Don't like heat/humidity...anything GOOD about going in August??

[Local_Girl]

Well, the kids are getting old enough that we'd rather not pull them out of school for our trips...but we love to go to WDW in cooler weather, and we drive, so we prefer to stay for a couple of weeks when we go. Is there any benefit to going in late August (school starts right after Labor Day)...or would mid-June (right after school gets out) be better? Which part of the summer is busier? We've only been in fall/winter and spring...tell me the summer won't kill us!!

Thanks!

 

[MessyJ]

I haven't been in the summer for years. However, my DW and I were there this past May and this past October. October seemed hotter to us than May. So maybe go in June? I know as a Texan that it is certainly hotter there in August than in June. Either times will probably be quite crowded, but with kids in school, that's probably something you'll have to deal with for the next decade-and-a-half.

 

[kirbsam]

sorry, but from the subject of your post, you already know the answer. the summer will be a beast.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I can't comment on mid-June but we went in mid-August. The parks were opened extended hours. So you could get to the park at opening then, leave around lunch time to go back to the resort & swim and then, come back again around dinner time & stay until closing. The only thing that bothered us the most was the rain. It did rain 4 nights out the 6 nights when we were there pretty hard. At the time we were with two strollers so we didn't go out much when it rained hard. This was back in 2002. We still had a lot of fun though! It was our first trip together as a family to WDW and we've been going back every since. We've been back twice since then. But both time in May. Next time we are going in December between Christmas & New Years.

 

[shafke]

We are also planning out next trip for late August.

The heat/humidity I can deal with. The crowds are supposed to be lighter toward the end of August as compared with the rest of the summer. June may be busier than the end of August and can still be hot.

Our nly other choices now with the kids in school would be Christmas, President's week, or Easter which are all peak or higher in terms of crowds and cost of accomodations.

our choice are...
1. June/July - Hot/humid, crowded, regular season - 2.5 strikes (regular season prices are not too bad)
2. One of the holiday weeks - Nicer weather, crowded, peak prices - 2 strikes (only plus is nice weather but it can still get cold for Xmas or Feb)
3. End of Aug - Hot/humid, not as crowded, value season. - 1 strike but I can deal with the weather.

To deal with the weather you just stick to the basics... take it easy, wear light clothes, use plenty of sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.

 

[In a hurry]

We traditionally went the last week of August until a couple of years ago. The positives were the crowd level dropped, and the hours were often nearly as long as peak times. My husband can't toleraate the heat, so we have switched to winters recently.

 

[Disneydreamer315]

Last year, first time, I went mid to late August. The free dining plan coupled with a Huge sale at southwest, well, I could not turn it down.

PRO's - This disney trip cost me about 1/3 of what our other trip cost.
- FREE DINING PLAN - this was so awesome, I loved it! Ate like kings and tried places we could not before. Late August through September Disney usually offers big discounts in order to tempt people to go!
- NO CROWDS - grant it, I was using TGM best days, but even still, being able to walk on to space mountain at 2 pm in the afternoon, well, that was spectacular.
- Using the free dining plan, we stayed for 10 days instead of a week. Why? because each additional day only cost us the rack rate of a moderate in value season and an additional ten bucks for the ticket. I can rationalize anything, but that was like pay 130 bucks a day for 3 days for hotel, food and tickets -- thats a good deal to me!
- Getting my room request -- I got the most perfect room right beside the food court! This could be just luck, but also, with less people there was a better chance for me to get my room request
- Easy transportation -- never had to wait for a bus at ALL! I think I stood only once in 10 days, and that was after Fantasmic when we exited with the masses.
- ME worked perfectly for us! Again, low crowd levels probably made this such a positive experience.

Cons-- it is humid! But, never once did it make me feel at all bad, because we used the TGM philosophy (parks early generally, afternoon breaks at the pool, then evening fun <-- dont think that is divulging anything specific, am I?) Swimming was a welcome treat, you obviously never had to worry about it being warm enough. (so only a sorta con for me -- as we found it no problem, but I can tell you I was worried about this before I went)

-- Worried about the start of huricane season. Worried about having to cancel due to hurricane. This was a big one. I had cancellation insurance, and kept my fingers crossed. Either you decide you can live with that worry or not.

Now, I have no idea if the free dining plan will be offered this year, but I tell you if it is -- I will be on the phone at 7 a.m. the morning it is released!

I hope this helps, and again, this is just my personal experience,, YMMV.

 

[lovemygoofy]

My dh and I went the last week of August last year. It was very hot and very humid but we are used to it. We drank alot of water, wore shorts and light weight shirts. Of course we also have to change clothes at least twice a day because we were funky by the evening time It rains every afternoon around 2pm for about 20 mins. This is a good time for a nap or resort hopping or late lunch. The lines were extremely short the whole time we were there. I think the most wait times were in the MK and to us thats just normal. Bring lots of sunscreen, water, and socks you should be fine.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Yes it is hot and humid, afternoon showers take out some of the humidity. And most shows and lines are covered, indoors or have AC. There are plenty of places to stop and catch your breath/cool off.
We have been twice in late August and once late June/early July.

