Need advice for August trip

[Canuck Girl]

We are planning our first trip to Disney Florida this year in Aug.2009-the last week. We are bound to Ontario school holidays as we are teachers.Just wanting some advice about how to structure our days as I know the weather will be hot.We are staying on-site at Disney. Also, I have heard it is hot and humid that last week of August, but my question about the humidity is this.....we live in Southern Ontario in the Niagara Peninsula and get hot humid weather in the summer.....is the humidity comparable or is it much worse in Disney? Any info would be appreciated.

 

[LSmith]

Sorry to say but the humidity is much worse in Disney. The first time we went in August we swore we would never go back in that month again. Well, we've been back in August and twice in September.

We are now kind of getting used to it. We go out early at park opening, do as many rides as possible and head back to to the resort by 1:00 pm. By this time we are zapped completely by the heat. Let the kids swim in the pool for most of the afternoon and then head back to the parks around 5:00 pm.

As soon as you go into the park, get someone from your group to grab fastpasses for a popular ride that you want to do later. The good thing is that many of the lines are inside (or mostly) so they are much cooler.

If you have young kids then rent or bring a stroller. Even if they are 4 or 5 I find that the heat and walking really will affect them and a stroller helps so much.

Pack tons of water.

PS If you go at the end of August then make sure you get the free dining package if it comes out as it historically does then.

 

[jj1403]

The free dining offer is usally release in early April, but book now and change your reservation later.

That being said it is extremely humid at Disney in August, but dont' let that change your plans. You can still have tons of fun in all that heat.

You just have to make sure that you take breaks and keep hydrated.

 

[Canuck Girl]

Our children are 11 and 13 yrs old so hopefully the humidity will be easier to take than if they were younger. Thanks for the info about the free dining....I will keep my eyes open. If we book now with the dining plan and then they come out with the free dining can that be applied to our booking, or do we have to cancel and rebook?

 

[silverstar]

we have reservations in late august also, we had a Pin code , if the free dining came out could we apply that as well?

 

[mom2faith]

Welcome to the DIS!!

We went Sept 1 to 12 last year and are heading back from Aug 29 to Sept 7 this year!!

So, where should I start with the tips. First of all we had a 3yo, so some of these you may need to alter, but here is our run down:

• Stay Onsite - which is what you are doing so you are already one step ahead. In the future we may venture offsite, but for now we like being right there. It is its own little city and everything you need is there. Where are you stay BTW? We are a ASMo, again. We really liked it and for the price you just cannot go wrong.
• Organize your room on day 1 - we were very prepared for this. I knew the room layout and what we needed to do to stay organized. Since we had a toddler and 12 days, I wanted to be sure that everything had its place right off the bat. We brought hangers (which we left) and a lot of ziploc bags. If you are staying at a Value resort, the rooms are not very big, but with careful organization they can work. First we unpacked everything. DH and DD each had a drawer for their clothes. For DD we had pre-selected outfits in ziploc bags (including underwear, etc). I would do this again as it made it easier in the mornings. So one drawer was for DH, one for DD, one for her toys (yes a toddler needs toys in Disney too), one for snacks, and one for purchases. I kept my things in my suitcase on the stand. My makeup went under the vanity on top of another suitcase. We also brought a pop up hamper and dirty clothes went in there right away so they did not get mixed up with clean ones until home time
• Have a plan, but also have a back up - there is so much to see and do!! It is very overwhelming. But also be prepared the you may not like or want to do some of the things you had planned. for example on Day 1 we were so unaccustomed to the humidity that we had to leave DHS before the parade and go cool off at the hotel. We never did make it to the Block Party Bash as a result but that is a priority for this trip. Also, we did not enjoy Epcot that much, so my plan to spend 2 days there was shot!! But we adapted.
• Plan for breaks - yes I know you are all adults and young adults, but plan to go back to the hotel for a swim or some airconditioning in the afternoons. We did this almost everyday. We got the Park Hopper option so we would do one park in the AM to early afternoon, come back to the hotel and then do another in the evening (usually MK as this was our favorite!!). We all needed this time away from it all.
• We rented a car and are doing so again. Yes Disney has buses, etc, but we really like the freedom of being able to come and go as we pleased. The roads in Disney are very easy to travel on (the rest of Buena Vista was a bit confusing). We also went to Target, Joanns, etc on some afternoons to do some shopping. We are renting again. National had a great deal for $113 for the 12 days for a compact, which worked for us. I booked the car in April and kept checking their site. I belive it was August when I got that deal, and just changed my booking.
• Book your ADRs a head of time!! I am so glad we did, and we also tried to book at non-peak times. We had breakfast at 8:00, lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 5:30 (or thereabouts). We used most of our TS's on Breakfast and then had counter service for lunch or dinner. We did have one lunch and 3 dinners. The portions are HUGE in the US, so we often shared 2 CS meals between the three of us. There was SO MUCH FOOD!!
• For Free Dining, we booked in March and the Free Dining was announced the beginning of April. It began April 10th, so we got on the phone first thing that morning and had our fingers crossed and we were able to add that to our booking. It saved us $945!! Well worth it!!

