Late August - Is it too hot or rainy?

[Sleuth]

We're going to POR August 28-September 3. We've already bought the airline tickets, so the dates are a done deal.

My question is for anyone that has been there during that general time. Is it too hot and rainy? My in-laws keep insisting we are going the wrong time, that it's hurricaine season, it will be too hot and our vacation will be ruined.

We went in mid May last year and it was still hot to me so I figured how bad can August be, right? It's Florida, it's gonna be hot. But the hurricaine thing is really bothering me... Maybe the in-laws are just jealous because we didn't invite them this time? I don't know. Any thoughts you have would help, I have been driving DH crazy with the hurricaine assumptions...

 

[Sammie]

I wish I could give you different answer but honesty is always best. Yes it will be rainy and it will be hotter than May and much more humid. And yes it is hurricane season.

Just go prepared and you will be fine. I would definitely have trip insurance, a good rain poncho and drink plenty of water each day and plan on breaks in the heat of the day.

Crowds should be down then, due to everyone being back in school.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Well lets see. August is typically the hottest month of the year and Yes it rains everyday but not for long and it dries up fast. I was there during Hurricane Jeanne last Sept and Disney was really good about it. I wouldn't worry. Chances of Hurricanes in Orlando are very slim. Last year was a freak of nature happening. Go have fun and don't forget your ponchos.

 

[Briarprincess]

We go every August, the last week, normally getting home on Sept. 1-3. It's always hot, but handleing it is easy: take breaks in the afternoon by shopping around the parks and if need be going back to rest, ALWAYS have a water bottle with you that has at least two swallows of water left because you'll end up needing it in the middle of a line and not have it, at the dollar store you can pick up some disposable ponchos that are perfect for the half hour rain storms that pop up every afternoon (that's when you break, lol) and there's some other simple ways to keep cool and dry.

As for hurricanes, it shouldn't be a huge deal since Disney is great about that stuff (we actually had EPCOT to ourselves our last day last trip since it was literally the day before the first one hit. Nothing like getting to see the Beavertails cart strapped to the ground!).

If you need to know anything else about a trip that week, let me know!

 

[Sleuth]

Thanks everyone for all of your help!

Briarprincess, did you find the crowds to be real heavy? Everything I have seen has shown the parks to be a "4" on a busy scale of "10" that week. Also, are there any special events going on that week? I haven't been able to find anything going on in August.

 

[Cass]

We usually go Aug 18th - sep 1st... it is nasty hot,

We do half days at the parks.. either get there first thing then be back at the hotel pool by 3pm or spend the morning at the pool and head to the parks at lunchtime.

It rains pretty well every afternoon for a short time, thunder, lightning and then it clears up real quick..

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Thanks everyone for all of your help!

Briarprincess, did you find the crowds to be real heavy? Everything I have seen has shown the parks to be a "4" on a busy scale of "10" that week. Also, are there any special events going on that week? I haven't been able to find anything going on in August.

I use to go this time of year back in 94 & 95 and it was pretty manageable but a little heavy. Lines are easily over 30 minutes. and PS are needed. As far of events its labor day weekend and that tends to be a crowded weekend.

 

[tlev]

We were there the second week of Sept. and it was really really hot. The parks were empty though so we just went early in the morning and could get a whole day's touring in by 1:00pm and then went back to the pool. There were a couple of nights even that got a bit rough, (we were dying at Fantasmic), and it did rain for 1/2 hour every day around 3:30pm that usually just made it steamier. I know this sounds bad but if you are prepared for it, it really is the best time to go. Zero crowds, it never rains for more than a 1/2 hour, just pray for no hurricanes!

 

[beccasmom]

The crowds are not bad at all during this time. It is very hot, but somehow we've managed to avoid major rainstorms - just thunderstorms brought on by the high humidity. We missed Hurricane Charlie by one day last summer - we left August 12 and it hit the area the next day. Yes, it is the season for hurricanes, but that season runs from June 1 through November 30 - a long time! You can't really plan for things like that. You will have a great time. Prepare for the things you know about and don't worry too much about the rest.

