Summer Crowds?

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

How bad is it really in July/Aug? I know about the heat I want to know about the crowds. I just want to be prepared. Part of our trip includes a cruise, and our kids want to be together in the kids club on the cruise so that means going when ds is 3 and dd is 4 (which gives us exactly a 3 week window in which to make our trip). We will be there for 5 days late July, then a 4 night cruise, then 4 more days at the parks. We are well versed in DisneyLAND so we are used to arriving early, taking a midday hotel break, and staying late. We are staying on site (WL and AKL). I will get PS as much as possible and we will do character meals for our character fix instead of relying on chance park encounters. But what should I expect? How long of a wait for say the Peter Pan ride (my kids absolute favorite). We are used to going to DL in the peak season and still not waiting more then 30 min ever (and even that long is rare) for rides just by again going early, avoiding midday and staying late and the other Disney tricks one learns (riding during parades, etc). Is this remotely possible at WDW during the summer? I'm starting to get worried reading my Unofficial guide and am considering moving my trip to spring when school is in session. But then I hesitate because ds will not be 3 and it will impact our cruise part of the trip. He will not like Flounder's Reef (he thinks hes a big kid and HATES going where the babies go, wants to go with the big kids), and dh and I are really looking forward to some alone time on the cruise. Flight costs obviously prohibit doing two separate trips. Opinions? Advice? HELP??

 

[mhingher]

I think you should prepare yourself to wait more than 30 minutes for most major attractions. Take advantage of fastpass, this will cut your wait time significantly. I think Peter Pan does have this option, otherwise it could easily be a long wait. Iv'e found that it's best to go to Fantas yland during parades. You definitely have the right idea, especially with kids- I wouldn't spend the entire day in the park, you need a break. Especially in July and August, it can be very hot. Drink lots of water and make sure your kids do the same. Do your kids like water parks? That's a great way to cool off. We went to Blizzard Beach for the first time this past summer and had a blast. My young niece and nephew (3 and 5 at the time) also had fun. I have been to WDW many times, mostly in the summer months and I prefer to go other times b/c of the crowds and heat. I don't have any children yet, so that's not a factor I have had to deal with yet!

Good luck with your planning!!
Melissa

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

We went in July. It was very hot! But if you can stand the heat I did not think that the crowds were too bad. Definately more crowded in July than it was when we went at any other time, but not horrible. We hit the parks early, took an afternoon break then went back later in the day. The only crowd "issue" we had was at the Magic Kingdom. Maybe I picked the worst days to go there? But we went on 2 different days and on both days it was crowded. We were able to ride most rides will minimal wait times or a Fast Pass. We never did get to the Peter Pan ride but I did walk by a few times and the wait was over an hour. But this was also later in the day. My biggest issue at MK was the lack of space to push our double stroller. I couldn't get anywhere. Everywhere I tried to go I was blocked by tons of people who were not moving. We just ended up spending more time at the other parks and Blizzard Beach.

I would say that if Peter Pan is a must ride arrive at Magic Kingdom early and ride that first. July/August is doable, just plan, plan, plan!

 

[wilderness01]

I would say that if Peter Pan is a must ride arrive at Magic Kingdom early and ride that first. July/August is doable, just plan, plan, plan!

I couldn't have said it better myself. One more thing, some of the ride times in the summer exceeded 100 minutes! You will be fine since you already know the tricks of going.

 

[noladave]

You look well prepared, so you should be ok. We last went in Summer 2003, stayed 8 days, 7 nights, and it was exhausting. We live in New Orleans, and thought that we would be ok with the heat, but it's just incredible. The one good thing, is that it rained almost every afternoon, and that helped.

Crowds are very large, and wait times for the popular rides were very long, with many over 60 minutes. FP is an absolute necessity. One of the gripes I had was that in many of the fast food type places, they didn't have enough tables for eveyone to sit, and the lines were long.

The nice part about summer is taking the afternoon break - hit the pool, or take a nap, and then hitting the parks until late into the night. The crowds definitely thin out during the parades - we hit Buzz Lightyear 3 times during the parade (my son couldn't get enough). On another night, we did a FP for Space Mountain, and happened to be right before the parade. We got out, and there wasn't a big crowd, and hit that 2 times in a row.

