How Bad is July really?

[SpoonOfSugar]

Well as some of you read, our original plan was to travel to the world in mid-August. But DH can't get out of work at all that month, so we are now going July 18th-26th. Could you guys tell me a little about July. I know it will be really hot but how are crowds and such? We normally would go for spring break so how does it compare to going then?

 

[nepalostparks]

Touringplans.com is showing crowds at 7 or 8 out of 10 for your dates. With that said, if you are going to be there for the week, you should be able to see everything you want to with a little planning. I would definitely suggest taking a mid-day break, either going back to your resort for a swim or nap, or at the very least leaving the park and going to a restaurant for a sit down meal. That way the heat won't overwhelm you.

Either way, you're still gonna be in Disney World, so enjoy it!

 

[thewhitequeen]

I typically check resort availability and dining slots to see what's booked. I'm hoping people are going during the discounted dates and it won't be too bad this summer.

 

[mousefan76.8]

I have been to WDW in July for the past 10 years. Yes, it is hot but.....we plan our day around the weather. For example, we only do AK in the am because there are less places with AC in the park. We take plenty of breaks. The crowds are not typically bad however, there are many, many, many tour groups during this time. My advice is to see where they are going and go in the opposite direction.

 

[worldfanatic]

July is just fine.

In fact, after having gone in september several times in a row, I kind of enjoyed my trip during a busier time last July.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the advantages of the slower months.
But Walt Disney World seems to have a bit more energy and electricity to it during the busier times.

And the heat?
Well, I'm from Palm Springs. Heat has no effect on me.:fork::fork::lol::lol:

 

[Eldon_Brasche]

Never again in July............. Last time we went it was near 100 degrees and high humidity every day. It never got below 85 degrees at night. It was enough to make us all sick. :hurl:

I honestly believe that extreme weather (hot or cold) does nothing but sort out the weaker species from the strong, and I'm getting weaker every year.
Have a good time!

 

[YankeesFan]

Watch out for the Brazilian tour groups!!!!

 

[IndyDisney]

Hot. Muggy. Crowded. Perfect Disney weather. I've only been in July, and it wouldn't be WDW without it. Hydrate, take breaks, strategically plan your use of air conditioned buildings. You'll be fine. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Indy

 

[ddbowdoin]

its disney so enjoy... oh, and sweat stains

 

[bgraham34]

Its the heat that will get to you the most then the humidity and then the crowds. Or maybe the humidity first.

 

[switts]

I did fourth of july 14 years ago and it was insane. All i remember was the brazilian tour groups and the hours of waiting and sweating in the heat. I will never go for the 4th ever again.

 

[WDW_Emily]

I did fourth of july 14 years ago and it was insane. All i remember was the brazilian tour groups and the hours of waiting and sweating in the heat. I will never go for the 4th ever again.

I don't know anyone who would go on the 4th!!!!!!! It's Crazy there!

It will be busy and hot, I don't know how it would compare to spring break though except more humidity

 

[Glasgow]

Plan to a) drinks lots of water b) experience long waits c) freeze once you get inside an attraction d) take more breaks e) go back to the pool to relax and e) maybe curse a little more than usual.

To be honest July may be better than August weather-wise, plus the summer hours should be longer so try and take advantage of the night hours at the parks and use the afternoon hours to spend time back at the pool.

 

[Todd L]

I was There last July. I didnt want to go but it was a Family reunion and thats the Date that worked best for everyone...

I was really surprised at How much I Loved the weather...It was Hot But we all wore the right clothes and Big Hats, Drank lots of water and Took our time...Some Days The Parks were really Low attendance and The Parks are open until really late so If your up for late night in the Parks youll have a blast..No sun, Less people and A great time...Good luck

 

[Poofiesdream]

Went for a week for family reunion celebrating parents 50th anniversary. It was very hot and I live in Florida! Just plan for it. Take your time, drink a lot of water, go in buildings with air conditioners and cool off before you get too over heated. Evenings are still hot but you don't have the sun beating on you. Plan for those afternoon showers we have then every day but they don't last long at all! Have a great time!!!:wave:

 

[WDW_Jon]

We went last July for our honeymoon as our April trip was cancelled due to the big volcanic ash cloud that grounded all flights from the UK for about 2 weeks!

You're aware of the heat, so thats one thing, you are aware of the crowds that's another, so.........

If you get up early and hit the parks first thing then take a break or go for a swim in the afternoon then head back out at night you'll be fine....

We are not used to that type of heat over here and we managed...

We saw so many people arriving at the parks around midday then complaining of the lines and heat! Simple... Get out of bed!

 

[JenShelby]

We have always gone in July, because of school schedules. We will be going the last week in July this year. It is very hot and yes there are tour groups but crowds are not as bad as you may think. As everyone has said drink plenty of water, take breaks and take advantage of EMH. We were the last people out of fantasy land a couple of years ago and it was beautiful. All the lights and music were still playing and we just took our time walking out. The tour groups did not bother us at the parks, now the All Stars are a diffrent story. Not sure where you are staying but I can tell you from expierence the tour groups outnumber the regular tourists at the All Stars. There are hundereds of them and they are loud! (all hours of the night) Besides the All Stars stay that month we love July!

 

[KaliSplash]

We've done July on a number of occasions. It's hot. It's crowded. and then there are the tour groups.

The key is being willing to burn the candle at both ends. You need to be at the park AT opening. Go for several hours until the crowd build. Go back to the hotel. Return around 6 p.m. or so and stay until is closes. (Break time and return times can vary. We sometimes stay till 1 p.m. and then don't return until 7 or so, depending on the park hours.)

Only problem with this approach is lack of sleep. So after about three days, max, you need to completely take a morning off.

By maximizing early and late park time, you avoid the worst of the heat. The advantage of July is the parks usually have the longest hours.

July is not for everyone (and our last couple of trips have been in December), but it IS WDW! Enjoy!

 

[skippah]

We went last year for the latter half of July and we will never, ever return at that time of year!! The tour groups were like LOCUSTS!!

They'd overwhelm single rider lines (and then expect to ride together); they wreaked havoc with wait times (the Disney models don't project for 200 people jumping in line together); and they'd consume Fast Passes like they were candy (having one tour operator stand in line and collect passes for 100 people does not strike me as particularly fair).

And because they pay admission like everyone else, Disney is unable and unwilling to do anything about it. Though I think a limit of FP consumption and more CM's monitor the queues would have been enough.

Anyways, we're fairly well seasoned on how to tour the Disney parks and we were there long enough that we got to see and ride what we wanted but if you see a group of people all wearing the same kind of shirt, RUN!! And RUN FAST!!

- Skip

 

[EvilQueen-T]

i've lived the majority of my life in florida so i can honestly say as for the weather july is just as hot as it is into mid august so that's equal.

for the crowds we've gone in june, july, and aug before including the week of the 4th of july. we went for a week on each of these trips and with utilization of the emh we had plenty of time to do two meals a day, nap and get cleaned up for dinner late-mid day for about 2 hours and then go back into the park for emh. we had plenty of time to do all of our favorites multiple times. the wait times imo have only been a little less in august as compared to july.