*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[lvcourtneyy]

Just booked today for August 25-30th! My sister and I will be staying at the Boardwalk!

 

[Aladora]

My original ADR post back in January:

Even though we are DL pros, I find WDW planning to be a bit stressful! This is our 2nd trip and we will likely make a few ADRs at a few places we don't want to miss out on. Last trip we did BOG dinner, Sanaa dinner (DS went to the kids club but he is old enough now to enjoy this), LTT lunch, Nine Dragons lunch, Rose & Crown lunch and Y&Y lunch.

So far we are planning:
BOG dinner
Sanaa dinner
California Grill (so we can also watch the fireworks from there)

We are debating Chef de France and Le Cellier, although being Canadian we may be leaning more towards CdF. DH wants to do Sci-Fi but I'm on the fence. We are not big on either buffets or Character meals so that cuts a bunch out of the list of possibilities.

and my post that I made right after I made our ADRs:

I'm mostly typing this out so that I can get it clear in my mind but if anyone has input into our plans then please post! Any days we don't have breakfast plans we will either eat at Mara or grab something at Starbucks

Aug 21 - arrival @ 5:30pm, check in at hotel, I will leave DH and DS at AKL and go to DS to exchange our Canadian vouchers and activate tickets.
Aug 22 - Epcot no breakfast or lunch plans, Dinner ADR @ Tutto Italia
Aug 23 - MK no breakfast plans, lunch ADR @ Plaza, going to try for a dinner ADR @ BOG when they open ADRs tomorrow
Aug 24 - AK no breakfast or dinner ADRs, lunch ADR @ Tiffins
Aug 25 - DHS no breakfast or dinner ADR, lunch ADR @ SciFi, also looking at booking the Fantasmic! Dessert VIP - any input on this???

Here is where our plans changed because of the possible MNSSHP on the 28th. We were going to take Aug 26 as our no-park day but instead will switch that to the party day. this way we will be able to maximize our 7 day tickets and hit each park twice.

Aug 26 - Epcot - no breakfast plans, lunch ADR @ 9 Dragons, late dinner ADR @ CG and planning on staying to watch the fireworks from their viewing area.
Aug 27 - DHS - still no breakfast plans! No lunch ones either but dinner ADR @ Sanaa
Aug 28 - MNSSHP (I hope!) Breakfast at Sanaa, lunch ??? dinner ???

We check out on the 29th but are staying at a hotel near MCO because our flight home on the 30th leaves at 7am. This is our last (sob) day at the parks.

Aug 29 - AK - no breakfast plans but lunch @ Yak&Yeti

Whew, that seems like a lot of plans!

Since those two posts, I have made and changed our ADR plans no fewer than 25 times.

As of this evening, the plans are:
Aug 21 - arrival @ 5:30pm, check in at hotel, I will leave DH and DS at AKL and go to DS to exchange our Canadian vouchers and activate tickets. - No change!
Aug 22 - Epcot no breakfast plans, lunch @ Coral Reef, dinner @ Le Cellier
Aug 23 - MK no breakfast plans, lunch @ Plaza, no dinner plans
Aug 24 - AK no breakfast ADR, lunch @ Yak&Yeti, dinner @ Tiffins - ROL package
Aug 25 - DHS no breakfast or dinner ADR, lunch @ SciFi, also looking at booking the Fantasmic! Dessert VIP - any input on this??? - No change!
Aug 26 - Epcot no lunch plans - breakfast @ Garden Grill, late dinner @ California Grill and planning on staying to watch the fireworks from their viewing area.
Aug 27 - DHS - no breakfast or dinner plans, lunch @ 50’s Prime Time
Aug 28 - MNSSHP late breakfast @ Boma, early dinner @ BOG.
Aug 29 - AK - no breakfast plans but late lunch @ Sanaa before we leave.

So, we started with 3 ADRs planned with no buffets or character meals planned, we are now at 12 ADRs with 1 buffet and 1 character meal. We are still looking at the F! dessert VIP package but there is nothing showing past June 30th.

I may need a Disney ADR intervention soon.

Edited because I just added 50’s PT on our second HS day.

 

[Spunky946]

disneat - finally nailed down our dates and resorts to be updated. 7/30-8/3 at pop, 8/3-8/6 at beach club - we were going to do akl, but I was able to get a discounted room, and 8/6-8/8 at universal.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

My gf is getting so nervous reading all the blogs saying not to go in August. She is so worried the weather is going to ruin the trip. Going beginning of the month

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

My gf is getting so nervous reading all the blogs saying not to go in August. She is so worried the weather is going to ruin the trip. Going beginning of the month

This will be our 12th August in a row! Yes, it is crazy hot and humid, but if you drink lots of water, wear light and comfortable clothing, take breaks (resort or pool or sit down meal) and do air conditioned shows in between rides, it's great! We also use frogg toggs (we love them, but not everyone does). Hope you have a great trip. We love going in August

ETA if it is rain that you are worried about, it's usually pretty brief- daily and often extremely hard rain / wind, but fairly brief. We just put on rain capes and enjoy!

