Hot weather, low crowds worth FREE DINING?

[emalone]

How many of you think the hot weather and low crowds is worth FREE DINING? Saving money is a big issue with us, so I hope we can take the heat. SO WE WILL BE SAVING ABOUT $$$$$1500 . IF YOU HAVE BEEN BEFORE DURING AUGUST 30th - SEPTEMBER 6TH, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THE CROWD LEVEL WAS AS FAR AS WAIT TIMES FOR THE RIDES AND
JUST HOW HOT AND RAINY WAS IT?

 

[Crisgw]

How many of you think the hot weather and low crowds is worth FREE DINING? Saving money is a big issue with us, so I hope we can take the heat. SO WE WILL BE SAVING ABOUT $$$$$1500 . IF YOU HAVE BEEN BEFORE DURING AUGUST 30th - SEPTEMBER 6TH, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THE CROWD LEVEL WAS AS FAR AS WAIT TIMES FOR THE RIDES AND
JUST HOW HOT AND RAINY WAS IT?

We went in Sept 2005 and it was hot but not unbearable. It actually only rained a bit at night (barely). I can tell you that when we went last year in July it was MUCH hotter and rained a lot more. This Sept will be our first trip using FD but from what I can remember from our 05 trip, it was fine in Sept

 

[tiger4me2]

Our trip in 2006 was hot but the crowds were great hardly that many people. Only rain once while we were there & we were in a show. 2007 was hot & rainy and the crowds was heavy but due to Wine & Food Festival. It really just depends it can be hot, raining & crowded but one never know with weather anymore. We have had days were they were calling for 100% heavy rain & we got none same with snowstorms. Luck of the draw I guess.

Go have fun pack rain ponchos etc at Disney you still can have fun if it is raining

 

[disneyfan55]

We actully went the end of Sept last year with the free dining. It was much hotter and more crowded than I ever would have thought. Make your reservations ASAP if you haven't already. We booked in June last year and had a hard time getting any of the restaruants we wanted.

 

[Bibbidi]

We have been to Disney August 19-26th back in 2000. The crowds were incredibly low and the weather was hot, but not stifling. I actually quite enjoyed it.

We went to WDW in September 2005, from the 16-23 and the weather was again warm and humid, but not terrible and the crowds were again, very minimal--that year they had free dining, but I stupidly did an annual pass and used that discount instead.

This summer we are going back August 24-30th for free dining for the first time. I am not worried about the weather or the crowds. I think the heat and humidity is worth it for free food. Also, you can have stifling heat in April with spring break crowds, or in June as summer vacation season starts. I don't see August or early September as being that much different than the rest of the late spring/summer season. Maybe more humid, but especially once school gets back in session, you may have the heat, but the crowds are low so it's that kind of tradeoff. I'd rather be a little warm and stand in a very short line, then have cooler weather and be waiting for 2 hours. Hope that helps you some.

 

[kjs1976]

We went during the first free dining and we enjoyed it as much as any other trip. The only thing I'd advise is to book now if you decide so you can get your ADRs at places you want. Those will fill up quickly for most dates...the popular places. If you know how to get the most out of parks by reading advise on this site, you'll be fine.

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

I think that an advantage of free dining time, is that the lines are short, so you can get thru a lot of the attractions early and quickly. Then, when you go to the restaurants, you can cool off in air conditioning and have a leisurely meal !!

We ended up doing the parks early, come back for a break (shower/pool/nap) or whatever we needed to do. Then, a nice late lunch or dinner, and either back to a park for evening festivities, or just back to the room to hang out at the pool. We were also able to stay longer on vacation with free dining, so no need to rush to pack in the park time.
-mary

 

[emalone]

We went during the first free dining and we enjoyed it as much as any other trip. The only thing I'd advise is to book now if you decide so you can get your ADRs at places you want. Those will fill up quickly for most dates...the popular places. If you know how to get the most out of parks by reading advise on this site, you'll be fine.

We have all of our ressies. We are going August 30th-September 6th for 7 nights staying at the pop with 2 connecting rooms. For dinner ressies, we have CRYSTAL PALACE, CHEF MICKEYS,OHANA'S,HOOP DE DO, JAPAN,CORAL REEF,OHANA'S AGAIN (OR MAYBE SOMEWHERE ELSE). I was on hold for 1 hour and 53 min at 7AM the day free dining was offered for Disney Visa Card holders. So glad to get this, but dread taking 3 kids out of school for 4 days.

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

We had free dining in 2006, just after labor day, and the crowds were great! The heat was awful!

Our last trip, we went in January. The weather was cool to nice, but we were there when the hoards of tourist groups were there! YIKES!

Now we're going at the end of September.

I know it will be hot, but I hope the crowds are okay. I know the restaurants will be full (we have our ADRs), but how will the parks/lines be?

Anyone have a comparison opinion from 2006 to 2007?

