Going to parks at 3-4pm in summer???

[kandb]

We are going the last week of August. It is so hot during the day to do the parks and we are staying at CBR and I don't want to go in am, leave and go back in evening. It's just too much traveling back and forth. We have most of our adr's in the parks or close by, we were thinking of going early afternoon and riding a few rides, dinner and then staying a few more hours. Leaving the parks by 8:30pm ish. Has anyone every used this strategy? We will be using the bus for traveling, so only want to do it once a day. Our 3 children are aged 12, 12 and 6 years.

 

[scrapquitler]

The main problem I see with this idea is that the main time you are going to be in the parks is the hottest time of the day (and the most likely time for rain/thundershowers).

 

[Rosebud123]

I'm going the same week and I'm sure it will be brutal! However, if you're only going to for 4.5 - 5.5 hours and a good hour will be spent on dinner, I don't feel like that's nearly enough time. We're going for 10 nights and plan to spend 3 days at the WP's and take long breaks every afternoon (except one of our MK days).

Why are you so against the break? Why not try a RD - 12:00, break, and then back from 5 - 8:30? 5 hours gives you plenty of time to get back and forth and still leaves you at least 3 hours to swim and rest. You'd get so much done in the a.m.!

 

[Alesia]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but I think that sounds pretty miserable. You're only spending a few hours in the parks and they're during the hottest part of the day. I would much rather take a break in the middle of the day (and I hate midday breaks.)

 

[maryj11]

We are going in August also and was trying to figure out if we wanted to do breaks or not. We arent morning people and prefer to stay until the parks close. I do not like being out in the middle of the hottest part of the day though .

 

[AllieBoo]

Personally, this does not sound like much fun to me. It will be very hot in August. I would hit the parks early, take a pool/nap break from lunchtime until about 6 and then head back to the parks.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

That sounds awful. You'd be going to the park at the hottest and most crowded time of the day, with many, many people (adults and children) in prime meltdown time. And will only be spending a few hours in the park to boot. That doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort at all.

We went to Disney last August. The only way we were able to enjoy the parks when it's that hot is to hit the park at RD, take a break and swim, and then go back later in the day (like after dinner) after the parks started to clear out.

I am curious why you'd call it quits so early in the day regardless. The parks will be just starting to cool down and get less crowded at 8:30. It's a great time to be coming back when other people are throwing in the towel for the day because they're hot, tired, and cranky from not taking a break earlier.

 

[mrzrich]

Only park that this strategy is good for is AK, but even so, as others mentioned you are not saving yourself from the heat, and between 3 and 6 is prime thunderstorm time. I mean downpours sometimes daily in Late summer

 

[goofy4prez]

I have to agree with the others, I just couldn't see going to the park in the early afternoon, spend about 4-5 hours in the peak heat of the day ride a few rides, have dinner, spend a couple of hours in the park and then leave. If you don't want to do rope drop then that is fine. Schedule your FP+s for mid morning and early afternoon or even in the evening. Enjoy the time in the park before the brutal heat hits, go back to the resort take a nap, relax, go to the pool, hit DTD and show or whatever and then come back in the evening when it is cooler. We rarely are at the parks from 2-5 unless we are doing a half day only in the park.

 

[mrzrich]

I don't understand why you think the travel between CBR and the parks would be a big hassle. Your kids are not babies, you don't have strollers and diaper bags.

Ease of travel between park and resort is one of the benefits of staying on site

 

[fla4fun]

As a local, I can tell you that the temperatures do not cool down quickly in the evening during summer. If you arrive at the parks around 3pm, you will be hitting the parks at the peak of the heat for the day, and then it will stay hot until at least 9pm or so (hot being a relative term, but you won't feel a noticeable cool down for several hours after the sun sets due to the heat absorbed by the ground and buildings).

If you want to avoid the worst of the heat and crowds, I would go the opposite direction. I would go to the park with AM EMH, be there before it opens and plan to leave the park about 1pm or so (or perhaps book a TS lunch in the park around 1pm and plan to leave when you are finished). Have a swim and a rest at the resort in the afternoon when it's the hottest (and when the greatest risk of thunderstorms exist) and then play it by ear whether you have an early night, maybe catch the evening movie at your resort, or if you have energy enough go back to a park.

