How bad is July?

[TerriBelle]

WE are considering taking a quick trip this year in July (we will take any resort). I have not gone during the Summer since I was a kid. We have tried to go during times when the kids have a few days off or 1/2 days and then take them out of school for a few days. It looks like we won't be doing this for a while since my DD starts HS in the fall. They are really strict about missing HS.

I was wondering just how bad the parks are in the summer. How long is the wait time for most rides? We were thinking of spending the days at the pools and/or waterparks and doing the parks at night. Is it just as crowded at night because everyone does this?

 

[edk35]

WE are considering taking a quick trip this year in July (we will take any resort). I have not gone during the Summer since I was a kid. We have tried to go during times when the kids have a few days off or 1/2 days and then take them out of school for a few days. It looks like we won't be doing this for a while since my DD starts HS in the fall. They are really strict about missing HS.

I was wondering just how bad the parks are in the summer. How long is the wait time for most rides? We were thinking of spending the days at the pools and/or waterparks and doing the parks at night. Is it just as crowded at night because everyone does this?

Welcome to going in the summer. LOL We are trying this for the first time mid Aug. I can't even believe we are doing it but we are also new to DVC so we are excited. I have a dd in high school and a son in middle and yes it is VERY hard to pull them from school. We plan on doing more pool/resort and water park action this trip. We will do EC a day or two and maybe a day at MK...but we too plan on going later in the day. I am sure it will be hot hot. We are used to going Thanksgiving week and the end of Jan. I am sure you will have a blast regardless. I was told that in mid to late August the crowds start thinning but I am not sure about July. I think June is more crowded. When in July are you going??

 

[tomandrobin]

WE are considering taking a quick trip this year in July (we will take any resort). I have not gone during the Summer since I was a kid. We have tried to go during times when the kids have a few days off or 1/2 days and then take them out of school for a few days. It looks like we won't be doing this for a while since my DD starts HS in the fall. They are really strict about missing HS.

I was wondering just how bad the parks are in the summer. How long is the wait time for most rides? We were thinking of spending the days at the pools and/or waterparks and doing the parks at night. Is it just as crowded at night because everyone does this?

We went last year July 4th week and Labor Day weekend.

Go early in the morning, leave by noon...go to the pool or nap. The crowds really start to fill in by noon and its hot and humid! Overall we found the best crowds were in the morning. At night, the fast passes are all gone and the waits are too much for us.

We are squeezing in a 6 day trip in the fall that coincides with a mini-break with the school schedule. Its tough with those High Schoolers!

 

[DebbieB]

I took my niece last year the 3rd week of June. This was the first time I went in the summer and it wasn't bad. We made full use of fastpass. Got there at park opening, hit the popular rides first. Took a break mid afternoon and then went to a different park at night.

 

[blossomz]

We end up going a lot in June and July as we are teachers. We avoid the parks with early magic hours, sleep in, and hit the parks with the late magic hours and stay late. It isn't as hot and the lines are much much better..

 

[DrShifty]

When we go in the summer we always go to the parks early, spend the (hot) afternoon at the pool and the return to the parks in the late afternoon. Recently, however, the fastpasses are gone for many of the rides when we return so we may have to rethink this strategy. Having said that, we do the popular rides in the am and try to save the things that don't require a fastpass for latrer in the day. For example- at EPCOT, Test Track in the am and Honey I shrunk the Audience in the pm. Also, my family likes the shows around 4PM because of the A/C.
Have fun.

 

[dytx]

we go each year in july and crowds are tolerable if you get out first thing in the morning, come back to hotel for a swim and then eat and hit a park again. If you are considering july 07---make ressies asap as we have had our july 07 ressie for a year and a friend tried this month and had a lot of trouble to get a resort

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Well TerriBelle, you're certainly not alone! I'm in the same boat as DD starts HS this year too. In the past we've always been able to sneak in a week here and there in conjunction with a 2-3 day school break so it was less days missed. Fact is, you could probably find earlier thread of mine where I stated I would never go to WDW in the summer. Ha, ha...now the jokes on me!

There have been quite a few threads concerning this on the WDW planning boards and the advice is the same: get up early and hit the parks, drink lots of water, bring misting fans, and wear a hat/sunscreen. Take about a four hour midday break and nap or hang out by the pool, then go back to the parks.

However, my family's vacation pattern has always been to sleep in late (hey -- we're on vacation!) and close the parks down. We've been to WDW enough times that I think we will wake up whenever, go straight to the pool for a couple of hours...and then stay at the parks until we are ready to go back to the room. The only problem area I see is Animal Kingdom as I know we'll need to get there when the park opens and stay as long as we can stand the heat.

 

[ACDSNY]

I was another one that said I would never go in the summer, I don't do well in the heat.

Last July I was sent to a conference at WDW so we went a couple of days early and we spent the evenings in the parks. They weren't as bad as I expected. Yes some fast passes were out by the time we got there, but we always found something else to do. Kept fans with us, used the neck bandanas that hold water and drank lots of water. I survived and had a great time.

 

[abk96]

We end up going a lot in June and July as we are teachers. We avoid the parks with early magic hours, sleep in, and hit the parks with the late magic hours and stay late. It isn't as hot and the lines are much much better..

I agree with this. We did this when we went in July 2005 and will do the same thing this July. Try to hit the more popular rides when spectromagic is happening. We did this and pretty much walked onto Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And anyway, it's too hot to stay in the parks in the afternoon summer heat and humidity.

 

[Tiger926]

We go each year for 2 weeks in July. We usually go later, but this past summer had to go earlier - too busy on July 3 and 4th for our liking. Fireworks were great (we are Canadian and have one of the hugest firework festivals with Detroit) as we are major firework people - glad we saw them as they are only on 2x per year.

Crowds are not that bad in July at all if you time things properly. Water parks are usually at capacity by midmorning though, so plan accordingly.

July is a nice time to go - we get a midday rain shower that sometimes cools things off, but nothing beats that glorious Florida sun!

Enjoy, Tiger

 

[edk35]

I have only been once in the heat of the summer. It was our very first trip way back when. It was also in July. This was a great thread...I didn't even think about the fast passes being gone early. LOL We always go to the parks early on every other trip but for the summer I was thinking...oh we could go around 4 and by then the popular fast passes WOULD BE GONE. SO now I will have to make sure we go early and do the shows in the heat of the day. Great tip. ALso we had planned water parks but those I bet will be super packed. This Aug. trip will be a real eye opener for sure.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Teacher in the family, here, so every one of our trips is in the peak of summer. It's not awful. It does get hot -- there's no getting around that. But it's not so bad that it makes it unenjoyable. And, yes, it is crowded. But what goes along with that are later park hours. Some of the parks will be open until 11 or 12 at night -- and Extra Magic Hour nights go late into the wee hours.

You've joined DVC, so that means you plan to visit Disney often. That means you don't need to kill yourself every day by trying to see and do everything. Take breaks and go back to the room when the heat starts getting to you. Enjoy the resort pool. Have a nice meal in an air conditioned restaurant. Save indoor (air conditioned) rides for the hottest part of the day. If you don't mind carrying them with you all day (this is always our dilema), get a little fan or spray-bottle-mister-fan at Wal-Mart for queues where the heat is especially bad. Keep yourself hydrated.

Make good use of EMH and FastPasses. You'll be amazed how much you can get done in the early morning and evening.