 

[My2Angels]

We were there the weekend of Labor Day and the week after in 2006. It was HOT HOT HOT! It rained almost every afternoon, but usually only last about 30 minutes or less, then it felt like a sauna! The free dining was great! The crowds were very low, and we waited very little for ANY ride, especially the week after the Labor Day holiday! It saved us about $600!

 

[mousiemom]

How many of you think the hot weather and low crowds is worth FREE DINING? Saving money is a big issue with us, so I hope we can take the heat. SO WE WILL BE SAVING ABOUT $$$$$1500 . IF YOU HAVE BEEN BEFORE DURING AUGUST 30th - SEPTEMBER 6TH, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THE CROWD LEVEL WAS AS FAR AS WAIT TIMES FOR THE RIDES AND
JUST HOW HOT AND RAINY WAS IT?

we went this same time last year and the crowds were not that bad only on labor day weekend. after mon. the crowds went away. yes, it's hot but us dissers know what to do to be prepared but just remember you will be indoors with free dining and a/c!!!
can't wait-we are going aug. 29-sept. 6 too @ Pop!!!
will be looking for the lime green.
mousiemom

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Does anybody know, are the crowds a lot bigger at the end of September than they are at the beginning, or just a little bigger?

 

[Dianewes]

Well, we went last summer.... yes it is HOT!! Totally worth it however... the free dining really was great....I could not believe the amount of money we saved with the free dining ....... we also got an upgrade to a DVC Resort... we were living like a Disney Princess!!!

 

[lady_hlh]

We went the end of August for free dining last year and the heat bothered me less than it did the previous year when we went in September. I think it was because it was still hot in upstate NY so it wasn't a big change in temps. We just take it easy and stop at spots with AC whenever we feel too hot. We also plan a lot of down time at the resort pool. The crowds were not bad, I had actually seen worse crowds at MK during one of our Septmber trips. We have been very lucky and have never had a lot of rain during our August or September trips.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

We were there the last week of August 2005. It was hot as Hades but we expected that. Drink lots of water, take a mid day break either back to your resort or on a nice air conditioned ride or a restaurant, when you feel yourself getting overheated pop into a gift shop to cool off. There are lots of ways to stay cool at the World.

Crowds were not bad at all. Mostly 20 minute waits for the big favorites. A few rides were surprisingly long. 60 minutes for Soarin and 60 minutes for Peter Pan. Soaring isn't so weird, it was the new ride, but Peter Pan? What was worth waiting 60 minutes? LOL

It's very doable. We're doing it again this year

 

[disneychick0412]

We did free dining last year and the crowds were low, but it was VERY HOT!! $1500 is a lot of money, so I would probably go ahead and go if I were you, but with our family of 2 we don't save that much, and I don't tolerate the heat very well. So we decided to forgo free dining and keep our November dates.

Only you know how heat tolerant your family is so you might want to keep that in mind. And as others have said, there is always a place at Disney to get cool.

 

[emalone]

we went this same time last year and the crowds were not that bad only on labor day weekend. after mon. the crowds went away. yes, it's hot but us dissers know what to do to be prepared but just remember you will be indoors with free dining and a/c!!!
can't wait-we are going aug. 29-sept. 6 too @ Pop!!!
will be looking for the lime green.
mousiemom

We will be there August 30th - Sept 6th at the POP. (we had to book 2 rooms, b/c we did not want to cheat) Maybe we will run in to each other somehow. we have 3 children, twins 11 (boy & girl) and 13 year old daughter.

 

[MEK]

I went the last week of august 3 years in a row.

2005 - low crowds, low heat, great trip
2006 - low crowds, mod heat, great trip
2007 - high crowds, high heat, not my favorite trip.

Same week all three times - Last week of August

 

[canadianmom2three]

We were there last year the end of August to Labour Day and we are going back again, the exact same time (only even longer this year!) It was definately HOT, and the weekend was pretty crowded, but the weekdays were noticably quieter. This year we are arriving Sunday, departing Saturday, so hopefully it will be not too crowded during the weekdays. I think the heat is ok as long as you drink lots of water, and we alternated between outdoor and indoor attractions. It rained each day, like the sky opened up and dumped out water, with thunder and lightening too....we got a LOT of use of our ponchos. But the rain passed fairly quickly, and it was right back to hot and humid again in no time.....Anyway, we think free dining is worth it, and we had a blast!!!

 

[raven69david]

We went for Magical Beginnings in 2006 and we will NEVER do that again. We always go in December, but decided to try the summer for a change of pace. Being from Texas, we're used to heat & humidity, but both of those factors were brutal in August/September. It was so bad that DD2 got dehydrated on the last day even though we thought we were giving her enough water and liquids. We'll never go back during that time no matter how cheap it is or whatever promotional offer they can throw out to entice us. We'll keep going 2nd week in December when the decorations are up and the weather is much cooler.