Late August the crowds are down significantly. Most southern schools are back in session.
We like both times. Use of fastpass and taking midday breaks, or starting later in the day worked for us.

 

[MichelleChell]

I have not been since I was 14 and I am going in July. I live in Houston, TX and we have the same heat as Florida. I would say it would probably be hotter in Aug then June. I do agree with the other posters I bet the croweds will be lower. I would say if you can find a place to cool off and can handle the humidity then go for Aug.

 

[mom23boys]

We were in Disney the 3rd week in August last year. The crowds were light, I did use TGM and was able to walk onto most every ride. The heat was a major factor but we drank lots of water and swam alot.

We are planning either August or Dec for 2007, leaning more towards Dec as my oldest DS will be in 8th grade.

 

[Local_Girl]

Thank you everyone, for your responses! I agree that the free dining would definitely be a positive factor, if offered in August. Thanks for the reminders about how to endure the heat...we've never been the "go back to the resort at mid-day" folks, but it certainly makes sense to handle heat and crowds. Keep the ideas coming...I'll need all the ammo I can get to help convince DH that a summer visit is doable!

 

[dmk1021]

I went to WDW this past August with my sister, and we managed fine. The hotels (and therefore buses and parks) were really empty this past year. As noted before, the parks are still open late, and we had no major rehabs this time.

A bit more so the sun/heat/humidity don't zap your trip:

-I try to do WS after dinner. It always takes a huge toll on me in the summer when I try to do it during the day.

-Try breaking up MK. It tends to be the most exhaustive (for me, anyway), and I'll do early morning one day, then go somewhere like MGM (lots of indoor attractions) during the worst part of the day. Then you can go back to MK that night, or use another night. You'll get the best of MK at opening and close!

-MK and AK are the worst in August (IMHO). Really take the opportunity to enjoy Epcot and MGM. Many attractions are indoors (God Bless You, Soarin' - the most manageable queue ever!), and you can get through the day hardly noticing how bad it is outside. My trip in August, I went into Innoventions for the first time in years, and lingered through the other attractions. It was great to not feel rushed!

 

[LongIslandCouple]

We have during the last week of August for our last two trips. Other than the heat, it is a perfect time to go.

Wait times are almost non-existent. Just go to the park that had EMH the night before and you can virtually walk on every ride. The longest we waited for any ride was about 15 minutes.

Yes, the heat is rough, but if you split your day - start early, return to hotel around lunch and head back out around 6PM, you'll see everything you want and the heat become manageable.

 

[Piglet42]

I agree with other posters about the crowd level being less in last August as opposed to June. Either way I believe you may be looking at hot, humid weather.

One thing to consider- late August is hurricane season. It does take a strong storm for Disney to close parks, it is someting to think about. On the upside, it could make for cooler weather. I was there in Sept 04 right in between Ivan and Jeanne, and we had great weather. It was breezy, some clouds, in the mid 80's, and very low humidty. Went back same time in Sep 05, very hot and humid.

Personally I would take the chance for late August. You said your kids go back after Labor Day- a lot of kind will already be back in school. For instance, where I live they go back in mid-August.

Whatever decision you make, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time- it is Disney World afterall

 

[Sammie]

The later in August the better for crowds.

As to the weather it will be hot all month and even into September and with the hurricane forecast again for this year, definitely get trip insurance.

Others have given you good advise for dealing with the heat.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Dh is a teacher, so our travel window is late June to early August. We avoid all vacation spots 4th of July week, so early August is our 1st choice of when to travel.

It was HOT and crowded in 8/05. The best thing we did was to take a break at the hotel room mid day to go swimming and/or just soak up some A/C and take a shower.

If you go in the summer, plan to do laundry. We went through 2 or more outfits each every day. Also plan to drink plenty of water. We had a car and we stocked up on a couple of cases of water at Publix. Everyone carried his own water bottle in an insulated bag (Wal-Mart sells them) and we refilled our bottles at fountains throughout the day.

 

[lorli]

our choice are...
1. June/July - Hot/humid, crowded, regular season - 2.5 strikes (regular season prices are not too bad)
2. One of the holiday weeks - Nicer weather, crowded, peak prices - 2 strikes (only plus is nice weather but it can still get cold for Xmas or Feb)
3. End of Aug - Hot/humid, not as crowded, value season. - 1 strike but I can deal with the weather.

To deal with the weather you just stick to the basics... take it easy, wear light clothes, use plenty of sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.

This is a good system and great advice. The only thing I would add is take advantage of attractions with ac. It helped us a lot the two Augusts we were there.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We went the last week of August last year, came home the day before Labor Day, and the crowds weren't bad at all. We didn't mind the heat terribly, just took a break in the afternoon.