How crowded is August?

[thebigtrip]

We have only been to DW once and it was in May of 2004. We are planning a trip for next summer probably the very end of July/ first part of Aug. Does anyone know how the crowds are going to compare in August with those in May?

 

[Stepman]

.....and can someone answer if its crowded(packed) during the last week in August? Going in three weeks, would like to know.

 

[Grumpus]

I'll be there next weekend , anyone know what the crowds will be like?
School starts on the 8th here in S.Fla. so I'm hoping not too crowded.

Thanks

 

[life of a princess]

I'll be finding our TODAY!!!

 

[andychris14]

I have gone down to disney in late August in previous years and it is great. Many of the schools are back. This year I do not know, because of the free food. I called yesterday to change some times for dinner reservations and many of the restaurants are completely sold out. Get ready for a busy week.

 

[sanibelover]

Based on recent trip reports, I would say very crowded and hot!!

 

[novastar]

I don;t think free dining will affect any one whose kids go back to school in mid august. I don't think that parents would have their kids miss their first week of school to go to disney world on free dining, it's the most important week.

 

[justmitype]

I just saw a story on Good Morning America that many of the schools in the south started back to school today! Very early to me, up north in NY. Maybe this will keep the crowds back, just a bit. Very wishful thinking on my part since we leave for Disney on Monday, August 15th!

 

[dvcgirl]

We have only been to DW once and it was in May of 2004. We are planning a trip for next summer probably the very end of July/ first part of Aug. Does anyone know how the crowds are going to compare in August with those in May?

That's the peak of the summer season. It will be very, very busy and very, very hot. Waits for popular rides are up to 90 minutes minimum by noon in most cases. The only strategy that works well in the summer is to be at the parks just before opening and hit as many of the big rides as you can, and then leave the park by noon or so and take a break. Head back later and do as much as you can, but it will be far less than you can accomplish in the mornings.

 

[Stitch Inside]

We just got back yesterday, and it was much more crowded than in May. We also liked the weather better in May, cooler and little to no rain. You can almost set your watch by the afternoon thunder showers in Florida during the Summer.

 

[dvcgirl]

I have gone down to disney in late August in previous years and it is great. Many of the schools are back. This year I do not know, because of the free food. I called yesterday to change some times for dinner reservations and many of the restaurants are completely sold out. Get ready for a busy week.

Yes, I think it will be pretty busy the last two weeks of August this year. Yes, 3/4 of the schools are back by then, but most of the NorthEast is not, and since many from the NY, NJ Conn area travel to Disney, many wait until the end of the summer hoping the crowds will be lower. With the free dinining package I think it will be hopping right on through Labor Day.

 

[deltachi8]

We usually travel the last week of August and are headed out this year Aug 24-29. USUALLY, it is not very crowded at all, but very hot and rains every afternoon. However, with free dining, I would anticipate a spike in crowds..not mid summer level, but still a spike (when we booked with free dining about three weeks ago, the All Star Movies was sold out of the package and some resturaunts have been booked).

That being said, get to the parks early and use a good touring plan and you should be fine.

 

[dvcgirl]

I don't know - I don't think the free dining is going to make a noticeable impact on the crowds. Alot of schools in the NE (at least in Massachusetts) are going back the last week of August. It will be steady, but I wouldn't expect to see typical summer crowds.

Well, what's your definition of "steady"....lol!. If you're used to traveling to WDW during that week I'd expect it to be busier than usual. Why? Because attendance to theme parks in Central Florida is estimated to be up 12% this year. I'm gonna bet that with the package deals, magical express and the 50th celebration that Disney is doing way better than that. My own experiences over there this summer and hundreds of reports seem to back that up. It's been insanely busy this summer.

And then along comes the free dining offer. There's been many threads devoted to people talking about changing their trips because of the free dining or booking because of the free dining. Anyone with older children will likely go those last couple of weeks in August because of school still being out of session where they live. I'm not saying it's going to be July 4th weekend. I'm saying it will be busier than it typically is the last week of August.

 

[Danthesand]

From what all the books and people say, the first 3 weeks of August tend to be pretty crowded. Then, the schools in the south start going back, so the crowds thin out the last week of August.

The impact of school openings starts a lot early than the last week. Schools in Florida and other southern states are already opening, so crowds will start shrinking this week, with the real impact showing by the beginning of next.

 

[Danthesand]

many from the NY, NJ Conn area travel to Disney, many wait until the end of the summer hoping the crowds will be lower.

I don't buy that: If I had a dime for every person from NY/CT/NJ/PA who has told me "I'd never go to Disney World in July or August, it's too hot, " I could have retired 20 years ago. That's what makes late August wonderful at WDW - all the sunbelt types are gone (their schools are back in session) and the heat and humidty scares away the Yankees.

