Who's gone during slow times/great weather, then had to switch to summer?

[Gregandmel]

We have been to Disney twice in the last 2 years (October 2008 and April 2010). Both times we had awesome weather and very very decent crowds. We are SPOILED!! And it's helped to make these 2 trips so wonderful and relaxing for us! Unfortunately, with the kids getting older, taking them out of school is becoming impractical. I believe (due to DH's work schedule) we will be limited towards the end of June the next time we go. For those of you that have been spoiled by great weather and low crowds, how bad is it to switch to the summertime? We are early risers and get to the parks about 30-40 minutes before opening and are well versed in fast passes and strategies in making the most of the first 2-3 hours. We live in the Midwest and are used to heat & humidity (to a degree) but did it affect your overall trip? I know it's all about the attitude, but honestly - I"m a bit worried about how the heat and crowds might impact us. But wanted some input from you all! Thanks!!

[faline]

We've been in all sorts of weather and crowds of all sizes - from practically empty to so crowded, it's hard to move. We've gone in sunny, pleasant weather; downpours; hot, humid weather; and even with fires in the area while smoke makes it hard to breathe and ash is falling on you at the pool!

We've been Christmas week; Presidents week; in January and in August. We've been cold enough to wear gloves and winter coats and been hot in shorts and tees.

You clearly need to adjust your expectations as well as your plans to meet your goals and the realities of your trip. You can still have fun regardless of when you go!

[cather74]

If you stick to the early riser/fast pass plan. You'll be back at the pool by 1 or 2 no problems.

[alaMode]

Definitely get to the parks when they open and you'll be fine crowd and weather wise!

Enjoy your trip!

[FloridaTeacher]

You nailed it when you said it's all about attitude. We've been in all different conditions and have had a great time regardless of crowds and weather. I will say we are native Floridians, so we're a bit more adjusted to the heat and humidity...we've watched several "yankees" have melt downs in our hot, humid summer. I felt really bad for them.

The key is to remember it's a vacation not a marathon and just relax, enjoy and chill out (literally) when you start to get "hot under the collar."

[Dsnygirl]

We, like you, have been blessed to have been able to visit in the more temperate months, both weather and crowd-wise. (Jan, May, Oct & Dec)

This year, however, for the same reasons you are considering changing your travel dates, we are giving August a shot -- and hoping we don't experience the "Yankee meltdown" the previous poster has seen!!

I'll let you know how it goes... we're not planning anything specific day-to-day outside of some ADR's, which is completely unusual for us... but we figure we want to be open to changing things around if the heat gets too oppressive, or t'storms roll in... or if we just end up exhausted and need more breaks than we are used to taking. We want to REALLY enjoy this trip, in spite of the heat, and are prepared to do it a completely different way in order to make that happen. (And who knows -- we may end up liking it better this way -- I'm keeping my )

Good luck as you make your decisions... and I'll have my trip reports up in September!!

[darthmacho]

Wow! You describe my situation perfectly. As you can see by my signature below, we took our first two trips in April and October like you did, but now our last two trips, and our future trips, are all planned for the hot and humid days of August. What can you do? Kids, right? Also, I prefer to go during value season, so July is out.

[princessgirls]

I agree with the other posters...You make it work in the heat and humidity, yes we have gone at better times of the year.

December and March being my favorites! December requires my kids coming out of school, which is OK, but the make-up work is a killer, and March for the SAME trip in August was $1,500 more. We even added days to August and added the waterparks and it was still a good amount less than March.

The park hours are also better in the summer, the parks are open longer, so if you are up and out early, you can do a mid-day pool break and have a full night.

For me, it's simply economics and kids schedule, the end of August there seems to be some deals available, so it's worth it to put up with the heat.
I have to say that last June when I was in Florida it was brutal...my motto was the less material the better!!! Some of my cotton shirts that were a little big on me, were no good! LOL... bought myself some tank tops for August!!
Julie

[tyandskyesmom]

We're doing the same this year. We usually like the cooler, less crowded, value seasons but due to Tyler entering 7th grade this year, football practice, dance competitions, gymnastics, etc...we decided to go for the end half of August.

I am just going into it knowing we will be touring differently than we are used to. We will be htere for 18 days all in all so we will have more time to do the things we want to. We have dining plans and hoppers for most of the trip and fully expect that we will have to get up and out early, tour the morning until we cannot stand it anymore then head back to the room and swim or nap or both until it starts to cool off a bit and then head back out. We normally don't do mid-day breaks. We are usually morning to night in the parks kind of people.

We have the deluxe dining plan and one of the benefits I am looking forward to other than eating is the sechdule air conditioned breaks.

We're going to go in ready for heat, flexible enough to know hwne to call it done, and play it by ear...

It will be a different kind of vacation but we'll be at Mickey's House so all's good!

[AllDisney]

Plan to be at the parks early. Ride as may rides as you can. Use a FP when ever possible. Take a much needed pool break and head back when temps cool off somewhat.

You'll be fine just knowing what you already know about WDW

[alaMode]

We usually go for 4 day trips off-peak. When we went in June, we stayed for 10 days and really took our time with everything. We did get to the park at opening and we were back at our resort a little after lunchtime. We went to the pool every day and took a siesta every day. We went out at night, but we didn't stay out too late so we could be well rested the next morning. For me, this adds to my ability to deal with crowds and improves my attitude immensely!

The weather was actually beautiful-a few rain showers, but since we had so much time to enjoy ourselves, it hardly mattered!

We have another June trip planned for next year and I'm really looking forward to it! WDW is made for summer and it seems to be at it's best during those months!