July trip advice?

Our next trip to the world will be in a few months (8th-23rd July). I'm kind of nervous about crowds during that time (I've heard too many horror stories :S) and with the Harry Potter stuff opening over at Universal and the American schools breaking up for holidays, I'm not too sure what we'll be in for.
We usually spend ten days in WDW and the other five between Universal and Sea World... we dont know which weeks to go where, and I thought I'd ask the experts for their opinions.
Any help will be much appreciated :)

My family was at WDW last July. We were there the end of the month. Yes, it's busy, but not overwhelming. It's much worse on holidays, especially around Easter/Spring Break. We were there for a week and did all the parks at least twice plus DTD and a little outlet shopping one evening. I don't think we waited more than 30 minutes for anything and tried to use Fast Passes to make the waits even shorter. I've been many times and prefer the summer time since the weather is warmer and you can enjoy the pools more. Easter is my least favorite time. There were so many people there you could hardly walk down Main Street!

Given that the Main Street Electrical Light parade and different fireworks will be shown during this time frame, I'm expecting that it will be quite crowded throughout the entire time. I'd probably avoid the week in which the 4th of July falls as that is a major U.S. holiday and the parks often reach peak capacity around that time.

This will be our third July trip; we arrive the day after you leave. With a few strategies in place, you'll be fine.

The number one thing I want to recommend is to take advantage of FastPass wherever available at Disney!

We typically get to the parks right at opening, and then head back to our resort early to mid afternoon for a breather. Between the heat and the afternoon crowds, it's almost a necessity for us.

I noticed that you are not staying on property; I would look over the operating hours & go with the parks which do not have extra morning or evening magic hours to on-site guests. They can really bring the crowds.

As far as "when"? I suspect that Universal/Harry Potter will be crazy-busy all summer long once it opens in June - I don't think it will matter one way or the other what dates you go there. Are you going to do each of the parks in order, or were you planning on skipping around for the ten days; i.e., Universal one day, SeaWorld another, Disney another, then back to Universal, etc?

We are one of those weird families that love going in the summer. While crowds in July can be large, if you plan your time well, you can accomplish a lot with very little hassle. First, if you are not staying onsite and able to take advantage of them, avoid the parks with EMHs. They tend to be more crowded on those days. Second, use FP whenever you can. Third, plan meals at "off" times - when everyone else is eating, you can be riding and lines will be shorter at the restaurants during off-times. We don't take a mid-day break as many do but we try to hit the indoor attractions, do some shopping, or eat during the hottest part of the day. Last, weekend days tend to be more crowded than weekdays - if you take a "day off" from the parks, take a weekend day as your break. I have no idea what the Harry Potter stuff will bring in the way of increases or decreases in crowds.

The past couple of years, July has been a ghost town compared to prior years. The economy has taken it's toll. I think MK reached capacity in 08, but nothing reached capacity last year for the 4th anyway.

It's still busy though, with the closure of a few things in MK, I suspect that capacity will be lower this year than prior years, so it's really a gamble.

Harry Potter isn't going to impact Disney crowds much, although it's possible they will see an influx of poeple. I haven't been in a while, so I can't relaly comment on what it will be like. Way back when, it was not uncommon for USF to have 2 hour waits for T2, ET, etc. SpiderMan was longer at times. With more people there for Harry Potter, I'd expect worse this year.

WIth the economy turning around, I suspect this year will be a little busier than before, but unemployment is still up there so it won't be in full swing. You're going to get people that are a little more comfortable that they won't lose their jobs.

I was there last July (2-9th) and was quite surpirsed at how low the attendance was. We had no waits at all at EPCOT on the 3rd, spent the 4th at the Magic Kingdom and the only real problem was that they let way way way to many guests in for the fireworks, we ate at Tonys for dinner and came out Main Street was packed and cast members had us walking in cast member only areas behind Main Street to get over to Tomorowland to find a place to stand. I was completely shocked as I am a former cast member (WDWCP Fall 1990) and was shocked that guests were actually standing backstage. Other than that the rest of our time was AWESOME. Just me and my BFF for 9 days at our favorite place with no husbands!!

wow, thanks so much all you guys :)
definitely put my mind at rest :P
:rocks: