Disney in the August heat?

[kmccartney]

Disney in December is our favorite, we even enjoyed Disney in May.... but we decided to plan our next trip for late August next summer for DS 16th birthday. So my question to eveyone from the north is: do you do Disney in the August summer Florida heat? and if so, how do you manage to stay cool and hydrated???

Keepin' it Cool in CNY!

 

[jfoofj]

Hi there... New Englander here and we did Disney Aug 6-12, 2008. It is hot. It is humid. It is do-able. We got up early to go to the parks and left at lunchtime and went back to the resort to swim (we stayed at WL). We ate, hung out at the pool, went to the arcade, napped, etc then went back into the parks for dinner/fireworks/cooler temps. The parks were open late so it worked out. We had two back to back early mornings, a break day where we slept in and went into a park for dinner/fireworks, then two more early mornings. We were able to do everything we wanted to do and we didn't suffer too much in the heat. My kids really napped a couple times too!

Also, when it gets truly unbearable, pop into the airconditioned stores. The only park I struggled with was Animal Kingdom, and luckily the kids just wanted to do 3 things there since we had done everything the year before.

Oh, and it rained 2 afternoons for about an hour then cleared right up and cooled things down a bit.

Enjoy!

 

[njdiver]

We will be arriving tomorrow morning at about 11:15. Plan on using filtered water bottles and asking at the CS for an occasional cup of ice. Hope to return to our resort in the afternoon for rest and changing for dinner.

 

[tami82]

I havent been there yet but i have the following for this weeks trip, a portable neck fan, mister, and the neck tie coolers which i got on ebay. The neck tie coolers i think will be great because it seems these will cool anyone down on a very hot day.
I think between these 3 things Disney should be doable I hope.

 

[kmccartney]

Hi there... New Englander here and we did Disney Aug 6-12, 2008. It is hot. It is humid. It is do-able. We got up early to go to the parks and left at lunchtime and went back to the resort to swim (we stayed at WL). We ate, hung out at the pool, went to the arcade, napped, etc then went back into the parks for dinner/fireworks/cooler temps. The parks were open late so it worked out. We had two back to back early mornings, a break day where we slept in and went into a park for dinner/fireworks, then two more early mornings.

Also, when it gets truly unbearable, pop into the airconditioned stores.

Enjoy!

This sounds like a plan that we were considering... I want to plan to take a rest each afternoon with a swim and down time back at the resort.

NJDIVER, thanks for the tip on the neck tie coolers, sounds like something that I need to look into.

CNY summers are no comparison to Florida summers!

 

[njdiver]

a
NJDIVER, thanks for the tip on the neck tie coolers, sounds like something that I need to look into.

That wasn't me, but it is a good idea. Wish I had known about it earlier to get them I leave in the morning.

 

[jerseygirl81]

We've gone twice in August and I wish we were going again this August. It's very hot but we had two great trips. The end of August was less crowded since many schools go back even with the free dining. As others stated get there for park opening if you are staying in a Disney resort and have park hoppers you may want to go to the parks that open early and then take a mid-day pool break and go to a different park in the evening. The waterparks are also great at this time of year. There are many rides and shows that are air conditioned so it's mostly the time you're walking around in between attractions. Stay hydrated!!!! Walk on the shady side of the street when there is one, duck into a store for some a/c. We are actually going in December and although it will be nice to have cooler temps (not too cool I hope) when we are in the parks, we will miss our pool time and the water parks. Linda

 

[kmccartney]

That wasn't me, but it is a good idea. Wish I had known about it earlier to get them I leave in the morning.

Oops, thanks TAMI82!

I am planning to get a case of water and freeze bottles to take in daily. Is it true that CS restaurants will give you free ice if you ask for it? We typically don't have problems staying hydrated when we go in December... August will be a totally new experience for us. We are staying onsite and will have hopper passes, so hopefully this will allow us to maximize extra magic hours and splitting days between parks.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

It's definately hot. We go in Sept, and it's really hot then too!

We take frozen water bottles in a padded, cloth cooler bag. Even then, they are fully melted by the afternoon, but it helps so much to stay hydrated.

The mister fans are also great.

And the A/C areas are a lifesaver. The table service dinners are awesome when you are so hot. You are nice and cold by the time you hit the parks again.

One good thing is that if you get wet in a sudden torrential downpour, it won't take you too long to dry off.