 

[jthornton94]

I don't think it's a horrible strategy, it will just severely limit what you can do. For us we go all day, rope drop to fireworks, with no break, and we haven't died yet. How you handle the weather depends so much on your family. We are campers, who live in Georgia, so we understand staying hydrated and time indoor rides as needed. So, my only complaint would be the small amount of time in the park overall, regardless.

 

[Sparkly]

If I went to the parks that late in the afternoon I would be aiming to stay until park closing not just leave at 8:30. Once the sun goes down and the parks empty after the fireworks you can get a lot done.

 

[Tomh]

As a regular August traveler, and one whom hates the heat, and hates mid day breaks, let me go on the record as saying that is an AWFUL plan. You are going to hit the park at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, when the heat, an crowds are at their absolute worst. The ONLY rides you will get on without an hour or more wait will be the ones you have FP+ booked for, so you are going to be settling on 3 rides per day, you have the highest possibility of afternoon thunderstorms at exactly the time you are arriving at the parks. I honestly think if you use that plan, you are going to have a miserable trip.

Only park that this strategy is good for is AK, but even so, as others mentioned you are not saving yourself from the heat, and between 3 and 6 is prime thunderstorm time. I mean downpours sometimes daily in Late summer

AK, on most days, even in August, closes by 6 or 7 pm, how is waiting until 3 or 4 to get there a good plan for that park? That limits you to just 3 or 4 hours in a HUGE park. If anything, I might argue simply because of the early closing times, and vast size of the park, that AK may well be the worst park to use this strategy in.

 

[anniemae]

I don't think it's a horrible plan. To me hot is hot. You will not notice the heat different at 1:00 and 4:00. It's stinking hot and humid no matter how you slice or dice it. My only difference is, as others have said, I would plan to stay later than 8:30. From 3-6 you could have your fp in place, ride some rides, then do dinner. By then you will be ready to cool off. After dinner, the sun should be going down and you can enjoy more park time as folks head out.

 

[mrzrich]

AK, on most days, even in August, closes by 6 or 7 pm, how is waiting until 3 or 4 to get there a good plan for that park? That limits you to just 3 or 4 hours in a HUGE park. If anything, I might argue simply because of the early closing times, and vast size of the park, that AK may well be the worst park to use this strategy in.

Trust me. Or don't. Whatever. I have used the after 2 pm approach at Ak for years. Most people arrive at RD and are done by 2. The park honestly does empty out.

 

[KEVD]

We've been several times in the summer and my one piece of advice is: always, always, always plan to arrive in the morning for rope drop. The best chance of thunderstorms is in the afternoon, usually after 1pm. And you'll be able to do so many more attractions with shorter wait times than in afternoon/evening (this holds true no matter what time of year you go). And, as other folks mentioned, afternoon is the hottest part of the day.

Not to completely derail your plan but you might want to seriously consider doing the parks in the first part of the day and, if you have ADRs at restaurants in the parks on the days you are there, make it a lunch res (provides a nice mid day break), or an early dinner (then head out after you have din).

Just my two cents.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Have you ever been in the summer?
Unless you are going to go late at night, rope drop is really essential in August.
If not for the heat,,, then because of the daily storms including lightning. Rides shut down too.
If your kids like to swim, I would carve out a morning for that though. Even the old "go back to the hotel and take a swim in the afternoon" break can get messed up a lot during that time because the pools close for lightning too.

 

[Kbee]

OP, I'm going the same week, and staying at CBR too
We will be doing something very similiar because we don't do rope drop, we go later in the day and stay until closing. The only park we'll go to early is AK if we go because it closes early.
The only issue I see is that I think you'll want to stay later if you are getting there around 4.
I know its hot, but really its hot in the morning and early afternoon too so its not a deal breaker for us. We have our frogg toggs, misting bottles and there is ice water at every CS location.

 

[loves to dive]

We've been going August/Sept. for years and tend to do late afternoons/evenings a lot. If EMH is in the evening it's our favorite time, we can pretty much ride everything we want to and then during the day we just chill out. We might still go to the parks but we don't feel like we need to stress over rides (not that we ever do it's not worth it) and just take it easy. Heat is subjective, we are from Georgia where it's hot and humid as well and for us it just doesn't matter. I do agree you might want to stay a little later into the evening.