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?

 

[SpoonOfSugar]

Thanks for all the replies!!

Either way we will be going that week and it is WDW I just wanted to be prepared.
I think the breaks mid-day sound good that way me and DH can catch up on sleep and the kids can swim.

We are currently booked at Pop any tour groups there?

 

[britdaw]

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.

LOL!! E cracked me up...
If you're going on July you know it's going to be incredibly hot. My advice would be to make sure you drink plenty of water, pack clothes that are light and airy, and invest in a great pair of sandals (Tevas, anyone?), 'cause you know you'll be standing a lot and walking a lot, too.

 

[Silver Figment]

Plan this trip out. The lines are going to be long and the heat will take your energy away. With a week to try and see everything you want you should be fine, but plan your trip and account for some breaks because you're going to want them.

 

[magicalmemories]

Thanks for all the replies!!

Either way we will be going that week and it is WDW I just wanted to be prepared.
I think the breaks mid-day sound good that way me and DH can catch up on sleep and the kids can swim.

We are currently booked at Pop any tour groups there?

It wasn't July, It was February, But I can say YES, there were tour groups at POP as well. We were there in February and the parks were fairly empty, but POP was at 100% capacity, mostly with the tour groups. Not much English being spoken, we started to joke about how we were in the foreign country and not them:lol:

 

[David Roberts]

Watch out for the Brazilian tour groups!!!!

This is very true:lol:

 

[PeterPanFan5]

How to plan for the heat

We've always had to go in the summer because we have a teacher and school students in our family. Maybe because we're from St. Louis, we're not all that overwhelmed by the heat.
How to deal with it (and the crowds): Take your time, plan plenty of breaks, time your visits to a/c attractions wisely (every time I feel a blast of air conditioning anywhere on earth, I close my eyes and imagine myself in a Doom Buggy). Also, use FP wisely to deal with the crowds, know which parts of the parks are going to be crowded when, and drink lots and lots of water. And don't forget the sunscreen.
And here's one plus from visiting in the summer: You know the parks will be open late, and there's nothing like the MK or EP after sundown. And remember to go with the flow; if you're hot and tired, take a break.

 

[Funfy]

Depends:
On a lot of things!

• How well do you handle heat/humidty
• Are you staying on property and can escape during the day?
• How well do you handle crowds?

We have been in July, spring break, August, June-all the busy months because of kids being in school or BIL being a school teacher. They were all fine: We knew what to expect-especially heat wise being from Georgia.

Things we do to help:

• DVC members/stay on property to escape during the day
• Take as long a vacation as possible so as not to rush around
• Keep realistic about what you might or might not get to do.
• We did catch some of the Brazilian tour groups-our experience were they were happy, loud, didn't have a problem with any line cutting-but I have a mean Mama stare-we would just go in the opposite direction if they were heading for a ride
• How flexible are you in your day not going as planned.
• Make ADR's during hottest part of day-make them 180 ahead.
• Freeze water bottles in room. Cold all day almost and yes we take packs (resurgence I hear! lol) because we don't care what people think-keeps you cold if you start to get overheated. And allowed us to use snacks from DDP on food-not water.
• Take the cheap hand held fans-not the water ones-those get heavy.
• Take/wear sunscreen
• Wear hats
• Go into as many air-conditioned rides as possible

Count blessings that many people don't have this to complain about!:sohappy:

 

[WDWLOYAL1971]

Look, just be prepared for the heat and large crowds and at times, sudden showers . It's nothing to worry over. Things you may want to make sure you have are sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and as almost all have mentioned, drink plenty of water. And of course, if your time permits and its something you might consider, I highly recommend their water parks.

 

[MegaPowersPT]

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?

BAD.

I'm not talking about the heat either. Being from MA, I would take 90-95 every single day of my life and not complain. It's the crowds. We went once and it ALMOST felt like a waste of money.