Another perk is not having to do your hair - a ponytail is really the only hairstyle that stays well in the humidity

 

[kmccartney]

It's definately hot. We go in Sept, and it's really hot then too!
Another perk is not having to do your hair - a ponytail is really the only hairstyle that stays well in the humidity

So, basically you are telling me not to waste time doing my hair each morning? Well, I have been growing it out, I guess we will see how long I can get it before next August so that I can pull it up or put it in a ponytail. DD is 6 and has very very long hair.... hers will have to be put up daily as well.

 

[Lori1960]

drink plenty of water and not soda.Only drink soda when sitting down to eat lunch and back at the hotel

 

[redsunfish]

My husband and I went to Disney near the end of Aug 2007. Like many of the other people who've replied to this thread, we definitely went back to our resort to rest and cool down in the afternoon. It was definitely HOT and HUMID! We found the disney did a decent job of keeping you out of the sun when you were waiting in lines (not always the case but most of the time). The only thing that I would say is to bring some extra shirts. I found a lot of times that after spending the morning in the park I liked a clean dry shirt free of sweat to put on to go back out to the parks in the evening. Within minutes of walking outside I was usually soaked.

 

[tami82]

Your welcome. I was going to give you the link from the person i bought them from but she no longer sells them. If you pop in Neck cooler on e-bay you will have a bunch of options (I paid $2.00 per tie i see some are more expensive for the same thing).

 

[2ndStar2theRT]

We just back from our 2nd trip in August ...yes it is hot but you are going during value season and less crowded. I have short hair (no chance of putting it up) and to keep my hair from looking like a disaster in photo's, I just put my sunglasses on my head , like a head band!

We always bring our Camelback backpack (fill water bladder with mostly ice and you have ice cold water to sip on most of the day), plan our big meals in the middle of the day so we are sitting and taking a break in air conditioning (not to mention menus are cheaper if not on DP), and always go back to the resort pool by mid afternoon.

Like everyone else mentioned...misting bottles with fans are a huge plus as are the neck clothes that you soak in water and they stay cool for hours.
But defiently plan on bringing double shirts, undies and even shorts if you don't paln on doing laundry. You will change at least twice a day!

We've survived it twice, even with our very young DD! Good luck

 

[jennc27]

We just got back from our first trip and it was very hot. The CS locations does give you free ice water, and they are in big cups. We would take our refillable mugs we got with our QSDP and pour the ice water in them. We would also pour the ice water into our misting fan. That was very nice. By the end of the week our two sons were fighting over it. We would also pop into stores. The bathrooms were always nice and cool too!

 

[ZoZo]

I am planning to get a case of water and freeze bottles to take in daily. Is it true that CS restaurants will give you free ice if you ask for it?

Yes, you can ask for ice (or ice water) at any CS restaurant, free of charge. I just use a refillable bottle and fill it up with ice water! Works great, and is better than lugging around multiple bottles of water (or worse, paying for WDW water bottles!).

 

[VMKaddict]

In my personal opinion, I wouldn't do Disney in August. I recently just went for a second time in August and we were able to do it but we wouldn't go again. It was way too hot for us and it was hard to stay in the parks during the day. We had to do a bunch of EMH's at night. And if your not a fan of crowds, I wouldn't visit during that time because since school starts soon after, it is PACKED.
If you choose to visit Disney in August, Have a great vacation!

 

[ODaddy]

I prefer the cold myself, we "conquered" Disney last August when it was 91 or better by 11 AM. Everyony had their pouch with a bottle or two of water and a snack bar, or piece of fruit. Freezing the bottles is best. Do your best to refill them during the day. I found most every water fountain spewing warm water. Find ice and jam it into the bottles. Don't discount any shows especially during the hottest part of the day. Conversation one day, "Let's go see this show" "I don't want to go to a show" "It's air conditioned" "When does it start?" All about strategy.

 

[kmccartney]

And if your not a fan of crowds, I wouldn't visit during that time because since school starts soon after, it is PACKED.
If you choose to visit Disney in August, Have a great vacation!

Wow, I am really surprised to hear that. I was always under the impression that the last two weeks of August are very low crowds for that same fact that the kids (at least the Southern kids) have already gone back to school. Since that has always been touted as low crowds, and my kids don't go back to school until after Labor Day I thought that this would be a good time to go. Of course being son's 16th birthday while we are there helps too!

Have I been wrong all this time thinking that the crowds are low the last two weeks in August?