Family trip in August

[Mommyk2010]

We are travelling from the UK for the first time with our four children ages 7, 5, 2 and 7 months early August for two weeks.

It's going to cost £1200 for 14 day park passes. My question is do you think it's worth it?

I know the children will struggle in the heat and I don't want to make it a stressful time with four young children upset with long queues etc being August.

Any thoughts?

 

[brockash]

I def. don't think you need 14 day passes for a 2 week trip. With the ages of yours I'd probably do half that and plan on doing a resort/pool/rest/DTD day every other park day.

 

[Mommyk2010]

Thank you so much for your reply, I think the only alternative is a two day pass for us being in the UK.

 

[AshleeH]

I think for such a big trip, I would want to get the most out of it and do about 10 days in the parks. I definitely wouldn't do a break every other day, but that's just me. We don't like much downtime, but we do take breaks in the middle of everyday when it's the hottest and most crowded.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We tend to go for 7 days non-stop, no "off days". If we had 2 full weeks, I could see us taking a day off here or there, or maybe do a couple of short park days where we're only in the park a few hours. But, no way would we burn half our days at the resort pool.

 

[holden]

The August heat is more intense than you think. It's truly brutal.

I'd get the 14 day tickets. Arrive at rope drop and leave sometime in the afternoon (after lunch? around 2?) at the hottest time of the day. If you want to go back in the evening, it does make a difference when the sun has set. It's still hot and soupy, but at least the sun isn't out.

If you have the 14 day tickets, you can do 1/2 day every day if that works for your family. With kids so young, I'd be surprised if they will make it a whole day. The best thing you can do is follow their cues and don't push them. The 14 days will allow you to take as many breaks as you need to without feeling the pressure to see and do everything in a shorter number of days.

 

[mm1971]

We are travelling from the UK for the first time with our four children ages 7, 5, 2 and 7 months early August for two weeks.

It's going to cost £1200 for 14 day park passes. My question is do you think it's worth it?

I know the children will struggle in the heat and I don't want to make it a stressful time with four young children upset with long queues etc being August.

Any thoughts?

We usually go for 8 days and have never used more than 6 park days. With younger kids (especially if like mine), you may find they prefer the pool and having a couple of rest days to visit Disney Springs or just hang out and relax. We typically have a full rest day at the half way point and will skip the parks on arrival and/or departure days. Disney can be so exhausting, especially in the summer months with the heat that I would suggest at least a few days where you can relax and go at a leisurely pace. Just my opinion, but that's a lot of walking for little feet and just the excitement can tire you out.

It may be a little tough with the little ones, but I would suggest getting there early (at rope drop). The lines are shorter, the temps are not at full levels and its easier to navigate. If not, use that FP+ to make sure you cancel out the longest lines. Sometimes those are the rides like Peter Pan(longest wait in MK typically) when you have smaller ones. I would say as a family, decide which rides are most important and plan around those. We have gone end of August the last 3 years. Sadly, nothing booked this year. Have a great vacation!

 

[Pesky]

First, try posting as well down in the Global Neighbours in the UK board (see? even spelled "neighbor" with a "u"!). Some folks from the UK might have been in August and have greater insight as to the climate switch and its impact on your visit. And yes, it will be roasting! And rainy. But it's still a magical place. Maybe stick with a plan to hit the parks hard first thing in the morning, head back right after lunch and nap and rest and return for a little in the late afternoon or just relax for the rest of the day. Given the journey, don't forget you are also close to Legoland, Universal Studios, and Seaworld, in addition to the water parks, mini golf and such. That might factor into your decision on the tickets and the UK board might have some other suggestions re purveyors so it isn't 14 or bust. Have fun!

 

[Mrs.HelenParr]

We went in July when our kids were 7, 5, 3, and 18 months. The heat was wicked! But like other posters have mentioned, we got to every park at rope drop, planned something inside AC (or ate lunch in AC/shade), and then went back to the hotel for nap and pool time in the afternoon. When we got back to the parks during/after dinner, the heat was much more tolerable. Also--using the Disney app to see wait times was invaluable. We didn't even entertain waiting in a line more than 10 min. with the kids those ages in that heat. We directed them toward the short wait time rides and they never felt like they missed out on anything.

 

[pa. dad]

I've never been to the UK but I have been to Ireland and even though it was August, it was still very cool temps. So you may find Florida to be very hot.
Try to do your outdoor things early before they turn the ovens on. Take note of which shows are indoors and which are outdoors. bring a lot of water with you. You may not be able to drink the US water so bottled water might also apply.
The FL rains are nothing like the light spritzes you see over there. FL has violent thunderstorms that last for an hour or so where it rains like cats and dogs and then stops. Some kind of rainwear like ponchos hats and umbrellas are needed.
And all of us who have visited during the summer have stopped into a gift shot that didn;t interest us but it was time for some AC. You'll soon join that club.