 

[ITALIANNYC]

This will be our 12th August in a row! Yes, it is crazy hot and humid, but if you drink lots of water, wear light and comfortable clothing, take breaks (resort or pool or sit down meal) and do air conditioned shows in between rides, it's great! We also use frogg toggs (we love them, but not everyone does). Hope you have a great trip. We love going in August

ETA if it is rain that you are worried about, it's usually pretty brief- daily and often extremely hard rain / wind, but fairly brief. We just put on rain capes and enjoy!

Yup. The rain lol

 

[pens4821]

Speaking of rain, this may sound crazy, but does anyone not worry about ponchos? I know the thought of being wet isn't the greatest, but with it being so warm wouldn't you dry relatively quickly? Kind of like just being on a water ride? I hate the thought of putting one on, then carrying it around all day wet. Not to mention the thought of being even warmer inside of it. We don't have any type of raincoats so we'd just be using the dollar store ones which would probably rip after one use.

I've been thinking of this lately, and my family agrees thats what we should just do. We'll probably take a break every afternoon, so even if we do get wet we would be heading back at some point so we could change.

Just wondering if anyone else does this, and if you have did it work ok?

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Speaking of rain, this may sound crazy, but does anyone not worry about ponchos? I know the thought of being wet isn't the greatest, but with it being so warm wouldn't you dry relatively quickly? Kind of like just being on a water ride? I hate the thought of putting one on, then carrying it around all day wet. Not to mention the thought of being even warmer inside of it. We don't have any type of raincoats so we'd just be using the dollar store ones which would probably rip after one use.

I've been thinking of this lately, and my family agrees thats what we should just do. We'll probably take a break every afternoon, so even if we do get wet we would be heading back at some point so we could change.

Just wondering if anyone else does this, and if you have did it work ok?

We always use the Disney capes and they've held up well for several years. Once one ripped and we were able to get a new one no problem. Yes, it's a bit hot and sticky wearing them sometimes, but we only wear them if it's a violent down pore and we don't want to wait it out in a store or if we have to get to a dining reservation. If it's a light rain, we don't pull them out of the backpack. We carry one backpack and are able to store our 4 capes in it. However, we are 4 adults and can take turns carrying the backpack (for more than just rain capes). We always air out our capes at night / wipe them down and repack in the morning. It is extra work and sometimes I don't think it's worth it, but other times I am very glad that I made the effort to pack them.

 

[pens4821]

We always use the Disney capes and they've held up well for several years. Once one ripped and we were able to get a new one no problem. Yes, it's a bit hot and sticky wearing them sometimes, but we only wear them if it's a violent down pore and we don't want to wait it out in a store or if we have to get to a dining reservation. If it's a light rain, we don't pull them out of the backpack. We carry one backpack and are able to store our 4 capes in it. However, we are 4 adults and can take turns carrying the backpack (for more than just rain capes). We always air out our capes at night / wipe them down and repack in the morning. It is extra work and sometimes I don't think it's worth it, but other times I am very glad that I made the effort to pack them.

Thats one thing I never thought of. I don't think it'd bad being wet waiting in line or being on a ride, but wouldn't want to be soaked and sitting in a restaurant eating.

 

[MamaJessie]

Speaking of rain, this may sound crazy, but does anyone not worry about ponchos? I know the thought of being wet isn't the greatest, but with it being so warm wouldn't you dry relatively quickly? Kind of like just being on a water ride?
Just wondering if anyone else does this, and if you have did it work ok?

Thats one thing I never thought of. I don't think it'd bad being wet waiting in line or being on a ride, but wouldn't want to be soaked and sitting in a restaurant eating.

You figured it out before I even had time to see the post. We were like 'no biggie, it's warm' and jogged to our Y&Y ADR. We were shivering the entire time lol - we learned to always poncho before an ADR

 

[Disneylover99]

Speaking of rain, this may sound crazy, but does anyone not worry about ponchos? I know the thought of being wet isn't the greatest, but with it being so warm wouldn't you dry relatively quickly? Kind of like just being on a water ride? I hate the thought of putting one on, then carrying it around all day wet. Not to mention the thought of being even warmer inside of it. We don't have any type of raincoats so we'd just be using the dollar store ones which would probably rip after one use.

I've been thinking of this lately, and my family agrees thats what we should just do. We'll probably take a break every afternoon, so even if we do get wet we would be heading back at some point so we could change.

