Who out there has survived July or August at WDW??

[Debs Hill]

OK, my son will be starting school next year....which means for the first time taking our hols in school hols time!!!! Yuck! I would love to hear from anyone who has been to WDW in July or August........how bad was it? How hot? How wet? How crowded? etc!!!!!!If you had to go then or Easter which would you choose?!! Please help! Only up side is that we would be staying on Disney property!
Debsx

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I've only ever been in July/August and never had any problems. Yes, it is hot and humid so you will have to account for this. Early starts to avoid the worst of the heat & the crowds, afternoon breaks to recharge your batteries, drink plenty of water,etc. The benefits of going at this time of year is that you get the extended opening hours and the full roster of parades, shows and fireworks. The last two weeks of August are noticeably quieter than the rest of the summer as American schools will have mostly returned. The major downside of this time of year is price: flights and accommodation are all much more expensive

Regards

Rob

 

[UKDEB]

Hi Debs,

We have been a couple of times during the summer months and will be visiting again in July this year. From a crowds and weather point of view, there are definitely better times to visit. Having said that, in 10 trips we have only had the odd day or two when the crowds have been really bad and one of those was because we didn't observe our own golden rule of avoiding Early Entry days.

The weather is another matter! One year we stayed last two weeks of August/first week of September and another year, last week of July/first week of August. Both times we had a <i>lot</i> of rain.

I guess the weather would be better at Easter, but I really don't fancy the bumper crowds.

 

[yorkshiregirl]

Hi Debs
We have been twice in July and found it very hot and humid with a good chance each day of thunderstorms in the afternoon. But this has not spoiled our fun in the slightest. We were there for opening most mornings and then came back for an afternoon rest and then back until park closing. We went with teenagers but looking at the number of young ones there until that late it seems a popular strategy.
Use fastpass as much as possible and take lots of drinks which if you get bottled water or capri sun type drinks you can freeze and take with you this keeps other things cool and we wrapped a clean flannel or 2 in with them and used them to wipe brows etc. We also invested in the fans and misters from Walmart or similar which can help cool you down. We found thirst to be more common than hunger especially in the first week so avoid buying huge meals during the day and wasting lots. We were more hungry later at night when it cooled down.
I found that most of all it was useful to know when to change a plan and go back before people got cranky. You can't do as much in the heat and we saw some very distressed children and parents rushing around in the midday heat.
Make sure you take your raincapes, ponchos etc. as the storms can be heavy but don't usually last very long.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Yep been there twice before in June and this time in June/July.

The weather is very hot and very humid, so plenty fluids and pace yourselves...the crowds are busy, and you have to take this into account along with the heat.
There are thunderstorms mostly everyday but we never let this spoil our days, infact the rain helped to cool us off, etc..and we was thankful for it....

I would say pace yourselves, be prepared for the crowds and drink plenty water and enjoy!!!!

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I guess I've been really lucky with the afternoon thunder storms. In four visits during July or August only on a couple of days in total have we been affected by rain. Either we missed the storm cells that pass over or we have sat out a very brief shower by having an afternoon coffee and waiting until the rain stops. I'm sure this streak of good-weather luck will come to an end at some stage, but so far, touch wood, the rain has not been an issue for us.

Regards

Rob

 

[JohnnySharp]

It is difficult with children because the summer holidays is the obvious time to go.
As our son is Autistic we don't really have any problems taking him out of school but from next year we need to re-think.

For us May/October is the best time to go and we would be reluctant to go in high summer. The one main advantage is the parks are open longer, really the same advice you have been given as far as we are concerned applies to visits at most times of the year - arrive early, have a break at lunch-time return late aftrenoon, drink plenty of water etc

I am sure you will be fine because you know the way to plan your days and are taking good advice from people who have done it before.

 

[TinkTatoo]

We go July / August and yes it is hot, humid and there are afternoon thunderstorms but as long as you get to the parks early take a break when it gets really hot and plan some chill out days you shoud have a great time.

I think I would prefer August to Easter

 

[uksaint]

We did middle two weeks of August in 1998 and didn't find it bad at all.(Of course we didn't have kids with us then). The heat and humidity is strength sapping but keep up your water intake and you'll be fine.

We didn't let the daily downpour deter us - it was often quite refreshing to stand in the rain. It was only really bad on two afternoons - certainly not enough to put me off going in August again - in fact with school holidays now becoming a consideration we probably will in August 2006 and 2008 and.......

 

[UKDEB]

One thing I've learnt is that the Orlando weather is as unpredictable as ours! We've been really lucky on the whole. We had temperatures in the high 80s the week before Christmas, 2001 and again in January this year. I know others have reported frosts and freezing weather over Christmas and New Year.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the bad weather we experienced during our two Summer trips was unusual. This wasn't the afternoon showers and localised storms others speak of. In August 2000 the rain set in at around 5pm each evening and didn't stop. Taking advantage of the longer opening hours wasn't an option and we couldn't use the villa pool either. Luckily we were there for three weeks and the last week (first week of September) was much better. In July 2001, the last 3 days of our trip were totally wiped out by non-stop rain. Again, not localised Florida showers, but grey skies and miserable continuous rain just like at home!

