Disneyland in August...thoughts????

[Diana ZP]

So it looks like our trip in April/May is not going to happen. A co-worker suggested going in August, she went towards the end of the month and said the crowds were good and not too hot. I have never been in the summer so I figured I would ask the all knowing great group of Disney folks! What say you? thanks so much!!!!

 

[scrappinginontario]

We visited the 3rd week of August in 2022 and it was great for both heat and reasonable crowds.

 

[emmybee]

I'd go prepared for the heat. Large hat, sunglasses, cooling towel, misting fan. I hate the heat, and I need all my accessories to make it through the day.

 

[LAS2AMS]

The lowest crowds of the year at WDW are in late August through mid-September. Unfortunately… not true at DLR although it’ll be less crowded than peak summer.

Weather is unpredictable. We’ve had some really hot and humid temps in late August/early Sep. be prepared.

 

[irlandaise]

The lowest crowds of the year at WDW are in late August through mid-September. Unfortunately… not true at DLR although it’ll be less crowded than peak summer.

Does Hallowe'enTime not have a big effect on crowds in its early weeks, starting the third week of August?

@Diana ZP, Hallowe'enTime starts on August 22nd this year. That means Haunted Mansion will be down for a couple weeks before that as the NBC overlay is installed. In case that affects your planning.

 

[evilmommie]

That can be one of hotter months in OC and typically the 2nd week of August brings back all levels of MK’s.

 

[OlliePop27]

Lots of refurbs nowadays in August until Halloween time starts. It is a good time to go though. Just watch out for the week all the lowest annual passes become unblocked after the summer block out. It can make it slammed.

 

[JulesR1212]

Personally I've been twice and vowed never to visit in August again. With it being my birth month, who knows if I'll actually stick with that vow though. I think it comes down to how well you handle the heat. I don't tolerate it well, and didn't enjoy myself as much as I did when I visited in a cooler month like December.

Crowds are unpredictable. Halloween season starts in August and we have no idea of the 70th is also going to bring in extra people.

 

[Aspencreek]

We went for 3 days last year (2024) for the last two days of August and the first day of September. We had a fantastic time and found that the crowds were quite low. So much so that we even rode Small World one evening in a boat completely to ourselves! Really enjoyed that we could see the park with all the Halloween theming without the madness of the October crowds. As others have said, heat is the one possible negative. We lucked out and it was gorgeous with highs in the upper 70s while we were there, but just a couple days after we left the temps shot up and it hit 100 for a few days, so you never know.

 

[Diana ZP]

Does Hallowe'enTime not have a big effect on crowds in its early weeks, starting the third week of August?

@Diana ZP, Hallowe'enTime starts on August 22nd this year. That means Haunted Mansion will be down for a couple weeks before that as the NBC overlay is installed. In case that affects your planning.

Oh I forgot about Halloween time...man that is early! Thanks for the reminder!

 

[LKing]

Not only does Halloween start in August, but OBB is on August 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31

https://disneyparksblog.com/dlr/disneyland-resort-2025-event-dates-and-details/

 

[irlandaise]

Oh I forgot about Halloween time...man that is early! Thanks for the reminder!

You're welcome. It's very easy to forget that a Hallowe'en celebration starts in August!

 

[LAS2AMS]

Does Hallowe'enTime not have a big effect on crowds in its early weeks, starting the third week of August?

@Diana ZP, Hallowe'enTime starts on August 22nd this year. That means Haunted Mansion will be down for a couple weeks before that as the NBC overlay is installed. In case that affects your planning.

Halloween definitely helps bring people into the resort during what was previously one of the slowest time of the year. So it had an effect yes but its biggest effect isn’t felt until mid-September through October. For most people, early August is too early to be celebrating Halloween. I say most people, because when we were at WDW mid-August, this was a guest room at the All-Stars:

 

[Psymonds]

For Crowds: keep in mind some school districts go back in August locally (I just got an email that my daughter has orientation August 5th!! and LA Unified is back 8/12) so weekdays will start to dwindle as various schools go back in session, but weekends might be just as busy.

 

[OlliePop27]

August has shifted from being part of summer to more of the offseason for Disneyland. They do lots of refurbs in August because Sept-Dec are the busiest times of year.

Last August they did continue nightly Fantasmic and fireworks during the month, which is still a summer schedule. As others have noted, August can be a good time to go so long as you know that HM will definitely be closed before Halloween, and likely 1-2 other attractions.

 

[caribbeandream]

My son and I went the first week in August of 2019. The crowds were not bad, but a lot can change in six years. What I was not expecting was how HOT it was. And I'm saying this as someone who lived for over one decade in both Florida and Texas.

 

[twoolle]

Lots of refurbs nowadays in August until Halloween time starts. It is a good time to go though. Just watch out for the week all the lowest annual passes become unblocked after the summer block out. It can make it slammed.

Do you know when that is this year?

 

[LKing]

The Magic Key calendar can be found here: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

The lowest two MK are Enchant and Imagine. Enchant starts on weekdays the first week of August. Their first weekend date is Sunday, August 10. Imagine is a M-F Magic Key. They start up again the second week of August.

 

[China Expat]

August can be unbearably hot.

 

[LKing]

August can be unbearably hot.

Or not. Kind of like January can be a very wet month.... or there are Santa Ana winds causing fires.