Here’s why August can be the best time of year to visit Orlando, and how you can survive the hot, humid weather during hurricane season. No. We have booked August 25th to September 1st to coincide with free dining and before returning to school.Noticed that there are no Happily Ever After fireworks listed for this whole week. Again you can expect Florida to bring on the heat in August. One year, there was a huge storm that rolled through while we were at Animal Kingdom. If you haven’t been to Disney World in August before, these tips are perfect for you! Going during March Break or Christmas means we’d have to fly (doubling the cost for our family) and facing “peak” crowds. The project that will have the most noticeable impact on the guest experience is the massive reimagining at the front of Epcot, which will eliminate Future World and replace it with 3 new neighborhoods. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. In January, the weather tends to be cooler and lines can be shorter later in the month. n=window.pintrk;n.queue=[],n.version="3.0";var Epcot’s silver lining is that three new films and two new restaurants will debut prior to August 2021. The second half of the month is fall, which means Halloween (yes, you read that correctly) and Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. We are taking a break from travelling to Florida in the next few years, but when we return we will be doing the last two weeks of August again! Not everything will be listed on that until a few months before August. You are spot on!! img#wpstats{display:none} We’ll have to give in to higher prices and higher crowds overall, but at least I won’t have to spend an hour cooling down in a random hotel’s lounge area each day when I could be exploring the parks. Will never go in August again. Some of my fondest memories of Walt Disney World are from those Extra Magic Hours closings in Magic Kingdom, strolling through a virtually deserted park. Get to the parks early, do a few hours, then spend the hottest part of the day (aka afternoon) at the resort or hotel pool. In general, Disneyland is open 14 to 16 hours per day, every day in August. var ml_account = ml('accounts', '690017', 'n2d1i6b0i8', 'load'); This unprecedented overhaul has led us to address the question Should You Visit Epcot in 2021? We sipped water all day and I seriously don’t think us or the kids ever used the restroom the whole day. She pulled me into an air conditioned room located a few feet away. Definitely did NOT dampen our spirits! Start planning for 2020 now! However, even after that’s updated, it doesn’t fully cover the construction all around Walt Disney World–just attraction closures. Disney has gotten better (or worse, from our perspective) and more sophisticated with its crowd forecasting models, and this “secret window” isn’t quite as good as it once was. This is the perfect opportunity for those of you who have kids that start school in September to take a trip. As far as pricing goes, early to mid-August is considered “regular” season and late August is “value” season for one-day park tickets (read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post for ticket recommendations to avoid having to deal with seasonal pricing). I’m planning to take a couple of personal days so that we can enjoy the Monday and Tuesday after the holiday (those are supposedly low crowd days!). As more and more school districts go back into session, August crowd levels should decrease. This August at Walt Disney World guide includes a free crowd calendar, when to visit & avoid, weather, new attraction openings & closures, and summer events. Conversely, Magic Kingdom is less busy on days with MNSSHP in the evening and more busy on days the Halloween Party is not occurring. In numerical terms, the first week of August is about 6/10 to 7/10 on the crowd calendar (depending upon the park and whether it’s a weekday), with subsequent weeks in the 4/10 to 5/10 range. Tickets are available to attend on 8/25 and 8/29. I have heard that there are water bottle refill stations at Cosmic Rays Starlite Cafe. We typically head to Disney the last week of August – I’m a teacher so we’re chained to the school schedule, but in New York we don’t go back until after labor day (this year that means we can push our trip to the first week of September) – later than just about anywhere else in the country. This is like the difference between the actual temperature and the “feels like” temperature, but with crowds. I think the resorts are also charging fees now? We don’t offer a color-coded August crowd calendar to start this because that’s reductionist and doesn’t give you the full picture of Walt Disney World attendance trends. Live content, tips, and more can be found on our account. We ended up seeing a show that we never would have gone into and loved every moment! Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Now that we’re locals and visit all the time, August is far from our favorite month. AUGUST 2020 OPERATING HOURS AT … Curious about more on booking through a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner? As far as room rates go, August is among the lower seasons. Additionally, a huge expansion to the France pavilion that includes the family-friendly trackless dark ride, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, will likely debut by Summer 2021. In addition to our standard Unique Items to Pack for Disney, you’ll want to pack the cheap 10-packs of ponchos; we’d recommend ordering 1 per person per day. Where we live, we have 2.5 months, at most, of spring and summer weather. We live in a part of the world where living atound the weather is a way of life so its second nature for us. August is the heart of hurricane and storm season in Florida, so you should be prepared for that. Even with Frog Toggs towels and water constantly in our hands, the heat and humidity were horrendous. Just join our private WDW Vacation Tips Facebook Group and ask away! I would have preferred late June, as soon as my kid and wife are done with school (one’s a student, the other a teacher), but that got vetoed, a they did not want the big vacation to be at the start of their summer breaks. Went in late August the year of Hurricane Charlie. It’s still one of the worst months of the year to visit thanks to the weather, and somewhat unpredictable crowd patterns, but at least there are seasonal events towards the end of August. They are not allowed in the park. My family and I, (wife, 3 girls ages 6, 8, 11) go in late August every year for 10 days. (UPDATE 1/6/21) – Walt Disney World started its phased reopening on July 11, 2020, with Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening, followed by EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.We’ve updated our Crowd Calendar to reflect the latest crowd expectations for early 2021 and beyond. r.parentNode.insertBefore(t,r)}}("https://s.pinimg.com/ct/core.js"); Any time of year can be busy now, as disney is getting better at filling the resorts and parks during downtime by hosting sporting/cheerleading events at their ESPN center etc. Don't froget that a solid park plan can be almost as good as traveling on a low crowd day. If you can get past the weather, August is a decent time to visit. Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. Best time of the year for us! My husband and I visited in mid-August the past two years. A plus to this time of year is access Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween. One good thing that came out of that – we now have a new family name: the Solarnauts. The wine and food festival is a draw during that time (and that is only pcot) but crowds are not bad. For more tips and info on traveling to Walt Disney World during this re-opening phase, … Fortunately, if you’re visiting earlier in the month, you still won’t have to pay full price, because there are room-only discounts available for August. If you have a Park Hopper ticket, we’d advise visiting Magic Kingdom during the day on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party nights, and then bouncing to another park at around 4 pm. The weather may be terrible, but we’ve pretty much been able to walk on to every ride, so there’s definitely a trade off. August is basically two different months in terms of Walt Disney World’s “seasons.” The beginning of the month is summer, which means Diet Epcot and not much of anything anywhere else. Mid-September through mid-November (except during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort) If you prefer hanging out when the weather’s warmer and hours are longer, June through August is right for you. The parks also, rightfully so, fill up with local residents on the weekends. We can still forecast attendance, but not the resulting wait times. Dad’s 2020 WDW Crowd Calendars. Nice cool temperatures and moderate crowds more than mad up for early park closings. You can read why we love them in our Typhoon Lagoon FAQ & Tips and Blizzard Beach FAQ & Tips posts. Walt Disney World attendance followed an identifiable pattern that tracked with the aforementioned proxies. window.pintrk.queue.push(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments))};var Also go left into adventure land. Then there’s the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which will mark the end of Diet Epcot, the festival-less summer months that Epcot sees low attendance. We go every August and have had the same experience! If you are ready to book your Disney World vacation Request a Quote or Information with Magical Travel and let the experts do all the heavy lifting! California Adventure hours may be slightly shorter. We went the last week of August through the first of September back in 2011. Suffice to say, it better serves readers to offer an explanation in terms of what to expect crowd-wise this summer at Walt Disney World. Overall, early August is a lot like July–arguably worse due to the weather–which we consider the worst month of the year to visit Walt Disney World (you’ll want an itinerary for touring the parks). Singing in the Rain! It did, however, seal the deal with staying on resort. Hi Tom. there are room-only discounts available for August, you’ll want an itinerary for touring the parks, Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets. This might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s because the party is separately-ticketed. It’s just too bad because, with my schedule as a teacher, there are very few times of the year when it would be a good time to go. Read our detailed monthly guide for visiting Disney World in