If you HAVE to go in the summer.....

[TheVBs]

Our next trip may have to be a summer trip. So, I wanted to ask those of you who are summer veterans, if you have to go during the summer, what's the best time to do it? I'm less worried about the heat than the crowds. Star Wars weekends are tempting, but I have no idea what crowds are like at the start of summer vacation. How are the water parks? Thanks! :mickey:

[faline]

Mid to late August sees the crowds begin to go down and is typically a better time for a summer visit.

[KylesMom]

We have been summer travelers since DS entered school back in 2003. This is our experience:

Early May you will encounter school groups and families with children not yet in school; late May you'll see Memorial Day crowds; Mid-June you start seeing the throngs of families whose kids are out of school; late June through the first week of August you see the large influx of foreign travel groups. Beginning the second week of August we saw crowds slow down. However, this was too close to the start of school for us. It was chaos to get ready for the school season when we returned. We have never been during July 4 due to the reviews of what a zoo Disney World is.

If I could choose, I would pick the first full week of June. Memorial Day is complete, and the summer crowd has not arrived in full force yet. You have Star Wars Weekends at DHS, and usually the Sounds Like Summer concert series at Epcot has begun and there is some wonderful entertainment there. This year I think the first performance is June 8th.

Low crowds seem to be non-existent at Disney these days, especially in the summer time.

Quite honestly, because we've been A/P holders, we've never opted to spend the extra money for entry and have not been to a water park since 1991!

[rjmdds]

We are trying the summer for the first time ourselves in August. We picked the last week of August since we hear that the crowds drop to more manageable levels by that point. So I am not worried about the crowds as much as I am about the heat. I am bringing misting fans, cooling towels, etc just to help fend off the heat. I am just hoping it doesn't play too much of a role in our vacation.

[VWL Mom]

We typically do the last week in June and the last week in August. The crowds in June are higher as you approach July 4 but we still find them manageable. August crowds are lower since FL and many other states are back in school but you are in hurricane season. The last two years have been wetter (not talking the occasional FL shower) but we don our ponchos and trek on.

[princessgirls]

End of August has been good for us. Not crazy crowded. It's manageable, and Disney is generous with air conditioning!

Julie:mickey:

[buzznwoodysmom]

We have always enjoyed the first week of June. Crowds are not at their peak yet due to many schools still being in session, and the heat usually isn't unbearable yet.

Our best summer trip was actually the week after Memorial Day weekend into the first week of June. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds weren't bad. I know this is when some of the foreign tour groups come in, but we didn't see any of them.

[DisneyGiant]

End of August is best crowd-wise - though you risk running into hurricanes (happened to us twice).

We've been going in July for several years now. Its not that bad, as long as you can dodge the tour groups.

We swim almost daily in the middle of the day......

[TheHD]

We've been going in July for several years now. Its not that bad, as long as you can dodge the tour groups.

Is that even possible during the summer? :D. They are all over the place.

[TheVBs]

Thank you for all the great, detailed responses! I would much prefer to do fall, but it's looking like summer is what's going to work out best for us next time. Next time being 2 years out, but I can't help myself. :blush: Next year will be another destination and it would make a lot more sense to put my efforts towards that, but somehow a summer Disney trip seems like it requires more thought than anything else!

[BrerGnat]

I'd agree with early in June.

We went last year in August (mid-end) and it was horrendously hot and humid. Crowds were still pretty high as well. The water parks were okay though, as long as you got there at opening.

I will never step foot into a Disney World park in August again...I always say...;)

[mouseketeer mom]

We have always enjoyed the first week of June. Crowds are not at their peak yet due to many schools still being in session, and the heat usually isn't unbearable yet.

Our best summer trip was actually the week after Memorial Day weekend into the first week of June. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds weren't bad. I know this is when some of the foreign tour groups come in, but we didn't see any of them.

Yay! We will be there the first week of June!!!

[TheVBs]

I'd agree with early in June.

We went last year in August (mid-end) and it was horrendously hot and humid. Crowds were still pretty high as well. The water parks were okay though, as long as you got there at opening.

I will never step foot into a Disney World park in August again...I always say...;)

LOL! I know what you mean. We always said that if we could only go to Disney in the summer, we'd just stop going. Now that I'm actually faced with the possibility......

[1DisneyNut]

Yay! We will be there the first week of June!!!

Just a heads up, the first week of June is gay days.

[PirateLover]

Over the past decade, we've visited in early may twice, mid-late June twice, and late August once.

May was definitely the least crowded, but the difference from 2004 to 2007 (the 2 years we visited) was HUGE. And since then it's only gotten busier with the growth of Flower and Garden and the popularity of Star Wars Weekends.

I think the most important thing is to recognize there will be crowds and heat and plan accordingly. We still greatly enjoyed all of our trips. I think being a "veteran" of the parks really helps, too.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Just a heads up, the first week of June is gay days.

The only thing we found with gay days is at some parks it added to the crowds. We tried to avoid their schedule simply for the crowd aspect. LOL.

[luvkatiebug]

We always go in the summer because my husband and I are both teachers, and I think it just takes the right frame of mind. It's almost like there IS no uncrowded time any more. We usually go end of May, beginning of June, but because of my husband's summer baseball schedule we couldn't this past summer and we went for my birthday right after July the 4th! (my birthday is the 6th), and it was one of our best trips ever. Was it crowded? Yup! But we get up early and get the big rides done and take a break during the day - then go back at night. We also splurged and stayed on a monorail hotel this time (a first). We figured out what our priorities were, what we absolutely had to see, and everything else was lagniappe! The only thing we didn't get to do was see Merida. We also spend a lot of time at the pools. My girls are 9 and 13 and are pretty patient when it comes to long lines, so we are lucky. Good luck and have a great trip!

[Lizzie]

Is there more rain at the end of August or the middle of June. I went in the middle of June and didn't mind the crowds but did not enjoy the rain.