As for the free dining, it is did cause some people to either move existing ressies or make new ones for the period starting 8/21, but the impact of that will remain to be seen. People are not going to pull their kids out of schools that just started a week or two ago earlier to get free dining, nor are those who hate the summer weather going to endure it just to get meals.

 

[dvcgirl]

I don't buy that: If I had a dime for every person from NY/CT/NJ/MA/VT/NH etc. who has told me "I'd never go to Disney World in July or August, it's too hot, " I could have retired 20 years ago. That's what make late August wonderful at WDW - all the sunbelt types are gone (their schools are back in session) and the heat and humidty scares away the Yankees.

Again, I'm not saying that it's going to be July 4th crowded, but if you look at the crowd levels this summer, the good package deals that Disney was already offering, consumer spending levels and then add free dining....it follows that this August will be more crowded than it has been in previous years. I couldn't believe how crowded it was in early JUNE this year, and that's with many schools still in session. And as for the weather....being from NJ, well, it's very hot and humid there in the summer. People from the NE aren't strangers to heat and humidity.

Hey, I hope for everyone traveling in late August that it does slow down, and I'm sure it will...somewhat. But overall, I'd expect crowds and plan accordingly. I'd use a good summer touring plan which is to arrive very early and get as much done as you can before noon. And avoid evening EMH parks like the plague....

 

[lovemygoofy]

At this point I'm too excited to care. My dh and I are going to be there 28 Aug- 1 Sept. We hadn't even planned a trip this year but the army is giving us a week off before he goes wheels up next month. We are so excited to just be going and of course free dining rocks. We LOVE to eat while at the World

 

[dvcgirl]

I don't know. I guess crowd levels don't really bother me that much. I mean, obviously, when it's slower, it's easier to navigate, but if you use fastpass wisely, and just stay out of certain sections of the Magic Kingdom at bad times, I never have a problem. I only say MK because it's the only park I ever find the crowds to be out of control at.

We were there in May, which is typically about as crowded as the end of August, and that was the kickoff of the 50th Birthday, and I didn't think crowds were that bad in the least. I don't think we waited more than 15 minutes for anything.

I have friends who were down this May...for the beginning of the celebration and they didn't think it was too bad either. 15 minutes though? Really? Before we moved down here we always traveled in early May and 30 minutes waits seemed to be the norm by the afternoon.

This June it was very busy. MK can feel insanely crowded yes....the other park that feels crowded to me lots of the time is AK. Especially by the safari in Africa and near Kali in Asia....wall to wall people at times....

I won't go back into the parks until September myself. But I do have a neighbor who is in management with Disney and lots of local friends who are CMs....so I hear lots about crowd levels. I've been over a few times this summer and decided that we'll be getting seasonal passes from here on out....it's just too crazy for me. We won't wait more than 10-15 minutes for anything now that we live here and so we'll wait until September when it's nearly empty.

 

[dvcgirl]

Yup - Never more than 15 minutes. I don't wanna sound like a know-it-all (since it's actually quite pathetic), but I've been there enough times now and spent enough time at the theme parks that I really know how to get around the crowds. I don't think you need to use the Unofficial Guide (though their plan should work too.) I think the best advice you can get on how to do the parks when it's busy is to experience it. Once you've been to the MK so many times, you know where to start, where to go during lunch, and when to head back to the E-ride attractions.

You would have needed all of your magical powers with you to navigate around crowds if you had been there this past July....right up until now. Before moving down here we've been to WDW many, many times as vacationers...25 trips since 92 I think...something like that. So we're not unfamiliar with how to tour the world. Anyway, we moved down here last year and attempted to visit the parks in the summer and thought it was very crowded. I've been on Splash Mountain many, many times and there's no way in the world that I'm waiting 90 minutes to ride it again. And if I was gonna wait 90 minutes I'd prefer to no wait with tired hot and cranky people. Now that I live here, there's no way I'm waiting 30 minutes either, but at least that's *do-able* if you're vacationing here.

This year it's much busier than that. If you don't get the big rides completed before 11am...*forget* it. The waits are 90min + all day long. A couple of weeks back I monorailed past the entrance to MK (on my way to lunch at the Poly) and have never seen anything like it. There was almost no visible concrete showing...that's how many people were there. If I had been standing in that crowd I would have felt panicky.

There's a thread going now on the dining board though, in reference to the free dining and whether people had their trip booked first and then added the free dining or booked the trip or moved it because of the free dining. Looks like roughly 1/3 booked the trip or moved it *because* of free dining.

We also really think that the new ticketing system and EMH are affecting crowd flow. Oh well, I'll hope for lower crowds for all of you late August travelers....and hope for myself that free dining doesn't make September have waits more than 10-15 minutes.

 

[deltachi8]

I think the UG has crowd level predictions of about 7 in late August. In my experience, in 2001, 2003 and 2004, I would have put it about 5. So, yes, I think there will be a jump, just not a huge one.

Stay cool and use a touring plan.