Summer Visit?

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanting some opinions....With all the times we have visited Disney, we have never gone in the dead of summer (July/August). The closest to that was a second week in June trip which we thought was good. A lot of kids were not out of school yet and the parks were manageable. We did have some super hot days though...Anyway its been about 3 years since our last visit and I was hoping to take advantage of the summer promo to finally stay at a deluxe again...We were thinking end of July into early August. My question is for all you summer folks....are the crowds really crazy? is the heat bareable?.....Any suggestions or tips if we do go? Looking forward to hearing from you all!

We have been almost in every month, summer is generally our favorite time for crowd levels. I don't consider August crazy for crowds. Our beat the heat tips- window shop in the stores to get some AC for a break, make sure you know where you are eating lunch even if it's a quick service so you can be sure there is indoor seating available, avoid the kiosks/carts or QS that don't offer indoor seating and do take advantage of mobile ordering to cut wait time. Wear a hat and if possible, plan a midday/high heat time resort break. Even if you aren't paying, you can always walk into a quick service restaurant and get a cup of water with ice for free. We take advantage of that and get a cup of ice water and fill our water bottles. But if you do that, be sure to bring some water flavoring to use, the water in WDW is not good tasting tap water!

 

[wilbret]

Excellent tip above. I carry a bunch of propel packs to flavor the water.

 

[Klayfish]

But if you do that, be sure to bring some water flavoring to use, the water in WDW is not good tasting tap water!

At most places, it's not tap water. It's filtered.

 

[SG131]

Thank you for all the input so far! I am more concerned with the crowds than the heat....maybe waiting till mid-August is a good idea.

This is the first time at least in recent memory that Disney has offered Free Dining in July. So I wouldn't be too worried about the crowds. I mean Disney is always super crowded these days, but the summers are actually starting to get less crowded than the rest of the year. If Disney didn't need to sell more rooms they would not have offered such good discounts this summer. I'm going in August, and I had really good luck getting dinning reservations even for the hard to get stuff. Out of curiosity I searched availability in July as well and I could've gotten into CRT almost any night and some PPO BOG reservations. A lot of people don't want to deal with the heat and people worry less and less about pulling their kids out of school for a vacation.

The 15s stay mostly at the value resorts. If you stay at a deluxe you shouldn't have to worry about them other than coming across them occasionally in the park.

 

[jpeterson]

If crowds are the big concern, June and July are great. We've been there during one or both of those months from 2015-2018 and it's been fabulous. On the scale of WDW crowds, it's been quite light.



South American tour groups comprised of 15 year old girls. The groups normally range in size from 20-60+. They'll walk through the parks chanting quite loudly, sometimes walking arm in arm and just behaving as you'd expect a large pack of teenage girls to do. I think it's awesome that they get to go on such a trip, and individually I'm sure they're mostly very sweet girls (we've seen examples of it). However in a group they can be a bit annoying. Nothing to be "scared" of, just something to note. You don't want to be stuck in a long standby line with them. I've heard they trash the value resorts, but we stay offsite so I've never seen that side of it.

Last summer, I ran into lots and lots of 15s and really didn't have much issue with them. They behaved exactly like any other large group of teenagers, so a bit annoying, but fine otherwise. The one impact they did have was that they would all swarm on 1 ride as a group and the wait time for that ride would spike up significantly. It would then drop back down as they headed for the next attraction. Took me a while to figure out what was going on with the wait times!

 

[wilbret]

At most places, it's not tap water. It's filtered.

It's still easier to get folks to drink flavored water, in many cases. You can add caffeine if you've got a sluggish member of the party lol.

 

[Klayfish]

Last summer, I ran into lots and lots of 15s and really didn't have much issue with them. They behaved exactly like any other large group of teenagers, so a bit annoying, but fine otherwise. The one impact they did have was that they would all swarm on 1 ride as a group and the wait time for that ride would spike up significantly. It would then drop back down as they headed for the next attraction. Took me a while to figure out what was going on with the wait times!