 

[vernon]

Most important thing (often mentioned already) is to make sure enough ( non alcoholic and preferably non caffine) fluids are taken in during the day. This isn't usually too difficult with adults, but in the excitement the kids can be difficult to keep hydrated. I've found it's when they get dehydrated is when they get tired and fractious.
As you're staying on property, it's relatively easy to take mid afternoon breaks from the parks and take an hour or so swim or sleep. I've found the most oppressive times of the day is usually from 2.30 to about 4.30.This also gives the chance to drink breaks. If you have access to a fridge, freezing caprisuns etc is a good option, if not taking a small bottle of squash or powdered salt replacement drinks like poweraid to mix with the over chlorinated drinking fountains can just about make the water drinkable.

 

[Selina]

Last couple of times, we have been during July and August. Noticeably, the last two weeks of August/first week in September was quieter as most U.S. kids back to school. Having said that, their term dates vary greatly depending on which state they live. While some break up mid June, others break up end of May, some go back mid August while others go back beginning of September!! Asked a question about term dates over on the Universal Boards and was surprised how mixed it is over there.

Our last trip was staying on-site at the Hard Rock Hotel (Universal) last two weeks of August and it was fabulous!!! Weather was 90's (and there was a high humidity! ) But we had a fridge and used ice packs to keep the drinks cool. That is the most important aspect - plenty of drinks on you, sit in the shade and cool off in the wonderful pool - at the HRH - there is underwater music, a fun curly slide , sandy area and a wonderful beach bar to quench the thirst. More rain in July than late August we found. Also being on-site at the HRH and having FOTL (front of the line access to almost every ride) plus priority seating at all the restaurants was a huge bonus. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet every day, then casually strolled the few mins walk to Universal/IOA. Back to the pool for a while in the afternoon, then another wander late afternoon over to the parks. Every other day we went to Universal or IOA as there is so much to do and inbetween did the disney parks etc. We had a really great 2 weeks. In the evenings, you have all of citywalk, many wonderful restaurants, and automatically have priority seating - so for example - we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and there was a huge line of people waiting - we walked up to the desk, showed our room key and in less than 5 mins we were taken to a table! The kids loved this restaurant most of all. The bar staff stand on the bar singing YMCA (which is played alot on all the tv's) and make a big thing of birthdays!
This is long - can't help reliving it all, it was fab!

 

[Debs Hill]

Thanks for all the great advice so far...it seems that staying on property, going for 3 weeks and keep drinking would be a good idea along with leaving the parks in the afternoon!!

OK, so what are the usual opening and closing times for the parks? What are the operating hours for the water parks?
And crowd levels? Wait times for the big rides?

A bit concerned about the possible weather......do not like the idea of constant rain! We usually go in Oct/Nov when it is warm and mostly dry, although we have had a couple of cooler days with constant rain! Does it rain most afternoon? Thunderstorms? How long does it last?!!!

Thanks again guys!
Debsxx

 

[yorkshiregirl]

Hi Debs
The rainshowers are heavy but only once did they last for more than 2 hours but we were in Epcot so dashed between the pavillions until it stopped. You usually have warning as the sky starts to go grey and heavy and this is the call to get out the rain capes and find an indoor location. We found that if we rested in the afternoons by the time we had rested, showered, changed and made our way to our evening destination the skies were clear again. Our peak time for rain in mid-July seemed to be 3-5 pm which did affect some parades. It's not like in England where it is cold, you usually dry off very quickly. We got wetter on the water rides at Universal
You can find out the park hours for previous years, perhaps some-one who has looked recently can point you in the right direction.

 

[matty624]

Originally posted by Debs Hill
OK, so what are the usual opening and closing times for the parks? What are the operating hours for the water parks?
And crowd levels? Wait times for the big rides?

A bit concerned about the possible weather......do not like the idea of constant rain! We usually go in Oct/Nov when it is warm and mostly dry, although we have had a couple of cooler days with constant rain! Does it rain most afternoon? Thunderstorms? How long does it last?!!!

When the crowds lessen, mid August, the opening times reduce in proportion. i.e. the busier it is, the longer they open. We found the crowds are oppresive, but since we've been 6 times in July/August, we're used to them! Also, if you do stay at HRH or PBH etc you'll get fotl access, so the crowds won't be a problem. (At USF and IOA anyway!)
It does rain, most days. But that has only ever really affected what we were going to do a few times in 6 years... So it's not a major problem. Last year we were a little concerned about a hurricane which narrowly missed land fall, certainly added excitement to weather watching!
Ian