Summer?!

[StephMarye]

We’re AP’s who live in Miami. Needless to say, we go almost monthly.. (Except in the summer months.) I’m dying to go now or in August.. but can’t imagine the heat and crowds at Disney right now. Anyone that’s recently gone.. how was it? Crowds? Heat? Rain? ... but did you die?! Is it worth going now, or were you just absolutely miserable? TIA!

 

[Clare Voince]

The last time I went in summer was in 2003. I didn't anticipate how bad the heat would be and I decided to travel from BWI to MK by walking through Epcot to take the monorail. I had to stop at Innoventions because I began to feel very ill from the heat. I was lucky I stopped when I did, because I recovered in about 15 minutes, and avoided heat stroke.

I'm going in late summer this year, and I plan on getting a few hours in the parks in the mornings, and will leave around noon, then go back in the evening. Luckily the late hours of the summer helps this strategy. Plan plenty of rest periods and drink plenty of fluids if you go. A hot, humid day in Disney is better than any day outside of Disney, IMHO.

 

[StephMarye]

Aw! Love this. That’s so very true.. I honestly need a good dose of Disney.. so that last sentence is the absolute best. TY!

 

[KingCrusher]

If you're going in August, how about late August?

 

[Shanti]

We’re AP’s who live in Miami. Needless to say, we go almost monthly.. (Except in the summer months.) I’m dying to go now or in August.. but can’t imagine the heat and crowds at Disney right now. Anyone that’s recently gone.. how was it? Crowds? Heat? Rain? ... but did you die?! Is it worth going now, or were you just absolutely miserable? TIA!

We've been twice during the summer and loved it. We're going back this August. We don't tour all day through the hot afternoons: we take midday breaks to swim at the resorts & rest. And we prepare for the hot & wet weather. Come prepared & you can have a blast in summertime.

 

[randumb0]

If you live in Miami then you're used to the heat. If I were you I would just wait until September as the rainy season will start to slow down

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

We have done many mid to late August trips over the years. It's terribly hot and you have to be smart about it. Use sunscreen, stay hydrated and know the limit of your most tired family member. Have the good sense to call it a day if someone is parched and becoming irritable. Plan to enjoy your resort pool at least a few hours every day, especially if you have kids.

We try to avoid park touring between 1-4pm during August unless we can be in an air conditioned TS during that time frame. We prefer a pool break, but if we opt to have a TS for our mid afternoon break, we take our time dining & drink lots of water or iced tea with our meal.

And if we opt for a 1-4pm TS, then either the morning or evening is at the pool. Swimming is delightful in August!

 

[rentayenta]

My friend just got back after a two week visit and said the weather was miserable; painfully muggy, hot, and daily rain storms. But she also went with kids. Littlier kids. Pool closed daily. She had fun but said the weather dampened the fun.

Having said that we are going in about 3 weeks. We are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and wanted to be there on the actual day. We can’t wait!

 

[AngiTN]

We’re AP’s who live in Miami. Needless to say, we go almost monthly.. (Except in the summer months.) I’m dying to go now or in August.. but can’t imagine the heat and crowds at Disney right now. Anyone that’s recently gone.. how was it? Crowds? Heat? Rain? ... but did you die?! Is it worth going now, or were you just absolutely miserable? TIA!

We just got back last Saturday. Yes. We died. My ghost is answering
We live in Tennessee. Hot and humid is normal
It rained every day
We were far from miserable
At least not enough that it's stopping is from planning another trip for labor day

 

[Klayfish]

You're in Miami and you're worried about the heat at WDW? Isn't that like someone from Buffalo worried to travel to Chicago in winter because it's cold??

We've been to WDW the past 4 consecutive summers, just got back 10 days ago. We love it. Sure, it's hot...but with a little common sense it's easy to manage. If you're in the parks mid-day, don't ride Tomorrowland Speedway. Do Philharmagic instead. Stuff like that.

As for crowds, actually summer has been on the lighter side for crowds the past several years. This summer seemed busier than in '16 and '17, but still not "busy" by WDW standards. There is no slow season at WDW as you know, but summer may be the slowest of the busy.

