Really, the truth, how bad is the summer?

[3kidz4dis]

I am not sure where to post this question, but we are trying plan a trip with our 3 college age kids before they go to back to school on August 20. We own DVC and I am seeing that there is availability in August in most resorts. We are from the northeast and understand heat and humidity but adding in the crowds, sounds a bit unpleasant. Is August any better with the crowds?? Also, DVC Hilton Head looks available and is an option. A totally different vacation but is this a better choice? Give me the honest lowdown on the summer. We only have been in May and November. Thanks!

 

[sponica]

I am not sure where to post this question, but we are trying plan a trip with our 3 college age kids before they go to back to school on August 20. We own DVC and I am seeing that there is availability in August in most resorts. We are from the northeast and understand heat and humidity but adding in the crowds, sounds a bit unpleasant. Is August any better with the crowds?? Also, DVC Hilton Head looks available and is an option. A totally different vacation but is this a better choice? Give me the honest lowdown on the summer. We only have been in May and November. Thanks!

I've gone in mid to late August and crowds aren't that bad. Once the southern tier starts going back to school the crowds drop. I've also gone to Florida that time of year when new england was as hot and humid...

 

[achang2001]

I am from central Texas and we just can’t do summer. We went the first week in June once and it was miserable. We were dripping with sweat before we reached the turnstiles. I just can’t handle people’s lack of respect for personal space and their sweat getting on me and in some cases, being in long lines with people who don’t wear deodorant. JMHO. Once and done for us.

 

[ArielSRL]

From what I have read, summer is on the downtrend. Not light crowds but certainly not like Christmas, and I have even heard parts of October can be as bad, if not worse, than summer. I'm in Atlanta and most schools here go back the first of August, so I think August gets less and less busy as you go along.

We get out before Memorial Day, which is earlier than a lot of school systems, so we go the first week of June and it isn't bad at all, in my opinion. It's hot but we are from the South, do rope drop and night touring and take midday breaks to get around that.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I haven't been in 16 years, so someone who's been there more recently please correct me if I'm wrong, but when I traveled to the World it was always in August right before I went back to school (college in the Northeast). While it was busy, I never really spent more than 20/30 minutes in a line. I did wisen after my first year down there and learned when to hit certain rides. I would take full advantage of the rope drop and hit the ride(s) I really wanted to do first, then go for the other rides. I should pause and say that I was a solo traveler, so I could go and hit want I want, when I wanted. I would also take advantage of the 3:00 pm parade. I would watch it in Frontier Land then hit the rides once the parade for my area was over. Otherwise you should be fine. Like others have said, that's when a lot of southern school open.

 

[anomamatt]

The weather is the only concern I have in the summer. The summer crowds are not bad anymore.

 

[disneyvoice]

We went this past summer in both June and July for the first time. While it is super hot and humid, we still had a great time. If you do some pre-planning it won't be too bad. It's rare to just be roaming around in the heat or standing out in the sun. We planned for indoor rides and shows during peak sun/heat and made sure we weren't walking long distances back and forth across the park. This worked well because we were rarely out in the heat for more than just a few minutes. Scheduling TS meals in air conditioning for lunch also helps. We also had days where we did rope drop and then headed a resort during peak sun/heat and enjoyed a few drinks at a bar or went back to our resort for awhile and then went back to the parks in the evening. We actually found the crowds in both June (right before the 4th of July) and July to be extremely manageable. Walked right onto FEA standby twice each trip in the middle of the afternoon with less than a 15 minute wait. The crowds the end of October were SO much worse than in June or July. We kept commenting to each other that we couldn't believe how light the crowds were because we had always assumed the crowds were crazy in the summer.

Honestly, I was one of those people who swore I would NEVER go to WDW in the summer. I was completely shocked by how "not terrible" it was. We are from Houston and when we get to our peak heat and humidity here I can't stand to even go outside. The heat and humidity at WDW seemed much less oppressive than it is in Houston. We did make sure we drank TONS of water and were very careful with how much alcohol we drank.

 

[Imamom2]

I'm from NJ and we have gone several times in August - really not bad at all. We stay at the Boardwalk and it is perfect. I would go in August over July but as others have said this year saw some changes and summer was lighter. Whenever you go it's Disney!! Have a great time

 

[scrapquitler]

By mid August, a lot of the southern states are already back in school, so the crowds will be less than in July, most likely. Here on the Dis last summer, reports were that crowds were actually fairly low in August, compared to prior years.

I'd probably be more concerned about hurricanes in Hilton Head in August than crowds at Disney.

 

[Smittolis]

We've been in Summer a few times, this past trip we went at the end of July for 2 weeks slap bang in the middle of the summer season. The crowds weren't too bad to be honest. The Weather didn't seem as hot as September when we usually go, but its generally hot there all the time from our perspective! haha...

I've been at all times of the year, hands down the busiest by a country mile was over the Christmas period. Summer will be busy, but as its the busy season they will be running on max as a result have more buses and the like to accommodate it.

From memory, the Florida schools usually go back the 2nd week of August around the 14th or 15th so that takes away some of the local crowd. There will be a lot of Europeans as they go back to school in september, but again, the crowds are not that excessive. Plan ahead with FP's and you will have lots of fun!

 

[Klayfish]

We are multiple time summer veterans, including '15, '16, '17 and again will be in '18. We're lucky enough to be able to stay a long time, usually over 2 weeks each summer. We LOVE summer. Crowds aren't as bad as they are at Thanksgiving...even 4th of July week isn't horrible.

