Trade Off for Free Dining?

[Monty]

I think the last weeks of August are the worst at WDW. The summer events are over and the parks start the refurb process in earnest so they are up and ready for the Holidays. Even though the Florida schools are opening the crowd levels are still high as people try and squeeze in their vacations before Labor Day. So you don't get the full summer experience, but you also don't get the lighter crowds and fall pricing structure. It is kind of the worst of both worlds in late August.

I always recommend to either finish summer travelling by early August and enjoy the crowded parks in their full glory with all of the extra events and extended hours, or wait until after Labor Day for cooler weather and smaller crowds.

In my experience crowds are quite manageable in late August [we've been the last two years and go again this year]. It is redonkulously hot and some rides are in refurb, but it's still a great time to go.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I'm hopeful that Disney will announce in August that the MSEP and possibly the fireworks "have been exteneded due to extraordinary demand" and allow them to continue through October. I have no evidence, but it seems like a simple thing to do to try to get more people to visit WDW.

Evidence seems to point to MSEP sticking around for quite some time, but the fireworks show switching back to Wishes on Aug. 15th. :wave:

 

[AJScooch]

Being that my wife and I are both teachers, going to the World after Labor Day is impossible as we start school that week. As for late August, we've gone down every year around the same time. Some teachers work summer school which doesn't end until the second week of August, so it's really the only time we can get down. I understand that attraction closings and refurbs come with the territory but I can't understand how two major attractions that were both updated within the past couple of years (IASW) or months (TSM) have to go down again so soon. That's the only frustrating thing.

I guess I'm just venting a little. Like I stated in an earlier post, just upset the my 16 month old DD won't be able to go on IASW during her first visit.

 

[fosse76]

Being that my wife and I are both teachers, going to the World after Labor Day is impossible as we start school that week. As for late August, we've gone down every year around the same time. Some teachers work summer school which doesn't end until the second week of August, so it's really the only time we can get down. I understand that attraction closings and refurbs come with the territory but I can't understand how two major attractions that were both updated within the past couple of years (IASW) or months (TSM) have to go down again so soon. That's the only frustrating thing.

I guess I'm just venting a little. Like I stated in an earlier post, just upset the my 16 month old DD won't be able to go on IASW during her first visit.

These are large pieces of machinery, and it's not improbable that they need constant attention, so they picked the least crowded time of the season to take them off-line. TSM has not had any rehab downtime since opening (to my knowledge), and they have identified problems that need to be fixed. I know it's frustrating, but at least our TSM works...at Disneyland TSM was down the entire week I was there for maintenance problems which were magically solved by the time Saturday rolled around. (I say magically, because they had signs that generically indicate that TSM might not be open with the park, which leads me to believe the ride has serious operational problems or they are intentionally keeping it on reduced schedule)

 

[brent2124]

Fireworks will not be extended due to there cost. I'm pretty sure the MSEP is scheduled to return to California shortly after the end of Summer Nightastic

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Free dining (or the Disney Dining Plan as its actually known :lol is used as an incentive to bring people into the resort. Considering mid-August more or less marks the end of peak summer and the beginning of the slower fall season, its the perfect time to offer it.

And as far as the refurbs, they have to be done at some time, and once again, just after the summer rush is an ideal time to complete them. Personally, I wish Disney would just kinda "set aside" two months of the year to do refurbs, say January (after NYE week) and September. After a few years, guests and travel agents would just know that during these two months, it would not be uncommon for attractions to be down for 2-3 week refurbs and therefore, you take your chances traveling this time of the year. But until they get some kind of regular pattern to their refurbs, there will be frustrated people who are annoyed about closed attractions.

 

[Master Yoda]

Fireworks will not be extended due to there cost. I'm pretty sure the MSEP is scheduled to return to California shortly after the end of Summer Nightastic

You are correct on the fireworks but current thinking is that MSEP will be in WDW for a year or more.

 

[RiversideBunny]

.....MSEP will be in WDW for a year or more.

Good.

 

[mickeysshoes]

In my experience crowds are quite manageable in late August [we've been the last two years and go again this year]. It is redonkulously hot and some rides are in refurb, but it's still a great time to go.

I would not cancel over rides being closed but it is just a drag when it is a ride like TSM....still so new (to us at least) and fun. We vacationed last year durning the 3rd week of August and will be back same week this year and we also found the crows manageable. With manageable crowds it makes the heat easier to deal with. And hey if we cant compalin and get it off our chest with you all about what will be closed durning our hard earned vacations who can we complain to!!!!! :ROFLOL: No matter what is open/closed we will be in the happy place on earth and not at home/work so all will be GOOD!!!

 

[stlbobby]

In my experience crowds are quite manageable in late August [we've been the last two years and go again this year]. It is redonkulously hot and some rides are in refurb, but it's still a great time to go.

If you mean by manageable that they are smaller than during the peak summer weeks then you are correct, but after the holiday they drop dramatically, not as dramatically as before Disney discovered the magic of the discounts, but they are drastically lower.

My point was that in the late August time frame you lose many of the summer extras, the types of things the OP was talking about, but many of the benefits of the fall haven't kicked in yet.

If you have the right mindset you can always have fun at WDW, but I was just offering advice to readers that might be planning a trip, that by pushing their vacation back a few weeks, if that is an option, they might reap some of the after Labor Day rewards.

 

[WDW-Crazy]

I'm hopeful that Disney will announce in August that the MSEP and possibly the fireworks "have been exteneded due to extraordinary demand" and allow them to continue through October. I have no evidence, but it seems like a simple thing to do to try to get more people to visit WDW.

I hope you're right about the parade at least. That last time I saw the MSEP was in June of 1989. I've seen Spectromagic twice so that can take a break this time. I'd love to see the MSEP again and hope they keep it into Sept because of high demand. I don't care about the fireworks though, they can bring back Wishes if they want to.