August to find our more details about crowd patterns, events, weather, and more. This August at Walt Disney World guide includes a free crowd calendar, when to visit & avoid, weather, new attraction openings & closures, and summer events. Read our full guide on handling crowds to prepare yourself for visiting Disneyland in August in case you experience crowded days on your visit. The good news? Check out our Disneyland Plans and Disney California Adventure Plans before your visit! Share This! Request a Quote or Information from Magical Travel Today! It’s really the best we can do, and we’ll work around the weather. From a crowd calendar perspective, the week beginning August 16 is the best time in August to visit Walt Disney World. It’s right there with August in terms of the worst weather of the year, with comfortable weather only 15% of the time–and that 15% occurs between like 2:13 and 5:49 a.m., so it doesn’t do you any good unless you’re nocturnal. In August though, with the heat, I’d forget the busses and rent a car. The great thing is that if you go for two weeks you can work around the weather. If you have health issues that make you have to stay out of the heat, then August at Disney World is obviously not a good idea. You also have the bonus factor of all the concrete in the parks reflecting the sun back at you when you're there. Official dates have yet to be announced, but we expect it to begin in the last week of the month. Unfortunately, wait times no longer reflect actual crowds because of the aforementioned manipulation. ** PLEASE NOTE ** The intrepid host of this thread is, at times, not all that smart. We tried staying on the resort twice. I honestly see no downside to August, what-so-ever. Given the heat, humidity, and all of that, August is another great month for enjoying the best resort swimming pools at Walt Disney World. _.parentNode.insertBefore(r,_);})(window, document, 'script', 'https://static.mailerlite.com/js/universal.js', 'ml'); September marks the beginning of Halloween at Disney World. August 17-31 | MNSSHP, Food and Wine Festival; September | Food and Wine Festival; November 16-18 | Food and Wine Festival, Holiday Resort Decorations; December 1-11 | Festival of Holidays; Overall Best Time to Visit Walt Disney World. My wife and I are also both Teachers BUT Canadian, so the opposite works for us and we focus on the last two weeks of August when the US schools in that region have gone back.! Humidity levels exceed 94% for the majority of the month, and it rains 70% of days. During this week, most K-12 students were back in school, but college classes had not yet resumed. Want to ask us for help? function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} June 15, 2020 June 15, 2020 Erin Foster 12 Comments coronavirus. Temperatures are pretty consistent throughout August, heart of hurricane and storm season in Florida, so you should be prepared for that, eliminate Future World and replace it with 3 new neighborhoods. Those might look dorky, but you will be thanking me by the end of the trip. August is a sign the summer is coming to an end and with that means a slight amount of relief from the heat. There it is — the best time to visit Disneyland in 2021 and 2022! Your email address will not be published. If you’ve visited in August, do you have any tips to add? As well it is still the rainy season so you do not want to forget to pack the ponchos! Yes. Yes, it was very hot but the heat is tolerable as long as you don’t stand around for long stretches in lines or watching parades in the middle of the day. You’ll have to pay extra to stay for the evening. We’ll stress the same thing here that we did in our July at Walt Disney World post: “a rainy, crowded day at Walt Disney World is better than a perfect day at home.”, To underscore that point, and help relieve those of you who have already planned vacations for August: this used to be our go-to month to visit Walt Disney World. in a dedicated post. I have *recently* realized the absolute usefulness of the "search" function in Chrome. I recommend being there for the rope drop. !function(e){if(!window.pintrk){window.pintrk = function () { Bring a water bottle but not a glass one. I remember the last time we went in summer, it was early August and sweltering, and was not keen to repeat the experience (at least we did pretty good in terms of rainfall that trip). We love August!!! You can’t just cut in front of the hordes of people to get a glass, and it’s a tiny cup when it’s 95 degrees and 95% humidity. The latter are what most of you likely care about (the “feels like” crowds), but it’s more difficult to predict wait times via Walt Disney World crowd calendars. Despite my reservations, we reserved our summer trip this year for mid to late August (3rd week of the month). There are always some restrictions on dates, but you can save 20-30% at many resorts (with even better offers if you’re an Annual Passholder or Florida Resident). In this video we show you what it is like to go to Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom during the Covid-19 pandemic. At your hotel, you can enjoy a nap, AC, the pool, a movie, or anything else that will give you a break from the suppressive Florida heat. pintrk('page'); Disneyland Weather in August. Crowds from Touringplans.com. This will be most noticeable beginning August 8 and will continue for the remainder of the month. THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. WDW Vacation Tips is designed to be a tool to help you plan your magical vacation to Disney World. Planning a Walt Disney World trip? August is a sign the summer is coming to an end and with that means a slight amount of relief from the heat. Your email address will not be published. Essentially, the distribution of summer crowds at Walt Disney World is like a Bell Curve. