Just how bad/crowded/hot is summer?

[Jnelms]

My family and I went the first week of August in 2013, and we had a blast. We're from Texas so hot summers are the norm for us though. It will be busy, but you can still have tons of fun. I recommend planning an afternoon break to beat the heat and rest up. Also, use the crowd calendars to plan the park days...if possible.

 

[SaraMc]

I went for the first time in the summer this past summer. The week we were there was apparently not a bad week heat wise. But that being said. It was humid and hot and you can easily get heat stroke.
Stay hydrated. We carried water with us all the time. ALL THE TIME. Drink. Even if you don't feel thirsty drink.
We had cool towels which helped immensely. During the hottest part of the day we would be at the pool or out of the sun. Made it better. Also self wicking clothing helped for me.

Have a poncho, it rains a lot. Which helps. That cool breeze right before the rain is wonderful.

Oh and drink lots of water

 

[dekraut]

We went Summer 2014 during the last week of June. I am from the mid-Atlantic and a "person of larger carriage" so the heat is not my friend. Humidity isn't either. During our trip, they were saying on the news that a "heat wave" was hitting the area with higher than normal temps and humidity, so that didn't help. Our temps were in the mid to upper 90s, and the heat indices were in the 105+ range.

Having said that, we went for 5 days and enjoyed ourselves. We just had to make the decision that being soaked with sweat was just part of the experience. Luckily, as you know Disney has lots of air conditioned places to cool off, and most rides and attractions are quite pleasant, but the time you spend walking around or waiting in a queue can be taxing for sure. But, it totally doable if everyone just goes into it expecting it to be crazy hot/humid, and can deal with that.

The thing I noticed wasn't that we couldn't handle it, but simply that it zaps the strength out of you a lot faster, and that we tended to be more on edge. Also, we tended to miss out on being casual about our trip, because we were constantly feeling the heat.

Having said that, I believe that it totally depends on the people going. My wife and I were much better and recognizing the moods changing e to the heat, but our kids would become more irritable than usual as the heat got the best of them.

With breaks every afternoon back at our camper, we managed to have a great time in spite of the heat. But having said that, we are planning our next trip for tis January, where we hope to find more freedom in enjoying the attractions without the sweat in our eyes, or the crowds on our heels. I think we are going to enjoy being cooler/cold rather than hot so much more.

Good luck. With the right attitude, all things are fun.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'd rather go in late August (the later the better) than April Vacation. Vacation weeks are insane!!!!

 

[srauseo]

We are also pretty much stuck with summer as my sister is a teacher. We went mid-August 2014. We managed. We rope-dropped, took long midday breaks, and went back at night. We had a good touring plan and mostly avoided long lines and crowds. We had a great trip. Planning to go back with the whole family in August 2017.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

dh and I are talking about heading to wdw with the kids next year. It's been several years since we have been and things have changed.

We've always gone in October and loved it then, but kids are at an age where taking them out of school isn't an option. Thought about spring break (in April), but there is a chance we might need to drive which takes up lots of time which makes summer more ideal.

I'm wondering just how awful summer is with crowds and heat. We will also be staying off site for the first time (on points). Appreciate any advice. We would be looking at July or first part of August. Is either better? We are not used to waiting in lines really or dealing with extreme heat/humidity so I keep wondering if it's really worth it, as much as we want to get back.

Thanks!

The height of summer at WDW is the 95-degree perspiring pit of humidity hell and unhappiness. Unless you're from Florida. Then it's just July.

 

[Aurora0427]

We've been in June, July, and twice in August. It's frigging hot, and I'm from southeast Texas, which has a very similar climate. Bring lots of clothes- we typically change clothes once a day because it's just so disgusting. We are so spoiled after going last December when the highs were in the 50s. That was just incredible. We just returned from a 10 day trip, and the last week of October was pretty darn warm!

My strategy for summer is get there at rope drop, ride until you're done, go swim at the hotel, go out for dinner! I think touring in summer is more difficult with small children who can't stay out late, because you lose going back to the parks at night during the somewhat cooler temps at night.

 

[TedMosby]

Thanks all. I'm glad I asked but it is also making me think summer just isn't a great choice for us. Might have to figure out how we can make it happen over April vacation instead. Which I assume would be very crowded but not as hot.

