Last minute trip August 16-23, need advice

[999DoomBuggies]

So we are planning a last minute trip to WDW from August 16-23. We need some pointers because we usually do our trips outside of summer.

What should we expect in terms of crowds? Touring Plans seems to average crowds that week to around a 6. I sort of trust touring plans but I do not feel like we have a real gauge on wait times due to fast pass plus still being kind of rough.

Is the weather that much worse than Maryland this time of the year? Rains throughout the day?

Should we stay at POR or All Star Suites? We have five in our party and we're trying to do it as cheap as possible while staying onsite. This is our second lengthy trip this year.

 

[stamot]

Crowds are still heavy. It will be hot, very hot. It will rain almost every afternoon. Go to the dollar store and buy ponchos and take them with you. Remember to drink a lot of water and the quick service restaurant will provide you with ice water for free. I will say PoR but you will have more space at the suites. Have fun!

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Crowds are still heavy. It will be hot, very hot. It will rain almost every afternoon. Go to the dollar store and buy ponchos and take them with you. Remember to drink a lot of water and the quick service restaurant will provide you with ice water for free. I will say PoR but you will have more space at the suites. Have fun!

yeah the weather and crowds sound a little scary, hence why we never go in the summer. Hoping that we miss some of the crowds since a lot of schools are back in session on August 18th, specifically florida schools.

 

[Cap'nJack'sMum]

Florida in August is hot, unbelievably hot. You'll want to hit rope drop and take a few hours off in the middle of the day. Dressing for the heat and drinking water are very important, as is not overdoing it. You have to tour smart. If you've only been to WDW in cooler temps it may be shocking how hot it can be. That said, I love going to WDW in August. The kids aren't in school yet so we can stay out late, the midday thunderstorms are spectacular, and it's not as busy as early summer.

 

[lucyddr]

We've been in mid-August before. Yes it was hot, but we only had 2 stormy afternoons in a total of 10 nights! The crowds were heavy, but more manageable than July ones. We liked our last trip so much that we are going the exact same week as you again this year!

We are staying at POR. If you see some toddler coordinating twins (boy/girl) around, that's us!

 

[kam1011]

Those are our dates, too. We only travel in the summer and that week is when the crowds start to die down. Yes, the weather is way worse than Maryland. Typically in August, we get 95-100 degree days. I can remember one trip probably 4-5 years ago, we went this exact same week, and the heat index was over 100 every day. The parks were open until 3am back then with EMH and we would sleep in late, swim in the afternoon, and head to the parks from like 6pm to 2/3am because it was just way too hot to suffer through the day in the sun anymore! This summer has been a little more mild, so hopefully we'll be good.

Last year we went in July, and I was quickly reminded why we always avoid July

 

[999DoomBuggies]

We've been in mid-August before. Yes it was hot, but we only had 2 stormy afternoons in a total of 10 nights! The crowds were heavy, but more manageable than July ones. We liked our last trip so much that we are going the exact same week as you again this year! We are staying at POR. If you see some toddler coordinating twins (boy/girl) around, that's us!

If we see you we will say hi! I am super pumped for this trip, not often do we do one so last second but it should be really fun.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Those are our dates, too. We only travel in the summer and that week is when the crowds start to die down. Yes, the weather is way worse than Maryland. Typically in August, we get 95-100 degree days. I can remember one trip probably 4-5 years ago, we went this exact same week, and the heat index was over 100 every day. The parks were open until 3am back then with EMH and we would sleep in late, swim in the afternoon, and head to the parks from like 6pm to 2/3am because it was just way too hot to suffer through the day in the sun anymore! This summer has been a little more mild, so hopefully we'll be good. Last year we went in July, and I was quickly reminded why we always avoid July

Yeah I am worried it is going to be much hotter. The temps are only a bit off but I am guessing the humidity is much worse in Florida.

EMH are kind of weak except for two days of the trip. I wish the hours were to 3 am. The journey back to the hotel is pretty long (POR) thus we just stay in the parks all day.

 

[disneybirds]

We were just there for a few days. It is really, really hot. We hit rope drop every morning, then headed back to the hotel from 2-6. We tried to head to an air conditioned ride as often as possible. Definitely find an air conditioned place to eat lunch.

We didn't have any rain the days we were there, but it looked liked it could rain every afternoon/night. The nights were actually great because of the cloud cover.

Definitely carry ponchos with you. It is terrible to be caught in a rain storm and then head into the air conditioning.

