Opinions wanted: July or August at wdw?

[CaliMouseVacationeer]

We're planning on using our DPs this summer, but haven't attempted WDW in summer. Which is better, mid-July or early August, considering weather, crowds, etc? Is there a difference? Thanks!

 

[Eddie]

We have done, early July, mid July, early August and late August. If you can swing it school wise late August is quieter in the parks. Lot of schools already in session so it dies down a bit. Mid July and early to mid Aug seemed to be pretty much the same.

It is going to be hot. When you wake up 75 and HUMID getting to a high of 92-95 some days the afternoon T-storm cool it down but also can turn up the humidity.

We found best way was to hit parks early for Exta Magic Hour. Head out about noon as it starts to get busy hit water park, resort pool or rest up.
Have dinner and then head back to park for night time fireworks. Sometimes we do a few rides at night but try to concentrate on that in mornings and just kind of relax and wander before firworks at night. If you have older kids you could as well do night time EMH.

Have fun.

 

[ebenmax]

I really can't tell you about August but we have done lots of July visits. HOT... HOT... HOT!! Did I mention that it is extremely HOT (and HUMID)?
We were actually married there on July 15, 2005!! However, not even the heat or crowds have taken away the fun of our Disney trips. We love every one of them!

But I will warn you - the thunderstorms are the most severe I have ever experienced and they happen virtually every day. They often don't last long but are quite powerful and rarely cool things down. If you have children who are frightened of storms, this could be a nightmare.

Also, if you are used to traveling in cooler, less crowded seasons, this time of year will bother you more than us. Almost all of our visits have been summer ones (teacher/school schedule) so we are somewhat used to it.

You just have to go with an open mind, lots of water bottles, plenty of sunscreen and plan your pace accordingly. I agree with the poster that you definitely need to take advantage of the extra early morning and or late evening hours. I would never be in a park mid-afternoon. Time for a swim or nap instead.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[goofeewanttobe]

Disney recognizes the "slow down" if you want to call it that by reducing the number of points required starting the 16th of August. As others have stated, by then, many southern schools are back in. As WDW gets international visitors as well, there really isn't a big slowdown.

 

[magicmommy]

Both are very hot but we found August to be much less crowded.

 

[AliC96]

We've done both, August is not quite as busy!!!

 

[CaliMouseVacationeer]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback. I'm starting to lean towards August. Is there much of a temperature difference, or is it just so hot it doesn't matter anymore?

 

[Disneypirate85]

We go every 4th of July and LOVE it! But we freeze during the winter here in good ole' Indiana so WE DO NOT gripe about the heat in July. We pace ourselves use EMH, and break from the parks during the hottest part for a cool swim or even nap. Storms in the afternoon, so that'll thin the crowds and the rookies will run to the bus's, we duck in some where till it blows over then come out to a MUCH less crowded Park.

 

[Muhlenberg]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback. I'm starting to lean towards August. Is there much of a temperature difference, or is it just so hot it doesn't matter anymore?

MAYBE a degree or two. The lower crowds make it "seem" less hot. Weather.com has a section on their website with averages....if you go to the "table display" you can get average temperatures for any date.

We've been there in August several times...the crowds are definitely lighter. Our most recent August trip was during Fay. Fay, Fay, it wouldn't go away, but it chased a LOT of the crowds away. The rain kept the temps lower...til the storm moved out and the 90 degrees came back.

 

[Cee]

My adult DD and I went for 5 days to SSR at the end of July 2008 and were very pleasantly surprised. We did not experience crowds or extremely high temps or severe storms. Just one and there was lots of wind and thunder and then it was over. Here's our secret: WE DIDN'T DO ANY PARKS! We toured resorts, swam in the pools, went to DTD, HDDR, had some nice dinners, went to a movie at the AMC theaters, you get the picture.
We were the only one on the buses and boats most of the time. It might have been a madhouse at the parks, but we were loving life!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Both times my parents took us as kids to WDW it was middle of August. It was hot, yes. It was humid, yes. But we enjoyed every moment of both trips! Even when we got caught in a HUGE thunderstorm on the second trip...we still laugh about that till this day!

DH and I prefer to vacation in July. We are teachers and do not like looking forward to the end of the summer, but rather go in the middle of July. Give us a couple of weeks to get ready for our trip, buy any last minute odds and ends, ease into the summer, and still have plenty of time off after the vacation before school starts again. Just the way we prefer it, whether the trip is to Disney or somewhere else.

I HIGHLY recommend getting to the parks well before they open. It is more crowded on an EMH morning, but we took advantage of 2 of those mornings back in July and we still did not wait on any long lines. If you do it right...and by that I mean get there early and wait in line for them to let you in rather than waiting in lines at rides later...then it will be very pleasant and you will see so much before lunch!

We got to the parks and waited in line for 30-45 minutes before they let us in before park opening...on about 75 degrees, better than waiting 45 minutes per ride in 90 degrees. We did a lot before lunch, and did not leave any park later than 2PM. The hottest point of the day is 2-3PM, so we made it our goal to be out of there by then. Most times it was by 1PM. Lunch at 11:30, then maybe an attraction or 2, then leave. And we saw and did everything on our list and then some! So it's not like we missed out. We took advantage of the fastpass, mainly for DH who loves thrill rides and those seem to be popular and there are few of them to begin with at WDW. But he got to go on all of the ones he wanted to and even some he did not think he would get to!

Sometimes we returned to a park for dinner, sometimes not. We did not do any nighttime entertainment because we felt it was more important to keep the kids close to their regular bedtime since we were getting to the parks so early in the morning. They were 3 and 1 when we went. And they were also very pleasant throughout the whole trip.

So I highly recommend getting there early...sticking to a somewhat similar schedule to what you have at home, especially if you have small children with you...and take a break in the afternoon! We just went back to the room in the afternoon, relaxed, napped, watched tv, whatever...in the air conditioning and then felt great!

 

[bookswin]

Plan on taking a swim and a nap in the afternoon when it's so hot.

Unless you've experienced it, you can hardly imagine the heat and humidity at the height of a Florida summer. My son almost passed out in mid-May waiting in a line and July/Aug is much worse. Europeans and Brits in particular often get tripped up by this.

Sometimes you walk out of your room in the morning and it feels like a punch in the face.

And if you get a rental car, make sure it doesn't have a black interior; we made that mistake once, but never again.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

When we go in summer, we are usually out of the parks by 1:00. For us, it's just too crowded and hot after that. For an experienced WDW-visitor, it's not a bad day at all. You get there for rope drop and get on most of the major attractions you want in the morning. Then you can head back to your resort for a relaxing afternoon. Sometime we go back in the evening - especially to an EMH park - but often we just decide to skip it.

PS - I hate to mention this, but while crowds get thinner and temps a bit cooler towards the end of the summer, the risk of hurricanes gets larger. The risk is still darn small, but if you want to consider every possibility, throw that in.