Is it miserable or enjoyable?

[DaniMoon]

We find August better than June. We are in PA, In June, the heat is shock to our system. In August, we are in the thick of summer here and it's not that big of a difference. We do rope drop, mid day breaks, back in the evenings.

 

[Dean Kennedy]

We have never been to Disney World in Summer. We know it’s hot and humid, but the question is, is does the misery overwhelm the magic? I know part of it is mindset.

Believe me July and August are blistering hot. Like one said go early, take a pool break and go back after sundown. You’ll still find pixie dust!!

 

[disneyseniors]

We have never been to Disney World in Summer. We know it’s hot and humid, but the question is, is does the misery overwhelm the magic? I know part of it is mindset.

I think it depends on what kind of temperature you are used to. We lived in the deep south when the kids were little and we were used to hot and high humidity. We went to Disney in July the first time and we did fine, because it was just like at home, hot and humid.,LOL
Now we are older and live way up North in the cold, so we don't tolerate the heat and humidity at all now. We usually go to WDW in FEb/March or November/DEcember. No more summers for us.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We have never been to Disney World in Summer. We know it’s hot and humid, but the question is, is does the misery overwhelm the magic? I know part of it is mindset.

It varies per person obviously. For us, yes everything after about 1pm switches to miserable. Due to circumstances beyond our control we just got back from a trip last week. We usually do not visit between June and August as a hard rule, but this was the only time we could come. We just made sure to wake up early, always arrive at the park 45 mins before open and leave then park by noon-1pm at the latest. If you're lucky clouds will roll in to cool things off. We WOULD NOT travel during July or August under any circumstance though. We got lucky with a week that topped out a 91 or 92, but once it hits 100 its just miserable all day, IMO.

 

[MomOTwins]

There's really no "perfect" time to go. We've been every month of the year at this point except for January (though we've been in Feb and late December which I understand is similar weather-wise) and Sept (which I gather is much like August).

We've gone four times in July and August and the weather is very predictable, which at least makes planning easy. We rope drop for cooler morning temps and do a table service lunch in the park to cool off in the AC, then either head back for a pool break or do indoor shows in the afternoon. There's a short burst of rain about 3pm every day so we bring ponchos, a rain cover for the stroller, and shoes that are good for getting wet. It's absolutely still fun if you have a good attitude about it. People do LIVE in hot parts of the world and survive after all. (I grew up overseas on an island that regularly had temps about 120 degrees with high humidity and I played outside all day as a kid--I survived). Drinking LOTS of water really makes a huge difference so get a well insulated large water bottle and refill it often.

When we go in the October-March timeframe, we've have had very inconsistent weather. For example, on trips we took in March and November we experienced temperatures range from a high in the 50s to a high in the 90s in the same week. So we had long pants, warm jackets and closed toe shoes for the cold days and tank tops/shorts/sandals for the warm ones. We've had whole trips in the fall/winter when it's been too cold to swim pleasantly, and we love to swim on vacation so that was a bummer. And if I am going to be rained on (which happens in florida even in the "dry" season), I'd rather it is 90 degrees and rainy than 40 degrees and rainy. I say this not to pooh pooh those times of year--you can luck out and get gorgeous 70s/low 80s weather weather too--but only to say it's not like you are "guaranteed" good weather if you avoid summer.

I do think our favorite month to go is October, but no way will we go in Oct 2021 due to 50th anniversary crowds. But we are going again this August and I know I'll have a great time even with the heat.

 

[Brett Wyman]

There's really no "perfect" time to go. We've been every month of the year at this point except for January (though we've been in Feb and late December which I understand is similar weather-wise) and Sept (which I gather is much like August).