Lastly, if you wait until after the fireworks at MK, the busses were quite crowded, and if you stay at some place like All Star, you might have a good wait for a bus (although they roll in every 5 minutes, or so), with a good ride back to the resort. Most of the young kids fall asleep on the ride back.

We are definitely not going back during the summer. We are going back February 7 of this year, as the kids are out of school for Mardi Gras break. The parks aren't open as long, but we think that we will be able to get more done, in fewer hours.

Good luck with everything!

 

[happyatdisney]

Our first two trips were in the summer, and we just got back from the week after Christmas. We are used to dealing with crowds.

You will be fine. Go early, take advantage of any early morning hours, hit the things you HAVE to see first, eat lunch, and leave by noon if necessary. It will be too hot and crowded in the afternoon anyway. Refresh by the pool, take a nap if necessary, and go back in the evening when cooler.

We have never had problems doing any ride we wanted, with little or no wait, if we got there EARLY, planned what was important, and used FastPass wisely.

Have a great time!

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

Thanks so much. I feel much better. It gets overwhelming reading all the info about dealing with summer crowds. I've gotten similiar warnings about Disneyland and we've still had a fantastic time, but also then hear how WDW is so different from DL. I'll prep my kids for longer lines then Disneyland and bring extra treats (my trick for keeping them HAPPILY waiting is dropping little notes from a character and little candies for them to find as we are waiting in the line), and we won't bring the double stroller (we usually do two small singles at Disneyland), and I'll bring lots of water. My kids haven't been to a waterpark before but I do think they will love it. They both LOVE the tiny little kids waterslide at the Disneyland Hotel's Neverland pool. So we definitely plan on checking those out. Thanks for helping me not stress so much. Now if only someone could make my ticker reach zero a bit quicker.

 

[Selket]

We went in mid-Aug 2003 when my kids were 5 yrs old and 20 months old and crowds were still high and the waits could be long if you're not prepared. We also had much more rain than I would have thought possible which sacked the idea of going for a swim in the afternoon - usually the pools were closed with afternoon thunderstorms that lasted hours - sometimes into the night. It was exceptionally rainy that year but just keep in mind that you might have to reschedule on the fly if your kids want pool time! We ended up not doing parks some mornings and doing the pool instead.

I also highly recommend Tour Guide Mike (http://www.tourguidemike.com) - you have to pay to access the info there but it was MORE than worth it for our trip. He actually is in the park often taking his VIP tour guests so his advice is priceless in my opinion - i think it made the difference in our vacation during a busy time.

Have fun!

 

[daisylove]

Also, I do not think anyone said it but in the summer fastpasses have been known to run out before noon. In the afternoons Peter Pan and the mountains and pooh have gotten up to 90 -110 minutes. I do not want to scare you off because depending on timing you get spring break crowds in the spring. It is doable in July/August just plan and stay hydrated.

 

[dizprincess717]

This past summer, the end of June, was just what I expected - crowded. And hot, of course! The waits for Space Mountain were well over an hour, Rock N' Roller Coaster was an hour, etc... I think the wait for Peter Pan was around 45 minutes, when the park first opened! Definately do the FASTPASS, wait in a line, then go to the other attraction.

Like Selket said, there were thunderstorms when we were down, also. Almost every night, actually, so my sister and I would go on Pirates of the Caribbean, or go into some shops/eat dinner. SpectroMagic was cancelled one night we were there because of the storms.

The big tradeoff, however, is that the parks are open later. We wouldn't get back to our motorhome till 12am or later! We're young, 19 and 13, so we "don't believe in breaks" as my mom says and we love the hot weather. And the $2.50 bottles of water. But because you are going with your little ones definately plan on taking a break in the early-mid afternoon when the days are at the hottest temperatures, then venture back to the parks later when it's (somewhat) cooler.

I'm so excited that my next trip, and it will be my last one for years , will be in the beginning of March so it won't be as crowded but unfortunately it will be a bit cool at night. Either way, you'll have a wonderful trip I'm sure! How could you not? It's Disney World!