I think it was early last year. The Pixar summer thing already wasn't going that great. My nephew went last August during the lull, and I remember having the "is it worth going at this time" conversation with him and looking over the lack of entertainment on the schedule and the ride closures. Because of work and school obligations he had to go in August, but he was able to push his trip at least so his last day was the first day of Halloween. He said the parks were pretty much dead for his first two days so he got to ride a lot, and then he got to experience the Halloween stuff for his last day so that ended up making it feel worth it to him in the end. But I remember that even if he had gone earlier in August, the entertainment schedule was pretty sparse. I do feel this is a newish thing though. I agree with you that there used to be more summer stuff going on through August. I think with a lot of schools starting up again in August these days and with Disney's focus on Halloween, the company has just decided they can treat the first half of August like off-season and save some money. I too remember the days when August still had a lot going for it, but I generally wouldn't schedule a trip for that month anymore myself since I don't live nearby.