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know! Both parks will have long hours in August. We have dvc and it is also a better use of our points!!! The ten recommended weeks that follow are \ of the best weeks to visit Walt Disney World in 2020. Read our Tips for Beating Summer Heat & Humidity post for ways to minimize the affect of unpleasant summer weather on your vacation. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are both now open. Here’s what else you can expect from August at Walt Disney World…. It wasn’t the most pleasant time, but it also wasn’t ungodly hot either (obviously we survived) We just went back to our hotel for naps/pool time each day. Required fields are marked *. f.q=f.q||[];m[e]=m[e]||f.bind(f.q);m[e].q=m[e].q||f.q;r=a.createElement(i); Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments! This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any other way associated with The Walt Disney Company. Poor weather in August is exacerbated by high humidity and rain. Recently I was able to fulfill my life long dream of being a Florida local and moved from the wintery Northeast to the sunshine and fun of central Florida. PLEASE READ MY. The room was so well hidden, you’d never know it was there. For most people, the answer will be yes, but it’s still worth going in with a realistic view of just how bad construction will be. Here is what to expect when visiting Disney in August. So the later in August the better but I'd still expect large crowds. I think we are going to try Thanksgiving next time we go. var _=a.getElementsByTagName(i)[0];r.async=1;r.src=l+'?v'+(~~(new Date().getTime()/1000000)); If you stay at a resort ( we stay at vacations condos -a lot more convenient and cheaper) a shuttle will take you back and forth to the Disney car care center after you arrive. It’s in the mid-70s year round at Walt Disney World’s indoor attractions thanks to the true Disney magic: air conditioning. If your schedule is flexible you can beat the crowds a little bit by visiting in Early June or Late August! You can get free glasses of water at food stations, but it’s a major PITA and time sucker. Some of our fondest memories are those that include wacky rain storms or photos with intense clouds hovering over the castle. Can it rain? After you have lunch plan to go back to your room. Don't forget this website is packed with loads of tips and tricks for your next Disney World vacation. Thankfully, Disney offers plenty of ways to cool off, from resort pools to the Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks.American families getting their last vacations in before summer gives way to school may … They ended up asking everyone to get into a sheltered place until the storm subsided. We typically go to Disney every year, and almost always in August, due to school/work schedules. window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; Things are changing this year as for the first time Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party actually start at the end of August! If you are visiting Disney World in August 2020, post your dates, and resort in the thread, and I will add you to the roll call! You can also see historical weather, holidays and special events. We’ve always found that it’s pretty much us and what seem like a whole lot of Brits. We went the last week of August in 2019 and bought Camelback backpacks with a 100-oz water bladder. The best advice I can give anybody I learned from the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. You may catch the tail-end of some Holidays at Disneyland attractions and entertainment during the first week. It’s a simple plan- arrive early, break at 11:30-4 for nap and swim, rotate inside outside rides and attractions, always eat sit down inside meals, stay in the shade when possible, frog Toggs, cooler bag with ice for water and frog Toggs. (function(m,a,i,l,e,r){ m['MailerLiteObject']=e;function f(){ How To Do Disney World in the Rain, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide, Disney Costume DIY for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, Request a Quote or Information with Magical Travel. I have been visiting the parks annually since my parents first brought me at just a year old. I would hesitate, however, to just go for a week in case you hit a rainy week. With schools in the south heading back in session at the beginning of the month you start to see crowd relief by the end of the month. For more information, check out Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide and don’t forget our Disney Costume DIY for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. This causes guests to avoid Magic Kingdom on days with shorter hours. