Tell me about WDW in JULY??

[bwvBound]

We survived! Trip dates were 7/14-7/21. We moved more slowly than normal, started late each day (just because we were on the wrong timezone and not particularly eager to wake early), and enjoyed "shelter" with each thunderstorm. The heat/humidity wasn't as bad as we expected

My activity tracker says I walked 51 miles (very average for me) and climbed 169 flights (above average) during the week. My "active" calories was 961/day which is a bit lower than normal for me.

The crowds at MK were pretty high on the one day we visited; we did our "3 rides" plus Presidents and left for the day. We spent most of our time at AK, including the Moonlight Magic event but cancelled our FP+ for the final full day (Saturday) and enjoyed it as an "off day" before flying home Sunday. In all, the vacation was mostly leisurely, ran smoothly (we said it "flowed") and was blessed with pixie dust here and there.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[anonymousegirl]

Good to hear. I haven't been in July since 2008, but am heading there this Sunday for a week. Got my Frogg toggs, waterproof hiking sandals, and a new, supposedly "breathable" poncho. We'll see.

 

[brewcrew]

Have lived in Orlando for the last 20 years. Its hot from the June to September. My suggestions for Disney are:
1. Dont spend all day at the park. Go back to the resort to swim or to take a nap. Dont feel that you have to see everything.
2. Use fast passes so you get to see the rides you want without having to stand in line.
3. As for a cup of water/ice at the quick serve restaurants. They are free. (Dont buy the water bottles)
4. Go to one of the two Disney water parks.
5. Its cooler after the daily rain (rains between 3 and 6pm in general).
6. Haunted Mansion is great for cooling off the kids (it can be a little scary but when my kids were really young, the kids would fall asleep on the ride (cold and dark).

 

[bwvBound]

6. Haunted Mansion is great for cooling off the kids (it can be a little scary but when my kids were really young, the kids would fall asleep on the ride (cold and dark).

Maybe this explains why the lines for HM were so insane! Even the FP+ queue extended well beyond the Columbia House restaurant.

 

[keishashadow]

Just finished booking my 4th of July trip for next year. VWL & AKVJ-value studio (i’m Bruised from nailing that one down lol).

No mystery the weather will be hot & humid. I am predicting it will be even more crowded (in all the parks) with SW coming to town.

Last few years we went with starting the day at the pool, then segueing into the parks mid to late afternoons.

In 2020, especially if the extra early EMH hours are in play, will likely rope drop & tour until noonish. Then, hit the pool to rest, sneak in a quick nap & back to parks in the evenings for FW, dinner as the spirit moves us

Anything to stay out of the mid-day sun in the parks.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

You might want to include May in there for "hot" at Disney. Our May trip this year was our hottest trip ever. 12 days-no rain at all(which was not a good thing)- and most days were 97-99 degrees. It truly took the fun out of the trip I have to admit. Our trip last July (2018) was a breeze and lovely in comparison.

 

[bwvBound]

@ABE4DISNEY , I agree!

We visited in May a couple years back and I was swooning. I couldn't handle walking around the World Showcase at Epcot without sitting down and cooling off a couple times. I remember feeling quite weak and miserable.

In contrast, this past July was a piece of cake. I watched other people pouring sweat and running fans ... while I only felt the heat in the late afternoon just before the rain. I wore long sleeves all day at AK on 7/18 and was comfortable even though we had intended to return to the room just after lunch for a nap before the Moonlight Magic event. We blew through that plan and stayed till closing; powered up and motoring on.

So, was it really the weather or am I simply in better shape now than the trip in May? I suspect I'm in far better shape (thanks to my Apple Watch) and spending more time outdoors (thanks to moving my horses home last year). Very interesting to run the comparison.

 

[jerseyduke]

What did Jim Gaffigan say....Its like being in a DMV on the surface of the sun?

In all seriousness, I say more rope drops, then back to the resort for some pool time, then back to the parks at night.

I also take into account the lines as to whether or they are more indoors or out. It is amazing how long the line for Grand Fiesta boat tour can be on a hot day!

 

[bwvBound]

What did Jim Gaffigan say....Its like being in a DMV on the surface of the sun?

In all seriousness, I say more rope drops, then back to the resort for some pool time, then back to the parks at night.

I also take into account the lines as to whether or they are more indoors or out. It is amazing how long the line for Grand Fiesta boat tour can be on a hot day!

LOL. Rope Drop? We didn't leave the room until noon most days. Housekeeping pretty much gave up on us ... evidenced by never getting fresh towels mid-week. Oh, well.

We found that riding the buses was a "once per day" trip for us. If we left a park to return to the room we were done for the day. There was no going back to the parks ... the buses + security were simply too much of a chore.

 

[Dean Marino]

Deleted.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Hot as hell. We were just there right in the middle of July. Insanely hot. We almost died at HS. That park has zero shade.

Duh..just saw you already went!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Maybe this explains why the lines for HM were so insane! Even the FP+ queue extended well beyond the Columbia House restaurant.

We never made it on that ride on our trip (same week as yours). Crazy lines at HM.

 

[kniquy]

Good to hear. I haven't been in July since 2008, but am heading there this Sunday for a week. Got my Frogg toggs, waterproof hiking sandals, and a new, supposedly "breathable" poncho. We'll see.

I am guessing that your trip is over or (soon to be over) and I am curios to hear how your beat the weather gear was - waterproof hiking sandals, frogg toggs and the poncho. My plan is to not let the rain scare us out of the park and to actually use it to take advantage of shorter waits.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

One word HOT!!!

