Disney in August??????

[grover]

We have always gone to disney in the fall (oct/nov) or spring (may).
We were hopeing to do the same next year but ds's work schedule is looking like he may only be able to go in the summer.

I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT DISNEY IN THE SUMMER!

Do you go in August?
What part of August is the best...the very end?
We have had super hot/humid temps in May (in the 30's)..is August alot hotter?
How are the crowds?
Park hours?
The weather..does it rain alot?
Clearly I have lots of research to do But I love disney research

 

[Alderbrook]

We've been in July before, but we go in September now & August can be similar. If you travel after August 15th (or the middle of August), the rates go as low as they can go as it's their off season. In August/September (with the exception of labour day weekend) their crowds are at their lowest as well, September being lower than August though. A LOT of schools go back in August in the US. My cousin lives in Chicago & her kids start school in the middle of August.

The parks are open late for EMH & on weekends usually. Check their schedule online though to see.

Humidity can be brutal. It is typical for heavy rains every afternoon but that is typical all summer long. Last year when we went at the end of September (hurricane season) there was no humidity & it was sunny every day, but we got lucky. The humidity had been brutal the week before & was expected to return the week after we left.

We love going in September because basically we walked on every ride last year. The longest wait we had was TSM & it was 25 mins. We did wait a bit for Winnie the Pooh as well but my son loved Pirates & we walked on over & over & over again, even during EMHs.

This year we're heading Sept 18-26 & can't wait to go! I would do August as well but my son is young enough that it's fine to pull him out of school so we'll stick with September until we can't pull him from school anymore.

 

[grover]

The rates sure sound appealing...as do the low crowds & wait times!
I am worried about the rain though..if it is typical to rain does it last all day or does it just blow thru quickly?

 

[c&m]

End of August is our favourite time to go. We figured that out last year after our August trip how fabulous WDW is at that time - local kids are back in school and a lot kids from other Eastern states are back in school.

Parts of AK park were empty. Epcot was fabulously crowd free. The water parks were not loaded with people. The only park that was still swamped with people was MK - but with our teen and tweenie, we didn't need to be at MK all that much.

The only damper in August was the weather wasn't always wonderful. Our waterpark day was gorgeous, hot and sunny. But there were days where it would pour in the afternoon, but it always stopped by evening. That's OK with us, since I prefer rain over crowds. And we're from the Pacific Northwest, so rain doesn't bother us.

Our plan is to go to WDW again end of August 2011.

 

[disneymath]

With few exceptions, our trips to the world have been in August. Yes it's hot and humid ... I burn VERY easily and am not a huge fan of the heat, but as long as we tour the parks smart I have no issues. (Some tips: use lots of sunscreen, reapply it often, wear a hat, keep hydrated, head for shade / indoor attractions whenever possible - especially in the afternoon, don't overdo it.)

As PPs have said, it typically thunderstorms in the afternoons in August, but bring your rain poncho and stick it out ... the already lower crowds tend to thin even more once the rain starts.

You can't beat the value season rates at the end of August ... and you may be able to combine a promo such as Free Dining with them. (FD does increase restaurant traffic, making ADRs a must.)

 

[aristocat65]

We have gone in August 3 times so far. While it would not be my choice if I were not still locked into school vacation times, it has a lot of advantages.

It is considered low season, so resorts prices are as low as they can go.
Either free dining or 40% discounts make it even better.
Crowds are fairly low as all schools in the South are back in session by the 2nd or 3rd week of August.

The weather is very hot and humid (I prefer to call it 'balmy"), but you actually get used to it. You are also in and out of air conditioned areas constantly too, so it is not that bad. We usually have had regular afternoon showers, but it is not a big deal. It lasts maybe an hour. It is not like a "rainy day" thing. If you carry a backpack in the parks, rain ponchos can be handy. We picked some up at Target, and then it didn't rain anymore

We usually take midday breaks and head back to the parks around 4.

As far as when in August to go, we have usually gone the last week or two before Labour Day.

 

[b-1]

We've been once in August. It rained every day about mid afternoon for an hour at most.

The strange thing though is that the rain doesn't cool things off!! It stays blazing hot right through the rain and then feels extra steamy once it stops!

drinking lots of water helps and hunting down air conditioning is a life saver. My DH was thrilled to go into every store we passed and usually he waits outside the door tapping his foot while I go in to shop

plan to do laundry, nothing can be worn twice.

 

[grover]

LOL.. B-1..the shopping thing is funny!
Good point about the laundry-would not have thought about that at all.
It is good to hear that the rain storms are quick ones..If I could just get past the rain issue I think Aug would be a great time to go-lots of plus's!

 

[brighteyes]

My first trip was in August, although it was very hot, we got used to it. Somedays were very very hot and lots of sunscreen, lots of water, and lots of shade, a/c whenever possible.

When it rained, we just stood in it and got wet. We dried off in minutes in our clothes. It was usually a quick thundershower then back to the good old heat! We didn't mind it cooled us off. There was only one day I wished we had ponchos. We were at the Luau on our last night and in the middle it downpoured. The dinner show was cancelled and we were soaked from head to toe!! The Poly gave all the guests garbage bags to wear home, but we were still drenched. We all took off our shoes because the rain was so deep we were slipping all the way home! It was quite commical to see us get on the bus looking like something the cat dragged in. It didn't stop raining that night!~!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Sue M]

Because I work in a school, we freq. go late Aug. It is hot, but we tolerate the heat well. We go to the parks at opening, stay till 2ish, then go back to our resort for a mid day break, swim, relax by the pool, etc. Then we go for dinner and a park with evening EMH. http://wdwparkhours.com/vacation-planning.html Here is the sched for the last 2 weeks of Aug this year so you can get an idea of park hours, and EMH.
As you can see, they DO have EMH hours all thru the week.