April is honestly just as hot and the crowds during Spring Break will be even worse than a random week over the summer. Do what you think will be best for your family but unless you visit in very late Fall/Winter there's really no escaping the heat. I've lived in Florida my whole life and I still sometimes have a hard time believing how hot it is here in Spring/Fall.

 

[soniam]

I didn't think summer was that bad. We have been twice in summer and once during March. It's hot and humid, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. It actually didn't rain terribly. It would sometimes rain everyday for maybe 15-30 minutes. It did sprinkle and rain one whole day at Epcot. I wear sandals, and we just poncho up. The crowds thin when it rains. We also didn't have any lightening except that night at Epcot during closing. The monorail got shut down. It was a madhouse, but I spotted a town car driver loitering in the lot and had him drive us back. None of the rides ever shut down. We are from Texas, so take the weather judgement with a grain of salt. It was actually nicer than it as at home, more humid though.

There are crowds, but it wasn't quite as bad as mid-March (non-Easter week). We do rope drop and use the customized plans on Touring Plans.com. We don't always go back to the hotel to swim/nap in the afternoon. At MK and Epcot, we often are there from RD to the night show or close. An air-conditioned TS meal during the day helps. Definitely use your FP+ strategically and consider getting 4th+ FP+ later. I have noticed that summer is way cheaper than Spring Break. We were pricing out flights. Spring Break was going to be ~$600/person, and summer was ~$250. Hotels are also a bit cheaper. That may not be helpful, since you are staying with points and driving.

I look at it this way. Hot, humid, crowded (not park closure crowded though) Disney is better than no Disney. I don't think much could make me miserable there, unless I was sick or something.

 

[caroline1851]

DS and I went in June. It was HOT. The crowd calendar said 8. We got to parks 45 min before opening, had fp+ and a good plan and never waited more than 15 min. for anything. We went back to hotel mid day and stayed for 4 hours or so just to relax. Then headed back out at night. We met plenty of people without a plan and all they did was wait in hot, crowded lines. I have to say, in general, I never saw happy kids under the age of 5 much after 11am....

 

[mshanson3121]

dh and I are talking about heading to wdw with the kids next year. It's been several years since we have been and things have changed.

We've always gone in October and loved it then, but kids are at an age where taking them out of school isn't an option. Thought about spring break (in April), but there is a chance we might need to drive which takes up lots of time which makes summer more ideal.

I'm wondering just how awful summer is with crowds and heat. We will also be staying off site for the first time (on points). Appreciate any advice. We would be looking at July or first part of August. Is either better? We are not used to waiting in lines really or dealing with extreme heat/humidity so I keep wondering if it's really worth it, as much as we want to get back.

Thanks!

We went this year and were in parks from June 25 to July 3. My quick answer is - well, we're going back in 2017, so it wasn't that bad! The earlier you can go in the summer the better with regards to heat and humidity. My understanding is however that crowds will be better the later you go in August, because some schools start back earlier than others.

Now, for me - I honestly didn't find the heat/humidity as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It was typically 90-95F with about 50-60% humidity. Hot? Yes, definitely. But, completely manageable. Take Frogg Togg cooling towels, take breaks, drink lots of liquids, and take advantage of indoor, air-conditioned attractions, wear loose clothing (sundresses are much cooler than shorts!). Also, enjoy the pool! Honestly, the worst place for us for the heat was the World Showcase at Epcot, just because there's not as many options for shade/air conditioned sit down rides etc... So, next time around, we will wait and do the WS in the evening when the sun is lower in the sky. The temp may not change a whole lot, but there is a very noticeable difference in just not having the sun directly on top of you.

As for crowds, with two exceptions, again, I didn't find it that bad. To me, for the most part it wasn't anymore crowded than any other park or carnival I've been to, with regards to walking around. The exceptions to this are: the bottleneck area by Peter Pan's Flight and Small World at Magic Kingdom. That was jam packed, and there are some really clueless/rude people who choose to continue to stand around, gabbing with people, even though they realize they're blocking traffic. I did have visions of running a couple over with my stroller (lol). But really, once you get through there, meh, it really wasn't to bad, you could walk around with a stroller with ease. The other area was Animal Kingdom. AK by far felt the most crowded the entire time, I think just due to it's smaller size and the construction. Even still it wasn't that bad, until July 3rd. Now that day was pretty crowded. The bottleneck area there was up around DinoLand/Finding Nemo. That last day we did leave early, as between the heat, the crowds and the fact that it was our 10th day in Florida and we were just getting worn out, made it a bit rough. Hollywood Studios never felt crowded at all.