 

[Clarow]

Edit: sorry, I think I misread. I thought you were thinking about going next July but it seems not and I’m late to the party. Ignore me

So so sweaty. The heat is so intense and the humidity makes it nearly unbearable. You typically sweat to cool down, except the humidity there in the summer makes it impossible for your sweat to dry so it doesn’t actually cool you down. You just get even more hot and then even more sweaty and it’s a vicious cycle. Haha. We’ve done it, but it’s definitely not our first choice for a trip. I’d go out early in the morning and plan to go back to your hotel/pool by 12-1:00 or so. Stay there out of the heat until after dinner, maybe 6-7ish. It doesn’t cool down much, but the sun will go down which helps a little bit.

 

[bwvBound]

Hot as hell. We were just there right in the middle of July. Insanely hot. We almost died at HS. That park has zero shade.

Duh..just saw you already went!

Our HS day was one of our best days ever! We had a trio of great FP+ reservations that we'll not see again for a long time due to the new FP+ restrictions in that park: TSMM, RnRRC, TOT.

Slow start morning (again) and we stopped to watch the Star Wars stage show. By the time we reached TSMM, it was at the very tail end of the FP+ window. It is not my husband's favorite ride, he goes just for me. We play competitively ... and this ran like normal course: I was ahead until the final scene. He beat me again. I s'pose he either has greater arm strength reserve or simply paces himself better. We *loved* the new-to-us store along the exit path. I almost came home with a new Harvey bag (aliens) but we figured, "We'll be back. Maybe next time. Or maybe it will show up at the D23 Expo??" So the bag waits.

We found some serious pixie dust at RnRRC. My DH was wearing a new polo from Disneyland's SW:GE. As we were boarding the ride, a cast member got giddy over his shirt. She was so excited for the CM previews at DHS and wanted to know our thoughts on DL's land. (We love it, of course.) The conversation, as we were boarding, was cut short. To our great surprise, she met us on the other side (the ride exit) and ushered us through the door on the left to rejoin the ride queue in the "front seat" group. WOWZA! What a special surprise. We got extra special back-stage passes! We chatted some about the new land, her CM College program experience and nearing graduation. We thanked her for the special CM magic and enjoyed a ride repeat on a favorite roller coaster. YES!! How awesome is that!!

We had a gap in time before our last FP reservation and, yes, we were feeling the heat creeping upon us. We booked a "near term" lunch reservation at the Brown Derby, checked in early and were seated in minutes. YES! Another dose of magic. Enjoyed a perfect lunch in the air conditioning ... but skipped desert as our next attraction was ToT. LOL. Left the table just in time to reach ToT before that reservation window closed.

On exiting the ToT, we felt the heat and figured we'd pretty much "done the park" for now. All went so perfectly through the day we figured we stop on a high note rather than push through to exhaustion. We'll be back ... and hitting DHS pretty hard in Sept, right?

We returned to SSR, refreshed, ran some laundry and later took the boats to Disney Springs and Port Orleans Riverside for dinner. Port Orleans (both parts) are becoming a favorite place to explore. Next time, I hope to ride the horse carriage. Yes!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Our HS day was one of our best days ever! We had a trio of great FP+ reservations that we'll not see again for a long time due to the new FP+ restrictions in that park: TSMM, RnRRC, TOT.

Slow start morning (again) and we stopped to watch the Star Wars stage show. By the time we reached TSMM, it was at the very tail end of the FP+ window. It is not my husband's favorite ride, he goes just for me. We play competitively ... and this ran like normal course: I was ahead until the final scene. He beat me again. I s'pose he either has greater arm strength reserve or simply paces himself better. We *loved* the new-to-us store along the exit path. I almost came home with a new Harvey bag (aliens) but we figured, "We'll be back. Maybe next time. Or maybe it will show up at the D23 Expo??" So the bag waits.

We found some serious pixie dust at RnRRC. My DH was wearing a new polo from Disneyland's SW:GE. As we were boarding the ride, a cast member got giddy over his shirt. She was so excited for the CM previews at DHS and wanted to know our thoughts on DL's land. (We love it, of course.) The conversation, as we were boarding, was cut short. To our great surprise, she met us on the other side (the ride exit) and ushered us through the door on the left to rejoin the ride queue in the "front seat" group. WOWZA! What a special surprise. We got extra special back-stage passes! We chatted some about the new land, her CM College program experience and nearing graduation. We thanked her for the special CM magic and enjoyed a ride repeat on a favorite roller coaster. YES!! How awesome is that!!

We had a gap in time before our last FP reservation and, yes, we were feeling the heat creeping upon us. We booked a "near term" lunch reservation at the Brown Derby, checked in early and were seated in minutes. YES! Another dose of magic. Enjoyed a perfect lunch in the air conditioning ... but skipped desert as our next attraction was ToT. LOL. Left the table just in time to reach ToT before that reservation window closed.

On exiting the ToT, we felt the heat and figured we'd pretty much "done the park" for now. All went so perfectly through the day we figured we stop on a high note rather than push through to exhaustion. We'll be back ... and hitting DHS pretty hard in Sept, right?

We returned to SSR, refreshed, ran some laundry and later took the boats to Disney Springs and Port Orleans Riverside for dinner. Port Orleans (both parts) are becoming a favorite place to explore. Next time, I hope to ride the horse carriage. Yes!

Awesome day definitely!!! We are back in sept too! And we also LOVE port Orleans!