Question for anyone who has gone the end of June...

So, we are thinking of surprising our girls with a "pre-summer trip" for Christmas. We've never gone this time of year because - well, it's summer pricing and it's busy and it's HOT. (We've done August 3 times, so we know we can handle the heat... but the crowds and pricing make it easier to stomach then, too... :blush:)

Thoughts?? We're choosing the end of June because our oldest will have just finished her 1st year of college and our youngest will turn 16 while we're there... our oldest celebrated 13 & 16 in the parks, while our youngest "celebrated" her 13th there, but it wasn't really her true birthday. This time, it could be.

We know we can probably score a discount on our hotel, but the crowds - that's my fear. Thoughts?? We'd be leaving to drive home on the 30th, so no 4th of July insanity, but I know it will still have the possibility of being crazy.

So, anyone with experience, please share -- I doubt it will change our minds, as it's really the only time we could go -- but it'd be good to hear about!

Thanks!

(and yes, it's really me, for those that remember me... :D)

Hi Blythe :wave: nice to see you.

We've done end of June a few times for my son's 6/29 birthday. The crowds are starting to build but nothing like August, I'd probably give them an 8. I also think the weather is more bearable than August (less humidity) but still hot. As long as you're out by July 4th you should be good to go.

Hi! :wave:

My daughter is 6/29, too.... thx for the note! :) (and I'll take less humidity for sure!!)

We vacationed one year end of June (around 22) until after 4th of July. It was hot, of course, with the daily rain in the afternoon, and the crowds were manageable. Having been there for Spring Break also, I wouldn't say it was that bad with crowds, but it wasn't a slow time for sure. I seem to remember quite a few tour groups with flags that time too.

We had to go that time because of school schedules/college students/and graduations, etc. If I had my choice though, I wouldn't do it again. Too hot for us to enjoy the parks.

This past year, we opted for Memorial Day week, and the weather wasn't as bad. What a difference 3-4 weeks makes.

Hi Blythe!! Good to "see" you!!

I've gone the beginning of June and in the middle of June but don't think I've ever been there the end of June. To be honest, I don't notice much difference in humidity and heat between June and August heat and humidity levels. In my opinion, crowds aren't much different between these two periods either.

Well, having done August, that's good to know... I'll keep my fingers crossed!! (nice to "see you", too! :mickey:)

We were in WDW from 6/24 until 6/30 this year. We had to travel at that time because we were planning the trip around my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday party. Previous trip had been in early September. Up until the time we travelled, I was terrified that it would be wall to wall people and miserable.

I was SO pleasantly surprised! Crowd levels were in the 6-7 range. (Last day was more crowded.) We made great use of FP+ and an app. The only things that we didn't ride were Frozen and Peter Pan. We never waited in line longer than 20 minutes (except for When Peter Pan had technical issues, and we scored a free FP+ for waiting.) We even got all of the ADRs we wanted even though we'd booked the trip 3 months before travel. (Including lunch at BOG.) The weather was hot but not unbearably so.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this time of year for a first timer or for someone making their "only" trip, I think that with a little bit of planning you'll be fine!

Awesome, that is great news!! It's the only real time we can go b/w college schedules and school/dance schedules, and to try to beat the 4th of July craziness. It'll be worth it to get our youngest there for her actual birthday, but I'll worry a bit less about the lines! (Those are our exact dates, btw! ;))

The weather this year at the end of June was way worse than the first week of August. We went this year August 2-9 and the weather was, by Orlando in August standards, downright pleasant. Highs were around 85-90 and the humidity was not oppressive. The daily storms cooled things down to the lower 70's and the evenings remained around 75-80 with almost no humidity. I only took ONE daily shower, LOL...and my son who is super sensitive to overheating didn't say he was hot even one time. Plus, crowds were minimal. Late June, by contrast, has a serious heat wave with temps in the upper 90's-100's and heat indexes in the 105 range almost every day, plus they actually didn't have much June rain this year.

As for crowds, I think you will see more in late June vs. August. A lot of Florida and other schools in the south switched to August 1 start dates this year. And this summer, crowds were noticeably lower across the board in central Florida, which may have been due to several issues and which may or may not continue into next year.

All this to say, it's really a shot in the dark as to what next summer will look like, crowd wise. Either way, plan for hot and crowded, and adjust accordingly.

We've been a few times in late June through Fourth of July. It really wasn't as bad as you'd think. Of course Fourth of July is crazy busy, but we slept late that day, had brunch at Chef Mickeys, took the monorail to Epcot where we used FP, then headed back to the GF to swim and relax. For dinner we had pizza on the beach at the GF and watched the MK fireworks. The year before that, we stayed at Poly. We were actually able to get a discounted room rate, so keep looking, there may be one available.