Whats it like going last two weeks in august

[Vixster]

I am not allowed to take kids out of school and trying to find a nice time of year to go without doing that wondered if its really crowded in end August or is it best to go at Easter and is weather to hot in August thanks

 

[wilma-bride]

It's not the heat so much in August, it's the humidity that will get you every time. We have been 3 times in August (although Sep/Oct remains our favourite time of year to visit) and it is do-able as long as you try and make it to the parks early in the morning and take breaks during the hottest part of the day (noon through 3pm).

The only problem with August is that you can experience heavy showers (mostly in the afternoons). This year was the worst we'd ever had, with rain nearly every day that we were in Orlando (10 days), but that was mainly due to a Tropical Storm. I would choose August over Easter, in terms of crowds, every time though.

Just as an aside, when you say you are not allowed to take the kids out of school, do you mean that the school won't approve term-time holidays? I only ask because we are in Wiltshire also and our school don't aprrove term-time holidays but we qute often visit WDW in October and take DS out of school for 4 or 5 days in addition to the half term. Although this is not authorised by the school, there have never been any repercussions for doing so and Wiltshire Council won't take any action (in terms of truancy letters/penalty notices) unless children have had more than 5 days (10 sessions) unauthorised absence in a 6-month period.

 

[married2mm]

we have been in feb, march, july and august.

our favourite time is definitely august. it's heat like you've never felt in the uk.
like pp said, it's the humidty, but i find with plenty to drink, and afternoon breaks, it's easily doable. aside from the awful floods we had a couple of months ago, we had never,ever seen such heavy rainfall, quite an experience being out in 90+ temps, then it's absolutely pouring down. however, as fast as the rain suddenly comes, it generally stops fairly quickly and normal, sweaty sunshine is resumed!

as far as crowds and queues go, we go to the parks at rd, and don't have any problems with queues. as the day progresses, they definitely increase, but with a bit of planning, you should be ok.

the biggest crowds, we have ever seen were in march. and the majority of tour groups we have seen were in july. no desire to return those months again, unless there were fantastic deals available.

 

[Vixster]

It's not the heat so much in August, it's the humidity that will get you every time. We have been 3 times in August (although Sep/Oct remains our favourite time of year to visit) and it is do-able as long as you try and make it to the parks early in the morning and take breaks during the hottest part of the day (noon through 3pm).

The only problem with August is that you can experience heavy showers (mostly in the afternoons). This year was the worst we'd ever had, with rain nearly every day that we were in Orlando (10 days), but that was mainly due to a Tropical Storm. I would choose August over Easter, in terms of crowds, every time though.

Just as an aside, when you say you are not allowed to take the kids out of school, do you mean that the school won't approve term-time holidays? I only ask because we are in Wiltshire also and our school don't aprrove term-time holidays but we qute often visit WDW in October and take DS out of school for 4 or 5 days in addition to the half term. Although this is not authorised by the school, there have never been any repercussions for doing so and Wiltshire Council won't take any action (in terms of truancy letters/penalty notices) unless children have had more than 5 days (10 sessions) unauthorised absence in a 6-month period.

Well we have just been in oct holiday and took them out for 8 days she did authorise on this occasion but her last words to me were don't do it again so now I have 7 years I really like the oct time for Halloween party and it never rained crowds were fine but only get a week off and I'd like to go 2 weeks

 

[wilma-bride]

Well we have just been in oct holiday and took them out for 8 days she did authorise on this occasion but her last words to me were don't do it again so now I have 7 years I really like the oct time for Halloween party and it never rained crowds were fine but only get a week off and I'd like to go 2 weeks

Like I say, it's your choice but there are no financial (penalty notice) implications unless they have more than 5 days unauthorised absence in a 6-month period. Here is a link to the Policy for issuing of penalty notices by Wiltshire Council - note Chapters 3.1 and 3.2. I'm not saying that you should take your kids out of school but it's certainly worth considering what the possible repercussions might (not) be before making that decision, especially if you prefer to go later in the year.

 

[Vixster]

Like I say, it's your choice but there are no financial (penalty notice) implications unless they have more than 5 days unauthorised absence in a 6-month period. Here is a link to the Policy for issuing of penalty notices by Wiltshire Council - note Chapters 3.1 and 3.2. I'm not saying that you should take your kids out of school but it's certainly worth considering what the possible repercussions might (not) be before making that decision, especially if you prefer to go later in the year.

