DW in July - too crazy an idea?

[Shanti]

Me and my wife are currently thinking about doing a 12 days Disney World trip in July 2019 (early planning, I know).

It will be our first time there, so we have no experience, but I know that it will probably be crazy humid and crazy packed. But unfortunately July will be our only option for taking the kids to Disney World (They will be 12 and 8 in 2019).

So my question is, shall we drop our plans, as July will be hell on heath in Disney World?

My experience in July 2015 and July 2016 was that crowds were quite manageable. Only medium, not insanely crowded at all. So many more families now go to WDW while school is in session than did 10+ years ago. That seems to have taken the edge off summer. Naturally, Independence Day & the days surrounding it will feature high crowds, but the rest of the month will likely only have moderate crowds, if trends from the past few years continue.

Did I read somewhere above that WDW isn't super crowded in the summer any more? If so, what about a visit with lots of hanging out at the resort and/or by the pool, maybe visit the parks for an hour or two, maybe just in the evening? I'm a frequent WDW visitor, DVC member, and have thought of doing this, but I was always scared off by thoughts of big, crazy crowds in the summer.

Those "big, crazy crowds in the summer" are indeed a thing of the past, but so are the long summer hours that WDW used to offer. Don't be surprised that most parks might close by 9 or 10pm in July, with occasional EMH only offered until midnight.

Summer is a great season for staying at a deluxe resort (they're cheaper in summer than in fall or spring, btw) and enjoying their wonderful pools. Just be aware that it will likely rain for a few hours each day, either in the early afternoon or evening. For this reason, I recommend hitting parks in the morning in summer, trying to get outdoor rides done by noon as much as possible to avoid closures due to rain (almost never rains in the morning in summer), and then being flexible with the rest of your day, to accommodate the unpredictable afternoon/evening weather.

 

[MainMom]

Thank you so much everyone! I think I will continue with my planning then. My biggest concern was the crowds. I think we will stay onsite, so we can take the midday break.. I will have to look into FP strategies
Thanks all!

I recommend a moderate or deluxe hotel. Tour groups are prevalent at the values. Search the boards for opinions on these groups at the hotels.

We have gone in June and July. Both were great trips. It's hot, but as long as you are moving from attraction to attraction with good planning, the heat is manageable. We also like a few morning EMH during this time. We accomplished quite a bit in that extra hour.

 

[MainMom]

This. We have been in Aug and it is incredibly hot. The heat really takes a lot out of you. One day we had gone back for a break and were back at the bus stop to go to an evening ADR. We were done. toast. dead. exhausted. We wearily looked at each other, then looked at the kids who were sprawled out on the bench and said, "we just can't do it." The thought of walking through epcot to Le Celier was just daunting. We canceled the ADRs and went back to the room. We changed in to bathing suits, got dinner at the food court and swam. Best decision ever.

We usually book our table service ADR's for lunch time during the summer for this very reason. Going back to the park on time (or even not at all) is a up in the air for us during the summer. We prefer to not HAVE to be any where in the evening at a specific time.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

Been twice in July, including this year. As long as you plan ahead, rope drop and expect to be hot, you should have a great time! I always told myself that we would never go in July...turned out to be one of my favorite times to go.

However, I agree with the person who said to avoid the back side of World Showcase (Italy/Germany/China) in the heat of the day. There is no relief from the sun. That was the only time I felt really, really hot.

 

[Paposa]

Thank you so much everyone! You're wonderful. This board is amazing!

As far as accommodation, I will suspect that staying on-site is crucial, if we want to make sure to able to get FP to all the hard-to-get attractions?

 

[Linkura]

Thank you so much everyone! You're wonderful. This board is amazing!

As far as accommodation, I will suspect that staying on-site is crucial, if we want to make sure to able to get FP to all the hard-to-get attractions?

Yes.

