Is August really that bad?

[Kelly loves Food]

New England girl here: There are 3 potential weeks that we (me, DH and DD11) can visit Disney World in 2017: late August, mid October and the week after Thanksgiving (have done this and LOVED it).

My only reasons for considering August is that my daughter will not miss school, and I can get a "magical" deal at the Poly or BC. However I'm nervous about the FL heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Can the folks who normally visit in late August give me the scoop on how bad it really is (or isn't)? Or what strategies to you use to beat the heat? I would love to take advantage of the steep discount and NOT missing a week of school!

 

[disneyAndi14]

New England girl here: There are 3 potential weeks that we (me, DH and DD11) can visit Disney World in 2017: late August, mid October and the week after Thanksgiving (have done this and LOVED it).

My only reasons for considering August is that my daughter will not miss school, and I can get a "magical" deal at the Poly or BC. However I'm nervous about the FL heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Can the folks who normally visit in late August give me the scoop on how bad it really is (or isn't)? Or what strategies to you use to beat the heat? I would love to take advantage of the steep discount and NOT missing a week of school!

We have gone the last two years at the end of August and we love it, the crowds are low! We tolerate heat and humidity pretty well, if you don't, it is a real drawback for some. We are going again this year so my DD does not have to miss school as well. You need to take breaks in the afternoon and drink lots of water for sure!

 

[Dec38]

It is hot and humid, but definitely manageable. Recommend cooling towels like Alfamo or Frog Toggs, and misting fans (They sell larger water bottle misting fans in the park. We brought with us little portable O2 cool misting fans that worked great.). Also recommend taking breaks in the afternoon to return to resort to swim or nap. If you stay at Poly or Beach Club that is so easy to do!

 

[mrsjoannh13]

I have been once in August otherwise in the Fall (Oct/Nov). When we went in Nov the first time there was record heat. High 80s. We were covered in sweat daily and fairly miserable as we didn't really plan for that level of heat. In August it was a little hotter and more humid but all in all, once you've covered in sweat by 11 a.m. it's all relative, LOL. We got to the parks early, did rides a few hours, then went to the pool. Dinner at night when it cooled off then more rides. Your basic recommended summer strategy and it was pretty manageable.

In terms of crowds we typically go in the fall and it's supposed to be "low" crowd times. We did not see much of a difference when we were there in mid August. We use the crowd calendars and go to the most recommend park each day and get there for early entry breakfasts so we are able to get done pretty much everything we want before the crowds really roll in midday.

 

[Moms]

We did August trips for years ... daughter didn't miss school and by August her summer activities had mostly come to an end. It is beastly hot but it can be managed if you plan ahead. We generally hit the parks early then took an afternoon break for a swim, nap and an shower then returned in the evening as the sun was going down. We often scheduled lunches for early afternoon breaks in the AC. Stay hydrated, hang in the shady areas whenever possible and have fun!

Thunderstorms are not really an issue ... they come and go frequently but never last very long! Watch the skies and be ready to duck under cover for a short while then go on. Bring ponchos!

 

[kaybird]

We often travel in late August, for the very reasons you mentioned. We tend to do waterparks, or TS restaurants during the heat of the day. If there are thunderstorms, they do a good job of clearing out the parks.

 

[Missyrose]

It's hot but totally doable with a slower pace and long breaks. Plan to do the parks early in the morning and late at night. Take breaks at the resort and pool in the heat of the afternoon.

 

[Heidi K]

We have now done both end of August and end of October. August is SO, SO hot and humid. It's hard to exaggerate how hot it is. The October weather was absolutely perfect. We found crowd levels/wait times to be roughly similar.

However, we did not miss school or work (we're teachers) in August. We did miss both school (2nd and 5th graders) and work in October, and it was very difficult. My 5th grader had no problem missing school, but my 2nd grader struggled. In terms of missing work, it was very hard. We got home after 9 pm and had to set the alarm at 5:45 the next morning for work, so there was no time to unpack, do laundry, or just decompress.

All that to say, if we had those choices in the future, we would probably choose August. The best strategy for beating the heat was to spend the afternoons in air conditioning--either a break back at the hotel, or something like Rafiki's Planet Watch. I also recommend eating all meals in air-conditioning (while we love Flame Tree BBQ, for example, the outdoor seating is just too hot in August). And do bring ponchos.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

New England girl here: There are 3 potential weeks that we (me, DH and DD11) can visit Disney World in 2017: late August, mid October and the week after Thanksgiving (have done this and LOVED it).

My only reasons for considering August is that my daughter will not miss school, and I can get a "magical" deal at the Poly or BC. However I'm nervous about the FL heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Can the folks who normally visit in late August give me the scoop on how bad it really is (or isn't)? Or what strategies to you use to beat the heat? I would love to take advantage of the steep discount and NOT missing a week of school!

August is actually a pretty good time to go to WDW. Yes, its hot, very humid and stormy. But the Floridian kids have gone back to school, so parks are quieter. Queues are therefore more manageable (apart from 7DMT, Frozen Ever After etc.). Storms occur at the same sort of time every day (3pm ish), so plan around that - go see a show, queue for an indoor attraction, have a meal etc. etc. With regards to the heat, most of Disney is in AC anyway, and providing you drink plenty, you'll be fine. We tended to head back to the hotel in the height of the heat, spend an hour or two swimming and chilling out, then heading back out to the parks later.

 

[clm10308]

I know California is much less humid, but when we were at Disneyland last year with high temps of 110-150, we are eat the park at 7:00am until about 10am, then went back after 7:00pm until closing. In between was mostly watching movies in the room and pool time.

