Will we beat the summer rush?

[disneyrunner]

We have reservations for nine ( I can't believe we're staying that long) nights at our beloved WL June 6-15. I know the weather will be hot but we're hoping the crowds will be manageable since some of the schools won't be out. We are leaving as soon as my DD takes her last high school final on the 5th and hitting the road for Mickey! Does anyone have experience with this time frame regarding crowds or have any suggestions on the heat. We will be slower than previous trips because both of my DD are diabetic (the second daughter was diagnosed six weeks after our last trip) but we are looking at it as giving us time to enjoy some of the overlooked magic most miss by rushing from ride to ride. Thanks for any advice.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Never been in June but I have been in May and it was warm. I liked it better than August because it rained a lot less. Anyways, on our last trip in May we took mid-day breaks when we should have probably taken all day breaks. My kids were 4 and 7 at the time of the trip. My 4 year old was fine because she was in stroller most of the time. However, the 7 year old had a tough time with the walking. I also think next time we'll build up her walking by walking to school and park before the trip. You'll have a great time. You know your kids best and what they need as far as rest goes.

Tina

 

[mrsR123]

We've had really good luck with early June. I'd definitely follow the get there early plan, eventhough. Your first chunk should be lighter crowd-wise. ANd the first Saturday that Florida residents are blacked out from seasonal passes is a great day to go to Magic Kindgom. You might be able to go,go,go early in the trip and see a lot leaving sleeping in and hitting smaller chunks of time for later in the trip when everyone is tired.

 

[disneyrunner]

Thanks, One thing that has worked for us until my oldest DD got too big (around 11) was to rent double strollers and let her ride in that for a little while. The only ones that didn't work well were the ones at the studios.

 

[teacher31]

That is the time we usually go. It's been crowded in my opinion in some places. It does seem more crowded at the very end of our trip, though. We just avoid the crowds as much as possible.

 

[Soarin' Rocks]

That's the time we've gone for the last two years. We like to go when school is out too. I thought it was pretty crowded, but definitely manageable. We took advantage of EMH (early EMH was the best) and used fastpasses a lot. We also made ADRs for the places we really wanted to eat. It seems to get more crowded the farther you get into June.

 

[disneyrunner]

We are limited to pretty much this week now that I have one in high school. The rest of the summer is pretty booked with band practice and camps and taking her out of school is pretty much out of the question. So early summer it is.

 

[mickey0216]

We (DW, DD17, DS14 and I (at time of travel)) were at CBR June 10 thru 15 (well 14th - more later) in 2002. We'll never do it again... Why? We normally go to WDW Thanksgiving week. The crowds were equivalent to Thanksgiving Day - every day. It was HOT and HUMID every day. It seems that we experienced a thunderstorm just about every day. I remember the local weather guy using the following statement. "We have a 60% chance of thunderstorms today. For those of you who are visiting the area, that means that 60% of you will get wet." Initially you think, "the rain will cool things off". Wrong!! It cools down a little while it's raining. As soon as it stops, the humidity level goes to 2000% (slight exaggeration).

Many younger kids had a tough time with the heat, many "grown-ups" didn't fair much better. When cranky kids meet cranky parents, seldom is it a pretty picture.

In closing, to give you an idea how much we disliked our vacation. We were scheduled to check out Mid-day on the 15th. The DW was so unhappy, I was packing the car around 1 am on the 15th and we left around 2 am. We drove "non-stop" from WDW to home on the 15th.


Please note: I love WDW, I was there a month ago to celebrate my 25th Wedding Anniversary, and I am beginning to plan our next vacation... for November.

Hopefully you'll do better. The great news is that you'll be in WDW!!!

 

[corinascot]

We went at that time 2 years ago and liked it very much. It was MUCH less crowded than Easter week. We also drive down from Ohio. I don't like the heat as a rule, but it didn't trouble me often in June. So many of the attractions are air conditioned.

We arrived at the parks at opening time (or early entry time) and went back to the hotel to swim/rest around 3-4. A drink and a swim felt great! It often rained during that time, but except for one night, it never rained very long. We'd head back to the parks after 6.

We carried large water bottles and drank a lot of water. I also bought some disposable rain ponchos at the $$ store and stuck a few of those in my little knapsack. We had to use them a couple of times. I liked carrying the lightweight ponchos as opposed to jackets. When we went Easter week, it was quite cold when we'd head out to the parks in the morn. and too warm for a jacket after a couple hours, so we'd each have to decide whether we wanted to be cold for a couple hours, or lug a jacket around all day. (The lockers were too crowded) We also used lots of FP and many ADR a few times. Are your Star Wars fans? You'll also be there for Star Wars weekend. That was one of the hightlights of our trip, especially for ds.

One more weather comment....when it would rain in the afternoon, it was very spotty. It could be pouring at Epcot and dry at MGM.

 

[vicceja]

Hi!

We've been to the World from Mid June and July and we noticed the parks are pretty crowded during that time. Our trip in July was the crowdest we've ever noticed Good Luck!

 

[MariDisney]

I know some have said they've done well in early June. Our experience was different. We were there June 3-7, 2004 for our honeymoon and the crowds were pretty significant for our taste.

 

[Goofyta]

I think a lot of time it depends on what type of weather you are accustomed to. We are from Texas and went to WDW in July 1999. Yes, it was hot and humid, but it was better than 105+ degrees we get at home.

This year we are going the around the same time as you, since we will have kids this time, I plan on taking swim breaks during the hottest part of the day...hopefully that will help.

 

[Sammie]

It will be very hot then, with afternoon thunderstorms. Go early, avoid the mid day heat and drink plenty of water.

As to crowds most southern schools will be out by Memorial Day so yes there will be crowds.

 

[crazywig]

we went june 4-11th 2004 and i will never go again at that time. much too hot, and too crowded for our taste. (we are more off season, sept or jan types). rained almost every day, and not the short t-storm you read about but ones that lasted hours.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We go every year when school gets out. Most years, we are there the last week of May. This past year, it was very hot. Right before and right after our trip, there was a good deal of rain. Luckily, we escaped nearly all of it. However, we did not escape the crowds. Attendance was much, much higher than we have experienced at this time in the past. Our resort was very busy, so our room often wasn't "made-up" until the late, late afternoon. The resort (AKL and later CSR) was uncomfortably crowded. Water parks were a nightmare by 11 am. When we decided to extend our vacation through Memorial Weekend, we learned that literally everything (including very expensive suites) were totally booked. Resorts off-site were full too. Being in the parks that weekend was very uncomfortable...much worse than our experience this past weekend (Christmas). Still, it's fun to go right as school ends; so I'm sure we'll be returning in May/June this year. If this were our only trip each year, I might not feel the same way. However, we've been 5 times this past year and have more trips planned for 2006.