I saw many with the frog togg towels. We didn't have them, but many say they help.

 

[Disneylover99]

Hot! Hot! Hot! Moderate crowds. Periods of afternoon rain.

We love it!!!!
Is it cheaper to stay in a Suite at Music or POR?

 

[lauritagoddess]

We always go around the last week of August. And yes it's hot, very hot. But it's definitely doable. We try to go for rope drop and hit things in the morning, go back in the afternoon to the hotel to hit the pool and then go back out in the evening when it's cooling down. We also try and alternate an outdoor ride/attraction with an indoor one, or just duck into a store to get some a/c before going on to the next thing.

Whoever mentioned it earlier in the thread, you can get free cups of water or ice at cs or snack stands that have fountain drinks. We definitely take advantage of that. We also like to carry around the small misting fans. It does usually rain every afternoon. We've found that ponchos are usually a waste for us. It's a pain to carry them around and it's ungodly hot in them in the August heat. We generally just try and get into somewhere dry and wait out the rain if we get stuck. On the rare days where it's more than just the afternoon rains, we prefer to carry umbrellas.

You'll be there the week before we arrive, but we've found that the end of August is decent crowd wise since a lot of the kids are already back to school then. Enjoy your trip!

 

[mistysue]

Frog Toggs can make a huge difference.
The temperature itself isn't bad- it will probably be in the low 90's every day but there is so much humidity the air feels like soup. I have to bring extra hair clips and things because our hair goes crazy.

The deal with the rain is that every day somewhere on property sometime around the window of 2-5 PM it will be sunny and then 10 minutes later there is a sudden downpour. Sometimes you see no sign of it but watch a bus full of soaked people arrive somewhere, or get to a park and everything is wet. If you have a stroller, ALWAYS cover it when you leave it alone outside even if the skies are clear.

 

[theghostking]

We'll be going Aug 18-24... We normally go at New Years (Dec-Jan). Does anyone know how the crowds compare to that time of year? We have been countless times and can easily handle the Christmas/ New Years crowds.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Hot! Hot! Hot! Moderate crowds. Periods of afternoon rain. We love it!!!! Is it cheaper to stay in a Suite at Music or POR?

Cheaper by about $600 or so. It is enough that we're doing POR and using the saved dollars on food etc.

We also considered courtyard marriott which is much cheaper. I think around an average of &80 cheaper a night after parking etc are considered.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

We always go around the last week of August. And yes it's hot, very hot. But it's definitely doable. We try to go for rope drop and hit things in the morning, go back in the afternoon to the hotel to hit the pool and then go back out in the evening when it's cooling down. We also try and alternate an outdoor ride/attraction with an indoor one, or just duck into a store to get some a/c before going on to the next thing. Whoever mentioned it earlier in the thread, you can get free cups of water or ice at cs or snack stands that have fountain drinks. We definitely take advantage of that. We also like to carry around the small misting fans. It does usually rain every afternoon. We've found that ponchos are usually a waste for us. It's a pain to carry them around and it's ungodly hot in them in the August heat. We generally just try and get into somewhere dry and wait out the rain if we get stuck. On the rare days where it's more than just the afternoon rains, we prefer to carry umbrellas. You'll be there the week before we arrive, but we've found that the end of August is decent crowd wise since a lot of the kids are already back to school then. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the good vibes...and to all the others in the thread.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

We'll be going Aug 18-24... We normally go at New Years (Dec-Jan). Does anyone know how the crowds compare to that time of year? We have been countless times and can easily handle the Christmas/ New Years crowds.

If you go by crowd calendars then it looks like your trip will be much less crowded in the last week of August than going in during the holiday time. We just went this year during marathon week and it was semi crowded and I expect a similar experience during the week we are going in August. Touring plans has this August trip a little less crowded than are recent January trip.

 

[Eliserose]

We went that time last August and are going back again that week this year. Yes, it was hot. Agree with everyone who said to make rope drop and have an afternoon break.
As far as crowds, we didn't find them bad AT ALL. We choose that time b/c many states are back to school. We used a lot of FP and didn't have long waits for anything.

 

[1974DW]

We are going that week too! We went 3 years ago that wk and it was HOT, but very doable. We got on everything we wanted to. Yeah for FL kids being back to school Pray for no hurricanes!! Hurricane Irene threatened us last time.

 

[katt789]

Everyone's covered most of it, just make sure you are drinking TONS of water, and wearing even more sunscreen!! Take breaks & don't push yourself too much in the heat!

We'll be there the 20-24th!