Here are our dining reviews (remember this is just my opinion):

• Cape May Cafe, Breakfast - OK, standard buffet breakfast with Minnie, Goofy and Dale
• Cinderella's Royal Table, Breakfast - YUMMY!! Awesome food, plate service but you can ask for more, busy and a bad organization, but eating at the castle was worth it for us.
• Coral Reef - OK. Nothing great, nothing bad. DD had the macaroni and we forgot that US mac and cheeze is made with butter, real cheeze and baked. She would have preferred Kraft Dinner - LOL.
• Tusker House, Breakfast - standard buffet breakfast with Donald, Goofy, Daisy, and Mickey. OK.
• Chef Mickey's, breakfast - standard buffet breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. VERY LOUD!! A must do, but we probably would not return.
• Tony's, dinner - we did not enjoy this one at all, the food was bland with limited choices, very poor service.
• Akershus, lunch - it is important to remember that this is Norwegian food for lunch and dinner, we enjoyed it, but I come from a Norwegian background.
• O'Hanas - DH's favorite!! We will be back! He could have stayed all night for the meat on a stick!! He loved it. This is a must do!! But beware, our ADR was for 5:00, we got there at 4:45 and sat down after 6:00pm. The earlier the better for this one.
• Crystal Palace, breakfast - standard buffet breakfast with Pooh, Piglet, Eyeore and Tigger. This one seemed more organized than the others, but it was very busy too. We really liked this one and will return.
• 1900 Park Fare, dinner - Our favorite!! With Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia, Drizella and Lady Tremaine - we loved it!! Great food and the characters were awesome!!
• Cosmic Rays - various counter service meals - big protions, awesome food, very organized
• All Star Movies Food Court - nothing wrong with this, we liked it and ate there often

A few other quick tips:

• Bring Ponchos Everyday - the rain come up on you quick!! But it does not seem to last long.
• Have lots of memory cards for your camera. I took over 4000 photos (I deleted alot, but not until I got home and got a good look at them).
• Wear comfy shoes - this is not a fashion show, this is a lot of walking in the heat!!
• Drink lots of water!!
• Use Photopass - you do not have to buy anything, but you may as well get the pictures taken. If you are considering a purchase, pre-purchase the CD for $99 and then if you hate all the pics you get your money back.

Have fun!!

Amy

 

[mom2faith]

we have reservations in late august also, we had a Pin code , if the free dining came out could we apply that as well?

No. Only one code per booking. Depending on where you are staying, the free dining can be a lot less than the 40% off (if you are at a Value Resort, I would switch for sure!!).

Amy

 

[jj1403]

You can book your package now with the dining and then when the "free dining offer comes out the can just change the reservation. It' s very easy I did that last year.

On a side note my kids are younger 2 & 5 and they handled the heat very well. If you feel a melt down coming on defintately take a break, early lunch or an ice cream break always helps!!

 

[Canuck Girl]

WOW! Thanks for all of the tips...they will be very helpful.
We are looking to stay at Pop Century....heard that the rooms are small, but that's OK, it sounds like with good planning you can survive! Any thoughts about what sections at POP?
I will definitely look for the free dining as it sounds like it will save you a bundle!

 

[Canuck Girl]

Sorry...forgot to ask something.....So if we book now with the dining package, when would it be adviseable to make reservations for the sit-down meals? And if Disney comes out with the free dining promo, would those reservations still be valid?