We've gone four times in July and August and the weather is very predictable, which at least makes planning easy. We rope drop for cooler morning temps and do a table service lunch in the park to cool off in the AC, then either head back for a pool break or do indoor shows in the afternoon. There's a short burst of rain about 3pm every day so we bring ponchos, a rain cover for the stroller, and shoes that are good for getting wet. It's absolutely still fun if you have a good attitude about it. People do LIVE in hot parts of the world and survive after all. (I grew up overseas on an island that regularly had temps about 120 degrees with high humidity and I played outside all day as a kid--I survived). Drinking LOTS of water really makes a huge difference so get a well insulated large water bottle and refill it often.

When we go in the October-March timeframe, we've have had very inconsistent weather. For example, on trips we took in March and November we experienced temperatures range from a high in the 50s to a high in the 90s in the same week. So we had long pants, warm jackets and closed toe shoes for the cold days and tank tops/shorts/sandals for the warm ones. We've had whole trips in the fall/winter when it's been too cold to swim pleasantly, and we love to swim on vacation so that was a bummer. And if I am going to be rained on (which happens in florida even in the "dry" season), I'd rather it is 90 degrees and rainy than 40 degrees and rainy. I say this not to pooh pooh those times of year--you can luck out and get gorgeous 70s/low 80s weather weather too--but only to say it's not like you are "guaranteed" good weather if you avoid summer.

I do think our favorite month to go is October, but no way will we go in Oct 2021 due to 50th anniversary crowds. But we are going again this August and I know I'll have a great time even with the heat.

I'd argue that late September is the perfect time to go if you can dodge any tropical storms out there. It is definitely not like August, much cooler, cheeper, MNSSHP is on, and lower crowds. After that February is my second runner up for best month(just not on the holiday weekend).

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I don't like the heat and humidity. There is nothing enjoyable about being in Disney with that kind of weather.

 

[Newbie500]

Heat wave in the 90s this week in CT so we'll be practicing now for our end of June trip We usually go in December so we will put up with the hotter weather and avoid the hottest times of the day (which sometimes seem to also be the busiest times of the day?). Worse that can happen is more time at the pool and less time in the parks!

 

[Heather07438]

2 things that probably skew a summer trip into miserable territory:

Plans to go commando, nonstop not missing a single park hour day after day. Trying to pack in every experience over 4 or 5 days without compromise is flirting with disaster. Looks great on paper, feels like melting in reality.

And basically the opposite of that where the party is unfamiliar with WDW and the only plan is do whatever, whenever. Very little prep.
My extended family did this summer of ‘16 (July) and it’s no surprise they came back unimpressed. Spent all that money to hang by the pool mostly. Issue- arriving around noon with no plan for rides or food. FP was totally too complicated for them to gain any advantage. After a couple days they kinda gave up and decided to sleep in, pool in the afternoon, parks for a few hours at night. Their vacation style is laid back beach and I’m sure they’re not alone. It was grandma, mom and 2 tween grandkids.

 

[Bobb_o]

If I didn't go right when the park opens and then come back to my hotel at mid day I would say yes. ~12-4 is brutal and rain can actually sometimes be a blessing (temps drop, people leave) if you're prepared.

That's the whole thing, if you prepare and bring things like cooling towels, fans, etc. it's quite manageable.

 

[Dis703]

Honestly, it really depends on the person. For me personally, it's miserable and not worth the time, cost and effort of trying to make a summer trip to Disney. But I know how I react to heat and humidity and it's not pretty. I can mostly handle late October to early May in Florida, but even then there are random days that can be pretty unpleasant. I use the Frogg Toggs, fans, carry a thermos with a cold drink at all times. Plan to be indoors at the hottest times of day, etc. but once it's over 90 with high humidity and sunny all day none of those things help enough.

My advice to anyone who has an option, unless you just really love excessive heat, is to avoid the summer if you can.

 

[tguz]

I think it kind of depends on where you are coming from. If you are used to the heat and humidity it is not unbearable. We went in 2017 - 2019 in July and it was very hot but it was ok with a swim/rest break before returning to the parks later.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

I'd argue that late September is the perfect time to go if you can dodge any tropical storms out there. It is definitely not like August, much cooler, cheeper, MNSSHP is on, and lower crowds. After that February is my second runner up for best month(just not on the holiday weekend).

