Crowds in August??

[JuliaPooh]

We are so excited about our August trip. We are AP holders but have never gone at this particularly steamy time of year.
Any suggestions? How are the crowds, usually? I hope we haven't lost our minds!

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I'd be interested in the crowds later in August also. This is our first summer trip and I'm a little nervous.

Would anyone describe it as Easter type crowds?

TIA

 

[candykisses]

This will be our second Aug trip. We're going 4 - 18.

It will be brutally hot and humid. It will probably rain every afternoon. Crowds are large, but manageable.

We like to get to the parks early in the morning and take advantage of EMH. We use FastPass when the lines start to build . When the day starts to heat up, we go to the indoor, air conditioned attractions.

We leave the park around 1:00 and go back to the hotel to swim or nap. After freshening up we go to another park for dinner and spend the evening.

Make sure you apply sunscreen and keep hydrated.

It did seem like the crowds lessened towards the middle of the month, but then the hours were shorter and the parades were only on the weekends.

 

[Vinnie The Pooh]

I must admit that at the end of our last August trip I swore I would not go at that time again but as I see some of the latest incentives being offered I am considering it anyway. It helps that so far here in New England we have not had any real summer heat and I am wondering where the summer is.

It will be brutally hot but that is manageable if you drink lots of water and take breaks in the afternoon as Candykisses stated. It helps to be at a WDW hotel so you can go back and enjoy the pool and relax. We went in 2001 and the crowds were not bad at all (last week in August). I see that there are many hotel discounts being offered for August and September and wonder if that means that attendance is expected to be low. You should keep your fingers crossed and hope that not too many people take advantage of the discounts.

 

[goofy4tink]

It almost looks like you can judge the crowds by the e-nights being offered. They are not offered during the slower times. The last one as of now is Aug. 13. We were there last year from 8/15-23. The crowds weren't horrible. It did rain a lot for the last 4 days. Torrential downpours for hours. Very humid. But, we are going back on August 13, so how bad could it have been? Go to the parks early, get back to your resort for a rest and a swim. Back into the parks early evening. Bring ponchos, every day, everywhere!! We didn't and ended up having to buy more, even tho we had some back in our room!!! You'll have a ball!!

 

[OurDogCisco]

We went in August of 2002 for 6 days before our cruise. I think, we were there from August 9th through the 15th. But not 100% sure. Anyways, I didn't think the crowds were too bad. But I'm from CA so what do I know about crowds. Anyways, we took advantage of Early Entry days. We also, stayed at the Polynesian and took breaks in the afternoon to swim (the monarail made that easy). Then, we'd spend the evenings at Epcot eating a yummy dinner. The humidity didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. But the rain was a pain. Most people said that it would only rain an hour in the evenings. Well, it would rain buckets for hours and hours. Luckily, we decided at the last minute to go to Epcot on our 1st night there to see the Illuinations. Good thing we did because the rest of the nights we were there it was cancelled because of rain. So, some of our evening plans had to be adjusted. We still had fun.... I should also mention that my girls are young so we spent most of our time at MK and AK with Epcot in the evenings.
HTH...

 

[Selket]

Last summer was the only time I've been to WDW in August and I think it was unusually rainy. I don't think it rains as much every year as it did last year. I live on the East coast and we had way more rain last summer than normal so that just was the same down in Florida as in Maryland.

We had to rearrange our touring plans to hit the pools at our hotel in the morning because every time we went back for a break to swim in the afternoon it was raining for hours and hours. The kids HAD to get some pool time in!

The lines were about as much as I'd want to see - it wasn't terrible but you do have to plan your days out more than if you were there during a slow time. I recommend PS's for dinner dining if you think you'd want to dine at a sit-down spot. You can always cancel them but I saw many people turned away or having to wait up to an hour if they did not have a PS. It is hot and you'll want to be inside eating I think.

Have fun!

 

[swilphil]

The crowds aren't historically as bad as Easter Week, but the heat and humidity are killers. Definitely go to the parks at opening or during EE. That will help with the crowds, but it's about the only way to escape the heat. If you are there when the parks are open in the evening, it is considerably cooler.

 

[packy]

We are going Aug 24-29 and this will be our 5th trip during the last week in August. With the exception of Aug 2001, when the place was packed (many foriegners, particularly Europeans), the other times the crowds were moderate and you could do alot without stressing out. With the exception of last year, we have not experienced much rain at all in late August. It is typically hot but so is New Jersey in August. We go early, take a break in the mid-afternoon then go back out. Agree with the comment on e-nights. They had one last year on the 24th and the last one this year is on the 13th. May indicate it is not as crowded this year. FYI - we did e-night and it was not worth it, very crowded and long waits on all rides. Never got to even do BTMRR because of the lines. Finally, if August were that bad we wouldn't be going back for a 5th time.