Just back - WDW veteran, first summertime trip

[2vets]

Hi, all -

DH and I are just back from a whirlwind 5-day stay at WL (CL) with extended family. I have been to WDW many, many times and have stayed exclusively on property since the late 80's...but I have never traveled there between mid-June and late August or over Xmas/Easter holiday times. I would never have chosen to travel in late June, but we had to obey school schedules for some family members...so there you are!

1. Crowds and their impact - yeah, it was crowded!! I do think that this was the most crowded I have ever seen MK and AK, though I have seen MK almost as packed in March on occasion. We did go to MK one night for MSEP/Wishes, and the crowds were honestly so horrible that I was frightened for my father, who is in his 70's and who doesn't move terribly fast.

2. Heat - yeah, it was friggin' hot. I am a Florida native, but I live in California now and just can't deal as well! I saw one kid pass out waiting for RD at MK a few days ago, though, so it wasn't just me. Water, lots of it, misty fans, chilly towels, etc etc etc - and nothing beats a strongly air conditioned show/ride in the middle of the day...or, of course, the pool!

3. Just a few individuals - I must emphasize that MOST other guests were courteous and kind. We saw people being wonderful to one another on buses, in lines, etc. There were several large South American tour groups...and honestly, we saw no chanting, no pushing, no line-hopping - just a bunch of boisterous, smiling kids. I think because it was super-crowded and super-hot, however, the very worst came out on occasion with a few people. We saw two men nearly get into a fistfight because one had clipped the other with a stroller during RD. We saw people screaming openly and calling one another names in the middle of the park. We had a large group of 20-somethings shove in front of us at the CL to get food. On our last day, a man was pushing a very large stroller very, very fast down one of those side passageways adjacent to the castle towards us...he was passing a couple, and because of this, he was coming directly towards me. He was looking me right in the face, right in the eyes, and I literally had to jump back and flatten my body against the wall of the walkway, or he'd have barreled right into me. I looked at him, and I said, "Really, sir?" he replied quite belligerently, "YES. REALLY." He also inserted a choice descriptive term for me - what the heck did I do to him?? And he had a toddler in the stroller who certainly wouldn't have appreciated my falling on him. I had never experienced such unadulterated nastiness (albeit rare) at WDW before.

Not to be discouraging! As I said before, we did do everything we wanted in fairly short amounts of time. But it did involve a lot of getting up really (really, really, really) early and getting motivated. We were either at RD or early morning EMH, period, no exceptions. FP+ had it's pros and cons. It was great to be able to make those arrangements for 11 am and later for headliners, knowing that at these times, FP-'s would often be gone or have prohibitive return times. For this trip, we did absolutely everything we wanted to do (including SDMT at RD, SM times, Splash 3 times, RnR 3 times, EE 4 times, etc etc etc), and the longest line we waited in was TT for 40 minutes. And every afternoon, we were by the pool by 3:15. We had a ton of fun!

Will I go in summer again? Honestly, probably not. I know it's more crowded at all times of year compared to years past, but I do think that there was a discernible difference from my last visit late April 2013. And the heat!!! To you parents out there who return year after year in the summer, kudos - you are incredible troopers!

 

[Dancing Queen]

Thanks for sharing. Glad you had fun!

We have gone twice in August and are headed back in August again this year - and we don't sugarcoat it - it's HOT!

 

[mm1971]

Thanks for the report! We went in August last year after many years of October and December trips. We are not bothered by the heat so much, but I do agree it is HOT! We do take precautions like staying hydrated, taking breaks (COP is AWSOME for a little rest and relaxation in the cool air). We usually hot the pool or a WP in the afternoon. I do prefer the October weather.

We have been fortunate to avoid most of the bad guests. We do see the occasional idiot, but try to just avoid them.

We do August due to vacation schedules now that are kids are older. I will say this year may be the last one for a while. We have our eyes on France, Hawaii and a few other places.

