End of August Crowds?

[JessZacc]

We might be going to Disney the week of Aug 22-29. How are the crowds during this time usually? We have never gone this time of year before. Also how is the weather? I know it's August and Florida but is it unbearably hot and humid? Thanks!

 

[tlmadden73]

I asked the same question a few months ago (and planning a trip that same week)

This is what I heard --
1) Crowds will be lower than the rest of the summer as most kids are heading back to school that week and the week after (but may not be as low this year since Labor Day is a week later) ... Crowds won't be as low as September.
2) Crowds may not be that low because of the 30% discount they offered (for stays up to 8/27)
3) It will be hot and humid (about as hot and humid as it can get - temps in the mid to upper 90s (or higher) and you'll sweat just standing around) .. it depends what you consider "unbearable". You just need to plan your day AROUND the heat and humidity (don't stand in outdoor lines in the middle of the afternoon if you can help it .. bring plenty of water .. etc. etc.)
4) It will probably rain in the afternoon every day

 

[Maus]

We are going last week of August too and I think that crowds will be high since so many things are booked out . We are trying to do low key this time and do more pool than park, hope that will help.

 

[LaurenT]

Crowds will be very manageable, but it won't be as quiet as the second week of September. I do end of August every year. Imagine covering yourself in soaking wet towels and then sitting in your parked car with the windows rolled up and the AC off in direct sun in the middle of summer ... That's what it will feel like in the morning before it gets hot, lol.
But if you plan your days so that you're not standing in outdoor lines and you bring a small misting fan (search O2 Cool) and water, you'll be fine.

 

[JessZacc]

Thank you for your help! I usually like going in May or September but we did a cruise in March and the next vacation is Aug and also with my oldest son starting 1st grade in the fall I don't want to pull him out in Sept. Hearing that a lot of things are already booked out though makes me wonder if this would be a mistake as we are not quite ready to book just yet. I wonder if it will be too late to get any reservations. :/

 

[LaurenT]

On site reservations is not usually a good indicator of park crowds. Josh's calendar at EasyWDW is much more reliable.
Make your ADRs now if you have some hard to get ones in mind - you can always cancel. And I'm sure there will be rooms available somewhere onsite when you're ready.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Definitely hot hot hot, but...the crowds have always been pleasant for us at that time. So many states are already back in school. Most of the out of town U.S. visitors are from Virginia and north of. I think it's one of the best times to go if you can't do September.

 

[RustManFan]

have camped in a tent at FW twice that last week of August and it was totally ok. We were at Walt Disney World!!

 

[Shmily01]

We usually go the week either leading up to Labor Day or the week of and both weeks have been okay crowd wise for us in the past. As other posters have pointed out, it's HOT, HOT, HOT. We usually do breaks mid day at the pool or in the AC somewhere and go back in the evening. We really love that time of year. Have a great trip!

 

[LSUfan4444]

We might be going to Disney the week of Aug 22-29. How are the crowds during this time usually? We have never gone this time of year before. Also how is the weather? I know it's August and Florida but is it unbearably hot and humid? Thanks!

Low crowds, hot and humid.

Have fun.

 

[Tomh]

We always travel in the later half of August. This year, we are arriving a bit earlier than usual, on the 11th and staying until the 23rd. Over the years, we have found that the later in August you stay, the lighter the crowds get. There is often a very noticeable difference between the 3rd week, and 4th week of the month. That said, both are significantly better than being there in July when it was REALLY busy.

I don't do heat well, but I've managed to survive 7 trips to Disney over the past 7 years. 6 of them in August, one in July. It is manageable. Plan accordingly for the heat, and you'll have a great time.

 

[marchingstar]

we went last August. the crowds were definitely reasonable (although my only previous WDW experience was Christmas/New Years week). we're from Canada, and the heat was a constant challenge for us. but we did our best to plan long afternoon breaks (swimming, or our biggest TS meal of the day.)

if you aren't ready to book the hotel yet, OP, you could still start booking some ADRs. August is within the 180 window now, so you have the same access to them as anyone, and you don't need a resort reservation for any reason. if there's a restaurant you really want, book it on a couple days so that once you start planning your trip you can keep it on the day it works best.

 

[disneyworlddreaming]

Following along!
We took our oldest during his 7th birthday on our last trip, so we have started a new tradition of celebrating the kids 7th birthday in Disney World. Our daughter is next year and falls at the end of August. Guess we will have to make sure to add on the water park option to our tickets!

