Got a bounce back...now tell me about August!

[Octoberbaby]

I took advantage of the bounce back offer during my last stay. We just got home and I'm already planning our trip! So...the only dates that worked for us was the last week of July and the first week of August. The CM convinced me to choose August over July. Is Aug better? I've never been to Disney in July or August! But, I prefer warm months so the heat shouldn't bother me. How are the crowds? Did I make a good choice? All of the other dates that were included didn't work for us.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I took advantage of the bounce back offer during my last stay. We just got home and I'm already planning our trip! So...the only dates that worked for us was the last week of July and the first week of August. The CM convinced me to choose August over July. Is Aug better? I've never been to Disney in July or August! But, I prefer warm months so the heat shouldn't bother me. How are the crowds? Did I make a good choice? All of the other dates that were included didn't work for us.

I was there the last week in July this year. I believe August is preferable as schools down in Florida are back in session early August.

 

[ghtx]

Late August is better than early August, but early August is no different than late July (both extremely hot, extremely crowded).

 

[ArwenMarie]

August is hot. Hotter than the hottest hot. (not sure where you live, so maybe it's relative). It doesn't cool down ever, even at night. When you walk outside, it will feel like you are walking into a wall of heat and humidity.

It storms. A lot. Very important to get up early and get a lot done in the morning because the days can go sideways later on in the day, between the storms and the extreme heat. Touring at night is a good option too if that works for your group.

We like to have a table service ADR in the parks, usually an early lunch. Seems to give us a boost to keep going. Then we just eat whatever for dinner.

We've been going in late August for years, but this past August was a heat wave while we were there, so even higher temps than usual. Not so sure about August anymore, but we'll see. Temps were 95, "feels like" 110. Ugh!

Anyway, August is totally doable and can be very fun (love the long days). But go into it managing your expectations, with a flexible attitude because of the weather, and get your must-dos done early in the day!

 

[Octoberbaby]

Thanks everyone! I guess I should be prepared to sweat and stand in line...

We are rope drop people so I do plan on getting to the parks and leaving by 1:00 each day to go to the resort and swim. We are also planning two water park days since my son likes swimming.

Are the rain showers worse in August than any other summer month? I hope the rain doesn't ruin all of our swimming plans! We went the first week of June several times and the rain didn't ever last too long.

 

[xlsm]

we went this past August (early August, the 5th - 12th) and are going again in mid-July...I guess we're gluttons for heat and crowds, lol. Actually, we have kids in school so we have limited options, and will likely be summer travelers for the next several years

Crowds and heat are manageable if you know what you're doing. Rope drop, well-timed fast passes, midday breaks, etc...

I use the crowd calendars at easywdw, and they had the parks at level 8 for the duration of our trip...I didn't think the crowds were that bad, honestly. We did a lot early in the morning, went back to the resort around 3ish or 4 every day, and then headed back to the parks around 6 or 7pm in the evening. The longest line we waited in the whole trip was 35 minutes.

I have a trip report in my signature that breaks down some of our park days if you want details, but honestly, if you don't mind the hot temps and manage your park time well, you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck and HAVE FUN

 

[goofyintoronto]

Kids in the florida area go back to school mid August. So you will experience slightly lower crowds from mid to late august. We always travel at the end of August (around the last 2 weeks), and we love it! Crowds are manageable, yes it rains but its not too bad. The rain starts around 3pm daily but it doesnt usually last long. It lasts about an hour.

I also noticed that the prices are slightly cheaper at the last 2 weeks of august. Something to think about.

If you go the beginning of August, i'd just opt for July then because there's really no difference.

And yes its going to be hotter than hell for both July & August.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Thanks everyone! I guess I should be prepared to sweat and stand in line...

We are rope drop people so I do plan on getting to the parks and leaving by 1:00 each day to go to the resort and swim. We are also planning two water park days since my son likes swimming.

Are the rain showers worse in August than any other summer month? I hope the rain doesn't ruin all of our swimming plans! We went the first week of June several times and the rain didn't ever last too long.

Swimming can be tough in the afternoons. Sometimes you have to wait out the storms til the evenings. And even then it can be tough if there is lightning that lasts. The water parks are great but you would want to hit those in the morning as well if they are must-dos.

Happy planning

 

[ChicagoMom]

I took advantage of the bounce back offer during my last stay. We just got home and I'm already planning our trip! So...the only dates that worked for us was the last week of July and the first week of August. The CM convinced me to choose August over July. Is Aug better? I've never been to Disney in July or August! But, I prefer warm months so the heat shouldn't bother me. How are the crowds? Did I make a good choice? All of the other dates that were included didn't work for us.

We were in WDW in August a few years ago. Never again! It was miserably hot. It was so terrible that when planning this year's trip, we choose October instead of September over fears that September was too close to August.

On the plus side, the crowds weren't bad.

When I was making our plans, I think I was naive about the heat. You know, "how bad can it be???" Well, let me tell you, it was that bad and worse. Punishing heat and humidity. There's something about heat in Central Florida than is worse than other places. I can stand Phoenix and Vegas in the summer but Orlando was much much worse.

YMMV but for us, never again.

 

[bella2117]

OMG August is brutal as far as the heat. We went end of August and the crowds were low. But man the heat and humidity is unbearable at times.

