coastermaniac Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I know that the summer probably isn't the best time to go to Walt Disney World because schools aren't in session and what not. However, what period(s) is the best time to visit WDW during the summer for about a week? Since I've never been in the summer time I really don't know what to expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) The Lowest Attendance --  January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February  The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving  The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December More Moderate Attendance: After Presidents' week in February through early March Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend) Columbus Day Weekend (October) The first part of Thanksgiving week  Highest Attendance:  Presidents' week in February Mid March through Late April ("Spring Break") Memorial Day weekend Mid June through Labor Day Thanksgiving Day and weekend Christmas week through New Year's Day  There is also a crowd tracker site you can go to as well. http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar  Hope this helps...... Edited February 27, 2011 by thrillrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahecht Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I know that the summer probably isn't the best time to go to Walt Disney World because schools aren't in session and what not. However, what period(s) is the best time to visit WDW during the summer for about a week? Since I've never been in the summer time I really don't know what to expect. Â It depends on what you define as "best". If you are looking for lower crowds or cheaper rooms, I would suggest going after August 14th, which is the beginning of "value season" (when WDW expects lower crowds and therefore charges less for hotels). However, late August can be the hottest and muggiest part of the summer, so make sure that you are prepared for that. I did a trip from 8/8/08-8/18/08 (Value season started August 3rd that year), and although it was very hot, we managed by going back to the hotel during the hottest part of the afternoon and by bringing camelpaks to make sure that we stayed hydrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimster Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Be prepared for very hot/humid weather and rain almost every day. Summer is the rainy season in Florida. You can pretty much set your watch to the rainstorms (it'll rain nearly every day between 3-6pm anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or a little more... and rain HARD). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 So besides weather, I'm mainly concerned about crowds. How bad are the crowds in the summer? What part of the summer is best when crowds are at the minimum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stricklandCC Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 ^ Never! you are talking about the worlds most visited theme park, during the worlds most popular vacation time of the year, in the worlds largest tourism based city! A Monday or Tuesday is probably your best bet, except all the three day holidays. It will rain. It will be humid and muggy, and nearly miserable. I lived 10 minutes up the road for 10 years, worked there for two, and return every summer and winter, haven't been to Magic Kingdom in 7 years. Oh yeah, Flash Passes will be out by pre-noon. I hope that is enough info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahecht Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 ^That's not true at all. Crowds can be quite manageable in late summer, especially if you get to the parks when they open and avoid days with Extra Magic Hours. Plus, I still have FAST Passes from my August trip that I collected at around 5pm and never used because the standby lines were short enough. Â If you're really worried about crowds, I would suggest signing up with TouringPlans.com (it's about $7.50 with coupon code AEN8223W). They have very detailed crowd predictions to help you plan which park to go to on which day, and they have plans that tell you what order to hit the rides in order to minimize wait times. Using one of their plans, I was able to hit up EVERY major ride in the Magic Kingdom, in early August, in a single day. However, the main rules are to avoid parks that have extra magic hours or special events, be at the gate 30-40 minutes before the official opening, gets lots of fastpasses early (you can use them after they "expire" as long as it's the same day), and hit the big rides early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay20016 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 ^ Never! you are talking about the worlds most visited theme park, during the worlds most popular vacation time of the year, in the worlds largest tourism based city! A Monday or Tuesday is probably your best bet, except all the three day holidays. It will rain. It will be humid and muggy, and nearly miserable. I lived 10 minutes up the road for 10 years, worked there for two, and return every summer and winter, haven't been to Magic Kingdom in 7 years. Oh yeah, Flash Passes will be out by pre-noon.I hope that is enough info. Â One of the funny things is watching how most people do research online, and how you can start to see that what was once considered "prime" off-times have become just as crowded, if not more so, due to what people read online. Crowds will be existent pretty much from May to October. A general rule of thumb that I've noticed is that if you think about how most people will spend their vacation, a pattern emerges. If people are doing the WDW 5 day passes they typically arrive on a Sunday and do the check-in + something small that day. Monday is usually the busiest day for Magic Kingdom as it is what people associate "going to Disney World" with. Tuesday is usually busier at Epcot, Weds is usually Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom depending on the ride preferences and ages. Thursday can either be which ever they did not hit before; so Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom again, or it also could be the day for the water parks as you typically start to see an increase in attendance over Thursday to Sunday there. If they are not planning on visiting just the WDW parks, then Thursday is also the day that Sea World, Universal, etc. seem a bit more crowded. Friday is either the "do-over" day, visit another resort