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Hello Everyone.
I am thinking two different trips and would enjoy your candid advice.
1. Mid to Late August.
We are worried about hurricanes and the heat. Looking at the trip more of a resort pool/water park/night time parks type of trip?
2. Thanksgiving vs. Christmas
We have been to Christmas the past two years it is more expensive and it is crowded.
Never been during Thanksgiving.
Any thoughts or advice for us?
Many Thanks
Mid to late August is very hot and humid. Last year, elevated temperatures and humidity persisted all the way through September and into October. There is the very real chance of hurricanes during this time frame. Keep in mind that the hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th so, even a Thanksgiving visit is still within hurricane season. The most active month for hurricanes in September. Even given that, the odds that a hurricane will hit during your specific visit are pretty low.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are both very busy times to visit. I would suspect that Disney's pricing policies would feature elevated admission and room rates during Thanksgiving as well as Christmas.
Parks seem to be quite busy year round now. Many schools are returning to session during the mid- to late-August time frame so you may find some reduction in the crowds during that time frame.
We are end of August people, and we love it! It is indeed hot and humid, but we keep going back. :) We like that the crowds are fairly manageable, and the weather is great for lots of pool time. It is getting a bit trickier with the MNNSHP starting in August (!) now, reducing some of the MK hours, but that is easy enough to work around.
We've also found that there are lots of opportunities for air conditioning, and we're careful to ensure that everyone stays well hydrated.
We've had some close calls with hurricanes, but nothing too serious, and we feel quite safe, that even if something did hit, Disney is a great place to be during a storm.
Our last two trips were late August and we loved it as well. Very manageable crowds. It was hot, but like ibelieveindisneymagic said, there are lots of places to pop in for a/c and make sure you stay hydrated. The downside to both those trips is that we got rained out on our water park days. That was sad because we couldn't fully experience those parks. There was one Epcot day on our last trip when we had to take shelter because there was torrential rain, wind and some thunder and lightening. You're not likely to experience a hurricane, but plan for some rainy days.
We have never done Christmas but have been there 3 times during Thanksgiving including this past one. We do not have kids and usually go from the Friday before to the Sunday after so we can do the last MVMCP until after the holiday since they don’t have it due to the early openings and late closings at MK. Because of food allergies we pretty much do all meals TS. This was the most crowded I have seen it that week but with having ADRs and FPs we pretty much got to do everything we wanted. I don’t think it is nearly as bad crowd wise as Christmas and New Year’s where I have heard of parks having closures and where people can barely walk around
Been in August a variety of times. Dante wrote about Orlando, I believe its the 4th level.
Quite humid. I live in Texas, and originally from Michigan. I wouldn't recommend anyone from NE, to visit Orlando (or Tx for that matter) in July or August. Pretty tough.
If you do. Hydrate like crazy, cover up (hat, etc). A friend of mine from Franklin, PA, he nearly dies every summer. Again, hydrate. Water pack is a great idea.
We were at WDW this past Thanksgiving, and the weather was great and crowds got heavier as the week progressed. Arrived on Saturday before and left Saturday after. Sunday-Wednesday were busy, but not over the top horrible (I am comparing to Spring Break, which we have been many times). Thanksgiving and Friday were noticeably busier, especially MK, but if you use FP and get the attractions you really want and expect to stand in lines for the others it was fine.
Thank you alll sooo very much