Concerned about crowds, Aug 18-21

[laughinplace2]

I don't know why I just thought of it now, but it dawned on me that crowd levels might be really bad for our long weekend trip, especially with the plan we have. The reasons I think we might have to deal with horrible crowds are:

1). It is the weekend
2). We are doing MK and DHS on Extra Magic Hours days
3). Many kids are still not back in school at this point
4). This is where the room discounts AND the free dining overlap

Does anyone have any ideas as to why I might be wrong? I hope you do lol

Oh, did I mention my boyfriend HATES getting up early?!

 

[photo_chick]

We wnt around that week last year, it was a week of free dining and the last week before school started. We saw longer lines last August than when we went this year at 4th of July, but they still weren't that bad.

 

[lisafer05]

This won't help you at all, but I will also be there that weekend for my birthday! Last year I went on my birthday (which is August 20th) and it was crowded, but manageable. We were able to get on every ride.

It's more the heat that bothered me.

 

[mariacj]

I can't help you out for the 18th ( I am not doing parks on that day) but if you are not a morning person... be prepared to do the min amount, plan out your favorite must do's, fast pass at every opportunity, and stay cool.


Friday has PM EMH at MK.

Check out easywdw and check out Josh's free plans.

Free dining will only affect you only if you are eating on site at eligible restaurants. Check out places at the swan or dolphin if you need a nice place to eat.

It will be crowded, it will be hot (especially if you are not a morning person)...


most important... slow down and have fun. Good luck!

 

[TXMemaw]

I agree about the heat. We were there last year for my birthday (8/19) and while it was kind of crowded, it was more the heat and humidity that did us in and made us decide no more trips to WDW for my birthday.

We normally go in March and October and it was a little busier than those times. I've also been in June and July and I think they were a little busier than it was last August.

The FD promotion was going on while we were there and I did notice that it was harder to get a reservation at the last minute but it seemed that all the TS restaurants we did eat at, were not full. It did rain everyday and that did clear out some of the crowds.

 

[Tomh]

You may well have some crowds to deal with there. It is the end of the summer for a lot of school districts, a weekend, and the beginning of Free Dining. Who cares though, you'll be in Disney World

 

[laughinplace2]

I can't help you out for the 18th ( I am not doing parks on that day) but if you are not a morning person... be prepared to do the min amount, plan out your favorite must do's, fast pass at every opportunity, and stay cool.


Friday has PM EMH at MK.

Check out easywdw and check out Josh's free plans.

Free dining will only affect you only if you are eating on site at eligible restaurants. Check out places at the swan or dolphin if you need a nice place to eat.

It will be crowded, it will be hot (especially if you are not a morning person)...


most important... slow down and have fun. Good luck!

Thanks....yeah I'm a morning person but unfortunately my BF isn't. Just the fact that I got him to go to wdw is a big deal (he does not like Disney at all lol)....I assume the fact that there's free dining will elevate crowd levels in general, because more people are apt to book a trip if there's a free dining promotion...so that just has me worried as well as all of the other stuff I mentioned. I guess the fact is, I've done Disney tons of times...I have my favorite rides/attractions and I'll just have to accept that on this trip, it will have to be pick and choose....The thing I'm most afraid of is if the crowds are horrible on top of the heat and humidity, my BF will never wanna go back

 

[seals]

Was there another free dining promotion?

"For a limited time, get a FREE dining plan when you buy a "Memories Vacation Package" at select Walt Disney World resort hotels. Offer is valid for stays most nights 8/28/11-9/24/11."

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Was there another free dining promotion?

"For a limited time, get a FREE dining plan when you buy a "Memories Vacation Package" at select Walt Disney World resort hotels. Offer is valid for stays most nights 8/28/11-9/24/11."

They offered free dining in late 2010 starting 8/19/11.

We were there the first weekend of free dining in Aug last year and it was busy. I would say on a scale of 10 6-8 busy most of the days. We don't wait in lines much, we arrive at RD and use FP alot but we did wait for over 50 minutes in line at the food court at All Star Sports one night for dinner after the parks closed so my advice would be to eat in the parks and not rely on the food court, the lines were like that all weekend, we only were dumb enough to wait in them once.


We have found anytime we travel during value season b/c the park hours are lower than during peak times pm EMH's are very crowded. We don't find it worth it unless the EMH lasts after midnight and that only happens at MK. After midnight the crowds start to become bearable for us but otherwise we don't fool with EMH's during value season.

 

[laughinplace2]

Yeah, I could swear I remember one starting August 19th a while back.

Would you guys suggest I switch my days, so I won't be at DHS or MK on their EMH days? We don't have park hoppers so we don't have the option to just switch parks if its too crowded. Does it usually make that much of a different to not go on an EMH day? Cuz I've been to plenty of EMH days in the past, espcially evening ones, and didn't notice a huge difference in the crowds that day, but maybe that's bc I'm not usually in Disney during crowded time periods....