Yes, it's hot and humid. But it's Florida in the summer, it's to be expected. Yes, there can be t-storms. Sometimes you'll go a week without a single one...sometimes you'll get one every day for a week. It usually doesn't last too long, they come and go. Managing heat is not too hard if you use common sense. Light clothing, stay hydrated, sunscreen, etc... A lot of people like mid-day breaks. They can be fun...go back to your hotel/condo and take a swim. But you don't "need" to do a break if you don't want. Just do the indoor a/c stuff during the heat of the mid-afternoon if you want to stay in the parks. The water parks are fantastic, I highly recommend them.

We've been to WDW during many parts of the year...Nov, Dec, Oct, Feb, but summer is far and away our favorite time.

 

[Eastern]

It is extremely hot and humid; I cannot deal with the heat. You start sweating the minute you leave your room and it does not stop until you get back, take a shower, and sit in the AC for about an hour. I've been end of May/early June and while it is very hot, the humidity is not as bad. My college age kids do not mind it. We went this past September and I could only do a few hours a day. I'd go back to the room early while they went to the parks.

I highly advise Poly CL so that you can relax in the lounge if you don't feel like going out. You can also watch fireworks in the AC, what's better than that? They also tend to have really good prices at Poly mid August to September from some TAs.

 

[Donalyn]

DH can't handle the heat/humidity so I haven't been in the summer for years (and it is nice where I live in the summer, so we tend to stay around there). Anyway, went once in the summer. I don't remember the crowds being bad (but it was a long time ago). But the heat and humidity was terrible. I can't imagine it now, with a few more pounds on me.

 

[jpeterson]

We were there last August and crowds were not bad at all. Yes, it was hot & humid, but we found a scheduled TS lunch really helped us out.

 

[danielocha30]

july is the worst, is crowded and very hot, and those two together make for shorts fuses and many meltdowns. June is less crowded same heat. Now August is crowded hot and WET. If is the only season you can go, don’t be discouraged, just make sure you plan accordingly, do prepare using the right clothes, drinking plenty of water and taking breaks inside the park (there are plenty of air conditioned rides or show that might not be appealing to you but are great for cool down) or plan to get back to your resort from 11am to 3pm (the hottest) And is the best if you do rope drop mornings are better to avoid the overheating, the crowds and the traditional afternoon thunderstorm.

 

[DanielNYC]

By mid August, a lot of the southern states are already back in school, so the crowds will be less than in July, most likely. Here on the Dis last summer, reports were that crowds were actually fairly low in August, compared to prior years.

Yup, and we were one of those families that experienced the low crowds this past August. My wife and I noticed that the overflow queue space at many (most?) of the rides was roped off and unused. Other than the usual suspects (7DMT, FoP) most rides were a breeze to ride either standby or as 4th, 5th, 6th fast passes. As to the heat, you'll get a lot of different opinions since this is so subjective, but it doesn't get to us. It's not like you're stranded in the Sahara. Most of the time, you're 20 feet away from air conditioning in the form of a restaurant, shop or attraction. We never do the midday break thing either. When we need a break we typically stop at a QS for an ice cream or something to drink and then it's back to the fun!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I'm from south Texas so I understand heat and humidity. We always said no way to summer, but ended up there around 4th of July the last two summers. With proper planning, it worked out OK. It's better if you can do rope-drop, both in terms of heat and crowds.

As far as the crowds go, it seems that's not as much of an issue anymore. There's not really a not crowded time, and when it is less crowded, there is less staff and shortened hours, so it feels just as crowded.

The heat is a really personal thing. We were pleasantly surprised and didn't feel like we were melting. But I have friends from the northeast who have been in early May and thought they were going to die. Early May is NOTHING compared to August in Orlando!

 

[Klayfish]

There's not really a not crowded time, and when it is less crowded, there is less staff and shortened hours, so it feels just as crowded.

That's definitely not our experience with summer. Sure, MK hours this past summer were a few hours shorter (usually at the end of the night), but it definitely didn't feel just as crowded. In fact, the past 2 summers especially have been quite light. We've walked around FutureWorld and AK at night and wondered if there was a fire drill that we didn't hear about. In HS, we walked up for Star Wars fireworks 5 minutes before they started and had a fantastic view...then literally walked right on TSMM. The only place consistently crowded is the hub in MK at fireworks.

 

[nacho113]

I am not sure where to post this question, but we are trying plan a trip with our 3 college age kids before they go to back to school on August 20. We own DVC and I am seeing that there is availability in August in most resorts. We are from the northeast and understand heat and humidity but adding in the crowds, sounds a bit unpleasant. Is August any better with the crowds?? Also, DVC Hilton Head looks available and is an option. A totally different vacation but is this a better choice? Give me the honest lowdown on the summer. We only have been in May and November. Thanks!

If you like 90+ degrees and near 100% humidity, then a summer visit is for you.
Crowds drop off considerably mid-August, but there is never a really quiet time in the World anymore.

Personally, we have sworn off the summer heat in Florida and opt for Feb, April or Nov.
I love the heat and the sunshine, but that humidity is killer.
Our last summer trip was July 2010 for the opening of Wizarding World of Harry Potter, long lines and way too much heat and humidity.
We waited until Nov 2014 to visit Diagon Alley (even though it opened in July)

 

[ktate82]

We went the last week of June/first week of July this last year. I was also one of those people who swore to never go in the summer, but we wanted to see the 4th of July fireworks. We figured it would be a one and done trip. We are going back this year as it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. We are there at open, ride and see what we want, then go back to spend the afternoon in the pool or a/c of the room before heading back to the park in the evenings. On July 3rd and 4th, we did spend the whole day in the parks and did like others. We planned a sit down lunch for about 1 to give us an hour in the a/c and planned for other inside activities during the hot part of the day. We brought extra water and made sure to drink even if we weren't thirsty.