day, or Downtown Disney/Outlets/etc. day.... Â Now, this doesn't account for Extra Magic hours or when the big shows happen. But, a lot of people tend to follow this pattern with their parks, sometimes you can go to the "off-day" park and have a more enjoyable experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I would just add - don't underestimate how much the heat and humidity can add to how crowded it feels, and how much energy it will sap out of you. July and August are pretty much equally hot and miserable. June is slightly less hot and miserable, but still pretty damn uncomfortable. Early June and late August are your best bets, for less crowds, if you must go in the summer. Â FWIW, I live in Florida, and I can't deal with the heat/humidity/crowds of WDW in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 So my best bet would be try to avoid July and early August and try to avoid the 'typical traveler schedule'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay20016 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 So my best bet would be try to avoid July and early August and try to avoid the 'typical traveler schedule'? Â I guess. But the other thing is, go into it knowing that plans change and that you might not get to do everything you wanted to. Â A lot of the headaches people get in the summer are really from their over estimations of what you can and can't do. If it is a vacation, have fun, first and foremost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I would just add - don't underestimate how much the heat and humidity can add to how crowded it feels, and how much energy it will sap out of you. July and August are pretty much equally hot and miserable. June is slightly less hot and miserable, but still pretty damn uncomfortable. Early June and late August are your best bets, for less crowds, if you must go in the summer. FWIW, I live in Florida, and I can't deal with the heat/humidity/crowds of WDW in the summer. THIS.   Seriously, my best advice: Wait until September/ October if at all possible. Florida summers SUCK. (Unfortunately I can't type that any larger) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatamerica1990sfan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Yeah I would choose last two weeks of September during the week when all the kiddies are back in school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Well with my schedule and the schedule of the people I'm going with, the summer really is the only time we can go (mid-June to late August). If there was any way to avoid the summer then I would definitely not go during then; just like avoiding spring break, near big holidays like christmas, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatamerica1990sfan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 During that time you can only go it's all at the highest attendence. Here's the page for best times to go: http://allears.net/pl/attend.htm Plus it's a great site-wdwig.com to help plan your trip. No matter which summer day you choose it's going to be busy. My advise is use fastpass-but make sure to get those early they do run out. If your staying on site you have advantage of extra magic hours where in the morning you get a 1 hour early entry & evening like up to 3 hours for on site guests only depending on what day & what park it's being offered at. Before you go check the official Disney World website calender for extra magic hours so you can plan your trip around the days that have the most extra magic hours. I would recommend staying on site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Late August is definitely your best bet. Florida schools are back in session and the crowds are more manageable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 The Lowest Attendance --  January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February  The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving  The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December More Moderate Attendance: After Presidents' week in February through early March Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend) Columbus Day Weekend (October) The first part of Thanksgiving week  Highest Attendance:  Presidents' week in February Mid March through Late April ("Spring Break") Memorial Day weekend Mid June through Labor Day Thanksgiving Day and weekend Christmas week through New Year's Day  There is also a crowd tracker site you can go to as well. http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar  Hope this helps...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahecht Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So my best bet would be try to avoid July and early August and try to avoid the 'typical traveler schedule'? Â Yes, and bring a camelpak or other hydration pak and drink plenty of water (and avoid caffeine -- it's a diuretic). Staying hydrated makes all the difference in that kind of heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've been there during spring break so I know how crowded these parks can get. But I've never been during the summer so I will try to accomodate for the heat and such. I understand that basically any time in the summer is going to be at least somewhat busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Free dining has really changed crowd levels. I was there the first week of January this year. Normally that week is dead, this year it was much more crowded than normal (I also hear it was because more schools were off that week). I agree with the end of August, I went after schools in the southern part of the country were back in session in 2003 and crowds were still there but much more manageable than July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 So late August would be the best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nay Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So late August would be the best? Â Definitely. When I was a kid, that's when we would always go since we were still on summer break in the NE, but other schools went back by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 What about the first full week in June, which would be the week of the 6th? How crowded is it usually then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 ^ That's probably your next best bet I suppose. Kids don't get out until around the 12th or so, I believe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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