 

[ArwenMarie]

This. We have been in Aug and it is incredibly hot. The heat really takes a lot out of you. One day we had gone back for a break and were back at the bus stop to go to an evening ADR. We were done. toast. dead. exhausted. We wearily looked at each other, then looked at the kids who were sprawled out on the bench and said, "we just can't do it." The thought of walking through epcot to Le Celier was just daunting. We canceled the ADRs and went back to the room. We changed in to bathing suits, got dinner at the food court and swam. Best decision ever.

This is a great post. You do have to be willing to ditch some plans at times and dial things back. We always try to get our absolute must-dos done in the mornings and then let the day go where it will

 

[Klayfish]

As far as accommodation, I will suspect that staying on-site is crucial, if we want to make sure to able to get FP to all the hard-to-get attractions?

Absolutely not. We never stay on site (it would be a huge negative for us, probably a deal breaker), and we get on every ride we want, many times over. This past summer, like I mentioned, we were there for 17 days. The only ones we had a hard time getting were FoP and NRJ...keep in mind they had only been open for about 6 weeks. Even still, we got one for FoP and 2 for NRJ.

Every other ride in all of WDW we got via FP+ at least 6 times each. Every single ride...you name it, we got it. All mountains in MK, 7DMT, RnR, ToT, TT, Soarin', TSMM, on and on...

FEA doesn't need a FP+, just get there before 11am and you can do it standby.

Nothing wrong with staying on site, doing rope drops, taking midday breaks, etc... but I can tell you without a doubt that you don't NEED to.

 

[mrsap]

Me and my wife are currently thinking about doing a 12 days Disney World trip in July 2019 (early planning, I know).

It will be our first time there, so we have no experience, but I know that it will probably be crazy humid and crazy packed. But unfortunately July will be our only option for taking the kids to Disney World (They will be 12 and 8 in 2019).

So my question is, shall we drop our plans, as July will be hell on heath in Disney World?

We are in the same boat - already booked for first week of July - but keep hearing “Are you crazy?!!!” from anyone we tell who’s been during that time! I love hearing positive responses regarding summer months, and hope we have successful trips like most of you have had!!

 

[Parker Clan]

We love the summer. I just posted on another thread that mid to late August is our fave time to go. We don't mind the heat, that's what pools and naps in the AC are for. We enjoy the great deals we get and way lower crowds. It's amazing! I read on here people stressing over getting ADR's and FP during the "popular" months... We don't have any trouble getting whatever we want. I was at Disney in March during Spring Break... The weather was indeed gorgeous but the crowds were disgusting! Spaceship Earth had a 65 min wait lol I'd take the heat and low crowds any day over that nonsense!

 

[wrmiller13]

We always travel in July ( DH is a teacher) I love July! Its hot, but, you know what? Its hot in Cincinnati too! So, I would rather be hot at Disney! Like everyone said...do RD, take a mid day break, come back at night. I just got back Sunday from our first Oct trip, and honestly, It was just as hot and even more crowded than in July! Go,and enjoy!!

 

[Dakota731]

We had short lines in July though as I get older I mind the heat more

 

[maryj11]

We have been to Disney in May memorial day week, end of June,mid August, September labor day week, mid October and mid December. We are going at the end of July this year. The only time it was not hot was in December. The least crowded of those months was May. All the other months had about the same crowds. I would go for it if I were you.
It is hot but with a plan to get in out of the heat to refresh you will be fine. We never rope drop but get there right after opening. We also take advantage of all the night extra magic hours even though it can be more crowded it is cooler out. Usually towards the end of extra magic hours crowds drop quite a bit.
We have been to Magic Kingdom with a 10 crowd level and managed just fine.
It all depends on taking time to make a plan for breaks,meals and fast pass times. Make a plan so you wont be criss crossing the park or walking back and forth across the parks(study park maps). Like plan all rides in one area before moving to the next.
Also learn how to use that fast pass system to get new fastpasses after your first 3 to avoid standing in long lines.
There is a trick to getting about any ride you want. All you have to do is keep refreshing over and over and it will pop up.

