Would You Take 3 Kids During Summer?

[Nado]

Looking for advice:

My wife and I haven't been to WDW in 12 years (before kids). Both times we've been their we went in September and loved it. I'd like to take the kids this year for their first time during summer break. However I'm fearful that the park will get so crowded at times it might ruin the experience.

I've got the Unofficial Guide to WDW and found it reliable 12 years ago, but I never tried to use it's techniques during summer. Are we signing ourselves up for frustration or do people successfully have fun in summer?

Factors: traveling from Oregon; my kids 7 and 10, have never experienced hot humid weather; I'm not afraid to take them out of school, but I'd like to avoid it.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I take my 3 kids at all times of the year. The busiest times this past year were at the end of May and during the middle of October, when the parks had never really been all that busy in the past. During our July/August trip, the parks were nearly empty. The week before Christmas was absolutely heavenly...no crowds to speak of. Our plan always is to expect crowds, then enjoy their absence if possible. This way, we're never disappointed by finding long lines. Fortunately, these can be avoided even during the busiest times by touring early and/or late.

 

[DawnaJean]

Looking for advice:

...However I'm fearful that the park will get so crowded at times it might ruin the experience....Are we signing ourselves up for frustration or do people successfully have fun in summer?

Will the parks be crowded? OH YEAH
Will it be hotter than you'd like? OH YEAH
Will you and the kids have the most wonderful, fun time together? OH YEAH

You will have such a good time. It will be hot and crowded but with advance planning you will reduce your frustration. The parks are open later and you can take advantage if you stay on-site of extra magic hours. Take breaks if you are hot/overwhelmed and try to not think "We have to experience everything at Disneyworld to have this be a "successful" vacation." We took three kids last summer (DD10, DD9, and DS2) and took an afternoon break on most days...the nap for the little guy and DH and the pool for my older 2 was rejuvenating!!!

Have a wonderful time whatever season you plan to go!
Dawna

 

[TnTWalter]

my kids would be cranky and I would be cranky too.
We went Christmas break [first week of January]. Perfect.
I have heard you can do things at Disney that count for school credit so that might be something to consider.

Trish

 

[The Sweetness]

How long did you want to go for? If you want to avoid the heat, try the first week of Dec, decorated for x-mas but not so

 

[kat3668]

We went last year the last week of June and I have to say I would not plan on going back that time of the year again.....
It was way to hot and I an not big fan of sweating all over myself.. lol
I saw way too many kids just plain miserable at the parks and many people just running for the air conditioned attractions and stores....
Maybe it was a fluke that it was just soooo hot.. but I'll go back when the temps are tolerable.. maybe March or November...

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have been to the parks in June and went again this past week (January). I would never again go in the summer. Avoiding the heat and humidity and the enormous crowds made the trip so much better. I definately noticed a lot less grumpy parents and kids too!

 

[taximomfor4]

We took the kids this past August. It was, HOT! In fact, Orlando was in the midst of their hottest August week in like 12 yrs or something, according to the news. We went, had a blast. We did sit-down late lunches (hottest part of the day) instead of dinners. Only one of my 4 kids can swim, so we didn't really do the pool thing...just our long, air conditioned lunch. I didn't find it too crowded, but we were not doing the most popular attractions, either.

Best advice is CARRY WATER. Everywhere. We left ours in the stroller, and went into Lights, Motors, Action at MGM at 10:15am. Got seated, in the sun. Within 5 minutes, dd3 was clammy and lethargic. I ran to the CM to ask if there was somewhere to get her a cool drink. CM came over, offered to call the EMTs. DH took her out and left, instead.

We did attractions that ARE air conditioned, like Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, etc. And we sat and absorbed the ambience (and snacks) a lot. We sat in the shade next to the castle, and happened to catch Belle's Storytime. We didn't go to the hotel mid-day most of the days, so we went back early every evening. Only caught ONE fireworks in 8 nights! So take it easy, go off the beaten path, stay hydrated and cool.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We always do! We always go in July and have a great time. In fact we also went a few weeks ago to watch DH run the marathon and we all agreed it was fun, but we like summer so much better.

