June vs. July vs. August: weather and crowds

[mshanson3121]

Thinking (way) ahead, our next trip will either be summer 2017, either the end of June (likely the last week, spilling over into the first week of July), middle of July, or in August. In August it would likely be the second or third week.

Looking at historical crowd calendars, June looks to be the busiest (running about an 8/9), July seems to be a pretty consistent 7, and August seems to be a 7, dropping to a 6 after the middle of the month.

But what is the difference in weather between end of June,middle of July and say middle of August? Is there much difference in the heat/humidity/thunderstorms?

For those who've done those months, which would you choose?

 

[WEDWDW]

Not a dime's worth of weather difference IMHO.

The crowds may be a "little" smaller in mid-August.

If you go the 3rd week in August,you'll likely see smaller numbers of "The 15s".

 

[abeautybutafunnygirl]

We've done early July and late August. We liked late August much better. The weather was about the same (humid, with daily thunderstorms) but the crowds were lights+no tour groups.

 

[JeninTexas]

Are the tour groups usually there all summer or just specific months? We are planning to go at the end of June and wondered if this would be prime time for big tour groups?

 

[WEDWDW]

Are the tour groups usually there all summer or just specific months?

Mid to late June,July,early August-they will be there as far as the eye can see!

 

[surfcruiser]

We find other things to do than WDW in June and July. We can take the heat and humidity (native Floridians), but the crowds aren't worth it. If your times were our only choices, we'd go the third week of August, or not at all.

 

[dancemonkey]

HOT HOT HOT

 

[JeninTexas]

Mid to late June,July,early August-they will be there as far as the eye can see!

Ugg! That is what I was afraid of. I guess we will just have to make the best of it

 

[surfcruiser]

Are the tour groups usually there all summer or just specific months? We are planning to go at the end of June and wondered if this would be prime time for big tour groups?

Rain ponchos, strollers, bus loads of people... kind of like heffalumps and woozles.

Wake me up Tigger, I'm having a bad dream.

 

[surfcruiser]

Ugg! That is what I was afraid of. I guess we will just have to make the best of it

Plan plan plan. You can have a great time. EasyWDW.com, Touringplans.com (pay the membership, it's worth it), and pick up a copy of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. You can zig while everyone else is zagging and still have a great time.

 

[JeninTexas]

Plan plan plan. You can have a great time. EasyWDW, Touringplans.com (pay the membership, it's worth it), and pick up a copy of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. You can zig while everyone else is sagging and still have a great time.

Thank you! I do have a touring plans membership and have already planned out all my days. I am a little worried though because last time we went (last fall) the TP crowd predictions seemed to be way off and as a result the predicted ride times were off. We ended up seriously scaling back, and in some instances, scrapping the plan all together. I am hoping that at least June crowds are more predictable. It is an 8 everyday of our trip and the wait times seem awfully optimistic to me....

 

[surfcruiser]

Thank you! I do have a touring plans membership and have already planned out all my days. I am a little worried though because last time we went (last fall) the TP crowd predictions seemed to be way off and as a result the predicted ride times were off. We ended up seriously scaling back, and in some instances, scrapping the plan all together. I am hoping that at least June crowds are more predictable. It is an 8 everyday of our trip and the wait times seem awfully optimistic to me....

IMHO, EasyWDW.com seems to be more accurate as far as crowd levels (we choose our park each day with that website), and TP is great at getting you to the stuff you want to see with the least wait possible at whatever park you choose on a particular day (we plan our days with that one).

So... EasyWDW.com, pick parks. TP, set up the plan. That's been our strategy in the last couple years.

 

[JeninTexas]

Thank you, Surfcruiser! That is exactly what I did. Picked my days based on EasyWDW's calendar and then set up the strategy on TP. I'm sure it will be fine.
And OP, sorry to hijack your thread!

 

[Love Tink]

We went in the fourth week of August in 2013, and the third week of August in 2014. Both times I considered crowds moderate to low. In 2013 it was hot and the rainstorms were disruptive, but the weather was manageable. In 2014 it was so unbearably hot that it greatly affected our trip. We had to leave parks early and one of my sons got sick from the heat and had to stay in the room for most of two days. Unfortunately, I swore "never again" for August.

 

[mshanson3121]

Are the tour groups usually there all summer or just specific months? We are planning to go at the end of June and wondered if this would be prime time for big tour groups?

We were there the end of June this year, and honestly,the tour groups weren't bad at all. We saw probably one group each day.

 

[mshanson3121]

While I would enjoy the lower crowds of later August, I'm worried that the heat/humidity will be worse.

 

[allybabba98]

We are also looking at going back in August in a couple of years. We have only been in September which was HOT and rainy, is August pretty much the same? We need to start going when the kids are off school.

 

[TI double-GUH ER]

We have been to WDW in early to mid July, and also at the end of August. I couldn't tell the difference between the temps - both were hot and humid times, with the predictable mid afternoon rain. So you
HOWEVER, I swore I would not return in July... much more crowded, which makes it feel hotter. There were things we just couldn't do because of the lines or crowds. For me that makes it not worth it. Late August has been fantastic for us - most of the things we wanted to do were 20 minutes wait time or less (obviously not the headliners...) and we had no trouble getting reservations for everywhere we wanted to eat.
I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter when you go!!!

 

[mshanson3121]

Just bumping this back up as we were discussing our options again last night. I would like to try later in August due to crowds, but DH is worried about the heat. It was 92-95 every day we were there this June, not sure what the humidity ran. Is there normally more rain in June or August?

The dates we'd be going if August, our park days would be August 12-23

 

[aretha30]

We've been in July and in August. We prefer August. We would love to push our trips to the end of August but I have to be back at school by the 18th (at the latest most years) so we go within the first 2 weeks. The weather isn't much different but it feels a touch less crowded as some of the FL schools (and year round schools) have already started back.

Just bumping this back up as we were discussing our options again last night. I would like to try later in August due to crowds, but DH is worried about the heat. It was 92-95 every day we were there this June, not sure what the humidity ran. Is there normally more rain in June or August?

The dates we'd be going if August, our park days would be August 12-23

It rains pretty much every day but usually not for more than an hour or so. On our trip in 2014 it rained every day for 2 or 3 hours but on our 2015 trip we only had 2 days of rain and they were very quick bursts, and 1 day with one major downpour lasting about an hour. We always bring 2 sets of shoes (sneakers and Tevas or some sort of sandal) and ponchos and go about or day. We welcome the rain, it scares some people off and cools things down!