We went the last week of September/first week of October a few years ago and it was brutal. I’m used to heat and humidity and we were dragging! It was worse that week than our August trip. I remember immediately being drenched in sweat from the humidity before the sun even came up as we waited on a bus when we did an Early Morning Magic event at HS.

 

[Kestryl]

We’re stuck on school breaks (husband is a teacher). I’ve been in March, May, June, July, August, and October. Without fail, it has been in the 90s for the majority of days in every trip. I don’t know if it’s bad luck or what.

 

[tink2424]

I would recommend looking at the people in your travel party. Can they all handle melt-your-face-off heat? My DD and I can but we once went with friends and their daughter was absolutely miserable and decreased the fun for some of our trip as she was just not able to function in the heat.

We go prepared with cooling towels, fans and lots of water and take our days slowly and take breaks. We love it but, it's not for all.

I agree with this. It is all about how well you can tolerate the heat & humidity. I haven't done WDW in the summer since I was a child in the 80s but I did do a trip about 10 years ago to Universal in August and it was brutal. We ended up staying by the pool all day and then went to the parks about 4pm in the evening but even after the sun goes down it is still very hot.

I have many friends that love the heat & humidity but I don't prefer it. Just realize that the heat could affect how much you do each day and for the love of Mickey make sure you drink lots of water (preferably with electrolytes in the water). Only you can decide how miserable it will be for you.

 

[bakerworld]

We never went with kids in the summer - I took them out of school and went in September and May, which was hot enough. My oldest and youngest on different vacations had slight cases of heat stroke, which really slows down the vacation. As adults we've gone in June, August and September - in a few weeks we'll go for July 4th weekend. We like to do the pool until about 2 or 3p, go back to the room to get ready for the evening and hit the entertainment around 5 or 6p. Every place seems to stay open later in the summer. While it's hot, it's doable.

 

[FastPasser.]

As a long time former resident living 15 minutes from WDW, if asked, I discourage people from doing it.

 

[Dis703]

I think it kind of depends on where you are coming from. If you are used to the heat and humidity it is not unbearable. We went in 2017 - 2019 in July and it was very hot but it was ok with a swim/rest break before returning to the parks later.

I don't know. I was born and raised in Florida and you can't get me anywhere near that state during the summer.

 

[tguz]

I don't know. I was born and raised in Florida and you can't get me anywhere near that state during the summer.

I think people that are used to it would do a lot better than say my parents who live in Colorado at a high elevation with low humidity. They have a lot of difficulty coming to visit where I live and FL is hotter and more humid by a bit in July/August.

 

[bdiddy]

Our last trip in 2019 we went for the first time in March and I swore that I would never go in summer again and guess what? We leave on Friday. Lol....It is pretty miserable but we still have a great time. We have also been the 2nd week in Dec before and that was by far my favorite! Super low crowds, the weather was perfect and it was decorated for xmas. The kids were real little though and taking them out of school wasn't an issue. The second the kids are done with school and it's not an issue to go off season, we'll never go in the summer again!

Funny related story but in 2017 we did a Southern California trip and also did Disneyland. It was mid-July and it was mid to low 80's, no humidity at all. Yes the sun was hot but it felt AMAZING compared to a Florida summer. We kept hearing all of these locals in line complaining how hot and miserable it was that day and DH and I kept looking at each other thinking "Clearly these people have never been to WDW in the summer because we could do this all day, every day" haha!

So yes it's so, so hot and humid and can be miserable at times but go in with a positive mindset. Plan for lots of air conditioned breaks via shows and table service meals and even a break at the resort if need be. Get a high quality neck fan (ours were around $40 on amazon and are amazing and last all day), get some cooling towels and drink a ton of water and you'll be fine! But with that said, as soon as I can, I will definitely be going when it's cooler as soon as the kids are done with school!