Agreed. Like I said, they act as you'd expect a large group of basically unsupervised teen girls. We've experienced several of them being kind to our kids when they were younger. We've also experienced them being annoying or obnoxious in a pack. Completely agree with the clogging line thing. When we see them heading toward the same attraction we're going to, we put our legs into overdrive and hustle.

It's still easier to get folks to drink flavored water, in many cases. You can add caffeine if you've got a sluggish member of the party lol.

No doubt. DW is that way. Even filtered 100 times, she'd prefer flavored water.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Lol agreed it tastes horrendous. You can call it Evian or Fiji water- it’s disgusting and I drink filtered water most everywhere else. That’s not drinkable water.

 

[Darklord77]

The "15s" have really settled down in the last few years. I can only assume Disney is holding their tour guides accountable now due to complaints.

The heat? Is there really a difference between a heat index of 102 in June and 106 in July? Once you get over 95 it all feels the same in my opinion.

We went in late May, the middle of July and mid October (week after Columbus) last year. Crowds were lightest in July. Still busy, put pleasantly surprised with July crowds.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We went last Aug. (19-28). I was really pleasantly surprised that the crowds seemed low to us. Especially at Epcot. We had been able to get every FP and dining reservation we wanted, including 'Ohana, BOG, and V&A. I say do it! (My husband said never again in August lol). Yes it was hot and that humidity is on another level. But that also meant it was warm enough to go swimming - you're never going to have to worry about that in the summer in Orlando but you might have to other times in the year. What helped us was drinking water non-stop, taking advantage of indoor shows and rides, and using cooling towels (you can get them on Amazon.) I wouldn't have minded having a fan too.

 

[quandrea]

We’ve done early August two years in a row now and I really like it. Crowds are not bad. The heat is an obvious consideration but nothing unmanageable. Now my dh cannot handle the heat—it actually put him into anaphylactic shock—so he doesn’t join us on our summer trips. I’d book August again in a heartbeat. Planning for June 2020.

 

[jmako]

We’re planning the same thing! Summer vs Fall (except we’re going Aug ‘20) to save some cash and hopefully avoid some of the crowds. This will be the first non-Fall trip for us! Exciting! I’m sure you’ll have fun!

 

[jmako]

LOL I was wondering the same thing, but was afraid to ask!

Ha! Ditto!

 

[WEDWDW]

Just wondering, what are "the 15s"?

I wondered the same thing during my very first WDW trip in July of 2003 as I kept seeing these large groups of girls following someone holding up a Flag all around the Parks!lol

Having returned every July since then for my Birthday and staying Value a lot of those trips,THE STORIES I COULD TELL!lol

The 15s are Tour Groups of South American girls celebrating their 15th Birthday.

They are FAMOUS for their matching Backpacks and shirts and for their LARGE numbers!

Most are given the choice of a LARGE party at home or a trip to WDW(some will also go to NYC and Miami and Bahamas)and,in addition to WDW,most will also go to Universal,Sea World,Busch Gardens,etc.

Some will also have Private Parties(some with South American entertainers)as well as Quinceanera celebrations in World ShowPlace.

The largest numbers,BY FAR,are from Brazil and Argentina with smaller numbers from Uruguay,Paraguay,Chile,Venezuela,etc.

It is VERY interesting when Brazil and Argentina encounter each other-they DO NOT like each other-mainly because of Soccer.

Their rivalry is like Alabama v. Auburn or Ohio State v. Michigan on STEROIDS!

The "main" months for the migration of The 15s are July for their Winter Break and January/February for their Summer Break.

For the most part,they are really nice young ladies,but they can get "out of hand" at times!lol

They now use Private Buses alot and that has helped greatly as has the introduction of the Super Greeters in the Summer.

I present to you the LEGENDARY PHENOMENON KNOWN AS THE 15s!lol

 

[Boulie]

How have I never heard of this before now?