 

[jj1403]

Yes, you should still make your reservations in March (i believe is when your window will open). When you change your reservation to include the "free" dining, all they do is update it and include the code. You will not loose any dining ADR's that are attached to that reservation number.

 

[PrincessMom4]

Canuck Girl, we've gone the last two August's (2007&2008) and boy was the weather hot. I totally agree with the ponchos which came in handy when hurricane Gustav blew over Orlando. Last August (2008) we "encountered" about 4 hurricanes so it REALLY rained hard. We were very lucky to have just missed one major hurricane that closed the park for a bit. This year we've decided to go in March as we also have to think about school (we've got two in school and another going in September).

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

I believe you can only make dining reservations 90 days from the date of your arrival. If your trip is late August, then late May would be the earliest to make your ADR's

 

[Cdn Gal]

If you can at all afford it try and stay at a moderate resort. You'll have a great time, best of luck!

 

[jj1403]

I copied this from the disney website.

"Please make dining reservations up to 180 days in advance by calling (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463. Guests under 18 years of age must have a parent or guardian's permission to call"

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/benefits/disney-dining-plan/

If there is anywhere you have your heart set on eating (especialy Cinderella's Royal table) make those reservations as soon as you are able.

 

[caisland]

WOW! Thanks for all of the tips...they will be very helpful.
We are looking to stay at Pop Century....heard that the rooms are small, but that's OK, it sounds like with good planning you can survive! Any thoughts about what sections at POP?
I will definitely look for the free dining as it sounds like it will save you a bundle!

We stayed at PoP in Aug/09. We liked the 80's building (9000 range).

It was beside the Computer pool, close to our parked car and close to the main hall.

 

[Canuck Girl]

For those of you who have been in late August......how was the weather and what should we expect? Did any of the tropical storms interfere with your visit?

 

[pta-mom]

We were in Disney August last year & had a blast!! We booked the bounce back & will be there again for twelve days end of August this year too.

The weather was really hot but it never stopped us. We did do a couple of days at the water parks to cool off & relax. But most days we just did the parks from opening to closing with a nice TS meal at dinner time to sit & relax.

There was A LOT of rain!! But, we would throw our ponchos on & run for something that we could spend time in for awhile as the rain would pass. Most times it would last for only twenty minutes or so.

Drink lots of water, try to get out of the noon time sun, watch your temper!! But, you are there for fun & it is fun!!

 

[candielips]

I copied this from the disney website.

"Please make dining reservations up to 180 days in advance by calling (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463. Guests under 18 years of age must have a parent or guardian's permission to call"

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/benefits/disney-dining-plan/

If there is anywhere you have your heart set on eating (especialy Cinderella's Royal table) make those reservations as soon as you are able.

Disney must not have updated this. If you call the ADR phone # you cannot make your ADR's 180 days in advance anymore. 90 days is the new time frame. I wish it were still true as we are going in late Aug/Sept & were really looking fwd to making our ADR's in march before the free dining, but this is not the case anymore.

 

[dvcdisney]

This past August was our first August trip. We usually go in October and May. I was very leery since I cannot stand heat. We were there for the last two weeks of August. I was expecting it to be a little quiet since the Florida schools have already started. But, since we are DVC members, we didn't pay much attention to the Free Dining offers since we are not eligible.

It was busier than I expected and hotter. We did go to the parks in the morning and spend most of the afternoon in the pool (BCV - pool is great and can easily spend hours there). We then went back at night for dinner and a few more rides and fireworks. However, I didn't realize how hot it was going to be even at 10pm. We did have the Tropical Storm Faye (i think) during our visit and we had flooding at MK where we literally had to walk through the water which was up to our knees (good thing we didn't have the stroller then) and they had to stop the monorail a few times because of the weather, it took us 50 minutes to get to the Polynesian (Ohana dinner) from MK . But it did cool down some of the days.

My son is getting older so we decided that we should go during school breaks - March and summer breaks. That way, he will only miss one week of school in March, instead of 2weeks in October and 2 weeks in May. So we have to endure. We decided that the August trip is the trip where we do very little. We spend lots of time at the pool and resort and I go shopping.

Oh, and DRINK LOTS OF WATER!