 

[IsThatYouTigger]

So I grew up and lived just outside of Orlando for 27 years and recently moved out of Florida. It's funny because I went to Disney all the time (always had some form of pass) but ALWAYS skipped Disney in the summer. I feel like being able to go year round you can pick and choose to just stay away during the crazier times. Well, my cousin and I have been wanting to take a girls trip and because of our schedules are going mid-July. The funny thing is that know that it is going to be so incredibly crowded and HOT and we just keep saying oh my gosh some of these things are going to be miserable and yet we are still super excited about going! We are at least going in with realistic expectations and I think that should help. My usual Disney time now that I don't live in Florida is October so it's going to be a change . Thanks for your report!

 

[katt789]

Super glad you had a good time despite the heat & crowds! Too bad about the man with the stroller and the other negatives, but hey, there'll always be something like that happening with that many people lol!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[sunkissed4]

I've been living in Florida for the past 5 years and we avoid summer at Disney too. The heat makes people crazy.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We go in August and we try to get going early. And be ok with doing less each day than you can in the cooler weather!

 

[librarymom2007]

We were at Disney last week as well. We saw several tour groups and yes they were chanting. That didn't really bother me though. It was hot but I didn't think it was unbearable. We did spend way more time at the pool this visit though. And we did way less at the parks than we normally do (usually go in November and January).

However I totally agree with you about rude people. People who cut in line, didn't follow directions (please walk all the way to the next open seat, do not sit in the middle of the theatre just because YOU want to sit there!). I saw someone tell a CM "no" in a very rude way when asked to carry one of those thingys that times the wait in line for an attraction. DH's theory is that so many people there don't speak English so they don't even know what is being said. But yeah, I couldn't get over the rudeness.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

What bothers me is the fact that a bunch of 20-something's pushed past you at OFC...

We've always gone in summer cuz of school/sports. Next year We'll be going 2nd week of June. Hopefully it won't be quite as hot!

 

[2vets]

Librarymom - you know what?? I think your DH may be onto something in some cases. It did seem like there were lots of non-Americans there! The stroller idiot was definitely American, though, but I only had to have a brush with his idiocy - he has to live with it all the time, right? I agree, the heat was doable, but just this side of it...for me anyways (I'll emphasize what a wuss I am now, living in a place with far less humidity). I still had fun, but I do prefer the off-season since I am never a stay-until-closing kind of person anyways!!

 

[librarymom2007]

Librarymom - you know what?? I think your DH may be onto something in some cases. It did seem like there were lots of non-Americans there! The stroller idiot was definitely American, though, but I only had to have a brush with his idiocy - he has to live with it all the time, right? I agree, the heat was doable, but just this side of it...for me anyways (I'll emphasize what a wuss I am now, living in a place with far less humidity). I still had fun, but I do prefer the off-season since I am never a stay-until-closing kind of person anyways!!

Totally agree. We never stayed until closing even when we went in the off season. We are 9-5 people, go back to the resort and chill! And I would not go back again any later in the summer. 2nd/3rd week of June will be my latest.

 

[Disney Dad 88]

Great report, and I think you nailed what it is like in The parks in the summer without going overboard. There are 19 million people living in Florida who deal with the heat and humidity every day, trust me it's hot, but with a little common sense you can still enjoy yourself.

 

[emilymad]

We were there last weekend and we didn't think the crowds were that bad. We never go in the summer either and I was expecting the worst. Granted we did not attempt evening fireworks.

We saw several tour groups but no one was misbehaved. Our biggest issue was with a family in front of us that clearly did not have FP+ for the entire family. The first person who went through got a green Mickey and then the rest of the family got a blue Mickey. They just acted confused had their kids scan and just kept walking. This happened to us twice and neither time did the CM stop them. I am not blaming the CM as it is a sticky situation with the technology. It was obvious that the guests knew they were cheating the system.

 

[Missymouse18]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like over all you had a fun time. Oddly enough, I have a blood disorder and so I very rarely get hot, + I am from MS where heat and humidity are part of life... so hot summer days in the parks absolutely don't phase me. Poor DH usually just has to sweat it out.