Disney in July?

My DH has a conference there & wondered if it's worth it in July.
4yo & 22mo

Re: Disney in July?

Hot and crowded. BUT... are you willing to go to the parks at rope drop? are you willing to go back to your resort to take a break/swim/nap after lunch?

If you're willing to do those two things, you'll be fine! All of the normal summer stuff still applies, of course: sunscreen, stay hydrated, light colored clothing, sunshade on the stroller, etc.


- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008

Re: Disney in July?

LOL...what is rope drop?
Disney is NEW territory to me. I haven't been there since epcot opened (where is an old lady emote-icon when you need one?!)

Re: Disney in July?

LOL! "rope drop" is Disney-speak for park opening. You need to be through the turnstiles and watching the pre-show at least 20 mins before the actual park opening time.

People have great intentions of getting there at rope drop. Then reality sets in and most don't make it. The best/fastest/coolest time to tour the parks is before noon so you can be nearly done with your must-do's by lunch when the other lazybones are just getting there. SCORE!

- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008

Re: Disney in July?

My sister went in July last year. Said it was very hot. But they took breaks to go back to the hotel to swim.

They caught a rope drop by accident. It's basically a short ceremony they do to open the park. Said it was very cool.

Re: Disney in July?

Ahhhh, gotchya!

I boy, I'm REALLY going to need Disney research!!!!!

Re: Disney in July?

If you have the chance I would go. Just understand that it will be VERY hot, humid and very crowded. But if you plan well you can still have a nice time. Let me know if you want me to look up crowd calendars and park recommendations.

You will want to go ASAP to the disney website and book some dining if you think you might want to take your child to something like crystal palace or chef mickey's. Dining can be booked 180 out (should be out now for July). If you wait you might not get anything. They will want a credit card to hold it but you don't have to pay in advance (unless you are doing Cinderella's castle). You can always decide to cancel it IF you don't go of change your mind but you will have the ADRs. You will probably want to do a sit down meal to take a break from the heat.

I would plan to be at the parks very early - so that you are there for rope drop (park opening). This way you can get in a few rides before the parks get too crowded. I would make sure you bring a stroller with a good sunshade and maybe a stroller fan if you have one. Bring tons of drinks so you don't get dehydrated and changes of clothes (casey's train should be open - it will be an interactive water play area in the MK by that time so that might be one way to cool down). You will also want to consider taking an afternoon break say after lunch for the hottest part of the day for naps/swim/shower time.

If you plan it well you can have a great time. It can also rain a lot in the summer but usually they are short - but it often clears out somethings so if you are willing to throw on ponchos and go you can get some good ride/park time in.

You might want to consider looking at some of the unofficial guide/touringplans.com (FM for more info) they have touring plans that might be helpful for you since you will be going at a crowded time - that will help you get the most out of your park time. Also if you have a smart phone they have a nice app that you can download (I think it comes with the membership which is $10 or about $7 if you have an unofficial guide book) that tells you the current wait times for rides- which would be helpful to have.

Re: Disney in July?

Wow.....Disney really is foreign to me! I feel like I'm going to another planet with all the things I don't know!

Re: Disney in July?

I agree. Very hot and crowded, but can make it with Rope Drop, Afternoon Naps, and Fastpass.

Rope Drop refers to a few things. Most people just use it to mean park opening.

The term comes from the fact that they will let you past the turnstiles and sometimes partially into the park (like main street at MK, or the oasis at DAK) , and when they're ready for the park to open, cast members, holding back guests with a rope, will walk backwards slowly letting people into the park. usually long lines form as people dash to be the first to ride or get FP for headliner attractions, especially TSMM at DHS.

The "RD" ceremony is a short ceremony used to open the park prior to rope drop. They have eliminated this at every park but MK. I LOVE the show at MK. They pick a family to halp open the park. There is singing and dancing, a welcome from the
mayor" and a train comes in with Mickey and otehr characters. it totally brings tears to the eye.

if you watch this ceremony, you won't be the first one on the rope, and some people may be already going up main St while you're watching it, but it's not big deal.

I consider getting there before the park opens being there at Rope drop. I hang back and enjoy, and don't get into the throngs.

Why is rope drop so important?

because most people sleep in on vacation and even on the busiest days, the park will be uncrowded during the firsy 2-3 hours of operation. It's basically your only chance to ride Dumbo or Peter Pan's Flight without a line. You can basically walk onto rides for a few hours.
'
Another great benefit of RD is in the way the Fast Pass system works. Fastpass allows you to get a ticket with a return time for a ride. When your return time comes up, you'll get in the FP line and have to wait 0-10 minutes. You can get another fastpass either after 2 hours, or when the window for the first fastpass opens. Why this si so great at rope drop is that the windows will be early, so you cna get more FP in less time. For example if the park opens at 9, and you get a FP for Splash mtn, it will be for, let's say 915. Then at 915 you can get one for BTMRR which will be for 945, then at 945, get one for Space at 1030.

Don't USE these fastpasses in the early hours. RIde the rides while the standby lines are slow.

Since fastpasses can actually be used ANY time after the window opens on the day they were issues, you can use these later to avoid lines in the hotter, busier parts of the day

Re: Disney in July?

i go in july ever year!! we go for my ds bday which is july 22. yes its hot, and crowded, BUT. we love it. we know when to take breaks. alot of attractions are indoors. we know how to work the fastpasses to our advantage, so we dont wait on line for more then 15 mins tops, ever. So i say go.

Re: Disney in July?

we did disney in july when my sister was 6. we would go to the park from 8 to 12 and then go back to the hotel and swim and eat lunch from 12 to 3 and then go back to the park from 3 till closing. we also took a nap during that time too sometimes.

after that trip my parents took quieter and more relaxing vacations and now as we are older we go between october and january.

Re: Disney in July?