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. Really. As noted above, the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion offers limited availability in August, but more dates could be added later. We went in late August last year. In August, watch out for days in magic kingdom that have mickeys halloween at night. The heat is at its worst during the afternoon. Dad’s Disney World Events page. We already blathered on about La Nina in the July at Walt Disney World post. The latter is literally the best Walt Disney World attraction in decades–better than Avatar Flight of Passage. Jump to Crowds Warnings / Special Events / Top. For years, this approach worked and made crowd calendars reliable. Here is what to expect when visiting Disney in August. We did do early November (“Jersey week”) in 2016, which was primo as far as I am concerned, as both the wife and kid had a full week off. We also would love for you to follow along with us over on Instagram. Yes. DISNEY WORLD SPECIAL EVENTS IN AUGUST 2020. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Can it be hot? Worst of all, the end of August is now worse from a crowd perspective, due to Walt Disney World’s dynamic 1-day ticket pricing. Read our full benefit guide. Hopefully that makes sense! This means that early June and mid-August are the best times to go from a crowd calendar perspective during what’s traditionally considered summer vacation season. . If the heat, humidity, and storms don’t bother you, late August is a potential time to consider, but we’d recommend anyone with a slightly flexible schedule choose a different time to visit. Input your search keywords and press Enter. While we recognize that it isn’t ideal because of the weather, we are limited in our vacation time because both my husband and I are teachers. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. We’re firm believers that there’s no bad time of year to visit Walt Disney World. For official information about the Walt Disney Resort, visit https://www.disneyworld.com. Once at Pop Century. August is about the hottest time to visit Disney World. Late August can still be a decent time to visit Walt Disney World, but it’s not for everyone. The cast members brought out snacks/games and crafts for the kids to keep busy with while we enjoyed a drink at the bar. Worked great! On average, in August you can expect high of 91 degrees and an average low of 75 degrees. It hardly rained over the last two years although it was a bit on the overcast/cooler side last year. You can go anytime and have a magical visit. Suffice to say, there’s still the “strong probability” of that in August, since it’s the worst month of the year for tropical storms. When the storm was over, I threw it out. I survived Disney World in August – twice. We can’t afford the moderate to deluxe prices and what you get for the value is just not worth it to us anymore after we discovered that we could get a three bedroom vacation condo for 40-50 US less a night than a value resort! Ponchos, hats, etc. We love to bake in the last two weeks of august. Return to the parks after or for dinner, and a few hours of night time rides and shows. Lightning can strike in a 5 mile radius from its origin, so when there is lightning pools and outdoor rides etc will shut down covering a range that is not practical to travel outside of. By contrast, late August is a lot like September, which is in the middle of the pack in terms of best and worst months to visit. We expect that this will bump up crowds earlier than ever in September. Our best tip, outside of packing shoes that hold up in the rain and ponchos is to take a scheduled afternoon break. But, for those looking to beat the crowds, we have some suggestions! I was speaking to some relatives who mentioned that the schools in amercia may be on holidays in august. Thank you so much. Once at Coronado Springs when it was discounted to the price of a value resort. August 2020: 2020: China Pavilion: Epcot: Wondrous China Debuts The China pavilion will debut a new, completely seamless 360-degree digital format film in 2020 — a month or season for the debut has not been announced. It’s hot!! Once inside, I didn’t notice the heat as much just by sticking to shaded areas and walking under awnings wherever possible. I agree. June, July and August tend to be the peak months for families visiting Disney World. Although some schools begin again as early as mid august, the majority do not until the start of September. pintrk('load', '2613960626465', {em: ''}); You also get great prices on car rentals and vacation condos at this time of year. I also ran into rainstorms and, despite the inconvenience of getting soaked, they definitely help cool down the temps. We do the same. Disney World Ride Closures and Refurbishments in August 2020: All Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party events have been canceled for the 2020 season.. Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World Railroad is closed until further notice.. Magic Kingdom - Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover closed through October 31, 2020. It was so humid, I passed out in Animal Kingdom. Since Disney doesn’t release official attendance numbers, crowd calendars use things like school schedules, airport traffic statistics, hotel pricing & occupancy, etc., as proxies for crowds.