end of August crowds?

[cepmom]

We are going to WDW 8/24 - 8/28 - the first time we have ever gone during the summer. Last time we went in November and it was awesome! Low crowds, very little wait time and the weather was great (although slightly cooler than I expected) I am trying to prepare myself for the heat and humidity ( I hate the humidity ), but what I'm really wondering about is the crowds. Exactly how crowded can I expect it to be? I know most of the schools are back in session by then - does that make much of a difference?

How about Saturdays - is it best to avoid parks that day? (we'll be arriving on a Wednesday and checking out on Sunday to head over to Port Canaveral for a Disney Cruise!! ) Any help is appreciated!! TIA

 

[sters]

My friend went that week last year and she said that the crowds weren't too bad, with no more than a half hour wait for rides. The heat and humidity was bad, she said, but because so many attractions were indoors and because she took some pool breaks, she found the heat managable. Hope that helps.

 

[cepmom]

Thanks for the reply sters. 30 minute waits are manageable - I think I got spoiled by our last trip though! August is definately not my first choice for going to WDW, but because my oldest DD will be entering 10th grade next year, we can't really take her out of school for a 10 day vacation and school vacation weeks are too expensive.

Any other experiences with crowds the end of August?

 

[gigi1313]

we arrived on august 30th, and w/the exception of a visitor named hurricane frances, we found the crowds to be manageably low... we never waited even close to half an hour for *any* ride! although i had a coworker who went the week before me (8/23-30) and she reported longer waits/higher crowds, but not considerably... (is there a chance you can reverse your cruise/land itineraries and do the cruise first and be assured super-low-crowds in early september?)

 

[Grammamouse]

We were there this August 17-27th with our 2 granddaughters 11 & 13. Managed our trip in between hurricaines, but never again in August. The heat and humidity were unbearable. We tried early entry, but by 10:00A.M. we were melting and even the kids couldn't wait to get back to the pool. Changed our game plan and slept in mornings, swam in the afternoon and hit the parks around 4:00 P.M. That worked better, but the parks close early starting around Aug 15th. and only a couple of nights have Spectro parade. Usually rained around that time which helped cool things off, but sometimes just made it more sticky. Waited an hour one night at Epcot for the downpour to stop and when it did, the kids were able to jump on test track. Waits were averaging about a half hour, but fast pass helped a lot if you didn't mind walking back to the ride in the heat. We didn't get to spend enough time in AK on the animal trails, because it got too hot to stay after noon and that park closes at 5:00P.M.

Our first trip in 2002 was in July, right after the 4th. I don't remember it being as humid as August , the parks are open much later and most of the parades and fireworks are shown every night and sometimes twice. Much more comfortable in the evening.

Next trip is in 3 weeks. Just 3 grandmas and we are really looking forward to walking around in comfort.

 

[LoriLea]

We were there August 29 - Sept 6 this year. Crowds were very manageable. The busiest day was on the Tuesday at Magic Kingdom but this was the only day that they had Spectromagic. On this day, waits for Space Mountain and Splash Mountain were up to 50 minutes. Later on in the week we went back and had 5 minute waits for these attractions. Crowds were so low they didn't even have most of the fastpass machines operating towards the end of the week. I'm sure you can attribute the very low crowds towards the end of the week to Hurricane Frances. On the Friday we were able to stay on rides without having to line up to go on again. Also, we didn't do any of the early entry days at the parks.
As for heat and humidity, it was actually welcomed! We had a cool and wet summer here at home. We didn't even take mid-day breaks as we had originally planned. We used our mister fans, drank water, and went into air conditioned attractions when we were hot. We also didn't rush around. We spent one day at Typhoon Lagoon and it was great!!
We will definitely plan our next trip at the same time of year.

 

[cepmom]

gigi1313 -

I wish we could change the itinerary around, but airfare is already booked and we need to get back home in time for the girls to start back to school (Wed following Labor Day) I had considered cruising 1st, then going to WDW from Thurday until Tuesday following Labor Day, but my fear was the parks would be mobbed because of the Labor Day holiday.

We'll make the best of it - it's not our first time there and we know we won't be able to see it all, so I think I'll just have to make of list of "must do's" and work it out the best I can! We'll plan on taking afternoon breaks back at the hotel or making PS for lunch somewhere to escape the heat.

grammamouse -
thanks for your valuable insight! You'll have a great time when you go in three weeks. Have you been that time of year before? Definately my first choice for visiting WDW!

 

[cepmom]

LoriLea -
Just saw your post! We must have been posting at the same time.
You did not go to the early entry days? Was there a rhyme or reason to which park you visited while another had early entry? We plan on going to MK, MGM and Epcot (one evening for the fireworks,Test Track and possibly Mission Space) I had been thinking on going to the EE park first thing in the morning hitting the big rides, then taking our break when the park started to get crowded and visit another park late in the day. Maybe something like
Day 1
Mk EE day in the AM - take break - Epcot later afternoon/evening

Day 2
Typhoon Lagoon

Day 3
MGM EE day - take break - MK later afternoon/evening

Would you recommend just skipping the EE park altogether? Last time we went (11/2002) we never really had to worry about crowds or unbearable heat, so we just went to EE and stayed there all day. TIA!

 

[LoriLea]

Hi Cepmom -
We made our reservations with DU and they did an itinerary for us and we followed it. For whatever reason, it did not include EE parks. ( Actually AK was scheduled for an EE day but we did not go early as we were sure that it would not be busy due to Hurricane Frances - we were right) I'm not sure why the itinerary did not include EE parks but it worked out well for us. Our kids (7 and 9) stayed up late swimming in the pool every night so the extra hour of sleep was important. I noticed that the buses for the EE parks were much busier as well.
This was our first trip and I don't have any experience with EE so I can't really make any recommendations. Here are the parks that we visited and the days of the week that we were there:

Monday - Epcot all day (beautiful day - crowds very low - 5 minute waits on both Test Track and Mission Space)

Tuesday - MK - (DD7 & DH birthdays so MK was a must - had breakfast at CRT) - most crowded day of the week - only day for Spectromagic - as I indicated, waits for the Mountains were up to 50 minutes

Wednesday - Typhoon Lagoon - from 10 - 3, then MK until it closed (again - no crowds at either TL or MK)

Thursday - MGM all day (longest wait - 10 minutes)

Friday - AK until 4pm (no waits whatsoever on any ride) and back to MK for our favourites

The parks were closed on Saturday and Sunday so I can't offer any weekend advice.

I hope this helps!!

 

[Leota]

I like the last week or so of August. Now that my son is in HS & can't miss school, we are limited to school vacation times. My preferance in going would have been August again (did it in 2001) The guys overrode me & decided to go at Spring Break for my Birthday.

In 2001, the crowds thinned out considerably in the last week (we were there 3rd & 4th week) Yes, it is very hot & humid - but as most of the rides are indoors & the line areas are mostly indoors or undercover & cooled - we found it pretty manageable. We took advantage of E-Nights whenever possible. We did alot of swimming & used bandanas & ice to cool down when necessary.

Just be smart about the heat & you'll have a great time.