Subsonic Radio

My wife and I are taking our 4 yr old and 9 month old to WDW the last week in August. My question is...what kind of crowds are there during this time? Are schools already in session by then? Thanks in advance for your input!

I believe most Florida public schools start August 24th this year so that week should be light in terms of local residents being in the parks.

August is not that bad. The only thing is the end of August to the end of September is the height of hurricane season. So, we have a hard time going during that time. We may be boarding up our windows, but Orlando is usually no problem, even during a storm. Have a great time and you will love it!

Bamafan19,

See the thread called "When to go....". I asked a similar question. You may find some information helful there too...

You know, I always guage how crowded the parks will be by going into a Disney Vacation page and looking at what resorts still have availability. I usually check the most popular hotels first (like Pop Century and Port Orleans French Quarter) and see what kind of availability they have. For instance, on my upcoming trip starting on August 1, I checked to see what kind of resorts and rooms were available and there are still rooms at all of the resorts I checked (including Pop), plus there were still Standard Rooms available. The standard rooms are always the first to go, especially in this economy. Therefore, my trip in August is looking good. You can also do the same type of thing on the online ADR site to see what is available leading up to your stay. Of course, my plan isn't foolproof, but it gives me a little bit of a better idea of what to expect.

I think a lot of people who are planning an August trip are probably saving it until later in the month when Free Dining starts, so I really think the beginning of the month will be less crowded than the end. There is an online crowd predictor and I can't think of the name right now - maybe someone can help me out?? This site is accurate most of the time, so it may be worth checking it out.

spoodie - That's a really great idea.

I would think that by the end of August, children will be back in school so the summer break crowd will be gone.

Yeah, at the beginning of August, there will probably be people who are taking their vacations at the end of their summer vacation, and at the end of August will be the people taking advantage of the Free Dining promotion and/or the families whose summer vacation doesn't end until after Labor Day. At the end of August, you will probably see more families with smaller children, but it will probably be the less crowded part of the month.

Oh yeah, the site I was talking about with the crowd predictor is www.touringplans.com - just remembered!

See you there!!!!!!! We have to go that week since they moved UP when DD starts school in MI. We usually go the 1st week of Sept for free dining.

The restaraunts are packed with free dining. It HOTTER than the face of the sun but the park lines were short so we keep coming back. We hit the park and then veg by the pool untill dinner time comes around or nap in the air conditioned room.

By 11am our tour plan is 1 ride outside, 1 ride/show inside. So it might be big thunder followed by country bears or haunted mansion. Alladin carpets followed by Pirates....

Timekeeper...where are you staying?

We are at All Star Music this time.... The 21st to 31st. Where are you at?

Last year there were 2 hurricanes "in the area". It was VERY windy with rain every hour our last full day but there was NO ONE around! Kept riding space mt with no lines, told DD no more big thunder railroad after 10 in a row. It was creepy empty!!!!! (The music seemed to be blaring with no crowd making noises.)

I've gone in August twice, the first trip being in 2002, and the second in 2007. Both times the crowds were relatively light (as compared to June or July), but still not empty by any means. Be sure to bring lots of water, lather up with sunscreen, and take your break every afternoon to swim and nap, because it gets HOT. The crowds are light enough, and the hours long enough, that you won't miss anything by taking a break, and you want to be energized for night touring, right? Also, budget into each afternoon a short, but furious, rain shower. Find some indoor attractions, or go inside for a while.

A funny story about our second trip. We had a pre-MK opening breakfast at Chef Mickey's, and then went into the MK right when it opened up. The place was empty all morning, I'm talking walk-ons at 11:30 for Splash and Big Thunder, and we felt like we'd won the lottery, and said "If this keeps up for the entire trip, we'll be in heaven!" We didn't find out until we went home that there was some kind of bomb scare at Disney World that morning! The crowds re-adjusted, but they were still never terrible.

Will anyone be at WDW August 13 - 16??

timekeeper wrote:We are at All Star Music this time.... The 21st to 31st. Where are you at?

Last year there were 2 hurricanes "in the area". It was VERY windy with rain every hour our last full day but there was NO ONE around! Kept riding space mt with no lines, told DD no more big thunder railroad after 10 in a row. It was creepy empty!!!!! (The music seemed to be blaring with no crowd making noises.)

We're in the All-Star Movies (Aug 23-29).

It will most likely be empty there. We were there from July 3 - July 11 and the crowds were only relatively bad on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th. During the week the crowds thinned out a lot and there were plenty of Disney walk-ons.

bamafan19 wrote:

timekeeper wrote:We are at All Star Music this time.... The 21st to 31st. Where are you at?

Last year there were 2 hurricanes "in the area". It was VERY windy with rain every hour our last full day but there was NO ONE around! Kept riding space mt with no lines, told DD no more big thunder railroad after 10 in a row. It was creepy empty!!!!! (The music seemed to be blaring with no crowd making noises.)

We're in the All-Star Movies (Aug 23-29).

Have a good trip!!!!!