We love the light crowds, and the lower value season pricing.

The afternoon showers don't usually last very long. We pack ponchos. One Aug we hardly had any, and another we were stuck with Tropical Storm Fay, when it didn't stop raining But the typical is an afternoon shower. Never lasts longer then an hour.

Also, the showers can be very localized, it could be raining at MK, but not at Epcot!

 

[Alderbrook]

The rain isn't that bad, you'll see the black clouds coming in & when you do, plan to do something inside or go for a meal. They usually blow over in about an hour, sometimes less. When we went last September we had 1 blow in while we were at the pool, lasted 15 mins.

 

[mom22belles]

Bring extra shoes... As you have read it will rain and yes your clothes may dry quickly but your shoes will not. Disney does not like it if you put shoes in the dryers.

 

[grover]

I always travel with too many pairs of shoes (according to my dh..teehee!)..however my dh & ds only take a pair plus sandles for the waterpark...so I will have to make a note of this!

Thanks for the link to the hours

 

[brighteyes]

Bring extra shoes... As you have read it will rain and yes your clothes may dry quickly but your shoes will not. Disney does not like it if you put shoes in the dryers.

I did not think of that as I wore flip flops that are foam so they dried quickly too. My other flips flops are sports style and dry quickly as well.

 

[tillytinkerbell]

We are heading down on Aug 19 for 11 days. The heat and humidity usually bother DH and DS but we decided to try it so we could do Free Dining. We figure that there is enough to do in a/c, water parks, pools, etc. that we will be able to handle it.

I am not going to worry about the rain. We went in May 2009 and it rained EVERY day for 10 days straight...and NOT just for an hour or so...record rainfalls. We survived. It will probably be our most talked about Disney trip ever!

I figure we just need to stay smart...lots of water, hats, sunscreen and lots of breaks (to eat all of our yummy free dining food).

I may be singing a different tune when we get back, but I am hopeful for a wonderful vacation.

 

[CanadianPaco]

We've only gone in the summer - once in July and this upcoming trip will be our third in August. We wear coolmax shirts, running shorts, non-cotton socks with running shoes, water proof sandals. Hats for sure!

We always take an afternoon break no matter what! Most days, the rain moves out but sometimes it lasts all evening long. That's when we bring out the dollar store rain ponchos. The parks clear out and we ramp it up! The only long sleeved clothing we bring is a sweater for the A/C in the restaurants.

Friends of ours go every December... I wouldn't know what to pack for December.

 

[cpbjgc]

I thought I would chime in. We went in August in 2009 - last week of August. As others have mentioned, crowds were low, lines are short and bring a poncho or light rain jacket - you will need it! It rained every day, usually early afternoon. Usual pattern on our trip was a torrential downpour for 5-10 minutes, then just clouds for a while, then more rain, but just light stuff. Shopping or theater type shows are a good option when the torrential rain starts. The only downside to the rain is when there is lightning. If the lightning is close they do close down pools and waterparks. We had that happen a few times with us at Stormalong Bay - a bummer, but safety always comes first .

I concur on the laundry! It was a must for us (luckily we have DVC).

I have lived in Winnipeg all my life, and what I was not ready for was the unrelenting humidity. I can tell you I had never experienced humidity and heat like that before. As someone else mentioned, even after a rainfall there was no change in the humidity. As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, I was literally covered in a sheen of sweat which only disappeared if I went into an air conditioned space. It was not pretty but there is air conditioning all over the World, so we could always cool down - it gives you a whole new appreciation for Spaceship Earth and Carousel of Progress (I still catch myself singing "Its a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" on occasion). We also brought fan misters with us we picked up in the camping section of Walmart. Our kids got a lot of use out of them.

The other thing to watch for is camera equipment - whenever you leave the hotel you can have a significant condensation issue, especially if you have a DSLR camera. What I would do is about a half hour before heading out, I put my camera on the balcony with my camera bag and the camera in a baggie. It would solely warm up to the outside temperature and I could avoid condensation from the hot humid air contacting my camera that sat in air conditioned comfort over night.

Even with the Humidity (it deserves a capital letter!), we definitely had a blast that trip. Stay hydrated, bring your rain gear, and you will be good to go!

 

[Alderbrook]

The other thing to watch for is camera equipment - whenever you leave the hotel you can have a significant condensation issue, especially if you have a DSLR camera. What I would do is about a half hour before heading out, I put my camera on the balcony with my camera bag and the camera in a baggie. It would solely warm up to the outside temperature and I could avoid condensation from the hot humid air contacting my camera that sat in air conditioned comfort over night.

Even with the Humidity (it deserves a capital letter!), we definitely had a blast that trip. Stay hydrated, bring your rain gear, and you will be good to go!

Good idea on the camera! I've had that happen to me, although not at Disney & never thought about doing that.

 

[B-Ride]

Bring extra shoes... As you have read it will rain and yes your clothes may dry quickly but your shoes will not. Disney does not like it if you put shoes in the dryers.

I can't tell you how much time I have spent in the resort room drying shoes with a hair dryer.

We always go last week of August when many Americans are back at school. Never understood this considering how hot it is in the south but it works to our advantage.

Yes it is hot, and yes it rains many days for a short time at least, but the crowds are manageable and you can always swing Free Dining.