to the weather, was the Aloha show at the Polynesian Resort, but we managed to get a place at the restuarant there and had a good night. I was nervous of booking August, but wouldn't think twice about it again. The last two weeks of August are best, as the US children have gone back to school. I can honestly say that we made good use of the FastPass system and when we didn't - we queued no longer than 30 mins for anything. Go on, go for it!!

 

[iHEARTflorida]

we have always gone in august, due to not taking the kids out of school, the parks are busy, but ou just have to get round that (fastpasses), and the weather's hot which is great

 

[UKDEB]

Although it was hot, it was not as hot as I thought it would be

Ditto. Well, sort of. It was unbelievably hot this year, but we saw no rain and low humidity. I wasn't looking forward to the August weather and, much as I dislike the heat, I hate the constant rain even more, so I was relatively happy. I think it's safe to say that this August was unusual, though.

 

[maggs]

We are not lovers of hot weather but we always go in August to avoid taking the kids out of school. We were there last year and had absolutely no problems. Drink lots of water, walk in the shade, take breaks and you should have no problems. Would I go back in August? You bet! Im going again next year for the 5th time.Of course there is the free DDP too!

Maggs

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think it's harder when you have young children too, much as I cope with very high temps. Josh doesn't at all.

Like I say earlier if a choice is available between August and May (in my opinion) it has to be May which in itself is overall a good month to go.

 

[mark&sue]

Always took my dd out of school when in primary school for a week to combine with a half term trip to WDW. Tried our first August this year now dd is in year 9 and never ever again. I have always thought I could do heat but this august was unbearable and for the price of the flight (our accommodation is free as DVC members and had AP from last October) just not worth it.

so although we are DVC members will not be going back until dd has left school (cant get xmas or easter off at work)

Ever so sad not to be going back for three years but could never face another august even if it was good value but it just isn't.

Good luck to everyone else who has to.


Susan

 

[Jakey Rowling]

School holidays, don't you just love them.
We prefer to go for three weeks so we are stuck with July to mid August.
Simply if its a realistic choice then I'd go for the May every time for the weather,crowd and price difference.

 

[Shazzie B]

We went 24/8-07/09 this year. I too dreaded the heat and crowds, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. We used to go end May/beginning June too, when the kids were younger and it wasn't such an issue to take them out of school. Johnny is right-the older the kids are the better they cope with the heat (mine anyway). Use air-conditioned shows and eateries to give youselves a break. Most queues have shade, the water fans are a great idea too.

Crowds wern't too bad. We used Tour Guide Mike (web-site) & 'The Unofficial guide' (book) to judge which park is best on what day, they really help you beat the crowds and if you're as bad as us enable you to plan your route around the park to minimise queuing-we never queue for more than 30 mins-and didn't need to.

We arrived on the Friday when the Aloha show was cancelled for the 1st time this year (according to hotel-they thought extra bad weather was linked to Hurrican Dean). We bought rain coats as the 1st few late afternoon/early evenings were quite 'stormy' and very wet, then didn't ever wear them.


Have a great time!

 

[crabbie1]

Can't comment on May but we went last week July /first in August and my god it was hot!I was prepared for it but we hardly had any rain the whole 2 weeks and it was so uncomfortable for us.I must admit the crowds were not as busy as I thought they would be as we got to the parks really early so got the major rides out the way.
I noticed you mentioned Old key west with VH.Why don't you look into renting some DVC points at £5 a point from a member and booking the flights with VA.I am doing this next December and there is an £1800 difference!!!
Hope you manage to choose which time but as long as you go eh

 

[heatherbelle]

Can't comment on May but we went last week July /first in August and my god it was hot!I was prepared for it but we hardly had any rain the whole 2 weeks and it was so uncomfortable for us.I must admit the crowds were not as busy as I thought they would be as we got to the parks really early so got the major rides out the way.
I noticed you mentioned Old key west with VH.Why don't you look into renting some DVC points at £5 a point from a member and booking the flights with VA.I am doing this next December and there is an £1800 difference!!!
Hope you manage to choose which time but as long as you go eh

Thanks for all the replies guys, my head is in turmoil at the moment. Going over to check out info on TGM as I am already a member.

Crabbie, this will be useful another time. This time my holiday will be a freebie thanks to Mr T (Tesco). I will only have to pay for car hire and park tickets. If I had to pay cash, I don't we would be going back next year, but I will certainly remember about the DVC points, as I qualify for a free or companion flight with VA soon, or we could use M+M another year.

 

[crabbie1]

Well done you.I looked at so amny ways to stay in deluxe accomodation and could only afford 2 or 3 nights but someone on here recomended the DVC points and it really is affordable.(weekends are a bit steep ) but we are planning on a split stay so not so bad. Have a fab trip.How many tesco points did you have to get this???I have 2000 will that get me there? (I wish)

 

[jonkatony]

Going for the 4th time next summer in August due to school holidays. We find it ok, never seen more than about three thunderstorms per visit. Get up early, take a rest mid day and you should be fine.

 

[heatherbelle]

Well done you.I looked at so amny ways to stay in deluxe accomodation and could only afford 2 or 3 nights but someone on here recomended the DVC points and it really is affordable.(weekends are a bit steep ) but we are planning on a split stay so not so bad. Have a fab trip.How many tesco points did you have to get this???I have 2000 will that get me there? (I wish)

I use to get totals like 2000, but early last year when I was reading these boards, I found a website that specialises in collecting Tesco points. I now earn around 1000.00 each quarter which over the year is enough to pay for a virgin holiday.

You do have to spend a bit of time working it all out and then going to Tesco's a lot, and buying nearly everything from Tesco direct and on-line. But if you do a weekly shop for 55.00 (including buy one get one free's), you can earn 40.00 in deals towards your holiday, once you get more confident, you can start earning more through other loop holes that come up. The site is called paid to shop if you are interested. I now spend most of my Internet time over there, I'm afraid.

 

[heatherbelle]

Thank you for all you help.

I'm afraid the free Disney food was just too tempting, so as you can see from below, we are going in August to Diney's Old Key West Resort.

I just need to find some cheap car hire now and go to the universal site to sort our tickets. I have an annual pass for Universal, got one of those BOGOF's (buy one year get one free) last year and it will still be in date. Yippee.

Thank you everyone for helping me decide.