 

[maggie mfg]

We've gone the last two Augusts. August 2004 was dicey. We arrived right after one hurricame snd when we left another came a couple days later. We were very lucky. We did have more rain in 2003. It is hot! We did the parks in the morning and then went back to the pool in the afternoon. We found the crowds were very manageable both trips. Maggie

 

[gigi1313]

as you can see from my sig, we like late aug/early sept... yep, it's hot, but not (imo) unbearable, esp when the lines are so short you're rarely outside... try to stay in the shade or use a/c stores as hallways...

some years we have had those afternoon showers, last year i don't remember them (but do remember hurricane frances which closed the parks for two days)...

it's a great time of year w/minimal crowds... worth using a little extra anti-perspirant

 

[Mickey and Me]

We "use to" go at the end of Aug. every year. Yes it is hot, but the crowds are very manageable. Last year we were caught in "Frances"! Just the anticipation of the strom drove me to the brink of insanity! I will never go again that time of year.....of course we are going the end of June this year and depending on the crowds.......August may be an option again! Good Luck and have LOTS of fun!

 

[gigi1313]

mickey & me... sorry frances drove you to the brink... we were at pop century during it and found it to be fun and exciting and we were well cared for (plus we rec'd 2 uph's for the days the parks were closed which is what is convincing dh to go back this year!)... it was barely a glitch on our radar for the whole trip and the parks the day before and after were absolutely EMPTY! (it's very eerie walking thru epcot or mk and looking around and not seeing another person!) hope you have better luck next trip!

 

[nocnurse]

We were there in Aug. 3 years ago. No hurricanes but lots of sticky heat. It was manageable though. Disney does a great job of minimizing the baking sensation at MGM with shading, fans, misters etc. Too bad there wasn't more of this at MK. That was the one park that started feeling like the Bataan Death march to this northern girl. Too much paving, so the heat was beating at you from above and below. Those handheld misting fans you can pick up at the dollar store were a Godsend, and water, water, water. We had a freezer in our room, so I would freeze one or two of our water bottles the night before. It would be a little bit of heaven held against the back of your neck while frozen, and a welcome cold drink as it melted. A Siesta is necessary on those days you feel you could positively burst into flames. A nice dip in the pool, or a nap in a gloriously air conditioned room is all it takes to feel human again. So believe me, Disney in Aug. is fun, even if you're from a place that sometimes sees snow at the end of Aug.

 

[Briarprincess]

Briarprincess, did you find the crowds to be real heavy? Everything I have seen has shown the parks to be a "4" on a busy scale of "10" that week. Also, are there any special events going on that week? I haven't been able to find anything going on in August.

The crowds really aren't that bad in my opinion. In the past few years it seems they get a little smaller each year. If you know which park has the Morning EMH, avoid that park and try going to the one that had the EMH the day before (normally works out well). Fastpass what you can and do the other rides around it-- we normally FP ToT and jump on Rockin' Roller Coaster and do that twice before our FP time comes and do standby for ToT before even using our FP. It's surreal how much you can get done also if you ask the CM at the ride entrance if the time is close to being right. Most of the time they post a longer wait time than it really is.
Crowds really are not as bad as some would suggest. We had family in Disney on Labor Day last year and said they had to wait an hour and half for a bus TO a park from their hotel. But the week right before, when I normally go, we could be on a bus by ourselves depending on the hotel

 

[Selket]

We went the third week of August in 2003 and it was very VERY rainy - unusually rainy but it did affect swimming plans for the afternoon cause several times the pool was closed from afternoon until late evening - too late for little kids to go swimming. So we had to re-do our park plans and go swimming in the morning sometimes cause they HAD to do the pool!

Anyway - just be prepared for rain and storms in the afternoon. If swimming is a priority you might have to plan it for other times of the day!

 

[BAST]

We were at WDW from August 17 to 27th in 2004. We just missed Hurricane Charlie.

WDW was quite crowded - alot of British tourists (who were very friendly although my dd4 wondered why they talked so funny). The weather was hot but manageable. We had a few long stretches of rain (we got absolutely soaked going from Norway in EPCOT to the monorail) but we had a wonderful trip.

We will be going back in August 2005 (5th to 17th) so I can say that I think August is a good time to go.

 

[kelscross]

Two years in a row we went in Aug/Sept. 2003 was the last week of August. The crowds weren't bad but Labor Day weekend is the Tom Joyner's Family Reunion event, so they closed I think MGM early for that. It didn't affect the crowds much. It is very hot and humid and it did rain every day but not one day was a wash out.

2004 we went the first week of September and arrived the day before Frances. After the hurricane came and went it didn't rain the rest of the week. It was still hot, but the crowds were non existent. The weekend after Labor day is usually the Night of Joy so MK was closed early that whole weekend.

We'll probably be going back again this Aug/Sept. We tried the December and although it was very comfortable, the crowds were unbelieveable and we were disappointed with the weather.

Have fun!