Disney World Weather Tips and Why August is a Great Time to Visit Orlando
How to be ready for summertime in Disney World
Here’s why August can be the best time of year to visit Orlando, and how you can survive the hot, humid weather during hurricane season. Although the summer weather is extreme at Disney World, if you have a plan and arrive prepared you can have a terrific vacation.
End of August means low crowd levels at Disney World
Although summer is an extremely busy season at Disney World, by the end of August school has started in much of the country and the crowd levels in Orlando are among the lowest of the year. If you are lucky enough to be able to travel during the last week or two of summer, you will find empty parks and very short queues.
End of August also means stormy weather at Disney World
Florida is known for its extreme weather, the peak season for storms is the end of the summer and early fall. Its proximity to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico means exposure to tropical storms and hurricanes. Luckily Orlando is located in the center of the state, which means even if a big storm hits the coast it will usually dissipate a lot before it gets to Disney World.
But even though you are unlikely to encounter a full-blown hurricane in Orlando, you will almost certainly run into heavy rain and thundershowers when you visit in the summer. Although this is inconvenient, it doesn’t need to ruin your trip. The main way to cope with Disney World’s weather is to be prepared and have a plan.
7 Disney World summer weather tips
After spending lots of time visiting Disney World in the summer months, I’ve come up with some basic strategies that really will help you cope with the weather. Here are my top seven Disney World summer weather tips.
1 – Arrive early
Yes, this is always my first tip for theme park touring. In summer it’s extra-important to start early. Temperatures can top 100 degrees by mid-afternoon, but mornings tend to be much more comfortable.
Arriving early at Disney World means getting to the park before the gates open. If you’re staying at an onsite hotel, I recommend getting to the bus stop or monorail about an hour before park opening. Ideally you should arrive at the park gates about 30 minutes before scheduled opening, since guests are often permitted to enter about 15 minutes prior to the announced time.
This means if a park has a scheduled opening time at 9:00am, most likely the turnstiles will begin operating at about 8:45am. Considering the heat you will encounter later in the day, and likely rain too, don’t miss these extra minutes of cool, dry touring time. Additionally lines just after park opening are almost always the shortest of the day.
Park opening is known as rope drop. Find out how to do it the right way, here.
2 – Make lunch reservations
Lunchtime will probably be the time you start feeling hot and tired. Do yourself a huge favor and make a lunch reservation at one of the park restaurants. A dining reservation means a guaranteed seat in air-conditioned comfort. You can make your dining reservations on the Disney World website or on the Disney World app, even the same day.
Stay flexible in the afternoon and evening
This really is a key theme park tip: have a plan but be flexible.
Touring Disney World in hot weather can be exhausting. Be prepared to skip a ride and enjoy some ice cream instead. If a storm closes your next attraction, duck into an indoor ride or a shop for a while. Then be ready to go back and ride that roller coaster when it stops raining. Trust me, you will enjoy the experience a whole lot more.
Keep dinner plans flexible
This ability to stay flexible is one reason I do not recommend that you make dinner reservations during the stormy months. Often dinnertime is the point where the rain stops, meaning it is the ideal time to hop on the rides that were closed early in the day.
If you have a dinner reservation (which Disney will charge a fee to cancel, incidentally), you will have far less flexibility in the evening hours. My suggestion is to stick to the full-service restaurants for lunch and have quick-service for dinner.
