How crazy is the beginning of August?

[Joy70]

I have a trip scheduled starting May 14 for myself and my two DD, 12 and 9. I am having some health concerns and I am getting a little nervous about going then. When my girls were younger I didn't worry about pulling them out of school, but now they are older and we would need to reschedule our trip before school starts up again in mid-August. In order to have the 60 days to schedule fast passes and to have plenty of time to take care of my health issues, that would leave us taking our trip at end of July or beginning of August. I have not been in August since my first trip when I had just turned 18, which has been a few years ago. I know last summer was slower than normal but with Toy Story Land opening and some free dining offered in early August, how crazy should we expect it to be? I'm also concerned with temperatures in July/August. Is it as bad as I have heard? I could handle the heat and humidity much better when I was younger. I've researched crowd calendars, etc. but it's so hard to judge sometimes from those. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who normally goes during these times about their experiences.

 

[JennyDrake]

It's still pretty darn crazy. Rope drop and midday break are your best friends.

The heat is intense. Very intense. And I live in The South and without a/c in my home still the August heat kicks my a** at WDW (Work takes me to Orlando every year in early/mid August.) Expect lines for each and every attraction of 20-45 minutes--this also includes lines for counter service. Headliners will have waits of 70-110 minutes by noon.

 

[nacho113]

I have a trip scheduled starting May 14 for myself and my two DD, 12 and 9. I am having some health concerns and I am getting a little nervous about going then. When my girls were younger I didn't worry about pulling them out of school, but now they are older and we would need to reschedule our trip before school starts up again in mid-August. In order to have the 60 days to schedule fast passes and to have plenty of time to take care of my health issues, that would leave us taking our trip at end of July or beginning of August. I have not been in August since my first trip when I had just turned 18, which has been a few years ago. I know last summer was slower than normal but with Toy Story Land opening and some free dining offered in early August, how crazy should we expect it to be? I'm also concerned with temperatures in July/August. Is it as bad as I have heard? I could handle the heat and humidity much better when I was younger. I've researched crowd calendars, etc. but it's so hard to judge sometimes from those. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who normally goes during these times about their experiences.

Although there is never really a quiet time at Disney anymore, July and early August is the busiest time of the year (overshadowed only by Christmas week).
Add to that 90+ degree temperatures and 90%+ humidity. It really pushes the limits of "happiest place on earth"

Our kids are all grown up now so this time of year is on our "never going to do this again" list.
It's hot, it's humid, it's crazy busy and everyone just seems to be a little more cranky.

That being said, if you've got school age kids and don't want to pull them out of school, you just have to go with the flow and make the best of it.

Late August and September would be quieter and maybe marginally cooler.
Disney even offers the free dining plan starting on Aug 20 this year to drum up some extra business after the kids start to go back to school

 

[Joy70]

Thanks for the feedback. I have to say that it does not sound like a great time to go! Now I'm wondering about sacrificing my 60 day window for fastpasses and just trying mid-June and taking what we get for FP. We'd still be ahead of those with 30 day FP selection. Since Toy Story will not be open yet I feel as if it may be less busy, but is the heat and humidity as bad as July/August?

 

[TOBS2010]

Growing up---we went to Disney often in July/August. Grant you most of those trips were when I was a kid---some were as a teen too. I never remember it being awful. Are there line? Yes, there are often lines no matter when you go. Is it hot? Likely, it is the middle of summer. But there is so much air-conditioning that you can find ways to keep cool. If I were you, I would plan to go---get into the parks early, take a midday break, stay hydrated and go back into the parks in the evening. Plus, as a bonus the kids can experience Toy Story Land before they go back to school. And while I don't know what your health issues are---you will have some extra time to recuperate before early August. You will have something to look forward to and as a mom myself, I know that when you take care of yourself, you can take care of everyone else better.

Edited to add: We will be there in July and the heat was the least of my concerns when scheduling. You can't plan to weather. I have watched my parents cancel trips/get stuck in WDW due to hurricanes and watched my friend deal with awful cold weather around Christmas-time this year and have to take an Uber to the store to get the kids gloves and hats.

