Anyone there now ? Hows the weather and crowds ?

[anjalee6]

So...for the most part...are the crowds so low that the parks seem almost empty?

Would never say almost empty. There are lots of people, but not to the crazy levels of most summers we have been. But, others in early July were saying they couldn't get any extra fast passes and we did each day. We found the parks manageable especially with scheduled fast passes.

 

[maryj11]

Would never say almost empty. There are lots of people, but not to the crazy levels of most summers we have been. But, others in early July were saying they couldn't get any extra fast passes and we did each day. We found the parks manageable especially with scheduled fast passes.

That's good to hear

 

[NashBridges]

It's funny to me how different people have such different opinions of the same time frame.

We just got home from 8 days. It was HOT, like unbelievably hot. So hot you don't want to move hot. Only rained twice, Sunday afternoon for an hour, then a few hours Monday around supper/early evening. Had a bit of thunder Tuesday late afternoon but nothing happened.

Crowds were very busy, headliners with 60-90 minute waits, other rides like pirates, HM, jungle cruise, etc average 30-40 minute waits. HS was the busiest I have ever seen it, I'm assuming because of Frozen. Our quietest day was AK but I think that's because it was so bloody hot that day that people avoided being in that park as it just seems to be hotter than other parks. We took advantage of rope drop everyday left the parks by 1pm and returned in the evenings. FP worked great for that.

 

[stky6]

we're coming down in two weeks and just hoping for hot....not HOT

 

[maryj11]

Oh I dont like the thought of HOT !!

 

[cakebaker]

why so many at HS is it because of all the Frozen activities going on ?

I would assume so. As for the question on Epcot - we walked up minutes before it started and got a decent spot. MK was crowded enough that they extended park hours yesterday to 1am! We closed the park. At midnight there was still a 45 minute wait for train and Anna/Elsa meet. CROWDED!!!

 

[maryj11]

I would assume so. As for the question on Epcot - we walked up minutes before it started and got a decent spot. MK was crowded enough that they extended park hours yesterday to 1am! We closed the park. At midnight there was still a 45 minute wait for train and Anna/Elsa meet. CROWDED!!!

 

[gannonfan]

It's funny to me how different people have such different opinions of the same time frame.

We just got home from 8 days. It was HOT, like unbelievably hot. So hot you don't want to move hot. Only rained twice, Sunday afternoon for an hour, then a few hours Monday around supper/early evening. Had a bit of thunder Tuesday late afternoon but nothing happened.

Crowds were very busy, headliners with 60-90 minute waits, other rides like pirates, HM, jungle cruise, etc average 30-40 minute waits. HS was the busiest I have ever seen it, I'm assuming because of Frozen. Our quietest day was AK but I think that's because it was so bloody hot that day that people avoided being in that park as it just seems to be hotter than other parks. We took advantage of rope drop everyday left the parks by 1pm and returned in the evenings. FP worked great for that.

I agree with this. We were down for 8 days and just left on Monday and it barely rained (maybe an hour rain in Epcot one day). But it was hot and it was soupy - very much what you would expect this time of year in Florida, just less rain than usual.

I thought it was pretty crowded while we were down there. You could get on most things without much of a wait in the first two hours, but after that you were looking at 30 minute waits on even the less popular attractions. And the last day (Monday the 4th) in the Magic Kingdom was just a sea of people.

Still a lot of fun, but it was hot and crowded throughout the parks while we were there.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

Was just there yesterday....

HOTTTTT. So hot that you sweat sitting in the shade. Drenched by afternoon. Gross. No rain, muggy weather, moderate crowds even in MK. Typical summer crowds, did NOT notice ANY foreign tour groups (thank goodness). Threat of rain was 60% but it seemed to just mean the typical afternoon storm.

 

[WildMouser]

Thanks for all the info. We too are going next week and appreciate it.


How about the water parks? My DS is very excited to go to water parks. We have never been....

 

[abmitch01]

if your ride is closed because of rain, do you have to see a CM with your magic band or does the magic band "know" and give you the extra fast pass on its own?

