Do the shortened hours in late Aug have a big impact on your vacation?

[barbnjmom]

I have never gone to WDW in late Aug (Aug. 21-28)....but that are the plans for this year. From what I can tell from the historically hours the park hours are shortened during this timeframe.

Anyone else have an opinion on this? I am used to the longer hours and having more choices with fireworks, parades, shows...etc.

I believe the crowds are smaller but are concerned about the hours.......any suggestions or am I freaking out too much!!!

 

[msr709]

I'm also in your position, I usually go during peak times and the parks are open late, but this year its a big group of us going and we chose late August because of the low crowds. But we made sure the hotel we picked had its own activities and late hours for the pool so we hope to even things out that way, we are also renting cars while there so we'll be able to get around more and see other things besides Disney. HTH! Have a great trip!

 

[SillyOleBear]

I've never been in August, but I have gone twice in October. The parks close very early that time of year and I didn't experience any problems seeing and doing what I wanted to do. At night, we often went to Disney Quest, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, or the Boardwalk area where there was plenty to do.

 

[dgaston]

We too do things like PI, or Boardwalk, or plan meals that begin later. We find the lower crowds easily let us do everything that we'd like. Of course, in the past there was also an enight to take advantage of, but that may live only in my memories now. We also got caught in the late afternoon thunderstorms, but that helped us take an afternoon break and get refreshed for our evenings.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Yes, the short hours do make a big difference, but only at the MK. The previous post mentioned having e-nights to make it better, and they sure did. Late August hours mean no nights at the MK, no night parades, never seeing the park lit up...

I don't think that the shorter hours at Epcot (9:00), MGM (usually around 8:30) or the AK (that always closes before dark) are much of an impact because the crowds are much smaller.

That said, I would still be going in late August again this year if we weren't going with my sons band in June!

 

[barbnjmom]

Is there a possibility then for an ENight at MK during this time?

 

[dgaston]

If we don't see any enights in the next few weeks, as it sounds attendance is really back up again, I don't think WDW will be offering them in the near future. This is a good topic to email Guest Relations about.

 

[my3princes]

We were there last August. The hours were much shorter at all the park with the exception of Epcot. We really had to plan ahead to see all of the evening shows and parades because they were only offered a couple of times per week. The crowds were still very large and I have been at busy times of the year (Easter, Thanksgiving). We were able to see everything with 3ds, but it took all of 2 weeks to do it. We are going in July this year to take advantage of our APs, but we are looking forward to longer hours.