Late June or mid-to-late August?

[leebee]

Arrgh, DD is in middle school, making it hard to travel during the off-season, as we usually do. Which is better crowd-wise, the last two weeks of June or the third week of August? When is the heat worst? We were in WDW 6/16-6/29 last year (2004) and I didn't think the crowds were horrible. Certainly not early-Jan uncrowded, but not as bad as I'd expected. Were you there then? How did the 2004 crowd compare with prior years at this time? When would you go...June or August?

 

[Bellefan66]

Hi,
Have you thought about Spring Break? I know at first the mere sound of it sends chills down your spine, but it's not as bad as you'd think. We did it in 2001 and we had a blast, almost NO waiting in lines, thanks Fast Pass. If you can't do that, I would reccomend June, as Aug. is just too hot for us. We saw lots of kids passing out, and just miserable. Will never do it again. Good luck to you.

 

[leebee]

Hi-
Spring break is out. The WDW trip is in conjunction with DD going to space camp at KSC...a big thing in our family, since DH and Grampa are both physicists. Ooooh, a little budding astrophysicist in the family, that kind of thing. Last year was fun, we did wed-sun afternoon in Orlando, then Sun-friday afternoon in Cocoa Beach (with DD at camp each day it was almost like a mini-honeymoon!), then fri afternoon-wed morning back in orlando (at POFQ, 1st time on-site). Anyhow, that's why I'm looking at June or August...thinking July would be suicidal!

 

[Bellefan66]

Space Camp?? Wow! How cool is that? Well, I'd go with June. My son went with his Grandfather in Aug. and they saw so many kids just miserable, not fun Really, June isn't too bad. July, and Aug I'm thinking is pure YUCK. The humidity is awful. We live in Eastern NC, and it's just miserable come those months. Good luck!

 

[cindyfan]

We are considering August also.....vs. 3rd week of June.
Last year....we went June 4th - 14th (last school day was 3rd)
But this year the last day of school is the 9th.
And with my work....we wouldn't be able to leave until 18th.

Then the weeks in August available are 14th - 26th.

It just gets harder the older they get!

Anyway, last year....it rained....and I mean POURED every single day we were there....
some days it was a quick 30 minutes then cleared up....but most days it somehow affected our schedule!
We still had a awesome time.....
But there were a few things we ended up not being able to do....like Fantasmic.

We can handle the heat....to us....95 is still the same in June as it is in August. They say the humidity is worse.....but with all the rain last year....the humidity was like 100% most days anyway!

I am thinking by the 3rd week of august the crowds have already started to thin out...a lot of schools start by by Aug 15 - 20th.

Space camp sounds really cool!!
My DD would love it too.

 

[ALostBoy]

Hi,

I think the third week in Aug. would be better
crowd wise. Alot of the schools in the southern
states will have already started school so that
alone will help cut down on some of the crowds.
Good luck.

 

[carone0318]

Crows wise, Aug would be better, but one thing to think about. You may have higher crowds in June, but you also get longer hours. The later in Aug you plan to go the shorter the hours. So, depending on the type of family you are, get up and go or sleep in and linger, that is also something to consider. And my last food for thought. How much time are you going to spend in MK. Honestly that is the only park that I even think about for crowds. Unless I was going to be in MK everyday, I wouldn't worry about crowds as much as what works best for my schedule. Just my $.02.

 

[goofy4tink]

We are going June 18-26 this year. We have been the third week in August the past two years. We were there August 13 last year. Due to the hurricane (Charley) it was incredibly hot and overwhelmingly humid. August '03 wasn't nearly as humid!! The crowds were supposed to be thinner but as it became easier for the people living in Orlando to get around, they flocked to the parks. And yes, that week-end (14-15) was the time the hours started getting shorter...mostly for MK. Epcot remains pretty much the same. MGM shortens up a bit, with fewer showings of Fantasmic.

So, while I know it will rain every day in June and the crowds will be on the larger side, I figure we most likely won't run into the hurricanes. And with the longer hours, we'll be able to swim mid-day and spend more time in the parks later in the day.