Just wondering if anyone else does this, and if you have did it work ok?

We go every August and every time we decided to go to the parks without the ponchos, we've regretted it. The August rain is just so unpredictable.

Sometimes it's so cloudy all day with thick dark clouds and you walk around all day holding onto your poncho in anticipation of whipping it over your head and then nothing.....not a drop of rain all day.

Other days it's beautiful and sunny when you go on a ride, and you come out to torrential downpours. Fortunately the rain doesn't usually last long, but sometimes it does.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Making a mental note now to remember to pack the ponchos!

How are crowds the last week of August? I have heard they are lighter with many kids going back to school.

 

[MamaJessie]

Making a mental note now to remember to pack the ponchos!

How are crowds the last week of August? I have heard they are lighter with many kids going back to school.

Haven't been but this seems to be the consensus from what I have read. We are doing the week before that and crossing our fingers it is not terrible.

 

[chiisai]

Based

Making a mental note now to remember to pack the ponchos!

How are crowds the last week of August? I have heard they are lighter with many kids going back to school.

Based on what I've heard, yes, the crowds themselves would be less. That said, there has been a lot of talk recently about how the lines themselves are quite long even with lower crowds, due to how WDW is now being staffed.

 

[Tomh]

In our experience (9 August trips, and one in July) the last week of August the crowds do drop off some, but not as much now as they did several years ago. However, with last years Hurricane still fresh in many peoples minds, this summer may see more of a decline in crowds towards the end of August.

It is true though, that lines are still long, compared with what we have seen previously, thanks to the lower staff levels at the parks. Park hours are shorter than they used to be as well.

 

[Diasmom]

Booked our hotels yesterday so we're now official: Aug.18-31 (mostly in the All-Star Music Resort)

Making the reservations was tricky and time-consuming; I have a total of 6 reservations for 4 adults and 3 kids doing split stays and complicated arrival/departure timings. At least the Disney Experience interface keeps everything organized and easy to see.

Has anyone had any luck getting Disney to combine 2 reservations in the same hotel for back-to-back nights? The hotel wasn't listed as available for a 2-night stay so I had to book each night separately. My daughter will be 8 months pregnant in August and I think she'd prefer to not have to change rooms. Would I need to call ahead of time or just talk to someone at the front desk at check-in?

We wwn

Booked our hotels yesterday so we're now official: Aug.18-31 (mostly in the All-Star Music Resort)

Making the reservations was tricky and time-consuming; I have a total of 6 reservations for 4 adults and 3 kids doing split stays and complicated arrival/departure timings. At least the Disney Experience interface keeps everything organized and easy to see.

Has anyone had any luck getting Disney to combine 2 reservations in the same hotel for back-to-back nights? The hotel wasn't listed as available for a 2-night stay so I had to book each night separately. My daughter will be 8 months pregnant in August and I think she'd prefer to not have to change rooms. Would I need to call ahead of time or just talk to someone at the front desk at check-in?

We also had luck with our stay at Caribbean Beach. Great cast member who really went out of her way to help us.

 

[jordandisney]

Adding myself to this list: Aug 15-23 AS Sports!

 

[glencoe]

crazy times!! We just found out today my son was accepted into the Disney College Program Fall Advantage 2018...so he has to report-June 4. Since we already have a family trip planned for Aug.10-18th he will stay with us in the resort instead of his apartment and then commute to where ever he is assigned to work from there. My concern is all of my ADR's, the DVC moonlight magic and the MNSSHP on the 17th that I bought tickets for already. Not sure how his schedule will be so I guess it is all up in the air!!! Plus part of our large group trip are a family he lived with in Canada for hockey that he was going to be spending time with.
All good stuff to worry about, but does put a kink in my carefully laid out plans!!!

 

[MamaJessie]

crazy times!! We just found out today my son was accepted into the Disney College Program Fall Advantage 2018...so he has to report-June 4. Since we already have a family trip planned for Aug.10-18th he will stay with us in the resort instead of his apartment and then commute to where ever he is assigned to work from there. My concern is all of my ADR's, the DVC moonlight magic and the MNSSHP on the 17th that I bought tickets for already. Not sure how his schedule will be so I guess it is all up in the air!!! Plus part of our large group trip are a family he lived with in Canada for hockey that he was going to be spending time with.
All good stuff to worry about, but does put a kink in my carefully laid out plans!!!

How exciting! Hard that it interferes with plans but what a cool experience! Fall Advantage starts June 4th? How long are those programs for?

 

[glencoe]

How exciting! Hard that it interferes with plans but what a cool experience! Fall Advantage starts June 4th? How long are those programs for?

Fall advantage starts June-Jan regular Fall College program check in is late august till jan.