How crowded is DisneyLand in Mid-August?

[OFF TO WDW!]

Long story short we want to go to DisneyLand in April of 2012, but our son wants to see the new "Carsland" which will not open until June if I am right.(Not a make or break, but would like to).

With that being said, how bad is August in General especially with "Carsland" opening?

Do schools go back in California anytime in August where it might make the crowds slightly less?

We are in New Jersey and don't go back until September so we would like to try and coordinate this trip as good as possible.

Any thoughts or suggestions about the second or third week in August would be appreciated.


Thanks

 

[HydroGuy]

I would tend to avoid the latter half of August because of APs coming unblocked (see "Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983).

Crowds in summer have manageable especially if you use good touring strategies:

See "Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

 

[OFF TO WDW!]

Thank you Hydro Guy! I guess what is confusing is that from what I understand, the best way to tell if the parks are crowded is by "blackout" dates for AP holders (in my case, the first two and a half weeks are blacked out), and now you make a good point by saying when they come unblocked, the parks will be busy also.Why is everything confusing! LOL

 

[summer0407]

We went the second week of August last year and it was very crowded. As long as you have patience it will be fine. We tended to get most things done very early in the morning and very late at night (after fireworks). Have fun!

 

[HydroGuy]

Thank you Hydro Guy! I guess what is confusing is that from what I understand, the best way to tell if the parks are crowded is by "blackout" dates for AP holders (in my case, the first two and a half weeks are blacked out), and now you make a good point by saying when they come unblocked, the parks will be busy also.Why is everything confusing! LOL

If you do no research you will not be confused at all. Until you arrive! Doing the research will save you lots of confusion later on.

Trying to map blockout days to crowds is tricky. What seems to a given is that right before and after the lengthy summer blockout the crowds surge because of SoCal AP holders.

However, in general DLR tries to do blockouts on days they already expect to be crowded - such as mid-summer. So these two things compete.

 

[mrswh]

We have gone in August the past two years. I find it is no trouble as long as you plan appropriately! We usually time it to arrive on a Sunday, as the weekdays seem to be the least crowded, with crowds building as the weekend nears. Also, as HG already mentioned, make sure you are planning around those days the APs come unblocked. I did not know this the first year we went in August and happened to time our trip to coincide exactly. It was pretty bad. That said, here's how we deal with the summer crowds:

First, get up early. You can do WAY more in the first three hours of the day than in any other three hours during the day. If you can swing it to stay at GCH or another DL hotel, all the better. You can go into DCA earlier than everyone else and get in a few rides as well as collect FPs for later and for WOC, all in the first hour. Interestingly, as the day gets hotter, the crowds get bigger, so noon is a great time to head out of the parks, get some lunch, and go for an afternoon swim. After a nice little rest, head back to the parks in the early evening when it's not as hot and some of the day-trippers have gotten tired and headed home. You can use your FPs now, since they are good for any time *after* the time window listed.

When we follow this plan, it works out pretty well! On the nights we rally for fireworks/WOC, we won't get up for DL opening the next day, but it is pretty easy to make it to DCA opening (9:00 for resort guests, 10:00 for the rest).

I'm not sure how Carsland will impact the rest of the park, but I'm not convinced it will be a big deal. If you want to go there you will have to go first thing in the morning, I assume. But as far as everything else, I'm not sure it will matter much. A few years ago we timed a trip to coincide exactly with the date of Nemo opening. (See how good it is that we found the disboards??!) I really don't think it was overall more crowded - but the lines for Nemo were 3+ hours. Also, I didn't notice that much of an overall difference in DCA last year when WOC opened - it's August. It's crowded.

In any event - don't be afraid . . . just do your research!

 

[llump41]

We'll be there next week so I may be able to offer something after that. A couple of things to expect though.
Aug. can be hot and humid. relative that is. It may seem like paradise coming from NJ.
Get there EARLY EARLY EARLY. We often go on Sundays thru-out the year and always get there at opening. A mrswh said, we can often do all of our must-do rides by the time the crowds hit.