What to expect in August?

[Li-sa]

I'm thinking about our ADRs but not sure what we'll want to do in the heat of the day. I wonder if it will be best to head to the parks in the morning then have lunch, then come back for a for a swim (we're staying at OKW with DDP) and a rest for a couple of hours before heading back to the parks later in the day, plus dinner.

Does that sound a good plan, or do most people spend a whole day at one park?

What time are the extra magic hours likely to be?

When are the parks most busy?

Does it rain more at any particular time of day?

TIA

 

[wayneg]

Thats usually what we do, park, lunch, chill, meal, park.
This August's hours, http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/Aug10.cfm?requesttimeout=1000

Rain can come anytime, some Augusts we have hardly seen a drop, other times 4-5 hours every day.

 

[Nubbedy]

We do that - early morning park, lunch, back to hotel for a swim and then more parks in the evening / night. It does ease the day, and give you a chance to get refreshed. As Wayne has said, the rain is very unpredictable but we have often found that we have gone back for a swim after lunch, and find the rain comes while we are back in the room changing for the evening. However, it is likely that you will get drenched at least once during your holiday!

Official park hours for Aug 2011 should be out at the beginning of Feb. for you, but last years' will provide an excellent guide.

 

[cantwait!!!!!!!!!!!!]

We went last August and it wasnt nearly as hot as we expected it to be.

The first few days we got up early, went to a park, came back for a swim/rest then had an AR for about 6ish and went back to MK for the evening.

The second week we were tired and didnt get up so early !

The busiest we saw the parks was MK when it was open till 12 and EMH was till 2am I think, we went to Epcot for illuminations then got the monorail to MK which took ages as everyone else had the same idea then the park was heaving with hour waits for everything ! We did a couple of little rides and headed home disappointed. thought it would be quieter so late I was very wrong !

We are going to OKW in August too cant wait !!

 

[WiganTony]

When we have been in August, we have generally either had an early start in the parks then returned to our hotel for a rest before heading out to dinner, or have had a lazy morning then entered the parks around lunchtime and had a dinner reservation for a location in the park (or nearby Disney Resort).

This August (staying at OKW) we had a couple of exceptions where we visited HS for morning EMH (to grab TSM Fastpasses) and then left after lunch, hotel pool for the afternoon, then dinner at EPCOT/Boardwalk and into EPCOT for Illuminations, and another day the opposite way round - EPCOT morning EMH to ride Soarin', Test Track etc then hotel/pool followed by a Fantasmic ADR at HS and staying until late for Fantasmic.

With regard to how busy the parks are, I would definitely recommend HS morning EMH for getting TSM fastpasses. If you are there for 08:00, you can get a Fastpass for around mid-morning, and ride Aerosmith and Tower of Terror before general opening at 0900. When your Fastpass availability opens again (around 2 hours after you obtain the TSM fastpass), you could get another for later in the day.

Weatherwise, you tend to get some quite heavy downpours mid-afternoon, but the heat soon clears these away - TBH we were extremely glad of the rain at times. However, you just need to keep smiling, and being British we should be used to the rain anyhow!!

 

[Kath2003]

Have been several times in August - it is my favourite time to visit because it's so lovely and HOT!

Our plan has always been to go to the parks for opening, quit aroune 1-2pm and return in the evening if necessary. At a water park you can stay all day but if you ride something tall every half an hour at about 1-3pm, you can see the rain coming and get out of there before the mad rush when it does rain.

Like Wayne said, we once did three weeks in Florida in August with only one rain shower, yet other years we've been and seen rain almost every afternoon.

 

[Li-sa]

Thanks everyone, glad I'm on the right track with my planning!