 

[epcotWSC]

I always go in the end of July. You just have to know your way around the parks and the crowds are managable. Of course it's hot and it rains on most days for a short period of time. Other than that, it's not bad.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

My husband & I went to Disney for Spring Break for many years, in mid-march. For our honeymoon, we went in the middle of July. I personally found July to be more bearable with crowds than mid-march. I just didn't think it was as bad as I was expecting.

As far as weather, I thought it was fine. My hottest trip to Disney was the last week of August, when we actually had to change clothes mid-day because we were so sweaty. We didn't have that issue in July, but it is very hot. I just found August to be worse.

 

[thewhitequeen]

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

They should ban these groups. I just posted an answer to "have you noticed a decline in service?" Gee, I can't imagine why CM's would be grumpy dealing with these people.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Years ago, my family went to Disney in July and I would NEVER go at that time of the year again. It was incredibly hot, just when you thought it could get anymore humid, it would thundershower daily and the aftermath felt like a wet sauna. The South American tour groups were intolerable, a bunch of rude, loud, unsupervised, spoiled kids, in my opinion. And of course I can't forget, the fact that apparently many people do not like to use deoderant. Ugh! July in Disney is definately not for everyone.

 

[thewhitequeen]

Are these Brazilian tour groups in Disney for the whole stinkin month of July? We'll be gone on July 3rd (probably when they are arriving).

 

[olinecoach61]

We always go in July, yes its hot but we take a break in the afternoon and nap / chill at the resort and go back out for dinner when its cooler. Being a teacher a vacation in July is perfect for our family.

 

[rsoxguy]

Are these Brazilian tour groups in Disney for the whole stinkin month of July? We'll be gone on July 3rd (probably when they are arriving).

In my opinion, there is too big of an emphasis on these groups. You must remember that ten stories on a forum equal just that: ten stories. I can not count the amount of times that I have been to WDW and encountered these groups. While I have had some bad experiences, the "non-experiences" far outbalance the rest. People here tend to speak of these groups as though they have gone through a George Romero experience, almost to the point flesh-eating. They're not that bad (IMHO).

 

[IndyDisney]

I replied earlier, but thought of a few tips.

1) Plan out your trip. It can be as intricate and exact as you want it, or it could just be blocks of time for x amount of rides. If you're pretty familiar with the parks and know what you want to do it should be easy to get stuff done, eat, relax, go back to the park.

2) Exercise before you go. It's getting in to April now, which means you have 90+ days to get ready for your trip. That's plenty of time to get yourself in shape to be walking 5+ miles a day in 90+ degree heat and one million percent humidity. Between that and a good pair of walking shoes, sore legs and feet shouldn't be an issue. Plus you'll be able to "not run" faster than everyone else at rope drop.

Enjoy. I'll be right there with ya in the July heat.

Cheers,
Indy

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

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.l.

:ROFLOL:Excellent summary and I couldn't agree more! IMO going from June to August is an absolute nightmare. I don't think we will EVER go in the summer. I've been and it's a mess.

 

[puntagordabob]

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?

As a Floridian I can say with certainty the heat will be oppressive.... it is the rainy season... always a possibility of a hurricane, but to be honest there is a lesser chance than in August.... all the kids are out of school so expect the crowds (7 or 8 as the other poster stated seems right)....

Drink a lot of water, take breaks (siesta or pool time) in the afternoon and you should be fine.

 

[Todd L]

LOL!! E cracked me up...
If you're going on July you know it's going to be incredibly hot. My advice would be to make sure you drink plenty of water, pack clothes that are light and airy, and invest in a great pair of sandals (Tevas, anyone?), 'cause you know you'll be standing a lot and walking a lot, too.

YES!! I bought a great pair of tevas Dozers that look like Sneakers with holes in the sides and tops...best shoes i ever wore to Disney!! Love those things!!

http://www.teva.com/productdetails.aspx?g=m&productID=4157&model=Dozer Leather III