I would suggest something similar for Florida in August, and that is how we lived in Houston in August. Get up early to do any outdoor stuff. Then stay indoors between 9am and 7pm. Kids would not play outside until after about 8pm. I would never even take my kids to the pool during the day because it was just too hot.

 

[seelyt2]

We go in mid-to-late August for the same reason, and like you we're from the Northeast. The first time I swore I'd never do it again, but we keep going back then since DD is now in high school and DS in college and we can't pull them out out at this point. We've learned to adjust to the heat and humidity - mainly because it's Disney and we'd rather be there rather than home. Besides, it get nearly just as humid here (for a few weeks in the summer, anyway) as it does there. As everyone says drink plenty of water, use the cooling towels or mists, and be prepared for afternoon downpours. Utilizing rope drop and evening hours are when we tour the most and we take those afternoon breaks everyone talks about. We try to hit the outside queuing rides in the morning or evening when the sun isn't on us, and if we are broaching the afternoon we hit rides that are inside, or queue inside, like Soarin', Philharmagic, Dinosaur, Test Track, etc., to catch some AC. The wait times vary but are pretty manageable for the most part, especially with FP+. We go back to our villa to swim, cool down, nap, or veg-out for a couple of hours and recharge batteries in the afternoon's high heat. The no-homework and not having to make up work make this time of the year worth it!

 

[OKW Lover]

My only reasons for considering August is that my daughter will not miss school, and I can get a "magical" deal at the Poly or BC. However I'm nervous about the FL heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Can the folks who normally visit in late August give me the scoop on how bad it really is (or isn't)?

Originally from Plymouth MA (moved to FL 3 years ago) and yes, FL heat/humidity in August is pretty oppressive. And yes, you'll have to deal with mid-afternoon (at least) thunderstorms as well. However, people do it and survive just fine. Remember to drink lots of water, take "short cuts" through air conditioned shops and enjoy attractions/restaurants where you sit down in AC for periods of time. You might also plan on afternoon breaks back at your hotel and enjoy the pool during the worst of it.

 

[CAS239]

It is hot down here during the summer..well it's usually brutally hot about 9 months out the year.

Stay hydrated, find shade and A/C from time to time. It's hot

 

[Arden01]

We've gone twice in late August and are going back again. We go for the same reasons as you - not missing school, lower crowds and a great "magical" deal. I wish we could go in the cooler months, but it just doesn't work for us. The mistakes I've made going in August were not taking afternoon breaks, not doing rope drop and not hydrating enough. Hit the parks early, take a break in AC or back at resort during heat of day (1pm-5) and go back to parks at night. Drink a ton of water. My daughters got dehydrated a couple of times, especially in Animal Kingdom. It's very, very hot but if you follow that basic advice, you'll be fine!

 

[mbgrace]

It will be hot. Crowds will be relatively small. Drink lots of water and have lots of fun!

One of my best memories from our 8/16 trip was splashing around in giant puddles with my four year old during a twenty minute downpour. We were already wet, but the look on his face when I started splashing around with him is one that I will never forget.

 

[bethbuchall]

We've been in mid-late August and found it somewhat crowded and hot, but still enjoyable.

Does anyone know if the crowds get bad for Labor Day weekend? I was thinking of trying Labor Day weekend and the rest of that week.

 

[FortForever]

I wouldn't go in August. It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

My comfort temp is 85-90 degrees, but the humidity just makes everything miserable. If you were coming from a southeastern state, I would say your body is already adapted for it. From New England, nope. You may not be able to enjoy yourself. Even the evenings are not great. The temperature goes down a bit, but the humidity remains. The only time you won't encounter oppressive humidity is early mornings.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I've been a number of times the last week of August.
The heat and humidity really is that bad in my opinion. (95*F with a heat index of 105*
F)
When I walk out of my resort room I normally don't have sweat rolling down my back by the time I get to the bus stop but in late August I do.
It's fairly easy to beat the heat and humidity since many attractions are inside.
You sweat like crazy walking from one thing to the next but while you're in the nice AC buildings its great if not too cold sometimes.
Even with the heat and humidity I'd definitely go back again in late August because there's usually a good discount and the crowds aren't too bad.

I do also love the Christmas season at WDW though so if there was a choice I'd be going with the week after Thanksgiving.

 

[DizDaD7]

New England girl here: There are 3 potential weeks that we (me, DH and DD11) can visit Disney World in 2017: late August, mid October and the week after Thanksgiving (have done this and LOVED it).

My only reasons for considering August is that my daughter will not miss school, and I can get a "magical" deal at the Poly or BC. However I'm nervous about the FL heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Can the folks who normally visit in late August give me the scoop on how bad it really is (or isn't)? Or what strategies to you use to beat the heat? I would love to take advantage of the steep discount and NOT missing a week of school!

Done both..Late August...Yes We survived... And November 4 x's.
If you have the option ( which you do ) I'd sayMid October would probably be the best. Low crowds, great temps, F&W, Halloween decorations... Save the late August trips till when your kids are a little bit older /H.S. then most likely you won't want them to be taken out of school.....

Here in NJ we usually just pull them out for 2 1/2 days during Jersey Week, but only 2 this past Nov..Now that they both will be entering H.S. we'll be doing the same. Are we bad parents?
Good luck whichever you choose.. BTW everyone gave you plenty of good advice if you do attempt an August trip!

 

[FastPasser]

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