reconsidering planned June trip...

[Sher]

After reading all of these stories about the heat and crowds this month, I am beginning to reconsider my next trip that is planned for June 2006. I have a friend who was a first time visitor in June 2003 and she reported temps in the mid to upper 80's with just a short shower in the afternoon. My sister told me that the afternoon showers during her June trip cooled things off to the point that she wore jeans in the evenings. What I'm reading now sounds very different and even though we are WDW veterans, I'm hesitant to take the chance or ruining our string of near perfect Disney vacations. Another factor is that my DD will be a senior in high school that next year so this may be our last family trip to Walt Disney World. (sob!) That puts some more pressure on me to make the trip magical.

To put things in perspective, we have had 3 great trips the week before or after Easter and not minded the crowds, but then again we had perfect weather (82 and sunny with cool evenings) Maybe my patience and WDW knowledge will fail me if it's 102 in the shade. Can anyone reassure me or confirm that we should reconsider?

Thanks,

Sher

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We arrived on Wednesday, June 15 and left on Thursday, June 23. The weather wasn't bad. We had afternoon showers almost every day but they never lasted very long. It really did not cool things down. It just made the humidity worse, but it didn't slow anyone down. The crowds were big but manageable until Tuesday. From that point it was a complete mad house. We were barely able to get anything done without Fast Passes. We tried hopping but all the parks were pretty much the same. We tried the evening EMH at the Studios but only got to ride the TOT once with FP (they reopen the FP machines at EMH opening). The wait times for everything was nuts so we just went back to the hotel. Our driver back to the airport told us that the rest of the schools around the country closed so that was why the big crowds at the end. Lucky for us that our vacation was winding down at that point. If you must do June I say do it no later than the 15th. I can say we had a great time and rode and did everything we wanted. Our last two full days were the only times with the huge crowds at every park.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

We have only gone the first week of May in the past so I was a bit worried about the crowds and the heat. We avoided the afternoon heat by either spending it at the pool, the waterparks, or in and out of AC attractions. Honestly, it wasn't THAT bad. I expected worse. The rain really didn't affect us too much but it did rain every day.

As for the crowds, if your family is not an up-and-at-em kind of family that would be able to open the parks in the morning, then I would reconsider June. It was awfully crowded in the afternoons. The crowds didn't bother us too much, either, because I had carefully planned how to avoid them.

The first week of May is much nicer weather and less crowded so I would prefer it but now we have kiddies in school so we will have to go in the summer. It can still be magical - you just have more planning to do.

Jackie

 

[experiment626mom]

We were there last week. The crowds were manageable. As for the weather, they kept announcing that this was the wettest June they've had in the last 10 years. You're from Illinois for God sake, you know what it's like for it to be 90 degrees and 100% humidity. Go and enjoy, just don't forget your rain ponchos.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

We were there June 7-13 and I think the weather was great. Yes it rained alot but that kept the heat down and the crowds were thinned out. We only had 2 HOT days.

 

[SpecialK]

We were there June 6 -14 in 2004. It was VERY hot and we got a lot of rain. Problem was, that had been a very cool spring here so we went from 72 degrees to 95 degrees in a couple of hours. It was very hard on my kids who were 6 and 8 at the time. (Not to mention the fact that I overplanned the first day and caused my youngest to become ill with the heat - good mom award...) That said, we did early park mornings and had, overall, a good trip.

 

[DMRick]

I wonder sometimes if it depends on your age. When we were young (early - late 30's), June was fine..in fact so was July. The past two trips in June (mid 50's..that's the age, not the temperature) were brutal. Last year we decided that's it..we'll be going to the Adirondacks in NY from now on, that time of year. The humidity was a killer.

 

[RumpleMom]

I have nothing to add about the weather, but I have a teenager and a twenty-something who still want to go to WDW with the family. The college teenager is poor(works as much as possible, but still is poor from contributing to tuition) so a vacation paid for by Mom and Dad looks mighty good. Trust me, they will be with you at WDW for more trips. Go in June, relax, take it at a slower pace.

 

[luv2nascar]

we were there from 6/18 - 6/25 and it was hot but manageable. I am soooo glad we went regardless of the humidity. The clouds and rain were actually welcomed after the heat. I say a hot, humid, packed day in the parks is better than a day any where else.

Plan ahead if you. Go early, rest in the afternoons, or swim. head back for the evenings. MK was open till 11pm everynight we were there plus EMH till 1am. Use fastpass and quit when the heat gets to you. We are considering going back next June. Call us nuts but we love disney hot or not.