 

[LLM]

I was there last year from August 24th to August 31st. I was prepared for daily downpours and almost unbearable heat for this Canadian girl! It may not be the normal, but we had rain on one evening only for a couple of hours. Was it hot, yes, but not the unbearable hot that I thought it was going to be. The crowds were awesome....almost non existent in my experience. I think the most we waited for a ride was probably 10 or 15 minutes. And that was only for a couple of rides. Many times we got off of one ride and walked right on to another ride. My previous trips were in February, March, May and October and the last week of August was by far my favourite time to go!

Lisa

 

[JessZacc]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice! I really appreciate it! I hope we are able to go. I should be finding out for sure over the next week or so!!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did it in 2011. The crowds were very low but it was hot and humid. I was expecting it to rain a lot but we only had one day where our PM break was spent in our room taking a nap because we were exhausted. It also downpoured that afternoon. By 4-5 pm it was gone and we headed out for our dinner ADR.

We did rope drop, midday breaks at the pool and then a park in the evening. It worked very well for us.

We are going again in August this year. Hoping for no hurricanes and not much rain.

 

[mcd2745]

We've done late August a couple of times in the past and are going Aug 24-30 this year before taking a RCCL cruise. The things to note are:


Crowds will be dramatically lower and very managable from just a couple of weeks earlier, as most areas of the country (outside of the northest) are already back in school.

Yes, it will be hot. Just tour smartly...alternate indoor and outdoor attractions, drink lots of water, bring a misting fan...and you'll be fine. Don't go by just last summer, as it was unusually hot - even by Florida standards. Can get showers/storms (usually in the afternoon), but it shouldn't ruin your day.

Parks do start closing earlier. No midnight closings at MK, for example. 10pm is probably the latest you'd see. AK closes by 5, DHS by 8.

ADRs book up quickly (and make it seem like it wil be busier than it really is) because a lot of people make ADRs simply on the hope/speculation that they will eventually offer free dining for that time frame (they used to regularly in the past, but I don't think they did last year until after Labor Day - someone correct me if that's wrong). A lot of ADRs will likely open up as we get closer - especially if there's no free dining.

 

[Shmily01]

I was there last year from August 24th to August 31st. I was prepared for daily downpours and almost unbearable heat for this Canadian girl! It may not be the normal, but we had rain on one evening only for a couple of hours. Was it hot, yes, but not the unbearable hot that I thought it was going to be. The crowds were awesome....almost non existent in my experience. I think the most we waited for a ride was probably 10 or 15 minutes. And that was only for a couple of rides. Many times we got off of one ride and walked right on to another ride. My previous trips were in February, March, May and October and the last week of August was by far my favourite time to go!

Lisa

That's something we had issues with on our 2013 trip....RAIN. Everyday! But we scheduled dinners around 5 or 6 every night and amazingly on most nights, It rained while we ate and when we were done, so was the rain! PIXIE DUST anyone?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We've done late August a couple of times in the past and are going Aug 24-30 this year before taking a RCCL cruise. The things to note are:


Crowds will be dramatically lower and very managable from just a couple of weeks earlier, as most areas of the country (outside of the northest) are already back in school.

Yes, it will be hot. Just tour smartly...alternate indoor and outdoor attractions, drink lots of water, bring a misting fan...and you'll be fine. Don't go by just last summer, as it was unusually hot - even by Florida standards. Can get showers/storms (usually in the afternoon), but it shouldn't ruin your day.

Parks do start closing earlier. No midnight closings at MK, for example. 10pm is probably the latest you'd see. AK closes by 5, DHS by 8.

ADRs book up quickly (and make it seem like it wil be busier than it really is) because a lot of people make ADRs simply on the hope/speculation that they will eventually offer free dining for that time frame (they used to regularly in the past, but I don't think they did last year until after Labor Day - someone correct me if that's wrong). A lot of ADRs will likely open up as we get closer - especially if there's no free dining.

WDW had MK closing at 10 pm everynight I'm there but just opened it up to 11 pm. I'm very happy for this!

 

[maryj11]

We will be going the week before you and I was worried about the heat also. Someone told me buy Frogg Togg chilly pad or towel. They said it was a life saver at keeping them cool.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/30154722?...gy=PWVUB&visitor_id=IzKXI0y-WDdHhdjwOrbNEc&ca