Thank you for that its good to no I don't see harm in 5 days when we went away I noticed loads of kids off school on my plane coming back

 

[NatalieMT]

We always go end of August/start of September, the crowds were reasonable during our stay (was busy on Labour Day though!) and I thought for the most part the weather was great. Minimal rain, nice and hot, but then again I like the heat/humidity.

I'm taking a group of 8 out of school next April (after Easter holidays) for 5 days and all their schools have written them letters saying they authorised them to be out of school, so it is worth a try and like others have said provided you are careful about the number of days I don't see an issue even if the school don't particularly like it.

 

[jen_uk]

August is my fave time of year to go, the heat/humidity is manageable if you are careful and the crowds drop as the month goes on

 

[MichelinMan]

This is the crowd calendar for August next year from Touring Plans

DATE CROWD LEVEL BEST PARKS PARKS TO AVOID NOTES
Thu, August 1, 2013 8 out of 10 EP HS
Fri, August 2, 2013 8 out of 10 AK HS
Sat, August 3, 2013 7 out of 10 MK HS EP
Sun, August 4, 2013 8 out of 10 EP HS
Mon, August 5, 2013 8 out of 10 MK HS
Tue, August 6, 2013 7 out of 10 MK HS EP
Wed, August 7, 2013 7 out of 10 MK HS
Thu, August 8, 2013 8 out of 10 HS AK EP
Fri, August 9, 2013 8 out of 10 AK HS
Sat, August 10, 2013 7 out of 10 MK HS EP
Sun, August 11, 2013 8 out of 10 EP HS AK MK
Mon, August 12, 2013 8 out of 10 MK HS
Tue, August 13, 2013 9 out of 10 MK EP
Wed, August 14, 2013 8 out of 10 MK EP HS
Thu, August 15, 2013 8 out of 10 AK HS
Fri, August 16, 2013 8 out of 10 AK HS
Sat, August 17, 2013 8 out of 10 MK HS EP
Sun, August 18, 2013 7 out of 10 AK HS Summer Break Ends
Mon, August 19, 2013 3 out of 10 MK EP HS AK
Tue, August 20, 2013 5 out of 10 AK EP
Wed, August 21, 2013 3 out of 10 EP HS MK
Thu, August 22, 2013 5 out of 10 MK AK HS
Fri, August 23, 2013 3 out of 10 AK MK
Sat, August 24, 2013 2 out of 10 HS MK
Sun, August 25, 2013 4 out of 10 MK EP HS
Mon, August 26, 2013 5 out of 10 EP HS
Tue, August 27, 2013 5 out of 10 MK HS EP
Wed, August 28, 2013 4 out of 10 EP AK
Thu, August 29, 2013 5 out of 10 EP HS
Fri, August 30, 2013 5 out of 10 AK HS
Sat, August 31, 2013 5 out of 10 EP HS


You can see the crowd levels drop right off last 2 weeks of Aug due to the US Summer break ending.

If we could go then, we would. Trouble is, Scottish schools go back mid Aug.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

DON'T go for Easter!

Although the weather is nice the crowds are horrible. The parks experience rolling closings periods. During Easter the parks reach peak capacity early in the day so they are forced to not let anyone else in until several hours later when the crowd dies down. My Uncle works as a photographer on Main St in the MK and he has said that at around 11:00 a.m. is usally when they close the admission turnstyles at MK. And they reopen later in the afternoon.

So if you want to go a park you have to be there for rope drop.

Here in the States everyone is so tired of the cold winter weather and when Easter break comes they all go to Florida for the holiday where its warmer.

 

[MrRomance]

I am not allowed to take kids out of school and trying to find a nice time of year to go without doing that wondered if its really crowded in end August or is it best to go at Easter and is weather to hot in August thanks

In 2008, we did the last 2 weeks of August, the heat is tolerable but the humidity is awful. We were able to tolerate it after a few days, but I definitely wouldn't suggest it! The crowds were high but this year we went last week in July first week in August and they were a lot higher earlier in the month than they were in 2008.

We've also been at Easter time and the weather is better but the crowds are HIGH! It's one of the busiest times along with Presidents Day week (Feb Half Term) & Christmas.

My wife was a teacher and so we had to go during school holidays, but now she's not teaching any more, we're going for the October Half Term and the week after next year because it is a great time of year, you get to see Halloween and the change over to Christmas all in one stay and the weather and crowds are about the best you'll get.

I completely understand now wanting to take your children out of school but for me, October has a lot of benefits to make the best of your trip.