Now, walking though crowds is one thing, wait times are another. Rope Drop until about 11 in the morning was pretty good. For the first hour or so, even the big rides typically had less than a 30 minute wait and most of the smaller rides were under 10 minutes. That said, by about 11 or shortly after, the big rides, especially Splash, had wait times of 90 minutes posted. It was really a mix, at MK, after 11, things like Tea Cups, Carousel and Philharmagic (great place to cool off by the way), were still pretty much only a 10 minute wait. Speedway was 20-30. Little Mermaid was 45 minutes. Pooh was 45 minutes. Small World was an hour. Mine Train was 2 hours. So... get to the park early (I actually don't recommend RD, instead, try and get there a bit after 9:00 once the main rush has gone through, our best morning was probably the one when we got to the gates around 9:30) and you'll get quite a bit done. Take an early lunch around 11 or 11:30, before the crowds start swarming the restaurants, then use your FP+ in the afternoon. Go back to the hotel or house where you're staying for a swim/break, and head back to the park in the evening.

We LOVED evenings in the parks in June. The temps were beautiful, and the parks are beautiful at night. Next time around, we would actually probably focus more on visiting during the evenings at MK, than day time.

As far as staying off-site, not sure how far away you're staying, but we stayed in Glenbrook Resort, near Clermont. We were about a 20-25 minute drive away (depending on the park),and it was an easy, straight-forward drive. I thought I would find coming/going a bigger pain, but it wasn't too bad. Some days we just left for the day around 2:00, and a couple days we left around 1:00 and went back for the evenings around 4:00. It is amazing how much having even just a couple hours out of park to swim and lay down for a bit can really refresh you.

One thing we learned, is don't overdo it in the summer. We did four busy days in a row without taking a day off - never again. You get too worn out,and if you get tired early on in your trip, there's just no recovering from it. The heat, while not really so bothersome while you're in the park, does still take it's toll, when dealing with day after day of it. Also, don't plan on "half" days for rest. Trust me, you can "plan" all you want to be out of the park by 12:00, so you have the rest of the day to relax, but it will rarely happen that way, especially if traveling with kids, because things take longer than planned, there's always that "oh look!" to be explored etc... So suddenly your "half" day that you planned to have for resting, has turned into 6 hours in the park, plus your hour of getting back to your hotel etc... and would you look at that, it's now 4:00 already and you have to get ready for supper! So, PLAN for down days. If you guys are holding up better than expected - then pack up and head to the park, but when you're planning your trip, make sure you allow some rest days. We both said that the next time we go we'll do 2 days of parks, then a full day of rest.

 

[Mainemama]

We have gone mid July the last two summers, and loved it. We are from Maine, so Florida heat is definitely different (!!), but I actually love it. Pool time is important (and something we missed on our last winter trip when it was in the 30s). We tour early, and break for lunch. Because all indoor locations are air conditioned, I never really feel overheated. Maybe we have just gotten lucky with weather the last two years, but I would say, give it a try! Later park hours are awesome, too.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you can handle hot, humid, intense heat and crowds I'd say 'go for it!' I tell people to be prepared for melt-your-face-off heat.

In the past I would have said to all, 'give it a try.' Then we went with my teenage niece who warned us she cannot handle the heat. she was miserable the entire trip which in turn affected all of us. Our best day was when we offered her to option of going back to the room and we toured without her.

So, if you can handle hot, hot humid weather...enjoy. If that's not your preference I'd do what you can to find another time of year to go.

 

[hamilkm]

We went this past year mid-April and again the very first of September (over Labor Day.) I honestly thought it was hotter and more humid in April! This may have just been because the parks were more crowded though. It seems like anytime from April through October will be hot/humid! Just go with what works best in your schedule. We are headed back in April again (the end of the week after Easter) to get a visit in before our AP's expire! We are expecting crazy crowds so we are staying a night longer than normal and planning plenty of pool time for the heat!

 

[aretha30]

We go every August, usually within the first two weeks depending on DH's work schedule. I'm a teacher and our oldest is in middle school, pulling him out now isn't even an option at this point. We don't mind the heat and humidity. As others have said prepare for rain and take daily mid-day breaks. Make sure you stay hydrated, we drink nothing but water, we do bring some of those packets to flavor it for the kids but even they really just want water the majority of the time. All this helps with the heat.