Tell me about early August at WDW

[ewasilau]

Hi all!

Due to job constraints (I'm a nurse in a busy unit with limited summer vacation) and my kids' schedules, our only time for a WDW vacation in the near future would be very end of July/early August (sometime in the July 29 to August 8 window (not that whole time, but we may be able to pull off a 6 to 7-night trip). We love WDW, and so do our kids (will be 16, 14 and 12 by this summer), and our last visit was May 2018 for a few days, before Toy Story land opened. We've also been in January (when kids were little), and late August (before we had kids playing high school sports, which start early). While January had the least crowds, we were sometimes cold, and no pool time. Late August was pre-fast pass + and I was really good at using the old system.... It was hot but we got tons of FPs and so it was all doable. And we loved the waterparks.

So, what I'm curious about is others' experiences with very late July/early Aug and the crowds, FP+ availability, and general atmosphere, ie are the resorts crazy at that time? We know it will be hot. We would almost definitely get PH and add water parks. We would be trying to save money on resort/hotel, possibly using a split stay and partly being offsite, and/or cramming into a lower-priced on-site/good neighbor that fits 5 (like Dolphin, or POR - yes, tight fit but we don't hang in our room much at all). I've heard summer crowds aren't as bad as spring break/Christmas, and late Aug was certainly ok, but this is a few weeks earlier (and it's been 6 years since that summer trip).

Our only other possible option is election day weekend in November, when kids have a day off from school, but that would likely be only a 3-4 night trip. I'm leaning towards more time instead, but am curious to hear others' thoughts and also how you manage summer at WDW.

Thanks!!

 

[MassJester]

I have been a few times in August.

My experience can be boiled down to: hot, humid, and crowded.

November is MUCH nicer.

 

[CJGamer]

We did august in 2017. Early and Late are fine in the parks. It's hot by 10AM, but if you've already done a bunch- you can already slow it a bit, and use Air Conditioned experiences and Fastpasses to your advantage. Start with whatever opens early if you can. Get out by 11 for lunch- enjoy the pool and hit another park after dinner once you are hydrated.
On a waterpark day- I'd hit them at open until 2 or so, break to hotel to refresh- have dinner and be back in a park either for dinner or after- and enjoy as it gets cooler. We always go during the summer and have made it work.

 

[ewasilau]

Thank you for the thoughts so far. Yes, November would be cooler, but it would be a 4 day, 4 night trip max (arriving late on Oct. 30 and departing late in day on Nov. 2) and summer could be 7 days and 6 nights at minimum. I suppose that I'm leaning towards summer and am also worried about Halloween weekend crowds.

 

[M&E]

I vote for the longer trip in August, though I think it really depends on how your family handles the heat. We are going this August and have done so quite a few times, so we know we can do it. I have an Aunt who would be absolutely miserable in August. You might not be able to do more than you would during a 4 day trip during cooler months but I would always like to be at Disney longer. I've done a few 3-4 night trips and I always feel like I'm thinking about having to leave after the first day.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We have done late July/early August trip. It was super hot and humid.

We used the rope drop, back to the hotel and then out again after dark touring strategy. This worked best for us and kept us out of the hottest hours of the day.

Even with taking a mid day break/swim/nap and drinking tons of water, I still got some heat exhaustion. It took me out for a day.

It's hotter than you think, you need to drink more water than you think.

The later you go into August the better the crowds are and the less you see the big tour groups. Our trip in mid-July was fully of big tour groups, the end of July was much less.

 

[cbeeindisney]

My only time to go as a teacher, if I want a longer trip than spring break week or fall break week in November, is in the summer. Our prime time that we have been visiting is end of July into early August. While it is HOT, I feel like this deters some from going to the parks and crowds have not been crazy. Be smart about taking breaks, bringing water, fans, cooling towels, hats, cool clothing and you'll have a great time!

 

[VTHappyGirl]

We went last year Aug 14 - 18 and had always avoided summer trips before that. We were prepared for the heat and planned our days to start early, take a break mid-day/use the pool ~Noon and then back to the parks ~6pm.

The trip was MUCH more pleasant then I had expected. Not alot of crowds, drink lots of water, plan for the indoor/ac attractions, cooling towels and we stuck to our schedule being out the door early in the morning and it worked out really, really well.

Depending on your dates in November you might run into issues with early park closures for the Christmas Party. However, this year the Halloween party starts in August too so I would certainly check your dates. My family is now intentionally avoiding any trips during the party weeks due to the early park closures. Granted we have attended several Halloween and Christmas parties in the last ~5yrs but it is a major event we are now trying to avoid.

My vote would be to go more days in August.

 

[maryj11]

Like others said go early, stay out of the midday heat, and go in the evening . Warning about midday breaks the storms roll in around then and resorts close the pool if lightening is within 5 miles. If there is down pours that is a good time to be in the parks because a lot of people leave. So less crowds.