 

[maryj11]

We always travel in July ( DH is a teacher) I love July! Its hot, but, you know what? Its hot in Cincinnati too! So, I would rather be hot at Disney! Like everyone said...do RD, take a mid day break, come back at night. I just got back Sunday from our first Oct trip, and honestly, It was just as hot and even more crowded than in July! Go,and enjoy!!

I agree! I live 50 miles from Cincinnati and to me it has been just as hot at home as it has been at Disney.

 

[Paposa]

Absolutely not. We never stay on site (it would be a huge negative for us, probably a deal breaker), and we get on every ride we want, many times over. This past summer, like I mentioned, we were there for 17 days. The only ones we had a hard time getting were FoP and NRJ...keep in mind they had only been open for about 6 weeks. Even still, we got one for FoP and 2 for NRJ.

Every other ride in all of WDW we got via FP+ at least 6 times each. Every single ride...you name it, we got it. All mountains in MK, 7DMT, RnR, ToT, TT, Soarin', TSMM, on and on...

FEA doesn't need a FP+, just get there before 11am and you can do it standby.

Nothing wrong with staying on site, doing rope drops, taking midday breaks, etc... but I can tell you without a doubt that you don't NEED to.

That sounds really promising, because I think I would prefer to rent a house in Kissimee or something, as I guess we will take a 10 day ticket and stay 16 nights. So I guess we would be cramped in a hotel room. I was only worried with not being able to get FP to FoP and the like. Do you stay in a house or a hotel, when you are offsite?

 

[Klayfish]

That sounds really promising, because I think I would prefer to rent a house in Kissimee or something, as I guess we will take a 10 day ticket and stay 16 nights. So I guess we would be cramped in a hotel room. I was only worried with not being able to get FP to FoP and the like. Do you stay in a house or a hotel, when you are offsite?

That's what we used to do back when we lived flying distance from WDW, get a ticket length that was shorter than our actual stay. We couldn't stay 16 nights then, only 10 or 11. We'd buy a 7 or 8 day ticket and stay offsite. But we always bought the Water Parks and More option, so we'd do 7 park days and 5 or 6 water park days (some days we'd do both water park and theme park). We now live within driving distance, so we purchased annual passes and we can stay 16 or 17 nights...thankful to my employer for letting me work remote.

Yes, with 5 of us, we'd never fit in a hotel room...and we'd go crazy for lack of space, privacy, etc... Add in the fact DW and I are very health conscious, we couldn't eat WDW food all the time...we pack literally 95% of our food and bring it into the parks with us. Pretty rare that we eat at a restaurant. Plus, we love having our car with us, so we can go where we want, when we want. So for us, offsite is the only way to go. We're in the minority in that opinion, and I fully understand and respect why others insist in staying onsite, it just would be a deal breaker for us.

We rent condos or townhouses. We'll typically pay somewhere around $60-$85/night, plus usually a $100 cleaning fee. For our 16-17 night stays (which we've done the past 3 straight summers and will do again in '18), we paid roughly $1250-$1500 all in for lodging. That gets us 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 or 2.5 bath, and roughly 800-1200sq ft depending on where we stay. We love having a master bedroom w/private bath, a full family room, kitchen, etc... It's awesome to come home from a day in the parks and have room to spread out and relax, have a cup of coffee, watch TV (while our kids go in their own rooms and watch their own TV). There are SO many rental townhouse and condo communities within a 15 minute drive of WDW...and there is so much to do along that area. Many of our nights are spent taking the kids to Dunkin' Donuts...they get a treat, DW and I get coffee (OK...I'm on vacation, I'll treat myself too...LOL), or going to a gift shop, or just hanging out at the community pool. We really enjoy it.

Make no mistake, FoP FP+ will still be an extremely hard thing to get at 30 days. NRJ probably pretty hard too. But beyond those, anything else is no big deal at all...and FoP isn't impossible, or you can rope drop if you really want.

 

[wrmiller13]

I agree! I live 50 miles from Cincinnati and to me it has been just as hot at home as it has been at Disney.

And humid! Lol!! Like a wet blanket!