When in August do the crowds usually drop off?

[mrmcgiv]

We are going in AUG and have a little bit of flexibility.

We currently plan to arrive on Tues 8/10 or Wed 8/11. We will stay for 8 nights I think.

I was originally thinking that the crowds would go UP on 8/15 due to free dining starting, but when I look at the crown calendars it looks like the crowds do not drop off until the week of 8/14 or 8/21. I guess getting home for school trumps free dining! Also, if the crowds drop off the week of 8/14, what day does disney clear out? Are people gone by Sat? or do they typically spend the weekend. I just read someplace that the week of 8/7 rates as "massive crowds" which I am not thrilled about.:mad:

Would it pay to push the trip forward and arrive on Sat 8/14?

[Strmchsr]

Early and mid August are definitely still pretty crowded. Those crowd calendars tend to be pretty inaccurate this far out, so don't worry too much about that. In general, August crowds tend to begin to die down in the last week or two. Early and mid August are typical summer crowds - folks trying to get in one last second trip before school starts.

[Dsnygirl]

I agree with what Chris said - if you wait until after the 14th, you'll probably find the crowds diminishing.

If you look at the park hours, and when Disney is ending their "Summer Nightastic" program as well as the other summer fun, it all changes August 14th this year. That is when they scale back park hours a bit, and the summer shows/extras end.

This to me means that this is also when Disney expects to traditionally start having fewer guests -- those of us going the end of August get the benefits of free dining and lower crowds, but also shorter park hours and less special events.

But hey -- I think it's a great trade-off... I'll take the shorter lines and fewer people any day! :thumbsup:

(and if I were going this year, I'd try to arrive for just a day or two of the "busy time", just to catch the fireworks and the Electrical Parade... and then be there the rest of your trip for the quieter timeframe! Have fun -- we're doing it next year! :D)

[SBETigg]

You'll probably still have crowds. To my experience, the August crowds don't diminish significantly until after the 20th, but only on weekdays. Weekends are still very crowded, and water parks tend to be crowded. But weekdays in August do see smaller crowds later in the month. The later, the more reduced the crowds.

[lightyearfan]

i think the crowds will be busy straight to sept. me and dw have our sept trip booked, i think that august will be jammed. don't think that schools being opened will matter in august , because we were there in sept last year and we saw alot of kids and i said to dw isn't there school and this was the 2nd week, so be prepared for big crowds. i think with a few exceptional months early november + january and into feb WDW will always be crowded, not to belittle the point but even on our long weekend march trip the parks were packed,but hey were in WDW it could be alot worse. i know that im mentioning about sept , but im just trying to make the point that WDW is crowed no matter what time you go , with the exceptions of those few months mentioned

enjoy your trip
victor

[faline]

I would suggest going as late into August as possible. While many schools are back in session mid-to-late August, many other school systems do not return to class until after Labor Day. We went in mid-August last year and found it was still very crowded.

[Morpheous]

Well, we went during this exact time frame last year. the 11th to the 19th of August. We are actually going again around the exact time frame this year.

Overall, the crowds are a bit lighter than in late July, but its still pretty crowded. Its also extremely hot, but we found all of it pretty manageable and still had a great time.

We really try to avoid going later than early August, because If I remember correctly peak hurricane season starts in August or September.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I thought hurricane season started 6/1 and ended around 9/30?

I'm hoping for lower crowds the middle of August, at least during the week!

[faline]

I thought hurricane season started 6/1 and ended around 9/30?

I'm hoping for lower crowds the middle of August, at least during the week!

Hurricane season does begin June 1st in the Atlantic but does not end until November 30th. Oftentimes, August and September are more active but, even so, the chance of a hurricane hitting Disney World during your vacation is slim.

[Pally]

We were in Disney last year the end of August first couple of days of September. It was great. By early evening the parks were quite quiet. Many rides were walk on. It kind of spoils you for other times of the year. Our previous trip to this one we had gone the week of Christmas. What a difference.

The funny thing last year was we were worried about hurricanes hitting Florida. Little did we expect a hurricane to hit Nova Scotia just prior to our trip.

With the weather being so unpredictable everywhere Ithink you just have to take a chance.

My vote though is to go Late August.:mickey:

[wdwvacationeer]

For the last few years we have been going between the second and third weeks of August-sometimes hitting free dining, sometimes not. It is definitely still pretty crowded during these weeks. Our last day of school here is this Friday and we do not go back until September 7th this year, so I would assume this time frame is similar for parts of the north. I have also found there to be quite a few people from other countries during this time that add to the crowds. We went in mid September one year and there was noticeably less people then in comparison to August.