Tell me about August at WDW...

[klwdisney]

I have friends that are looking into ideas for their 5th wedding anniversary and WDW is on the list. They'd be looking at going end of August/beginning of September. Like 8/31-9/06. What are the crowds like? The weather? Due to their jobs, they're very limited in what times of the year they can travel.

Thanks so much!

 

[cgcruz]

We went end of august last year. It was hot as can be! You definately need to take it easy. Go back in the afternoon to your hotel if are staying on Disney property. Crowds were pretty crowded, but i'm guessing that was because of the free dining offer.

 

[scouthawkk]

DH and I just did our 5th anniversary there this past August. We were there at the beginning of the month (first week to be exact). Had a wonderful time. It was hot, humid, and rained just about every afternoon. But that is Florida in the summer. As long as they don't feel like they have to do/experience EVERYTHING, they should be fine. Drink water, take breaks in AC or shaded areas, the normal stuff.

The crowds when we were there didn't seem too bad. And with FP, it was even better. Mid to end of August should be even lighter on the crowds, because the local school kids are either going back to school, or are getting ready to. Heat and humidity seem to be the biggest problems. But if you take your time, there really isn't much problem.

 

[crazelion]

Crowds at the end of August really light. The only time it crowd is labor day weekend.

 

[grimley1968]

We were there in August-Sept. of 2004. It was quite hot, but the crowds weren't too bad, as most kids were getting back in school by then. Our only problem was Hurricane Frances, which shut the parks down 2 days while we were there.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

We have been twice the first week of September. The crowds are light and the weather is warm and humid. It's a great time to visit. It does rain every afternoon but only for a short time. I would say as far as crowds go the first week of September is one of the best weeks of the year to visit.

Happy Planning!

 

[Fonzy13]

We went end of august last year. It was hot as can be! You definately need to take it easy. Go back in the afternoon to your hotel if are staying on Disney property. Crowds were pretty crowded, but i'm guessing that was because of the free dining offer.

Speaking as someone who LOVES the end of August, and throoughly enjoyed the free dining last year, I'm surprised you think this. The last week of August last year was DEAD. There was no one there. On the three days we went to MK, the longest wait we had was 15 minutes for Space Mountain, and that was in the middle of the day.

The the OP, if you plan on going at the end of August, and you do some research about which days are best, you will be thrilled with the crowd levels.

 

[nhpooh]

We were there in August-Sept. of 2004. It was quite hot, but the crowds weren't too bad, as most kids were getting back in school by then. Our only problem was Hurricane Frances, which shut the parks down 2 days while we were there.

We were there too, no problems with crowds. We have been this time of year in the past also. Still hot, but with going in and out of the a/c it was do able.

 

[magsmom]

I also love the end of August. Be aware of the fact that it's very hot, and there is the possibility of HURRICANES! Crowds the last week of August are light because the kids in FL are back in school. 2 of the 3 years there have been good offers like free dining or buy 4 get 7 packages. Also look into the specials at the Swan/Dolphin.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

We are planning on going next August 17-26. Hoping for low crowds. Know that Labor Day is September 3, so that weekend may be more crowded. But I am not sure.

 

[DebbieinWA]

We were also there the end of August/beginning of September 2004. I guess the crowds weren't too bad, but they were worse than they had been on our previous trips (in December 1996 & February 2000). The heat really got to us Western Washingtonians though. And we ended the trip being stuck in our room - Hurricane Frances hit. On a positive note, we celebrated our anniversary there (August 28th), and we were able to do the re-hitching ceremony (guess we lucked out - I hear they no longer do this). One cool thing - our travel agent made our ADR's, and she mentioned it was our anniversary, so we received a surprise dessert at the Princess Breakfast in Norway.

 

[eliza61]

We always go in August, this year it will be 8/23-9/01. We love it, yes it is hot but the parks are still open late (usually 9:00-10:00 PM) So we can go to the water parks or our resort pool during the heat of the day and still have 5-6 hours in the evening to do another park.
Crowds to us are much lighter than summer time, we've never waited longer than 25-30 mins for any ride.

8/23-9/01/06 Villas at Wilderness lodge

 

[magicmommy]

We love mid to late August. It is hot but the crowds are very manageable.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

We went end of august last year. It was hot as can be! You definately need to take it easy. Go back in the afternoon to your hotel if are staying on Disney property. Crowds were pretty crowded, but i'm guessing that was because of the free dining offer.

We were there at the same time and thought the parks were empty. We made sure to avoid EMH parks and the longest wait was ~15 minutes.

I follow the rule: Go to whatever park had a EMH the previous evening. Get there when it opens and walk on to EVERY ride.

Enjoy!

 

[Connor&Cody'sMom]

We are also going in late August, arriving the 28th and flying home the morning of September 4. I picked this week because my boys are older and I don't want to take them out of school. Almost all the other schools in my area start back the last week of August, but my kids don't start back until the day after Labor Day. I am hoping this week will not be as busy as the rest of the summer, because many kids will be back in school. I know it will be hot, and I am hoping there won't be any hurricanes!

 

[JVL1018]

We were there the last week of August into Sept last year-we left the Sunday of Labor Day..it was so quiet, except for Saturday of Labor Day weekend.
Like SO uncrowded, we walked on everything, never waited the entire week, I was shocked!

It was hot, but nothing too bad, the only time I felt reallyunbearably hot was sitting at the Lights Motors Action show.
It rained every day though, which didn't bother me, but might bother some.

Late August is Disney's best kept secret, IMO!

 

[FINFAN]

Still undecided/comitted to when in July/Aug to go...but DD brought up a point...back here in Chicago in August the bees are usually pretty aggressive, making the pools/parks some what unpleasant. How are they at WDW? We have been over July 4th before and again mid August, I remember rains, but not bee's very much...anyone else?


Pam

 

[Golliwobbler]

no bees...in fact ther eis a separate thread out there which talked about whether insect repellant is needed or not...I remarked how there is an amazing absence of bugs of any time, and this in the middle of hot , wet and humid Florida! Evidently Disney uses a lot of natural predators to fight bugs...

Back to August - here's to praying for another free dining offer. We went last August and that was AMAZING! Light crowds, big and tasty meals...aaahhhh it was heaven.

We are going again this Aug 19-25...hoping the Disney secret of light crowds is still true.

The heat is very manageable...also separate threads out there talking about strategies for doing that...