Summer trip advice?

I’m contemplating a summer trip (just me and DS9) and would like some advice from those who have done it before! We have gone twice before in mid-November (pretty much the ideal time weather-wise for us).

I’m considering summer because:

  1. I’m Canadian and am hoping that the testing requirements will be gone by then (assume that DS9 will be vaccinated). I will not go if there are testing requirements.
  2. works with the school schedule (our summer vacation is between July 1 and Labour Day)

i’m worried about:

  1. The heat obviously…we have been twice before and don’t need to “do it all”, so how bad is it if we mainly stuck to early mornings and evenings in the parks?
  2. July vs August…I would love to go at the end of August, but then hurricanes would be more likely to disrupt our travel schedule. Other than the end of August being less busy, and the 4th of July being more busy, is there not much difference in crowd level the rest of the summer? I don’t think there are other US holidays in that time period?

Oh and I’m also considering Disneyland, but every time I look into it I just convince myself that the world is better!

  1. Assume nothing. We all thought we’d hunker down for 2 weeks and here we still are almost 2 years later still dealing with this mess :laughing:
  2. Makes sense
  3. We were just there in June/July for the first time in ages and I won’t choose that timeframe again. Recognizing there could be a time when the choices are go in summer or not at all, I’d obviously go. But it was intense. It was also incredibly rainy during my trip which made it even worse, weather-wise. We did mainly mornings and evenings and that was better than mid-day but not by a alot.
  4. There are no other holidays. The whole of July and August is a holiday, with a little extra-heavy crowds over Independence Day. In times past the crowds would begin to peter out at the end of August; no idea if that still holds now though.
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Would you not choose the timeframe because of the heat, crowds, or both? Contemplating a mid-June trip (am about to hit send to my T.A. but keep hesitating). We did Disney in August 2019. While the heat was rough, it was manageable for us. My biggest concern is crowds with schools getting out. Heat I can do, unbearable crowds makes me nervous.

Kids start to go back to school in the states a lot of places in mid to late August. Also anyone playing a fall sport at the high school level starts practicing on 8/1 most places so the more you push into August the better crowds are likely to be. May be worth consulting the historical crowd calendar to check differences in past years though.

As already stated, I wouldn’t pick summer as my first choice, but if that’s the only time to go, it beats not going by a mile. We had a fair amount of success getting started early when it’s cooler, although cooler is a relative term, it is still very hot and humid. Touring to lunch - usually eat an ADR somewhere in the park with copious amounts of AC and then doing a couple more things before heading back to the hotel to crash/nap/swim. Rest until near dinner then get active again - eat somewhere interesting and then tour again at night when at least the sun is down and the crowds have thinned.

Historically this worked well for us. This past summer, it was a little tougher due to the limited hours so we did not do as many returns for a late night at the parks since the park was closing at 10pm rather than midnight. We still had a very good trip though, it was just a little different. I’m hoping they get back to the normal long operating hours in the summer so one can leverage that strategy a little better…

This mostly. (and the rain, which was ridiculous)

It was crowded but manageable. We were in the timeframe when the crowds were up and there was still no FPP or Genie+ so everything was standby. We did have a bunch of longer waits than we are used to and we did skip a couple of things because of the waits but that aside it was fine.

Oh, and I forgot to address the DisneyLand angle. We did our first summer trip to DL - the weather is more moderate, mostly due to less humidity. The number of attractions is about the same between DL and WDW and the parks being right next to each other makes hopping easy.

We didn’t stay at a Disney hotel, which I now regret as I think immersion in the Disney Bubble is likely worth it, but paying 2x for the room gave me pause then. Definitely enjoyed going to DL - experiencing the differences in the rides is a lot of fun, but it is a different experience as DL expects shorter stays, you can only buy 5 day tickets max for example. Definitely worth considering though, especially if the weather is the #1 worry for you…

I have been to the world late June, over the 4th of July, first have of August, and many times over Labor Day weekend (sometimes very late August, usually first few days of September). Is it my favorite time of the year? No, but I am going in July again for the great liner meet up.

Early morning park vista are key to they times. Also, great rain gear and plans that allow for the outdoor attractions to close. Water proof footwear must be a priority!

Plan a mid-day air conditioned meal if possible.

You can have a great time- any time of the year!

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July is the only month we haven’t been yet. For a very long time, the last week of August into the first week of September was our typical time. I can do heat, and crowds, but not both at the same time. In the past July was one of the busiest months to go, which is why we’ve avoided it. I’m not sure if that’s still true. Sticking to early morning and late evening is a solid plan for touring in the summer months.

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Expect rain in the afternoon (typically around 3). Another reason to not be touring then. We tend to not worry about rain gear, but do wear stuff that wicks water well rather than cotton. Jeans and any clothes that don’t dry well would be a mistake. Some of the rain storms are epic, but they tend to be fairly short lived and sometimes they can clear out the parks nicely…

I go with DD (now 7 ) every august. Its great crowds at the end of august because a good portion of the US is back to school starting the last two week. Its hot as a MF, and you really need to plan around it. Early mornings, head back for resort time, evenings at the park is a plan we always follow. I’d even try to schedule in a resort day to just hang at the pool.
Plan your clothes and shoes- no really, you will sweat insanely. Cooling towels are a must!!! Hydration is key as well as electrolyte balance. Its a good plan to just make it a relaxing (but fun!!) trip and the fact you don’t need to “do it all” is a plus.

As far as hurricanes, frankly its hit or miss. I was there for the potential hurricane Dorian that got a lot of people freaked out and caused alot of cancelled trips and it mainly fizzled out and never hit orlando. In general, once they hit land they tend to weaken, and Disney hasn’t closed parks down very often for them. The biggest hassle is if affects your travel days and in which case I’d maybe buy some travel insurance and plan on being flexible for travel time “just in case”

Also, Invest in a good poncho/rain coat because it rains almost every afternoon for a brief time. I also bring a small umbrella to help shield the sun.
Thats all I can think of right now!!

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I was nervous about going the end of June because of the heat but we did ok. We swam midday which kept us out of the heat and was all my DD12 wanted to do anyway! There was so much rain though! Go prepared. We had ponchos, crocs, waterproof shoe covers. The night time shows were not running when we were there but there were nights they would have been cancelled because of the downpours! The rain also caused the skyliner not to run pretty often.

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