Last week of August? Weather? Crowds?

[Markonefive]

We have limited travel options with kids in high school and university. We've been to DL twice before (November, February) when the kids were younger. We find the last week of summer before the September long weekend has been pretty reasonable for crowds at WDW and other amusement parks in the US (like Hershey and Six Flags Great America). So what are the crowds like in late August at DL? And how hot can it get? What about the humidity? I'm really good at planning for use of Fast Passes and the Unofficial Guide references and tour plans. Have also stayed at the Howard Johnson in the past but would like to try a hotel a little closer to the main gate - suggestions?

 

[SMD]

The first thing to check is when do So Cal and So Cal Select AP blockouts end. Those days will be crowded. Also, the expo for the half marathon weekend starts on 8/31 with a 5K on 9/1. Race weekends are popular, and draws crowds. In general, Disneyland is always crowded lately. It can be over 100 in August, with high temps continuing through September and sometimes into October. You can easily see 20-30 degree differences in the high and low temps on any given day or between the high temps within the same week. It is not as humid as FL, but it has been increasing the last few years. If you've been before in November and February, August will like have more humidity than you've experienced at DLR before. However, for anyone who lives in a humid area, DLR will seem comparatively dry.

 

[dshimel]

Hot, crowded...

 

[Aladora]

We have limited travel options with kids in high school and university. We've been to DL twice before (November, February) when the kids were younger. We find the last week of summer before the September long weekend has been pretty reasonable for crowds at WDW and other amusement parks in the US (like Hershey and Six Flags Great America). So what are the crowds like in late August at DL? And how hot can it get? What about the humidity? I'm really good at planning for use of Fast Passes and the Unofficial Guide references and tour plans. Have also stayed at the Howard Johnson in the past but would like to try a hotel a little closer to the main gate - suggestions?

We've been down a few times at the very end of August and it is one of our favourite times to go. Hot but not humid, in fact the only time we have ever experienced a lot of humidity was this past September. It will be hot, high 30's to low 40's are not unexpected. (100+F)

Crowds are not too bad compared to say March break or the start of Hallowe'en, but I would plan to be gone before the Labour Day weekend. We typically go Sunday to Thursday and find the crowds to be high but not terribly.

For closer to the gate, I would look at Park Vue Inn or Desert Inn and Suites depending on whether you want a hot breakfast or just toast/bagels/pastries/cereal will do. Park Vue has a much better breakfast but Desert Inn has better prices and you can get larger suites.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

We went the second to last week in August 2015 and was pleasently surprised. It was hot (high 80s/90s all week, as we expected) but the crowds werent as bad as I expected. It was more crowded then any other times we had gone before (We had always gone offseason previously), but we visited the week after Thanksgiving this year and thought that was way more crowded then our August trip. And our August trip was during the 60th celebration!

I can't help with hotels, only offsite hotel we have stayed at is the Hilton and new Residence Inn. But from disboards I have heard very good things about Park Vue Inn. Also, Candy Cane Inn. I know its not right across the street, but it does have the private shuttle you can use if you dont feel like walking.

 

[Imdboss]

We went late Aug 2015 and it was HOT!!! No humidity (that we could tell), just plain hot. We did find the crowds to be quite manageable though compared to our annual Oct trip. If you can get to the park early then take an afternoon break during the peak heat it'll help.

 

[OneThree]

We went late Aug 2015 and it was HOT!!! No humidity (that we could tell), just plain hot. We did find the crowds to be quite manageable though compared to our annual Oct trip. If you can get to the park early then take an afternoon break during the peak heat it'll help.

Agreed on the heat. We went the last week of August in '16 and it was hot, low to mid 90s every day.

Crowds were not bad IMHO. We hit the parks at rope drop and stayed to mid afternoon each day.