Don't sugarcoat it - How bad is early June?

[GEM]

We have never, in all our very many Disney trips, been there during the summer. I have always said I would never do it.

We have been planning a short 4 night trip to the world in early May of 2005, which is a time we really enjoy being there.

However, DH can only get 3 days off at that time, so it would be a very quick trip.

If we go in early June, we can stay much longer. We are considering June 5th-19th.

Pluses for going in June would be:
-We can drive instead of fly, which we actually enjoy.
-We can stay longer - maybe up to two full weeks instead of 4 days.
-Since we are staying longer, we could even do off-site stuff we've always wanted to do - Sea World, Busch Gardens, see a bit of the Everglades, etc.
-We could even drive down to Miami and spend a few days with our friends there.

Negatives for June would be:
-Heat
-Crowds

So, what do you think? Which would you pick?

Oh, and what about avoiding Gay Days - not at all because they are gay, just because I've heard the crowds are worse. I checked out the website and the GD activities run from June 1st-Sat. June 4th. If we arrived on Monday, June 6th, would the crowds be thinned out any?

Oh, and what are the hours usually like in early to mid June? Do the parks stay open any later?

Any advice on June in the world would be appreciated!

 

[mzzzh]

We went early June 2003. IMHO how bad it is depends alot on where you are from. I see that you're from Arkansas so you're probably used to heat and humidity. I'm used to extreme heat and I found early June at WDW to be tolerable. It rained alittle every day but it would stop fairly quickly. Temperature was about 80+ with about that in humidity. Take water and take plenty of breaks and you should be fine.


Oh....and although June 1 is "technically" the beginning of hurricane season, I think there is less chance of a hurricane in early June than July or August.

Enjoy your trip whenever you decide to go!

 

[Geoff_M]

We were there for two weeks this June (6-20). You already know about the weather... Very warm and humid. I'd also expect more rain. Periodic afternoon thunderstorms are pretty common. As for crowds, I describe them as "busy, but managable". You'll want to take full advantage of FP and make sure that you're there at park opening. I wouldn't want to go "park commando" during this time. I more relaxed "pick-n-choose & go with the flow" tactic is the best way to go.

 

[crazywig]

we went june 4-11th this year.

omg, HOT!!!! mid 90's and humid. the pool is your friend

we had only ever been in off season so i thought the crowds big, but managable as long as you get there at opening and use fastpass.

i was six months pregnant and we had our 2yr old with us so we took it very slow and did the afternoon break. a lifesaver for sure.

the best part about june was we went to a waterpark for the first time! i could do slides but my ds loved the kiddie area at BB.

gay days - we avoided MK the day the gathering because we had heard of the crowd. otherwise, no crowd issues.

 

[Amirah95]

When I think of June, at think of the heat and that's something that I can't handle to much of. A friend of mine went last June and only complained about the heat. He said the crowds weren't too bad the first two weeks.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We went the second week of June '03 and it was just miserably hot and humid (especially for the kids) every afternoon. It really makes sense to plan to be in the pool or something in the afternoons. The one problem we ran into was that MK closed at 7pm a couple of evenings we were there, (the only evening option was Epcot those days) so it was impractical to leave for a while and then return. As for me and my family, we will always try to avoid June-September from now on.

We are looking forward to having a whole week at WDW in November and the kids only missing 2 days of school thanks to Thanksgiving break

 

[rcraw45425]

We were there this June, during Gay Days. IMO, the only truly bad part of that was the crowds. Luckily we were at the CR so we just hopped the monorail. Hot, now that's another story. The heat is bad but the humidity is aweful! Definitely a time to stay Deluxe, preferably on the monorail. We had rain most afternoons/evenings too, in fact a torrential downpour our last night. That did seem to clear out the park some. I did notice that GD mostly seemed to effect the MK, to the point where the resort hotels put reminders in the rooms that that Saturday was EE at MGM, advised going there due to the high guest volume expected at MK.

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by rcraw45425
I did notice that GD mostly seemed to effect the MK, to the point where the resort hotels put reminders in the rooms that that Saturday was EE at MGM, advised going there due to the high guest volume expected at MK.

Oh, I was wondering if they sent the notice around this year. We didn't get one in our room at OKW, but I assumed they didn't send one because Saturday is no longer EE at MK.

Otherwise, I think early June is a good time to visit, but Saturday at MK IS busy. However, being from TX, we are used to the heat and humidity, so it isn't a factor for us, we did see a lot of melting Northerners, though.

 

[Jalva22]

Can anyone give me a comparison of heat/humidity of mid-June v. mid-July? Is it much worse in July, or is it so hot both times that it doesn't make any difference? Being from Central Oklahoma, we're pretty used to a solid month or more of temps around 100 with high humidity (though it's been a great summer this year). That doesn't mean we like it hot though! I was planning for June because I thought it would be cooler with slightly lower crowds. I just worry about a washout in June. I know there will be rain in July also, but maybe less chance of solid rain the whole time?

