Going August 8-21...Crazy time for crowds?

[rutgers1]

We are taking our first trip as DVC members on August 8-21, then heading to Universal for a couple of days.

What types of crowds can I expect? How can they compare to April crowds (the month I went last year)? It was majorly crowded when we went down there last year when the kids were out for spring break.

 

[NY Giants Fan]

Actually the crowds are a great deal lighter in August than during spring break.
Most of the Southern States are back in school by that point. After August 1 the crowds drop significantly
Have a great trip

 

[khomer504]

We did the 2nd week of August last year and found it to be fairly busy... I hear it tapers off more by the 3rd week in August though. No matter what, you're sure to have a great time!

Karen

 

[Sammie]

It will still be crowded unless the economy affects it. It will be very, very hot and this peak hurricane season.

You will still have a great time just plan accordingly.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Beginning the 3rd week of August is when things taper off. I would expect the crowds to still heavy the 1st half of the month.

Weird coincidence but, my travel dates are exactly the same as yours!

 

[RLRDA]

This coming summer will be our 3rd August trip. We usually go the second 1/2 of the month and have noticed light crowds (in the past anyway) and minimal wait times.

There are many DISers going in August. Check out the list on the "August" thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2103775.

 

[n2mm]

We go during the 2nd or 3rd week of August too. We find the crowds a little lighter than the rest of the summer. Still very hot and still threat of hurricanes. We were at the BCV last August and pretty much just hung around the resort for 3 days while hurricane Fay hung over the Orlando area for days (she kept going back out, but kept coming back in). We never even got to use SAB during our 3 night visit. This August we decided to do the free dining instead of using our DVC points for August.

 

[nappingbeauty]

I am going the 9th thru 21st! Where are you all staying?

 

[Beaniebug]

I hope the crowds lighten up by the 3rd week. We are suppose to go for the first time in August. I worry about crowds and hurricanes. Guess we just have to hope for the best.

 

[rutgers1]

We are starting out at the Boardwalk and then moving to Saratoga Springs for the second half. If anyone is going to be at either of those places, I'd be happy to buy you a drink! I'll be there with my wife and two kids, ages 9 and 7. It would be great to meet up with someone else from the board. I run a sports site, and we often meet up with fellow fans at games. In fact, we rented out a bar for a pre-game party last year and had over 750 message board readers show up. It would be great to have something similar on a smaller scale down in Disney for the disboards folks.

What happens when a hurricane is threatening? I've never been in or near one before....I don't count them as hurricanes when they come up north, lol.

 

[lugnut33]

Been there two times during third week of August, and other than it being surface of the sun hot, and avoiding a Tropical Storm Faye it's been great. It's busy, but nothing you can't deal with.

 

[lugnut33]

We are starting out at the Boardwalk and then moving to Saratoga Springs for the second half. If anyone is going to be at either of those places, I'd be happy to buy you a drink! I'll be there with my wife and two kids, ages 9 and 7. It would be great to meet up with someone else from the board. I run a sports site, and we often meet up with fellow fans at games. In fact, we rented out a bar for a pre-game party last year and had over 750 message board readers show up. It would be great to have something similar on a smaller scale down in Disney for the disboards folks.

What happens when a hurricane is threatening? I've never been in or near one before....I don't count them as hurricanes when they come up north, lol.

I might take you up on that drink offer as I'll be in the THV (part of SSR) from Aug. 16-21. There will be 8 of us, so I might need some sedation after a few days. LOL.

Anyways, I wouldn't worry much about hurricanes during that time. Last year we were there during TS Faye and we still had a really good time. Disney keeps you very up to date on everything that is occurring. They will not put you in harms way. The parks never closed, except for Typhoon Lagoon due to high winds. We actually went to the Magic Kingdom the day TS Faye arrived and the park was empty so we had a great time. The storm also kept the temps down, which was nice. Remember, "A spoon full of sugar".

 

[Sammie]

What happens when a hurricane is threatening? I've never been in or near one before.....

That depends on many factors, the strength of the hurricane and where it makes landfall. Most only affect Orlando with high winds, possible tornados and heavy rain. Every once in a while such as with Charley you get a much more intense situation in that Charley came right over the area.

With that, the parks closed early the day of the storm. The storm was expected to make landfall over Orlando that evening. Hurricane preparations were in full swing at all the resorts and having everyone back at the resorts in the early afternoon, was total chaos, as there truly was not enough places to eat, etc. Once the storm hit, you were confined to your room to wait it out. Which with small kids, can seem like forever. Disney did play movies on the TV to help out.

So you might want to watch the weather before you come and if any storms are hanging out in the Atlantic or gulf plan accordingly and bring games etc. to occupy your time, snacks and a flashlight. We never felt unsafe it was just more of an inconvenience and loss of park time. The airport was closed for about 24 hours after Charley.

 

[Chellymouse]

Joining in the August crowd. We're heading to SSR 8/7-8/14 and we've done several August trips. The crowds are moderate and can be very heavy at the waterparks, but the crowd levels are definitely lighter than earlier in the summer and the spring break months. It's hot, humid and rains every day so be prepared, but it's not that bad!

 

[rutgers1]

Perhaps I will post another message closer to August and privately exchange cell phone numbers or emails with anyone who wants to meet for a happy hour by the pool. Perhaps I could send out a group "text" when we are all down there, and we can have a little disboards reunion.

 

[nappingbeauty]

We own at boardwalk and our original reservations were there from the 9th thru 21st, however with 6 teens going we changed over to OKW for the extra room at the 7th month mark. We are very familiar with the pool bar at the boardwalk so we wouldnt mind meeting up with a group for happy hour! Count us in... the only unavailability we have is the weekend... family is coming over from clearwater whom we would like to entertain!

 

[nappingbeauty]

Are we all still trying to get together in August?

 

[rutgers1]

I forgot about this thread. I am totally up for a get together. We will be at the Boardwalk from the 8/8-8/16 and then Saratoga Springs from 8/16-8/21. If that overlaps with anyone, please send me a private message with the email function of this site and perhaps we can all meet by the pool for a drink and discuss this crazy obsession that has us all visiting Disney so often, buying into DVC, and ultimately chatting about it here on disboards
Or, if someone wants to simply throw out a date and say "meet by the pool," let's all do that. Other than ADR's, we are pretty flexible since we are staying for so long this time.

 

[rutgers1]

Nappingbeauty....Perhaps you could pick a date that you wouldn't mind heading over to the Boardwalk and we can see if anyone else is up for it.

 

[nappingbeauty]

Just got back from a late night of baseball, I will check my schedule tomorrow and get back to you. I think it would be fun!