I see a futuristic Netflix series coming our way soon —- “The 15s”!

 

[SarahC97]

If crowds are the big concern, June and July are great. We've been there during one or both of those months from 2015-2018 and it's been fabulous. On the scale of WDW crowds, it's been quite light.



South American tour groups comprised of 15 year old girls. The groups normally range in size from 20-60+. They'll walk through the parks chanting quite loudly, sometimes walking arm in arm and just behaving as you'd expect a large pack of teenage girls to do. I think it's awesome that they get to go on such a trip, and individually I'm sure they're mostly very sweet girls (we've seen examples of it). However in a group they can be a bit annoying. Nothing to be "scared" of, just something to note. You don't want to be stuck in a long standby line with them. I've heard they trash the value resorts, but we stay offsite so I've never seen that side of it.

They do trash the values. Last summer I stupidly booked me and my daughters at All Star Movies. We were in the Mighty Ducks section surrounded by 15s. They were up and very loud until the wee hours of the morning and kept us up all night. The next morning there was trash and cigarette butts everywhere by the quiet pool. I asked the front desk if we could switch resorts because of how awful the experience was and offered to pay, but they sent us over to CSR for free. It was a much better experience after that.

OP, to answer your question, I have found my summer trips to be the best of the ones I've taken over the last few years. Yes, it's hot, but getting there early when it's still bearable out is very helpful. Last July my daughters and I went to MK on a Saturday morning for rope drop. We managed to ride 6 big attractions in the first hour and a half with little to no wait. It was awesome. It was so good, we're going back this July too.

 

[SarahC97]

I wondered the same thing during my very first WDW trip in July of 2003 as I kept seeing these large groups of girls following someone holding up a Flag all around the Parks!lol

Having returned every July since then for my Birthday and staying Value a lot of those trips,THE STORIES I COULD TELL!lol

The 15s are Tour Groups of South American girls celebrating their 15th Birthday.

They are FAMOUS for their matching Backpacks and shirts and for their LARGE numbers!

Most are given the choice of a LARGE party at home or a trip to WDW(some will also go to NYC and Miami and Bahamas)and,in addition to WDW,most will also go to Universal,Sea World,Busch Gardens,etc.

Some will also have Private Parties(some with South American entertainers)as well as Quinceanera celebrations in World ShowPlace.

The largest numbers,BY FAR,are from Brazil and Argentina with smaller numbers from Uruguay,Paraguay,Chile,Venezuela,etc.

It is VERY interesting when Brazil and Argentina encounter each other-they DO NOT like each other-mainly because of Soccer.

Their rivalry is like Alabama v. Auburn or Ohio State v. Michigan on STEROIDS!

The "main" months for the migration of The 15s are July for their Winter Break and January/February for their Summer Break.

For the most part,they are really nice young ladies,but they can get "out of hand" at times!lol

They now use Private Buses alot and that has helped greatly as has the introduction of the Super Greeters in the Summer.

I present to you the LEGENDARY PHENOMENON KNOWN AS THE 15s!lol

HA! Great description!

I'm curious, are the 15s there all month long or just for certain parts of it? We went mid-July and encountered them, but this year we're going the week after the 4th, so I'm trying to brace myself.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

Spray fans are key!

I agree! We got a great small fan that somehow blew cold air at us...even in the blistering sun. I don't know if I was imagining that the air was cold, but it was absolutely refreshing!

 

[Klayfish]

HA! Great description!

I'm curious, are the 15s there all month long or just for certain parts of it? We went mid-July and encountered them, but this year we're going the week after the 4th, so I'm trying to brace myself.

All month

 

[_19disnA]

The best time to go to WDW, in my opinion, is when you are free to do it.

I tend to agree since some may have less flexibility due to school and work schedules. Given the choice, we would never go in July-August when it is so hot/humid the last thing want to do is wait in long lines in the blazing sun.