 

[Minnesota]

First of all, it may be you last family vacation, even if it is a little too hot or wet you'll still appreciate it since it has more significance to you.

second until my trip in 2003-2004 I had never been to WDW unless it was June July or August. Yes it is hot, about the same as the midwest in the summer. Yes it rains nearly every day, but I found it fun to paly in the rain, afterall Disney even puts up mist stations in the parks which are like artificial rain in the summer

Last, if you do go in June here are a few tips I learned. 1) ALWAYS carry a waterbottle with you, a small one is lightweight and can be refilled from any restroom or water fountian. 2) alternate "outdoor" rides with "indoor" rides with AC this keeps you from getting too hot. If in AK where there aren't too many AC rides, pop into a store for a while for a cool down 3) Bring hats and lots of sunscreen 4) Bring some juice for your water bottle, water sometimes gets old and juice breaks up the monotany. 5) plan your popular rides ahead of time so you aren't witing in a really hot line with no where to go for 2 hours.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
Minnesota

 

[Lorelai]

We always opt for a week or two after the Easter crowds have disappated. The weather is perfect and all of the spring breaks are over, for the most part. But with your daughter graduating, I'm sure she'll want to be present for the final weeks of her senior year. Those are days that she'll never get back. Maybe stick with the June plan this time, and go in May after her Freshman or Sophomore year in college. Mid May is great too!

 

[kbratich]

I just came back from WDW (we had a wedding to attend and decided to hit AK and MK for two days) and I can honestly say I will not go back ever again in June. The heat was crazy, it rained a good part of Monday and the crowds were out of control. Waits for most of the rides in MK were 90 minutes and higher. I've been to WDW 7 times and I find the best time to go is May and end of August, beg. of September. It's hard if you have kids, but I don't have kids so it's much easier for me to plan my trips around that. Good Luck!

 

[Ahrizel]

We've done June several times over the years. June is always hot and humid. It usually does rain some every day, but it does not appreciably cool it down. I've never worn pants in June, not even once. 82 with comfortable evenings doesn't happen in June. That doesn't mean it's bad, but it will be hotter, and much more humid then in spring. The crowds should be less then Easter time, especially in early June. I would second the other posters suggestion of going the first half of June. The heat, well, it's like some of the worst days of the summer at your house. Not necessarily the high temps so much as the humidity. You can have a great time in the summer, we have, but realize your going to be having fun in some serious heat and humidity.

 

[Uncleromulus]

June will almost ALWAYS be hot, humid, thunderstormy, and crowded. NO escaping that part of the equation.

 

[Leota]

I agree with the poster who said don't assume this is your last family vacation. MY DS is a senior this year & I assumed the same thing - when I said it to him, he looked at me like I was nuts. He absolutely plans more trips with us. It'll be awhile before he can afford his own trips.

As far as going in June - It will definately be hot & humid. I, personally, don't mind the heat & humidity. I find that I do WDW differently to meet the circumstances tho. If you are willing to do WDW in a way that makes sense in the heat & crowds (going early, long afternoon breaks by the pool & leisurely indoor lunches & naps - then back after the sun dies down a bit) you will still have a Magical time. If your personal touring style wouldn't fit well with that, then maybe you are better off re-scheduling to a time that suits your style better.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We have gone a few times in June. One year it was beautiful, very warm but not that humid and little rain. The next June we went it was sooooo hot and humid and rained our whole trip. You just cant tell what the weather will be like.

 

[laudan14]

Went in June for the first time. Crowds OK but weather spoilt it - too much rain. We had less rain the two time we went in August.

 

[cmm]

We were there June 7 - 13, too. I expected much larger crowds based on the info at touringplans.com, but I thought it was quite manageable, except that we happened to be at MK the one night they had EMH - it was awful in the evening and I will never do that again. I thought it was hot, but the clouds did come over quite often. Then again, I grew up in Houston, so nothing should feel too hot for me! The only time I was miserable was the day we went to AK. It rained right before lunch and cooled down, but then the humidity shot up - seemed like 100% to me. Then it rained again. We finally gave up at 3 pm and went back to the hotel because we were so miserable, but we had seen most of what we wanted to already. I don't think I would go later than the middle of the month. All the schools up here in the mid-atlantic and northeast get out in the middle of June. My daughter goes to a school than happened to get out on June 3, so we went as soon as we could after that.