 

[randumb0]

July and August of last year were slower than expected so you never know

 

[glvsav37]

As someone who can only travel to the world in summer, it really isn't all that bad. Is it hot, yes, but there are many places to get some AC. Dress light, and try to avoid cotton, I wear mostly Under Armor type shirts b/c they are light, handle wetness well and if I go on a water ride, they dry very quickly. Stay hydrated. Plan your park time in early mornings and once then starts to set. The parks are generally open later, so WDW at night is great. Eat mid day so you can be out of the more direct sunlight, or go back to the resort to relax or swim. Usually you'll get a quick mid day rain and it will cool everything off and chase everyone out of the parks.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We were there last year from the end of July through first part of August. We're Floridians, so we're used to the heat. It was hot, but not unbearable. We did take afternoon breaks back at the resort most days, and when we didn't, we did find a place to rest. We took a day off from the parks mid-week to spend some time at the resort, went to Disney Springs, and had a sit-down dinner. I didn't think the crowds were horrible. I scheduled the must-have FP+ at just under 60 days out, and still got everything we wanted, including FOP. We got plenty of extra FP using the app, and got last-minute dining reservations a couple of times.

However, as you said, this summer may be a different story with the new Toy Story Land opening.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Went last year first week of August. We utilized FPs and rope drop. No wait longer than 20-25 min for us.

We are from Indiana and the humidity was bad, but we drank lots. Know many complain about drinking fountains taste but it was fine (and we have reverse osmosis water at home). My feet swelled and I sweat like crazy but we are going again same time this year.

 

[Babs1975]

HOT. No way around it. Miserably hot. If heat bothrs you, like it does me, I wouldn't go in August! We switched over from summer quite a few years ago and it was the best thing we ever did!

 

[mddsnygals]

We went last year-August 1-8, 2017. It was very, very hot, but manageable with breaks in cool attractions, dining, etc. It wasn't crowded at all. Using fast passes wisely and rope drop are key. We went to blizzard beach for a day, Disney Springs for an afternoon and evening, park hopped to do every park at least for 2 half days. It was an awesome trip! One of our best!

 

[Karebear]

We were there last summer from July 14th to July 22nd. It was my first time going during July since I was in high school and I was prepared for crowds. I was really surprised by how low the crowds were. We are from California and slept in the first morning and we got to Epcot about 11am. We went to Soarin and the standby line was 20 minutes. I was so surprised. We did have FP for Flight of Passage, mine train, etc. but the rest of the standby lines were pretty short. Have a great trip!

 

[Joy70]

Thanks all for the great info! I'm sure I'm just being a little paranoid about my medical concerns but this is the first trip that it's just myself and kids (my husband could not make it work with his schedule) and I would hate for something to happen with no other adult along. However, my doctor has reviewed my test results and is telling me that I am okay to travel so I am sure that I'm worrying for no reason. Plus, let's be honest, people could get sick or injured at anytime so we should be prepared of what they would do if an emergency came up anyway. I do think that Toy Story Land may affect the crowd level at the park and I'm not crazy about the heat, but my biggest reason for sticking with our original time frame is that we have some great plans in place and I just don't think we'd be able to recreate the same plans if we had to reschedule for later summer at this late date.

Thanks again for everyone who responded! As the kids get older, we may find that summer is going to be our only time to make it to WDW, so it's always a good idea to see what others experiences have been.

 

[ArielSRL]

Although there is never really a quiet time at Disney anymore, July and early August is the busiest time of the year (overshadowed only by Christmas week).

Have you been at this time recently? The last couple of years have not been nearly as busy in the summer months as once was. In fact, I'd say Spring Break is probably busier. Some say parts of October are just as busy nowadays.

 

[nacho113]

Have you been at this time recently? The last couple of years have not been nearly as busy in the summer months as once was. In fact, I'd say Spring Break is probably busier. Some say parts of October are just as busy nowadays.

Agree with you about spring break being busy too. Our March trip last year was fun but I felt like I needed a vacation from the vacation when we got back
I still say "there is never really a quiet time at Disney anymore"
Our last summer visit was 2014 for the opening of Diagon Alley at Universal, crazy busy but we knew that going in.
We had 5 days at Disney while we were there and hoping it might have been a little quieter due to the opening of Diagon Alley at Universal, but it was just as crazy busy at Disney. Rope drop and mid-day breaks was the strategy that served us well, by lunch time the parks were jammed so we left and came back for the evening