what to expect August 2009

[peanut1967]

We are going for 3 weeks August 2009.

My questions are:

What kind of crowds to expect?
We are going either on the 8th or 15th, which 3 week block would be the best?
With all the free dinning that seems to go on around this time, should I think of going a week earlier?


thanks

Ax

 

[SammieG]

If you can do three weeks starting 15th then the crowds will be lower the first week and get even lower as the weeks progress (well they have done in previous years... but with free dining it has increased the crowds slightly.. so its quite difficult to predict).

Free dining crowds will be there anyway.. but at least the florida schools should be back by 15th which will decrease the numbers in the parks.

Weather is exceptionally hot and usually very humid with risk of hurricane disruption. Its very rare to get a hurricane in Orlando as its so far inland.. however you often get the weather associated with one nearby. It rains most days (very hard tropical rain!)... the rain is your friend it lowers the temperature and clears out the parks in one go

Hours are reduced compared to general summer hours which means that often in a two to three week period there is only one or two Spectromagics which you should avoid at all costs as they get completely packed!

However, due to the school holidays we always go the last 17 or 18 days of August and we love it.....

Sammie x

 

[dtm316]

I have to admit that I'm going in August this year, flying on 16th and I'm a bit aprehensive about the crowds, I know the US schools are back which will make it a bit quieter, but I'm not going to be totally at ease until we go to Epcot on the Monday and see what the place is like then. We have a lot of running around that day seeing wedding planners and suit fittings so we lose about 3 hours in the park, but if by the end of the day I've seen everything I want to see I'll be happy and it'll be a good measuring stick for the rest of the holiday.
At least the free dining is disney only so US, IOA, SW and BG will be a bit lighter

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We have been a few times in August and are going again on the 20th this year.

My opinion on the crowds is generally over the years from the middle of the month is definitely quieter, the US schools break up for the holidays earlier than in the UK so many have returned from mid-August.

The DDP has affected this slightly over the past couple of years making crowd levels less difficult to predict.
I would still stay with confidence from mid-month is quieter but I would also say it would not be as quiet as it used to be because of the DDP.

 

[Giddy Kipper]

We went the beginning of August for 3 weeks last year, the best tip I got from this site was to join www.tourguidemike.com . If you enjoy planning and want some good advice and brilliant tips this is the guy...for example..we watched spectromagic on an empty street....don't miss out on anything enjoy your planning and enjoy your holiday ( oh and we are going again in august, it can't be that bad)

 

[DISWolves]

This will be our 4th consecutive - 3 week - August visit
2008 was the hottest that I can remember, since we first went in 1993.
Some good tax free bargains on childrens clothes as they return to school.
Park are also a little quiter then also

 

[SammieG]

This will be our 4th consecutive - 3 week - August visit
2008 was the hottest that I can remember, since we first went in 1993.
Some good tax free bargains on childrens clothes as they return to school.
Park are also a little quiter then also

See its weird you should say that... we have done 4 consecutive 3 week visits in august too.. and we thought that 2007 was the coolest!! The temperature was just as high but as the humidity was MUCH lower it felt soo much cooler...

see how differenet peoples perceptions are!?! lol

 

[Dimplenose]

We're also planning to go August 2009. But we're tied to early Aug as DS wants to be home for A Level results (Not sure when they'll come out next year.)

We've done late August 3 times '98 '02 '05 and found it busier each time we went - 1998 was very quiet. 2002 wasn't too busy because of post- 911 fears but the park hours were a lot lot shorter which made the parks busy. In 2005 unbeknownst to us had free dining kicking in halfway through our trip and the restaurants were heaving.

So I'm not going to worry about crowds or heat or missing out on free dining as it's the only time we can go ... and there's no way I'm not going after a 4 year wait!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

2003/2006 I went in August and will go again in 2009,

Generally the later in the month the better the crowds were, there was a fall off in WDW after about the 20th, as many USA kids go back at that time. Also many British, going in our summer holidays often do one week at WDW and one week at the coast or a villa.

Free Disney dinner plan has changed this and increased Late August crowd levels considerably with the UK Market and the USA Market.

My schdule was often

Universal on site with free first lin line passes, then do not worry about crowds.
Cruise
WDW Last week this worked well.

 

[jen_uk]

We went on 5th last year and are going again this year, it really wasn't that bad. We get there early and then leave at lunchtime for a relaxig afternoon by the pool

 

[peanut1967]

2003/2006 I went in August and will go again in 2009,

Generally the later in the month the better the crowds were, there was a fall off in WDW after about the 20th, as many USA kids go back at that time. Also many British, going in our summer holidays often do one week at WDW and one week at the coast or a villa.

Free Disney dinner plan has changed this and increased Late August crowd levels considerably with the UK Market and the USA Market.

My schdule was often

Universal on site with free first lin line passes, then do not worry about crowds.
Cruise
WDW Last week this worked well.

Thanks all for the great answers.

When we went in Dec 2004 we had a night at one of the Universal hotels, will we still need to do this because of the crowds or is it very manageble without the added costs
A

 

[stephensmum]

I have to admit that I'm going in August this year, flying on 16th and I'm a bit aprehensive about the crowds, I know the US schools are back which will make it a bit quieter, but I'm not going to be totally at ease until we go to Epcot on the Monday and see what the place is like then. We have a lot of running around that day seeing wedding planners and suit fittings so we lose about 3 hours in the park, but if by the end of the day I've seen everything I want to see I'll be happy and it'll be a good measuring stick for the rest of the holiday.
At least the free dining is disney only so US, IOA, SW and BG will be a bit lighter

We're going 16th too, are you flying from Newcastle?

 

[dtm316]

I wish, we couldn't afford to as the cheapest we could find at the time of booking was around £750. We are flying from Glasgow

 

[stephensmum]

I wish, we couldn't afford to as the cheapest we could find at the time of booking was around £750. We are flying from Glasgow

Ours is a package, was cheaper with Virgin from Manchester & better plane, luggage allowance but dh & ds voted for Newcastle flight.

 

[Kilted_Yank]

Just a reminder... in something like half of the United States, the schools don't return from summer holiday until the first week of September... particularly in the northeastern (and densley populated states). We are always there in the last few weeks of the month (as we live in one of those states). It is still a great time of year to make the trip, as the crowds ARE reduced... just wanted to clarify a bit.

Bill

 

[dtm316]

Just a reminder... in something like half of the United States, the schools don't return from summer holiday until the first week of September... particularly in the northeastern (and densley populated states). We are always there in the last few weeks of the month (as we live in one of those states). It is still a great time of year to make the trip, as the crowds ARE reduced... just wanted to clarify a bit.

Bill

Thanks for the info Bill, quite intersting (and slightly scary) to know as we were always under the impression that all schools were back by the middle of August