 

[Bama Mom]

My husband and I went this past August. We were there the 3rd through the 10th. Yes, it's hot. Yes, its doable. Some days we left the parks and sometimes we didn't. The only park that seemed crowded all day was Magic Kingdom, however I was constantly able to use the refresh method to snag a lot of fast passes throughout the day. that may have been easier for us though since it was just two of us. Of course HS was busy at rope drop but then crowds thinned after the initial rush to Toy Story Land. We were also able to grab some last minute dinner reservations because hubby would decide he wanted table service instead of the planned quick service. My advice would be to just remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day. We would just pop in a get a couple cups of ice water each time we passed a quick service place. You don't have to stand in the long lines just to get the free water. The only one we had that was nasty tasting was at Cosmic Rays at Mk. the rest all tasted fine.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

As others above me have already stated: Very very very HOT!!!

I've typically noticed my more recent early August trips to be not much different in terms of crowd levels from other summer months.

 

[Lumpy1106]

FIrst week in August is our usual trip. Yes it is hot. The FL local kids are either back in school are soon to be back in school, so the first weekend in Aug can be crowded as the locals are getting in that one-last-trip before school starts. For that reason we avoid the parks on the weekend, go M-F, get 60-day-out FP's and just expect to be hot. It's really not too bad if you have the right mindset. Definitely do RD, but don't count on water parks or pool time in the early PM as thunderstorms are the norm during that time - don't forget that includes things like TT.

 

[glocon]

That is exactly the time my son and I went the last two summers. It was very hot. It was very humid. It stormed every single afternoon. But we did fine. We did take mid-day breaks but couldn’t swim since it was storming. Every afternoon. But he went to the gym and I relaxed in the nice cool room. Re-energized myself. Kids could easily watch a movie or go to the game room if they can’t swim, or you can plan a sit down meal at your resort for that time, maybe even shower and change out of sweaty clothes before heading back out. I would still go for a longer time than a shorter time if I had a choice. The crowds weren’t too bad, got every FP we wanted at 60 days, even got same day fp’s for almost any ride. You’ll be fine!
I will say, and I never thought I would say it, but we wore ponchos

 

[Miffy]

I hate the heat but even I am voting for the longer trip because it's longer and it's WDW! Several other posters have left you excellent advice about how to schedule your days.

 

[Remy is Up]

As a resident AP, July- August tend to be the months we go the least but that is a personal preference. It is extremely hot and humid so if we do go, we make it a staycation weekend so we can go back to the resort Midday and take a break. The break is important. That time of year WDW is a RD morning/break/evening after dinner. Certainly doable if you plan the right way. November is one of our favorite times, but, Id likely for an out of state person do the longer trip and maximize time.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

We've gone early August multiple times and it's very doable. We start early, each bring our own bottle for ice water (which we fill in the food court on our way to the bus stop), cooling towels, and this year I brought a battery operated fan. We always take an early afternoon break to cool off and rest, and we stay until park closing. Our last trip didn't feel as hot as in the past, at least not to me. DD17 would disagree lol.
We've never had an issue getting all the FPs we want, or ADRs. We usually get more FPs after our initial 3 at every park. Last year we actually didn't see too many storms, but got rained on our entire AK day. The girls loved it because they rode EE multiple times with no wait at the end of the night. The were soaked to the bone, but they had an awesome time!

 

[jennyq87]

I went in August once -- and never again. The crowds were okay, but I could barely breathe in that heat and humidity. I can still feel my shorts stuck to the back of my legs with sweat. I'll take crowds and cooler weather over that heat ALL DAY. But that's really personal preference. If you're cool with the heat, I found August crowds to be very manageable.

Having said that, late November/early December is my FAVORITE time to go. Christmas decorations are up. Weather is (usually) warm during the day and cooler at night.

 

[beccasmom]

We normally schedule our summer visit for late August, as we have this year. Last summer we visited the first week of August and it was very crowded, most likely due to free dining being offered at that time. There don’t seem to be many truly slow periods at WDW these days, but summer is not quite as bad as it once was IMHO.

 

[KrazyKoala]

We went mid August 2018 and it was hot and humid but not unbearable by any means. We started early and did a lot at park opening. By lunch time we slowed down, did some shopping, had some lunch and just took it easy. We normally went back to the resort late afternoon for a rest or pool time and then back to the parks once it got dark. No one ever complained about the heat. Travel party was me, dh and kids 17 and 14.

 

[ewasilau]

Thank you all for the valuable insights. I think we are so much more likely to go this summer than for a long weekend over Halloween/Election day. We know we want a longer visit, even if it means some breaks due to heat. When we went in late August in 2014 we were glued to the weather apps on our phones, constantly checking radar before heading out to the water parks or anywhere. We managed well though, hitting each water park either right after a storm or when it looked like it might storm, but it didn't. We had some stormy weather, of course, but we've hit storms in May and January too.
I think FP+ will be invaluable, and I definitely want to stay somewhere on site or good neighbor so we have 60 day advance access. What is your FP+ strategy when planning an August trip? Early FPs so you can get more later, or, if you are leaving a park midday anyway, do you RD, ride what you can, then get FPs for a later time (ie, when you head back to the parks?)