Is Disney EMPTY end of August?

[dvcgirl]

The fact that they extended the booking window for free dinning shows that they are not full and will not be pact.

Yes, this is true to a certain degree. In all liklihood it just means that they are *less* packed than they'd like to be. They also ended the blackout days for Seasonal Pass holders a month early. They did the same thing last year, and unfortunately, August was crowded right through Labor Day.

As for the dining days being free, it's tough to discern too much from that either. Last Wednesday I spent a day in Epcot with a family member who visited unexpectedly. I figured that there was no way that I'd be able to secure an ADR at a WS showcase. Not only was I able to get an ADR, I had my pick of many restaurants for prime times. I was really surprised. We ended up at Teppanyaki at 7pm.

And while Epcot always feels the least crowded of all the parks, the wait times indicated otherwise. We arrived at 2pm. Soaring was 90 minutes standby and all fast passes were gone for the day. Test Track was 80 minutes, with all fast passes gone for the day. So....open dining spots unfortunately do not mean empty parks or resorts. I'd expect all of August to be busy, especially with the free dining package.

 

[bluejasmine]

::::::::hanging head in shame::::::::::::::: I feel like the queen of changing AR's and we have had NO problem at all changing our ressies the week Aug 25-30, we even got CRT for breakfast on Aug 26 less than 90 days out. I am hoping this means it wont be too crowded, only time, 25 days for us, will tell

We will be there at the same time and we also will have CRT ressies for that morning! 9:40 am. Me and the kids should be wearing lime mickeys!!

Oh and I have been the end of Aug and while there are crowds it is much lighter than spring break or the rest of the summer break, I wonder though with the free dining if there wont be more people late Aug - early Oct?

 

[ShuisFan584]

We made our ADR's probably around the 60 day mark. We were able to get the exact time we wanted for Chef Mickey's and Chef's de France, and for 50's Prime Time, we got 4:05 instead of 4:00. I wish it was empty at the end of August, but unfortunately it never is. We've always gone late August, and it's always been pretty crowded, but very manageable, especially with the invention of fastpass. I've never been to WDW in July, so I really can't compare it to those crowds.

 

[nutsforgolf]

Just remember that the free dining offer was for a limited number of rooms. Therefore,, not everyone who is staying at a Disney Hotel will be on the "Free Dining" plan. I'm sure that this was also offered to fill a vast number of empty rooms. I bet most people won't notice any more crowds in the parks than previous years. I do think that the more popular restaurants will be busier due to the free dining.

 

[runninlow3]

We will be there Aug.27-Sept.3. We're also hoping to see a lighter crowd that time of the month. I had no problem getting making dinner reservations, got everything I wanted and have been making slight time changes in the last few weeks with ease as well. I too, had a broad range of time slots to choose from.

 

[Danthesand]

If this thread is at all representative, it looks like a ton or people are planning to be at WDW the week starting 8/21.

Almost makes me glad we're doing the prior week (which historically is a sleeper; all the sunbelt families are gone due to school openings, and many Northerners are frightened off by the heat). I suspect that the free dining will make that third week even better this year, since it's pulling some people to defer their August visit until the 21st or later.

 

[taximomfor4]

If this thread is at all representative, it looks like a ton or people are planning to be at WDW the week starting 8/21.

Almost makes me glad we're doing the prior week (which historically is a sleeper; all the sunbelt families are gone due to school openings, and many Northerners are frightened off by the heat). I suspect that the free dining will make that third week even better this year, since it's pulling some people to defer their August visit until the 21st or later.

we are going the week before the free dining also (8/11-8/19, actually). Just from the informal August polls on this board, that week doesn't look too terrible. I am expecting true summer crowds for the first half of our stay, and then probably slightly smaller crowds the second half.


Here's me HOPING!

Beth

 

[KPoj]

We went the last week of August a few years ago. Crowds were manageable, especially in the mornings. We got to the parks about 30 minutes early and walked onto all of the rides we wanted to. Only had to fast pass twice the whole week. The longest line was for the Jungle cruise - 35 min. I will caution you that that is the rainy season and you will get wet a few times. Each evening it poured, but usually we were done and back at the hotel. We kept those little plastic packet rain ponchos in our backpack. It was also really hot/humid, so be ready. We bought a few of those little battery operated fans. We got them at Wal Mart before we went down. They were keychains and attached to the backpack. Didn't have any problems with dinner/lunch reservations either. Hope you have fun!!

KPOJ

 

[ma_t_gus]

My friend and I decided in late June to drive down to Disney from NJ . We rented a minivan and we will be leaving tonight. 4 adults and 3 children. Where ever we are at 12:00pm on Sat is were we will stop and stay overnight at a local hotel. I had no problems getting my ressies so that I could use up all of my free dining vouchers/tickets/passes. I was even able to get the Albatross Treasure Hunt cruise for Fri Sept 2 at the Y&B club at 9:30am. I thought it was only on Weds. but the CSR booked me for a Fri. I hope she didn't make a mistake. I'll call them when I get there to confirm.