How bad is August?

[brockash]

What is your experience traveling to Florida in August? I am hoping to make a mother/daughter trip work sometime next year and I'm currently looking at August. Everything in my is screaming that will be way too hot! However, that may be the best time for us to go. I might can arrange for another time over the summer but would any summer trip really matter? What about crowds, would mid August possibly have lighter crowds?

Yes, mid August should be less crowded than June/July, but it will probably feel a bit hotter (more humid) and you could end up with a lot of rain ( but no way to know for sure). We've gone in Augs tons of times and wouldn't hesitate to go back.

My ideal time is first 2 weeks of May and/or first week of September, but we'd certainly go back in Aug. if necessary. It will definitely be hot, sticky, humid and probably pretty wet at times.

 

[brockash]

Is it brutally hot? Yes.
Have we gone for four years in a row? Also yes.

Honestly there was only one year that was just beyond- 2023. It was hot even by Orlando standards and we did not see a drop of rain in our 8 days there until we were on the bus heading back to the airport. Pure sun and 100+. We basically realized we could not talk to each other while in the sun- only in shade or AC and then regroup and walk to the next shade or AC spot.
I stood in line for gelato in Italy in the sun for like 20 minutes and I swear I thought my life was ending.

But...we went back the next year. It takes patience, planning, and plenty of water and AC breaks but we've found it pretty manageable most of the time. If it's the choice between hot Disney or no Disney, or hot Disney or super crowded Disney, we pick hot Disney.

OMG...I love the we are not allowed to speak to each other unless in shade/a/c. This was a rule we should've implemented with our early trips lol.

 

[Genie+]

As far as experience, after trying Aug and Sept once each we decided summer is worth trying to avoid for now on.

Is that what you are asking?

If summer was the only time that worked with my family’s schedules we’d still go.

It’s just that there’s a long list of things we prefer about other times of the year. Like not having to bath in sunscreen the whole trip. Not having condensation constantly covering all our refreshments. Being able to walk around the parks and enjoy the ambience without the constant distraction of wanting to escape the elements. It’s taxing on CMs and guests alike. The discomfort plays into the pleasant to grumpy scale where people seem more easily agitated. Though it might not rain everyday, there’s a decent chance it could. It’s a pain ducking in and out of storms and repeatedly dealing with wet belongings. Rides going offline. Plus the potential of weather related travel delays.

Sounds like I’m a big baby I am nitpicking here for the most part. Pretty much all of it can happen any time. It’s just with the increased odds of each, altogether plays out that having a great trip feels much more effortless to us during other seasons. The lower attendance was fantastic (FoP at 10 or 20 mins early afternoon several times!), just not enough to outweigh the rest for us. But if summer was our only option to visit WDW together as a family? None of what I mentioned is such a big deal we wouldn’t go or couldn’t still have a great trip!