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

This is a very good thread. There seems to be a difference in opinion as to how crowded the parks were, though. Although quite a few have said the parks were *kind of crowded*, it seems that most felt that the non-MK parks weren't crowded at all.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

The most alarming thing seems to be that EPCOT is routinely empty. Yes...we know that Animal Kingdom usually *is*(and remains so)...but so many posters have noted that Epcot is dead. It seems that DHS has gotten a bit of a boost from the Frozen activities...but nothing to write home about.

 

[PJ]

We were at EP today and all of the headliner FP's were gone by 11:00. There were also at least 20 minute waits this morning at Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land.

It was busier than when we're normally here over the Winter, but I expected that.

 

[jsrj21]

Got here on Monday August 4 and leave on August 14. Crowds have been surprisingly light for August. We watched Wishes from the flagpole near Walt's bench at the beginning of Main Street and we arrived at MK at 9:45pm. We were shocked...even looking around as if we were doing something wrong. The weather has been typical.....the most it's rained was today from 4:30...ish for about 3 hours. Then it cooled down and there was a nice breeze. Just got back from MK. Overall a nice, smooth trip.

 

[maryj11]

Got here on Monday August 4 and leave on August 14. Crowds have been surprisingly light for August. We watched Wishes from the flagpole near Walt's bench at the beginning of Main Street and we arrived at MK at 9:45pm. We were shocked...even looking around as if we were doing something wrong. The weather has been typical.....the most it's rained was today from 4:30...ish for about 3 hours. Then it cooled down and there was a nice breeze. Just got back from MK. Overall a nice, smooth trip.

This is good news except the 3 hour rain, keep us posted on things the rest of the week

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Got here on Monday August 4 and leave on August 14. Crowds have been surprisingly light for August. We watched Wishes from the flagpole near Walt's bench at the beginning of Main Street and we arrived at MK at 9:45pm. We were shocked...even looking around as if we were doing something wrong. The weather has been typical.....the most it's rained was today from 4:30...ish for about 3 hours. Then it cooled down and there was a nice breeze. Just got back from MK. Overall a nice, smooth trip.

Wow...that's interesting. MK is the ONE park that always seems to be at least *relatively* crowded. Sounds like a great trip! BTW...how crowded does the CBR seem to you?

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

We were at EP today and all of the headliner FP's were gone by 11:00. There were also at least 20 minute waits this morning at Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land.

It was busier than when we're normally here over the Winter, but I expected that.

PJ...thanks for the report. I know you said there are big lines for the rides but do the walkways and restaurants seem full of people?

 

[jsrj21]

Wow...that's interesting. MK is the ONE park that always seems to be at least *relatively* crowded. Sounds like a great trip! BTW...how crowded does the CBR seem to you?

We have been pleasantly surprised with the crowds thus far. We always come in August because of school...I'm a teacher and my son a student. The heat/humidity and crowds are just things we accept as a given.

CBR is not crowded at all. We're in Jamaica and they've refurbished the rooms. I personally don't like the changes because it's darker than before. I like the tropical bright colors and they've removed them from the rooms. Beds are bigger and they've added a small [smaller than twin size] drop down bed...I forgot what they call them. They've yet to complete all of the buildings in the resort but at least they smell clean and feel refreshed. Gotta go...MK Mine Train FP at 4:00pm!!!!

 

[ethanwa]

I am a local (I live literally 3 minutes from Magic Kingdom) and here's my opinion about what the crowds/weather is like right now. I go to the parks at least 1-2 times per week, sometimes more.

Crowds: Manageable but still crowded. Far from empty. The Frozen Summer stuff has really helped displace some of the Magic Kingdom crowd, that is why it doesn't feel as packed... but there still is a lot of people compared to the off-season! Hollywood Studios is definitely more crowded than usual. The plan from Disney here has seemed to work.

EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are usually low in the summer because of the heat. Those two parks are the WORST to walk in at this time of the year. Plus, with Food & Wine Festival coming up, EPCOT won't get busy until then.

Weather: Typical mid-summer Florida weather. Worst time of the year... Hot and muggy. We have actually had some pretty high Heat Index ratings this year... consistently in the 100+ range. Drink lost of water, go inside a lot, you WILL get sweaty within 30-60 minutes of being outside. We haven't gotten nearly as much rain as I would like, which is good for vacationers I guess... but sometimes rain can help lower the temps quickly.

Ethan