 

[Amirah95]

This info comes from the 2004 Unofficial Guide:

*June
Avg Daily Low: 71f
Avg Daily High: 91f
Avg Daily Temp: 81f
Avg Daily Humidity: 77
Avg Rainfall per month (in): 7.4
# of Days of Rain per Mo.: 14

*July
Avg Daily Low: 73f
Avg Daily High: 92f
Avg Daily Temp: 82f
Avg Daily Humidity: 79
Avg Rainfall per month (in): 7.8
# of Days of Rain per Mo.: 17

 

[popeyeohoh]

My family has been in WDW twice in June. Both in the second week. Yes it is hot but we did not have to wait in lines. Fastpass worked very well for us at this time of the year. We always left for a mid afternoon swim and rest. I would much rather put up with an afternoon rainstorm and heat over crowds any day. I think going around spring break to be the worst.

 

[Tooneric]

We have always done late winter/early spring trips, but added a summer trip the last two years. Yes, it is hot, but since you would have many more days in the park, you can take a slower pace, mid day pool breaks, later evenings.

The best was this past June we did two E Ride nights. I let everyone sleep in, and we were in MK until 1:00 am one night, and 2am another! No lines, no heat, just lots of late night fun!

I would go for the longer trip versus cooler weather, but my DW may disagree with me on that one!

 

[KimR]

We went the first week of June last year and I didn't think the heat or the crowds were bad at all. Keep in mind, though, I am from Atlanta and heat doesn't bother me much. DH and my sister can't take heat at all and thought it was miserably hot. The crowds were very manageable, much better than this year when we went during Spring Break!

IMO, the worst part about going in June is the rain. The last few days we were there it rained from about 3:00 till 6:00 or so. We don't typically take afternoon breaks, so that really put a damper on our day.

 

[jennymouse]

We've gone the last two years in the second week of June. The heat and humidity was alot worse this year than last. Even going early in the morning we were buring up just waiting in line for the parks to open. We spent lots more time in the pool this time as it was so hot the girls really didn't want to go to the parks much and when we did go to the parks it wasn't no time before they were wanting to go back to the pool.

It rained a lot both June trips as well. Usually around 5pm, and it wasn't always a quick shower like you hear about either, there were BAD thunderstorms. One night we walked through ankle deep water and pouring rain to get to our Teppanyaki PS. It reminded me of Forest Gump talking about the rain in Vietnam. Sideways rain, rain that came up from the ground...... This past June, it rained all night at least three nights that I can remember. This trip the weather really did have an adverse effect on our trip enjoyment. We missed Fantasmic this trip, and didn't get to enjoy World Showcase like we would've liked.

The crowds weren't all that bad either time if you knew what you were doing. We always did a non early entry park, used fastpasses, and took advantage of Enight.

I'm going to try my best to avoid summers from now on; I don't know if I'll always be successful, but I'm going to try. We've done Spring Break before too, and prefer more crowds than heat and rain. I've booked Spring Break for 2005 instead of June. We're from Kentucky and it gets hot and humid here too, but it's just not the same.

Having said all that, since your June trip would be longer it may not be so bad in that if you miss something due to rain, you'd have a better chance of doing it later in the trip. And, just because we had a lot of rain when we went, doesn't mean you will on yours.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[dizagain]

bump...keep the info coming, please! DH just confirmed today that he would commit to taking vacation June 2-9, '05!!! Heat is ok with me, crowds are not...sounding o.k. so far!

 

[cardramblues]

We went this year June 12-19 and it only rained twice. The temps were hot and the crowds at MK were large. Epcot is very manageable, but MGM and MK get very crowded especially on EMH days.

With that said, the afternoon break and extended hours made the trip very enjoyable. Nothing like sipping a Pina Colada at the hotel pool at 3pm while everyone else is flat out exhausted from the heat of the parks.

I would avoid EMH. I know, everyone says to use it but MK and MGM were PACKED to the gills by 10am!! Get to the park when it opens and use fastpass and you can enjoy anytime of year at Disney.

 

[jmatias]

We were at WDW this June from 1-16 with a large group from infant to Grandparents.

Being from Hawaii we know about humidity but Orlando was really hot while we were there...our lowest day temp was 93 and average was 95!!!! We made sure to keep hydrated, and take things slow.

We did catch some pretty heavy rain in the afternoons.

Everyone had a great time! It truly is what you make of it.

 

[brerrabbit]

We have gone during the summer most times we went. The one advantage we found to early June was that a lot of Northern schools don't get out till mid June and therefore we found the crowds to be someone lighter than later in the summer. We were there during the Gay pride week and did not encounter much of them because we seemed to be on an oppisite schedule. I think they post what park they are going to be in each day and even though we never checked the information we seemed to be somewhere else each day. The heat and humidity is a given. But being from the Texas Gulf Coast it did'nt bother us.

Go for it any trip to the world is worth it.