EDIT: As for the rain, it's very hit or miss. Out of the 16 park days we had this summer, we had afternoon t-storms 8 or 9 days...so about 50%. Last summer, we had 2 out of 16 days. The summer before was pretty dry too. You never know.

 

[Aliceacc]

I'm a teacher married to a teacher with 3 students as kids. We ONLY go over the summer.

It's do-able and delightful. A week from right now we'll be at Hollywood Studios.

 

[disny_luvr]

We just got back a little over two weeks ago and thought the weather, heat, and crowds were very manageable. Sure, it was hot, but we took midday breaks to swim/rest and if we were in the parks, we’d visit indoor attractions with air conditioning during the hottest times. It rained almost everyday, but it didn’t dampen the trip. The pools closed, but only one day were they closed long enough that we couldn’t swim. We actually appreciated the rains because it cooled things down. We enjoy visiting Disney in the summer. In fact, it is our favorite time to visit.

 

[DisDreaming4116]

I'm just watching to see if anyone else died and is responding via Heaven Wi-Fi.

 

[J3nn78]

Here now and not dead.
Sure, it’s hot and crowded but easily able to manage both.
We rope drop.
Take mid day breaks
Drink lots of water
Come back in evening or spend evenings at water parks.
Rain never lasts too long.

I prefer Disney at cooler times, but it still beats being home. We are also AP so that helps with not feeling like we need to do it all.

 

[sweetnjmom]

We have done many mid to late August trips over the years. It's terribly hot and you have to be smart about it. Use sunscreen, stay hydrated and know the limit of your most tired family member. Have the good sense to call it a day if someone is parched and becoming irritable. Plan to enjoy your resort pool at least a few hours every day, especially if you have kids.

We try to avoid park touring between 1-4pm during August unless we can be in an air conditioned TS during that time frame. We prefer a pool break, but if we opt to have a TS for our mid afternoon break, we take our time dining & drink lots of water or iced tea with our meal.

And if we opt for a 1-4pm TS, then either the morning or evening is at the pool. Swimming is delightful in August!

Thanks for sharing your strategy. This is our plan (we'll be there the last week of August). I think the only day we have anything planned in the afternoon is our HS day (doing the Star Wars tour and have a Slinky Dog FP+ at 1:40). We may go back to the resort to rest after our FP and head back a few hours later to make a FP (Tower of Terror 4:30-5:30). We know it's a lot of potential travel time, but it may be worth it for a break.

 

[CrazyHare]

We went last week. 2 moms and our 5 year olds. We drank lots of water. I took advantage of the free ice water from the restaurants to lighten my load. We also did lots of the shows and indoor stuff between the outdoor rides.

I’ll be honest, Animal Kingdom was brutal, but we made it. The heat always gets me there.

Be prepared for rain. We lost our car in the parking lot during a down pour and we survived.

I’m talking my husband into going back in Aug. our passes expire the end of Aug and i’s like Another trip.

 

[WrongLeverrrr]

Hello fellow Miamian! WDW in summer is very similar to Miami in the summer. Hot, humid (though maybe not as humid as here), rainy, sometimes miserable, but nothing you've never seen before. I did a long weekend there a couple weeks ago and the weather was about what I expected. Just be sure to hydrate, bring sunscreen, and take a/c breaks in various shops or indoor rides (which thankfully are plentiful). Don't forget to hydrate! My first afternoon at AK I overdid it a bit and had to quickly run to a counter-service for ice water before things got scary. Did I mention hydrating is important?

 

[FastPasser.]

Not me, I would never go to WDW for multiple days as a guest during the summer, but I'm very flexible on when I can go.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Went in June but have been in July, August and September. Every trip has been a great trip whether there has been heat and crowds or not. Take midday breaks, hit some air conditioned attractions, etc. I won't tell you to drink water because I never have (except after a race.) As has been mentioned, a hot humid day at WDW is WAY better than a hot humid day in Georgia.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

9th August trip coming up in a few weeks. Having 3 teens, we don't wake up to rope drop anything. We are usually in the parks for the hottest time of the day. We get FP+ for long-wait rides & get more FP after. Lots of sunscreen & free cups of ice water. Eat lunch indoors. Wear sandals & carry small umbrellas in a backpack. Bring baby wipes to cool off. Works for us.