Advice - stay on-site so you can go back to resort for a swim/nap break. Get to the parks early in the morning before the really bad crowds come. Carry water/spray fan bottles at all times, sames goes for drinking a lot of bottle water. THe parks are open late so you can come back and enjoy the park at night and you never have to worry about which nights the parades are scheduled - they're scheduled every night, sometimes twice! Relax and have a ball, just make sure you make your ADRs because you definitely don't want to be dragging three kids all over looking for a place to eat when you are hot and hungry.

 

[funcinderella]

Crowd wise, the 3rd or 4th week of August is a good time to go (not heat- or rain-wise though.) Look into Tour Guide Mike; I found him well worth the 20 bucks. Plan your day by day and ride by ride itinerary. This way, you do all of the thinking before your trip, and there's no arguing each day about what to do. It's right there on the schedule and you already know your plan was designed to avoid the crowds. (This includes scheduling down time and pool time, etc.)We hit the parks early, left by 1-2 and returned in the evening. It worked great for us. Staying at a monorail hotel is also key; nothing beats it after a late night at the MK!! With 5 people, one value or moderate room won't work for you anyway, but the deluxes hold 5 in a room comfortably (at least the Poly does.)

 

[janice1234]

the crowds are not bad if you go the last half of august. the weather is extremely hot and humid. the trick is to go 1st thing in the morning, be at the park opening, you can get on alot of rides that way. then head back to your pool by noon or one oclock. relax until suppertime, then have dinner and head back out. you and the kids will have a great time.

 

[Nado]

Overall it looks like those who go in summer seem to have a plan and stick to it. Everyone also is saying that staying on site is key.

I had been thinking of staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort. It's close and has 2 bedroom units. However everyone is saying the commute time to the themeparks is the most important common denominator so that mid-day escapes are easy. I find this important b/c I didn't ask where to stay. I can imagine driving back and forth between the theme park and hotel might become a pain by the 3rd day.

12 years later I can still close my eyes and feel the water hitting my face as you come down the waterfall on Splash Mountain.

Thank you all.

 

[DisneyDotty]

I vote for summer with a stay at onsite hotel. You can return to the hotel pool for a refreshing swim/nap during the hottest part of the day. And also recommend sit-down lunches to cool off. Carry lots of water. Use fastpasses to avoid long waits in hot lines. Also rely on Unofficial Guide to tell you which parks to avoid on which days.
We went last June and loved it.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

We have gone several times in the summer and do have a good time! BUT it is not like going at a quieter, cooler time of the year.

Use the new (2006) Unofficial Guide plans, if it is too crowded. However, I would not follow it everyday. We like to hit the parks hard one day and have a relaxing day the next.

Learn, know, and use the FastPass. We give all our park passes to our designated "FastPass Runner" as soon as we pass the turnstiles. He goes ahead and gets a FastPass to PP (example) while we walk toward Splash. He meets us and as soon as the FastPass states we can get another one, he is on the move for another set! Keep a FastPass at all times!!!

Pick what you want to do the most and focus on getting to those attractions first thing in the morning. Move on to other attractions after that.

Check the UG graph that tells you which park to go to on a particular day.

We bring misters, frozen water bottles (refill at fountains), and ziplocs with ice and washcloths into the parks. This keeps the kids reasonably comfortable.

We sort of have it down to a science as far as summer goes. It will be superhot and uncomfortable at times but we still have a good time. I think where you are from makes a difference in how well you can tolerate the heat. It does get very hot/humid here in the summer. When it is bad we go back to the resort and take a rest/shop/eat, etc.

It is best to have a plan and then be flexible enough to alter that plan based on everyones needs and crowds.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

We went this past summer (second and third weeks of August) with a 6 year old and a 10 year old and had a wonderful time! It was our first trip so I can't tell you if it would have been better at another time of the year, just that we had fun.

However, our style of touring is a little more "relaxed" than a lot of people here. We never spent more than 1/2 a day at the park, most days we got there at opening, went until we felt hot and grumpy, stopped for an early lunch, rode a couple of extra things and then left. We also took a couple of days and drove to Cocoa beach which was a fun change of pace. The second day at the beach we had planned to go to the water park and my six year old woke up and said "are there lines at the water park?" when I told him yes, he said "I don't want to wait in lines today, let's go to the beach".

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you are looking for a commando style, all day at the parks vacation I wouldn't do summer. But if you are like us and like to spend a few hours in the park and do other things as well (the pool, the beach, eat at a nice restaurant, we went to the spa) then summer can be a lot of fun.