 

[justamy27]

We will contribute four of us to the crowd on those days. We have been every year during spring break so I am hoping this will seem much less hectic. Enjoy your trip,stay hydrated and patient and all should be fine!

 

[MHSweb79]

I also advise checking out Easywdw.com and poke around. Look at their crowd calendar for August, and also find his explanation of how EMH affects the overall crowds at any given park.

We always have park hoppers so it's easy to do morning EMH, then hop to a different park when the big crowds arrive, around 11am- noon.

We've visited in August several times and found the crowds to be moderate. We know with a good plan (which for us involves getting up early!) and smart use of FP's we can get everything done.

I would strongly recommend getting to Hollywood Studios early if you want to ride Toy Story Mania. If you arrive at 11am, FP's will either be gone or will have a return time of 7 or 8pm. The standby time will likely be 90-120 minutes.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We will contribute four of us to the crowd on those days. We have been every year during spring break so I am hoping this will seem much less hectic. Enjoy your trip,stay hydrated and patient and all should be fine!

If your normal is traditional spring break crowds you will love this time it will seem much less crowded to you. Hotter but alot less crowded.

 

[princesssunshine320]

We have gone the past three years in August and are headed back again this year. The crowds never seemed terrible. It is hot, but we felt that Disney was really prepared for the heat and offers plenty of opportunities to cool off! Have fun!!!

 

[elf]

We were there last year that week and it was crowded, more than I expected. I think what saved us this time is we did alot of evening stuff. If the park was open til 1:00am we did it, if my old age memory is right I think we were even at the parks til 2:00 or 3:00 one night. Our kids were between ages 11 and 15 and it worked for them too.

Every morning was spent by the pool. I wanted to do what my brother and his family wanted because we go to Disney often and they don't. So we tried their schedule and with the heat and crowds it worked out very well everyone was happy. Also went to Universal which was insane because of new Harry Potter area. Trick there is go on the bag free line.
I try not to overdo it with a person who's not Disney addicted.

 

[CaptMarge]

Thanks....yeah I'm a morning person but unfortunately my BF isn't. Just the fact that I got him to go to wdw is a big deal (he does not like Disney at all lol)....I assume the fact that there's free dining will elevate crowd levels in general, because more people are apt to book a trip if there's a free dining promotion...so that just has me worried as well as all of the other stuff I mentioned. I guess the fact is, I've done Disney tons of times...I have my favorite rides/attractions and I'll just have to accept that on this trip, it will have to be pick and choose....The thing I'm most afraid of is if the crowds are horrible on top of the heat and humidity, my BF will never wanna go back

My husband had zero desire to ever go to WDW, but I told him from day one of our "official" relationship that it WOULD be a requirement to take me at least once during our lifetime, as my parents were NEVER able to afford such a trip and I had never been. So when DS was 3 DH decided to get it over with and he took me to WDW, spared NO Expense as it was to be our ONLY trip to that boring place. Well, here we are 10 years later we've not only added DD but a DVC Membership. He fell in love with WDW, the atmosphere, the incredible cast members, just EVERYTHING. He takes us at least 2 times a year and now that the kids are older, he sneaks in adult only trips for food and wine every other year!! I hope you're BF finds the same experience despite the heat and crowds. Have a wonderful Magical trip, we will be there that same week, crowds and heat are nothing compared to memories, you could be at home in the heat instead of Disney!

 

[laughinplace2]

My husband had zero desire to ever go to WDW, but I told him from day one of our "official" relationship that it WOULD be a requirement to take me at least once during our lifetime, as my parents were NEVER able to afford such a trip and I had never been. So when DS was 3 DH decided to get it over with and he took me to WDW, spared NO Expense as it was to be our ONLY trip to that boring place. Well, here we are 10 years later we've not only added DD but a DVC Membership. He fell in love with WDW, the atmosphere, the incredible cast members, just EVERYTHING. He takes us at least 2 times a year and now that the kids are older, he sneaks in adult only trips for food and wine every other year!! I hope you're BF finds the same experience despite the heat and crowds. Have a wonderful Magical trip, we will be there that same week, crowds and heat are nothing compared to memories, you could be at home in the heat instead of Disney!

awww...that's so wonderful to hear! Unfortunately for me, my BF has already been there a few times when he was a kid and hated it then....so its not like he's starting with a clean slate. But I'm still determined to make him like it despite the heat and crowds. Something in me says that when he sees how unbelievably happy it makes me to be there, he will have to enjoy it himself....we shall see what happens lol

 

[mdelano4]

Because of other conflicts, this is the time of year we go almost every time.

It is hot, but most of the time it's been bearable. We limit the wardrobe to light weight shorts and t-shirts.

We have found the crowds to be much lighter than earlier in the summer, so for us that's the trade off for the heat.