Water Park Logistics In August

[SamanthaH]

I am in the process of planning a mid August 2019 trip. We always squeeze in a TL and BB visit, but we have never been to Disney water parks in the summer. We have done the water parks in December, May, and October. We practically had TL to ourselves in December, and for the May and October trips, we arrived at opening and hit the big slides first and then enjoyed the smaller slides and lazy river when the parks started to get crowded. We’ve always had a great time. Is the strategy the same during the summer? Is there a compelling reason to avoid Saturdays and Sundays, or will there not be an appreciable difference in crowds. What about large tour groups? Is there a particular day of the week they frequent the water parks? For example, I currently have BB on a Sunday morning at opening. Should I switch to Monday? Or am I starting to get wonky and way overthink the trip? Probably the latter.... Final question... is it busier from 5-8pm or 10-1pm over the summer? Thanks for reading.

 

[jerseygal]

Following, we will be vacationing end of August, doing one day either TL or BB weekday, Non Friday, and one weekday, non Friday at Volcano Bay. We typically don't vacation in August, haven't in years since our adult sons were in school, but this is our youngest son's "last official" vaca before moving out and starting a permanent position after receiving his Masters in August.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I would say to stick with your plan. I would def get to the water parks about 20 minutes before opening so you can get a good stop and everything. TL seems to absorb crowds quite a bit better. I have only ever gone in the morning, and by 1 it starts to fill up.

 

[GillianP1301]

Arriving early is definitely a good strategy in August, not only to get yourselves settled in and on the big slides before it gets too crowded, but also to avoid the inevitable afternoon storm that blows through most summer days.

 

[caylene44]

We usually travel late August and start every day at a water park. If you get there right at opening, the crowds are not that bad (nowhere near RD crowds at the parks). We usually head for whatever slides we want to ride and then enjoy the lazy river and/or wave pool as it starts to get more crowded.

Then, we go back to the resort for a nap before hitting the parks at night once it's cooler/less crowded

 

[Klayfish]

Or am I starting to get wonky and way overthink the trip? Probably the latter.... Final question... is it busier from 5-8pm or 10-1pm over the summer? Thanks for reading.

Yes, you're overthinking it. The same plans will apply for summer. Show up at 9:55am for a 10:00am opening, hit the big slides, then do the small ones. Crowds are a bit bigger on weekends, but still not a big deal. Tour groups come and go on different days, no way to know if Tuesday is better than Monday.

 

[SamanthaH]

Thanks to everyone that replied for all the helpful info/ tips. I had forgotten about the afternoon pop up thunderstorms, so thank you for reminding me of those. We are originally from Houston, but have been living in the dry climate of Colorado for the past 4 years, so I forgot about these. I think we will stick to our plan of arriving prior to opening and not obsessing over the best day of the week. I had a feeling I was getting a little nutty on the planning.@jerseygal... Congrats on your youngest son finishing his masters. We will be there in August celebrating our oldest graduating high school and starting college in the fall. I’m so happy my teen boys still love Disney!

 

[jerseygal]

@SamanthaH..Thanks, very excited! Really looking forward to this fun trip!Congrats on your eldest HS graduation! So exciting on the next phase, enjoy the college experience!

 

[twodogs]

I agree with the PPs. Morning helps avoid storms in the afternoon, which will close the slides and pools sometimes for several hours if there is lightening anywhere in a several mile radius of TL. I don’t think weekends are much more crowded than weekdays, so go whenever it works with the rest of your touring plan. Have fun!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

No matter the time of year, arriving before RD at the water parks is always our strategy. I actually had a very similar question regarding weekdays vs. weekends in the summer. We did a Saturday at TL in August last summer and it was far more crowded than I had hoped. We are going to try a weekday this July to see if it's any better. If you have any flexibility, I found going right after a storm can be a good strategy as well. We went to Volcano Bay after a torrential downpour last August and it was EMPTY. Went back the next morning and the crowds were enormous. Funny story - we were just at BB on Sunday during my son's spring break. The theme parks were super crowded and so I was expecting BB to be crowded as well. My DH had never gone to a water park with us and I told him we HAD to get there before RD. Arrived at 9:30 am - basically no one there. Got in, rented a lodge umbrella (which turned out to be completely unnecessary) and set us up for RD near the chair lift. There were, maybe, 20 people there. I kept saying, just wait, the crowds will come! By noon, we had gone down every slide multiple times with little to no wait and when we went to lunch, there were only 3 other families at Lottawatta Lodge. My DH thought I was nuts, LOL! I have never seen BB so empty - it was awesome!!! Would LOVE to see that kind of crowd in July and August!!

 

[LSUfan4444]

My first advice to people going to the water parks is to not put that much time and energy into where you set up. People suffer from FOMO BAD and if someone has a better spot them then, they want one. Just pick a spot and get to the slides. If you want shade later, you can find it. More times than not, most of the people in your group won't even spend that much time in your chairs anyway.