 

[RustManFan]

We camped at FW not once but twice in August and it was hot and humid. Of course we were in a tent. I would definitely do August again in a nice air-conditioned resort. Save FW and the tent for a cooler month!

 

[Octoberbaby]

we went this past August (early August, the 5th - 12th) and are going again in mid-July...I guess we're gluttons for heat and crowds, lol. Actually, we have kids in school so we have limited options, and will likely be summer travelers for the next several years

Crowds and heat are manageable if you know what you're doing. Rope drop, well-timed fast passes, midday breaks, etc...

I use the crowd calendars at easywdw, and they had the parks at level 8 for the duration of our trip...I didn't think the crowds were that bad, honestly. We did a lot early in the morning, went back to the resort around 3ish or 4 every day, and then headed back to the parks around 6 or 7pm in the evening. The longest line we waited in the whole trip was 35 minutes.

I have a trip report in my signature that breaks down some of our park days if you want details, but honestly, if you don't mind the hot temps and manage your park time well, you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck and HAVE FUN

Thank you! And that is also why we chose August; I know that my son will be out of school. I also love the crowd calendar at easywdw! I used it for our trip this past week and we bypassed all of the Thanksgiving crowds. I will definitely check out your trip report!

Kids in the florida area go back to school mid August. So you will experience slightly lower crowds from mid to late august. We always travel at the end of August (around the last 2 weeks), and we love it! Crowds are manageable, yes it rains but its not too bad. The rain starts around 3pm daily but it doesnt usually last long. It lasts about an hour.

I also noticed that the prices are slightly cheaper at the last 2 weeks of august. Something to think about.

If you go the beginning of August, i'd just opt for July then because there's really no difference.

And yes its going to be hotter than hell for both July & August.

I will make sure to bring my misting fan! And extra batteries!

Swimming can be tough in the afternoons. Sometimes you have to wait out the storms til the evenings. And even then it can be tough if there is lightning that lasts. The water parks are great but you would want to hit those in the morning as well if they are must-dos.

Happy planning

Thanks! The water parks are definitely must-dos! Thanks for the heads up! We will make sure to be there at opening.

We were in WDW in August a few years ago. Never again! It was miserably hot. It was so terrible that when planning this year's trip, we choose October instead of September over fears that September was too close to August.

On the plus side, the crowds weren't bad.

When I was making our plans, I think I was naive about the heat. You know, "how bad can it be???" Well, let me tell you, it was that bad and worse. Punishing heat and humidity. There's something about heat in Central Florida than is worse than other places. I can stand Phoenix and Vegas in the summer but Orlando was much much worse.

YMMV but for us, never again.

I hope I don't regret it. I really want to save a few bucks though!

 

[heidijanesmith]

I agree with the CM go in August over July!

We have gone in the middle of July and will not go in July again due to the Big Tour Groups. They were everywhere!

We like going 1st-2nd week of August, there were no BTG and crowds were smaller. Smaller and smaller the longer we stayed.

The heat and humidity are bad, no doubt about it. We stayed hydrated with lots of water and gatorade ordered from gardengrocer.com.

We hit the parks 1st thing in the AM, back to the hotel for a mid-break swim/nap during the worst of the heat/crowds and then back out once the sun set for night time touring.

I did a lot of laundry during our Aug trip, as you start sweating the moment you step outside.

 

[Unearned Happiness]

We went 8/4-8/10 this year. As long as you're prepared for heat and crowds, you'll be fine. We had a blast. Already scheduled our trip for next summer, same week

 

[Networth]

I must say as a Floridian "Warm" for July & August is a understatement. Just a heads up.

 

[My2Pixies]

We went mid August two years ago. It was definitely hot. We took refuge during the hottest part of the day by going back to the hotel around lunch time and showering and napping and then hitting the park later in the afternoon and staying until close. Be sure to pack panchos and an alternate pair of shoes because there is a pretty good chance you will get caught in a downpoor. You will be better prepared than 90% of the other guests who cower in the stores waiting for the rain to stop while you hop in a line

 

[Octoberbaby]

Thanks guys for all of the advice and responses! I guess as long as we do the parks early and go prepared to get an awesome sun tan(or burn ) and possibly drenched we should be ok. I hope so anyway...I'm saving about 1100.00 with the bounce back offer now that I switched from CBR to WL!

 

[Aurora0427]

I took advantage of the bounce back offer during my last stay. We just got home and I'm already planning our trip! So...the only dates that worked for us was the last week of July and the first week of August. The CM convinced me to choose August over July. Is Aug better? I've never been to Disney in July or August! But, I prefer warm months so the heat shouldn't bother me. How are the crowds? Did I make a good choice? All of the other dates that were included didn't work for us.

We went in early August once, and it was so freaking crowded. There were tons of people visiting from Europe on holiday. I think as long as you have a good plan, you can definitely have a great trip. I know you said you prefer warm months- just be prepared August is brutally hot and humid. I'm from Houston, so it doesn't bother me. Pick a resort with a great pool!

 

[goofyintoronto]

OP, definitely bring a misting fan. They really help!!!! And for what it's worth, maybe I'm just use to it but I didn't find the august heat unbearable. Taking a midday break also helps.