Mid-August weather/crowds?

[firstwdw]

Never have been to CA. What is mid-August like for weather? Is it has humid and rainy as FL? What are crowds like? Are schools starting back making the parks less busy similar to FL?

 

[Chelsea524]

We were there last August, 9-15. Crowd wise it was great, local schools started that week so crowds were really low, better than we’ve seen (pre-covid) in February when we usually go. The heat was awful though, we had to leave early one day because my son had heat exhaustion and was throwing up. We heard that a couple people had to be treated for heat stroke when we were there. But if you have plenty of water and fans it’s doable.

 

[midnight star]

August tends to be one of the hotter months for SoCal. It’s not humid, but more dry and maybe windy if the Santa Ana winds pick up. The trade off is decent crowds since school is back and it’s before Halloween.

 

[firstwdw]

We were there last August, 9-15. Crowd wise it was great, local schools started that week so crowds were really low, better than we’ve seen (pre-covid) in February when we usually go. The heat was awful though, we had to leave early one day because my son had heat exhaustion and was throwing up. We heard that a couple people had to be treated for heat stroke when we were there. But if you have plenty of water and fans it’s doable.

Thanks! I was hoping it was better than WDW in summer but sounds like it's still very hot and maybe that's not a great time to go. Although WDW is also really rainy in the summer. We usually do WDW end of April/beginning of May. Was hoping to squeeze in a CA trip this summer. Hard to miss school in high school and we live far from CA, on the opposite coast!

 

[xipotec]

Wait are you actually comparing Orlando im August to Anaheim?

Orlando medium temp is 91….most of the day.
Anaheim is 82.

Not to mention the incredible humidity and guaranteed storms daily at 5pm in Orlando.

I lived in FL many years and I can tell you the humidity just beofrw and after the summer storms is stifiling.

I cannot speak personally about Anaheim.
But just going by the raw data, its about 10 degrees cooler and much less humid.

 

[firstwdw]

Wait are you actually comparing Orlando im August to Anaheim?

Orlando medium temp is 91….most of the day.
Anaheim is 82.

Not to mention the incredible humidity and guaranteed storms daily at 5pm in Orlando.

I lived in FL many years and I can tell you the humidity just beofrw and after the summer storms is stifiling.

I cannot speak personally about Anaheim.
But just going by the raw data, its about 10 degrees cooler and much less humid.

I was interested in how the two compare, yes. I do think Anaheim in August would be more bearable but so many are saying it's HOT. We've been to WDW in May and I assume Anaheim in August would feel similar. Sounds like CA may be HOT but not as HOT/HUMID as WDW in August. Maybe it's worth looking into a CA trip...hmmmmm!!!!!!

 

[jason417]

I’ve been in the summer on 80-degree days and high 90s days. Either could happen in August and they feel very different. An 80 degree is fine for me. It can get a little toasty in the afternoon sun but otherwise it’s fine. The trade off is that the mornings and evenings feel nice. If I had a way of knowing in advance that it was going to be, say, 97 degrees, I wouldn’t even go. For me, that’s miserable a large enough chunk of the day that it’s not worth the cost to me. Maybe your heat tolerance is better than mine, but that’s the reason we don’t go in the summer anymore.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I would say crowds are generally not bad since most k-12 schools are back in session around that time.

The heat is complicated. It's not like FL at all. It generally doesn't rain in August (maybe once or twice but not really). It can be humid, but not like FL humidity. Typically, it's a more dry heat. We used to go in August when the kids were younger. One year it was 110 degrees. We survived on Dole whips and iced lemonades and took a break from 1PM-4PM. The concrete was still hot while we were sitting watching fireworks that night. Most the time isn't quite that bad though. Usually it's in the 90s during the day and probably the 70s at night.

 

[DisTXMom]

We’ve been in mid-late August and loved the weather at that time. When we go to Disneyland, we check the annual pass holders calendar to see if we can go when the larger categories are blocked. Double check this, but it looks like one tier of AP holders gets park access on 8/15 after being blocked all
Summer and another tier gets access on 8/22- that means on 8/15 and more significantly on 8/22, their will be a lot more passholders In the parks. The reason we avoid passholders as much as we can is that they have no problem popping into the park and waiting 4 hour for a parade spot or fireworks spot, or just coming for the night which makes nighttime touring and food more challenging, etc. we’ve found we’d rather compete with tourists than passholders while in the parks. Nothing against them- I’d do the same thing if I lived right there

 

[xipotec]

I have done a search of high temp history in Anaheim for the past ten years. The VAST majorities of days recorded a high of 82-85 with partly cloudy skies. There were a few years, where they hit 90’s and even one that hit over 100 for a day.
This was just for the first week of August.
Ill post a comparison for WDW soon.

 

[Steven G]

I’ve done both, and wdw is way worse. the only “nice” thing about florida is the rain that helps cool you down for a period.

yes, you can get unlucky in Anaheim with 100 degree plus weather, but it’s more likely to be in the high 80 to low 90 At worst, which just typically means it’s time to go back to the hotel, if you cant handle it.

 

[sweethannah]

I’ve done both, and wdw is way worse. the only “nice” thing about florida is the rain that helps cool you down for a period.

yes, you can get unlucky in Anaheim with 100 degree plus weather, but it’s more likely to be in the high 80 to low 90 At worst, which just typically means it’s time to go back to the hotel, if you cant handle it.

We've not been in August but the only time we experienced 100+ degree weather was in late September, early October when the Santa Ana winds can pick up.

 

[ktlm]

I was interested in how the two compare, yes. I do think Anaheim in August would be more bearable but so many are saying it's HOT. We've been to WDW in May and I assume Anaheim in August would feel similar. Sounds like CA may be HOT but not as HOT/HUMID as WDW in August. Maybe it's worth looking into a CA trip...hmmmmm!!!!!!

It is all relative depending on where you are from and what you consider hot. We haven't been to DLR in August, but we have been there in June and July many times. It is nothing like the summer heat and humidity of WDW-- not even close. We have been to WDW in May, June, and October, and I don't think the CA heat in July was anywhere near as significant as what we experienced at WDW in any of those months. We are from the mid-south. We have been at DLR when all the locals have been complaining about how miserably hot it was, and we thought it was beautiful weather and not overly hot at all--- not even close to the heat and humidity we have at home. At least in July it is generally very comfortable in the mornings and evenings, in the afternoon, it might get a little hot for a couple of hours, but typically nothing like what we have at home.

That said- we were in California in June 2021 (did not go to DLR) and they had a crazy heat wave where the temperatures were around 100 degrees- we had never experienced that in California before, and in fact we were unlucky enough that it was 100 degrees when we were at Yosemite, and then the heat wave ended and it was 60-65 degrees on our beach days in Santa Cruz. So, I guess you never know.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I’ve lived here all my life. I go to DL all summer including August. September and October can be hotter than August.

I went to DW in October one year and nearly died from the heat and humidity. The heat here is dry and it’s much easier to handle (for me at least!).

 

[disneycat321]

I lived in Orange County for several years and have visited WDW in June and July. Anaheim's summer heat does not begin to compare to WDW's. I cannot overstate this point enough. Even on the hottest days, DLR will be better than WDW's summer weather. Orlando's super high humidity makes it a whole other experience over there in the summer.

Yes, you can get 100+ in August in Anaheim, but it isn't an inevitable, and it still wouldn't be as bad as what we experienced in Orlando in June 2010, according to the heat index at the time.