Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I've never been and we'd like to go this summer but I'm afraid it's going to be too hot.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

It will probably be REALLY hot...but if you do the parks in the morning and then late afternoon/evenings and hang by the pool during midday it won't be too bad. They also have waterparks which are fun for a hot day.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

What about the lines for the rides? Are they really long during the summer?

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I am sure they will....it's high travel season down there since the kids are off of school.

With some park planning & fast pass it may not be too bad. I believe the Unofficial Disney Guide gives advice for the best times to go to the parks.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

It will be hot for sure! But I will be there too! We can sweat together. LOL

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I went to Universal once in July, and my friend passed out before we made it onto the first ride. It was really hot, and too hot for me to enjoy myself during the day.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Just bring water and ponchos. I went twice in late July and both times like clockwork there would be a 3pm downpour which was actually refreshing and it clears out some of the lines temporarily.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I went in June last year and it was defintiey worth it (it always is - it's Disney!) but it was VERY HOT, and the lines were pretty long then and they're only longer in july. I recommend picking up a copy of "the Unoffical Guide to Walt Disney World" it's seriously the BEST resource about WDW. I just picked one up for DL too. They actually have detailed touring plans that help you get on all the rides you want even in the busiest seasons.

For the big name rides, namedly the mountains in MK, Mission:SPACE, Test Track and Soarin at EPCOT, Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster at MGM and Kali River Rapids at AK, ALWAYS get FP for one of those as sson as you get into the aprks. In the busy season Fps can be gone 2 hours after rope drop.

That's another thing, if you're a disney resort guest take advantage of extra magic hours (the park opens early or stays open late for resort guests only) and if not, get there about 1 hour before posted opening time, so you're there at rope drop. And don't stahd there with a map,. you will get trampled, know EXACTLY where you're going to go..as in, we're going to run tight to space mountain to get a FP for it, and then were going to get on line for splash mountain, etc. The Unofficial guide is seriously amazing, and it gives you a guide for each ride and the best times to ride them. It is the BEST $18 you will invest in your trip, and it even tells you about universal and other orlando attractions. Run, don't walk to the bookstore.

let me know if you have any other questions

Message edited 6/2/2005 12:14:31 PM.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I'm scared now Don't get me wrong I understand there are always lines and stuff but I don't want to be miserable. This is my first time in Disney World!

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

if anyone wants a copy of the unofficial guide i have two extras (both 2005) lying around. just fm me and i can mail it to ya.

my other piece of advice is to decide before you go what you absolutely cannot miss, what you would prefer not miss and what you don't really care about either way. b/c you probably won't be able to do everything. so if you can at least get through you can't miss stuff you'll feel better about the trip. another suggestion get one of those water bottles with the fan/spray thing on it. buy it before you go.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Honesttly, eve in the hottest weather and the worst crowds, Disney is well worth it, and there are ways to beat both.

The Unoffcial Guide is great. For my first trip I bought ti, ti detias EVERY atrtraction and I highghter and came up with a lost of "MUST SEEs" and alos like to sees and can live withouts. I can give you y suggestions if you'd like. Don't be intimidated. It's worth it. It really is. i was there for 6 days in June and it was hot, but I didn't get tired, cranky and miserable until the last day. :-P

Seriusly so much of it is indoors and many queuing areas are indoors.

if you need a break from the heat, go on carrousel of progress (never any line and GREAT AC, or go on TTA, breezy and relaxing. Also, Philharmagic has a great air condioned queueing area, and the lines at sme rides, like Buzz Lighyear move SO quickly.

I think it's def worth it. In the busier months the hours are long, they do certian parades twice, so there are always alternate times to see and do things.

I like to do park, early morning, back to hotel for nap.swim, whatever and then another park for the nighttime show, or some other nightlife at DTD or a dinner, etc, break up the day in the hot months.

the WORST park in the heat is EPCOT because it's so big and there are no talls tructures so the heat is just beating down on you, so if there's a cooler day, spend it there, but there are also a ton of buildings to duck into. itr's really not that bad. There are alwasy attractains that have short lines, seats and air conditioning. It's really not unpleasant.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Here's a great online guide

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Jen (Marymoon), you seem to know a LOT about Disney. When would you say the best time of year to go is? I've had great experiences when I went in early September (I guess because that's when a lot of kids are just going back to school?), but what would you say is the BEST time?

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

nevermind.

Message edited 6/3/2005 12:36:51 PM.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

I'm not Jen, be we go there a lot. I think the best time is mid - late September.

The kids are back to school. It's still hot but not quite as rainy as the summer months (although it's hurricaine season). I heard the parks start to get busy in Oct with the Mickey Mouse Not So Scary Halloween Party which starts in the beginning of Oct.

The next best for us is Mid May. The weather is perfect and it's before school lets out so there are not too many families but there are quite a few class trips. Plus I love the flower show at Epcot which is in May.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

The BEST time is between thankgiving and christmas (not too close to either though) and when i LOVE to go is the 2nd week in january - the 2nd week in february (excluding MLK) the 2nd week of feb is presidnet's day so it's crowded. These are the LEAST crowded times of the year. Spring you get spring break and summer is of course summer. Sept-Oct are moderate (also it's hurricaine season-rain!) , but winter is the BEST time. Those are the statistically lowest crowds, and the weather is really great. On our trips it's been mostly dry and sunny.


ETA: These times are the best crowd-wise. (also weather wise). They're also the best price wise for the hotels. if you look at the hotel rates that is alsoa good indicator or crowd levels. "Value season" = low crowds and lower prices, Regular season is moderate (this is like the may-june, sept-oct kinf of times), and then there's peak/holiday which are pretty bad. It hink July is considered peak season.

As far as events are concerned, there's a lot to take into account, there's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (I've seen neoither, but I've heard they're great). There are the xmas lights which they sjust brought back.

One of our most fun trips in terms of events was our June 2004 trip (june 6-10 or so) and we caught the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, which was a lot of fun, and the Star Wars Weekends, which TOTALLY awesome (buw we're big SW fans).

One other advantage to the "busy" times is that certain parades go on twice, so you have more leeway, and the parks are open later, but I don't see this as a ig advantage because I'm tired at the end of the day and I'd rather go when it's less busy and get it all done by 7pm, and then have time to have a relaxing dinner or hit DTD.

Also, it's MUCH easier to get PS for the less busy times of year. For our January trip, Fh and I were both calling for a PS to Cinderellas Royal Table for breakfast, the hottest ticket in WDW, and we BOTH got it in january and we just picked the better timeslot and cancelled it. For June, even though it was only a semi busy time, we couldn't get it., and for a busy month, you really need a lot of luck. This may not be that important, but it applies to other PS as well, probably for getting the fireworks time seating at cali grill, etc. I'm a HUGE off season advocate, so much so that I'd rather wait 6 months to go in Jan, than go this summer when I'm ITCHING to go. But if peak is the only thing that works for you, do it.

HTH

Jenn

Message edited 6/3/2005 9:06:06 PM.

Re: Am I crazy to go to Disney in late July?

Thanks Christine and Jenn!!!