More info needed on summer attendance

[A1A1]

I am planning a summer 2003 trip. Do you have any idea which parts of summer are busiest?

It would help to know which weeks in summer are the busiest. Currently, I have reserved July 11-19.

 

[eeyore0062]

The parks are opened longer to compensate for crowds in the summer, and if you stay on site, you can take advantage of EE mornings, and on other days, just be there when the gates open, because the crowds are much less dense in the first hour or 2--- a WDW vacation in the summer, Christmas and Spring Break is not the time to lounge in the bed in the morning... or plan elaborate early morning character breakfasts... the early bird most definitely gets the worm, in this case. Fastpasses are a great help, as well.

Usually mid June through mid July are relatively crowded, but it definitely depends on your opinion of crowded... if you are comparing it with the time between Thanksgiving and mid December, yes, it will be crowded.

We have found that by waiting until the 2nd week of August, we can avoid many crowds, but in return, we have rain.

I think you will be fine... personally, I am hoping that the attendance picks up by then, not to slight you, but attendance figures are down, so unless we want to see them start cutting things like they did after 9/11 we should all be hoping and praying for the same thing!

 

[A1A1]

Thanks for the info Eeyore. I am not one who likes to stand in a line for more than fifteen or twenty minutes under any circumstances, let alone in heat and crowds.

Yes, I too hope things pick up altogether. I may change my plans to go the second week of August. I was under the assumption that it was hotter in August than in July. Is that true?

 

[eeyore0062]

It depends, but usually July and August are the hottest months down there, so waiting likely won't hurt. The months are almost identical, weatherwise. When we were there this past August (2nd week), it was hot, but we had quite a bit of rain, making it tolerable... we just carried umbrellas and took many changes of socks and 2 pairs of shows so one pair could dry while we had the other pair on. Last August was the beginning of El Nino, so it was more rainy than usual, though.

Take advantage of early morning... no kidding... you will get so much done before it really gets hot. Run through the sidewalk fountains, that is why they are there... take, or buy a mister fan (my DD used this unmercifully on everyone...lol). Eat your big meals in the middle of the hot afternoon so you can cool off and rest at the same time--- that is a big lifesaver.

Here is a graph of weather patterns:



Orlando, Florida
Elevation: 118 feet Latitude: 28 33N Longitude: 081 20W




Average Temperature Years on Record: 26

YEAR-73 Jan.-61 Feb- 62 Mar.- 67 Apr. -72 May -78 Jun.-81 Jul.-83 Aug- 83 Sep. -81 Oct. -75 Nov. -67 Dec. -62



Average High Temperature Years on Record: 26

YEAR- 83 Jan.-72 Feb.-73 Mar.-77 Apr.-83 May-88 Jun.-91 Jul.-92 Aug- 92 Sep.- 89 Oct.- 84 Nov.- 77 Dec.- 73



Average Low Temperature Years on Record: 26

YEAR-- 62 Jan. - 50 Feb.-51 Mar.- 55 Apr.- 61 May-67 Jun.-71 Jul.-73 Aug.-73 Sep.- 72 Oct.- 66 Nov.- 56 Dec.-51

Average Precipitation Years on Record: 26

YEAR--50.6" Jan.--2.1 Feb. 3.1 Mar.-3.5 Apr.-2.6 May-3.6 Jun.- 6.5 Jul.- 8.1 Aug.-7.2 Sep.-6.8 Oct.-3.9 Nov.- 1.7 Dec.- 2.1

Here is a record of attendence, according to Disney--- we have found that after the 1st week of August attendance drops to a more moderate level-- we really didn't wait more than about 20 minutes for anything--- but we did take advantage of Fastpasses, quite a bit... esp on the eticket rides:


The Lowest Attendance --
January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February
The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving
The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December

More Moderate Attendance:
After Presidents' week in February through early March
Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend)
2nd week of August until Labor Day weekend
Columbus Day Weekend (October)
The first part of Thanksgiving week

Highest Attendance:
Presidents' week in February
Mid March through Late April ("Spring Break")
Memorial Day weekend
Mid June through 1st week of August
Labor Day Weekend
Thanksgiving Day and weekend
Christmas week through New Year's Day
A recent inquiry of Disney regarding which days to visit which parks had the following response:

"During regular attendance periods, our parks tend to be the busiest on the following days:

Magic Kingdom: Monday, Thursday, and Saturday

Epcot: Tuesday and Friday

Disney-MGM Studios: Sunday and Wednesday

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday"

Hope this helps!

 

[A1A1]

Thank you so much for the info. It appears that weather-wise it wouldn't matter, but the attendance will change during the second week of August. I might reconsider my current plans, and reschedule for August. I don't mind rain.

 

[magicplace4me]

Even better than the 2nd week of August would be the 3rd or 4th weeks! The southern and southwestern schools go back in early or mid august - depending on the district. But by the 3rd week they are all back in session. By the 4th week some of the northern schools are going back and all of the teachers have to be home!

I'm sure you'll have fun whenever you go!

 

[tjkraz]

My 2002 copy of the Unofficial Guide shows the attendance to be largely consistent through June, July and the first two weeks of August. In the second half of August, it drops off about 5-10%, and then plummets to 40% of summer levels in September.

Disney doesn't release the official figures, so take anything you hear with a grain of salt.

 

[drusba]

Worst crowd week of summer is one July 4 falls in as it is 30% to 40% larger than other summer weeks. Other weeks between mid-June and mid-August are very crowded but not undoable -- hour or longer lines for most popular rides but others can have fairly short lines early in the morning and late afternoon to evening. Last two weeks of August see crowds decrease quite a bit because so many schools in the US now go back in August. July, unlike June or August, does bring a large contingent of South American tour groups (it is their winter break) that often move about in large groups which can stack a line for a ride very quickly. An existing concern is Disney's reducing hours. They were reduced last year and reports indicate they will be this year. Problem that creates: the actual number of total guests is less than usual for that time of year but the park crowd can actually be much worse than usual as you get far larger crowds per hour.

As to weather, August is hotter than July which is hotter than June. But what does that mean? It means the usual day time temperature in June is 93, in July 94, and August 95; in other words there is no real difference. Through those months, the nights are also very warm and humid; you seldom if ever get any pleasant evening break from the heat as you can sweat just sitting still outside at midnight. The summer months also have quite a bit of rain (with June usually the highest), although it is very often just two or three 30 to 40 minute thunderstorms in the afternoon to evening.