Hello July DISers! (I just realized this is my first post under my new username- I turned 18 and figured it was time to make a new account that's not connected to the email/posts I made when I was 12
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My mom and I are considering a trip in July this year, probably at POP. We've only ever been in March and April, and all we've ever heard about July were stories of heat, crowds and Brazilian tour groups! We were hoping you all could let us know if there are any positive aspects about going in July. My dad said no to me missing a week of school in May, so it's the summer or nothing for us.
Love your new name change!!
I think going in July/summer is all about managing expectations and being prepared. We've done every month of the year at Disney and our preference is always for going in low crowds, low heat. However, we do not shy away from June-August if that is when we can go. So if it's summer or nothing, I choose summer!
Yes, it's going to be hot. Yes, it's going to be crowded. No, you won't get as much done as in January. Yes, it will rain.
OK, now that all of that is out of the way ... you are still in Disney and you can still have a wonderful time! Just mentally prepare for everything to take a bit longer but try to relax through it
Parks are open longer so you can enjoy more time in the evenings. The shows will have additional shows to see in the later afternoon and evening. You can swim every day and do Splash/Kali, etc without worries that you'll get too cold. You can tour in the morning and come back in the afternoon to swim/nap/shop/rest and still have lots of time in the parks in the evening. You wont' have to worry about flu season, people coughing all over you, love bugs, school tour groups (as much), etc.
You will need to be prepared with light colored clothes, multiple clothes for each day (your AM clothes will not make it that evening -- too sweaty/smelly), you'll need to drink lots of water etc. We like to take it slower (no running all over the parks) but seeing rides/shows in a circle. The time and energy it takes to fight the crowds with kids, older adults, strollers, heat, etc isn't worth running from BTM to Space Mtn so we'll just tour one-two lands at a time, no criss-crossing. We take 2 (or 3) showers a day -- quick ones but just to get all the sweat off of us and we feel soooo much better doing so. Bring a wet washcloth or personal fan/water mister bottle (FroggTogg chilly pad works great, too). Drink lots of water!!
A good basic, plan is the same no matter what month you go:
1) Get to RD
2) Tour popular rides first
3) Have a general plan and know where rides are
4) Eat lunch before 12 noon
5) Exit park by 1pm and swim/nap/shop (or if staying in park find rides & shows in shade/air conditioning)
6) Go back to park around 5-7pm if you want to ride a few rides...8pm if you're just going to do parades/fireworks
7) Eat dinner before 6pm or after 8pm
8) Take advantage of AM and PM EMH
9) Try to stay positive no matter what happens and expect that anything I just wrote above may not happen!!
We also usually have a day or two where we just head to the pool or DTD in the AM and then the pool. Then go to the parks around 3pm-ish to see the parades. After the parades a lot of people will leave the park, so that's when we head in and grab a FP, do some rides, etc. This becomes a very relaxing day for us and works great on an PM-EMH night so we can stay a lot later, esp when the weather is cooler at night.
Have fun and HTH!!
We will be at Bonnet Creek July 3 - 17.
I can hardly wait
