WDW in August (now June)- the good, bad and the ugly?

Updated title to show we are most likely going to switch to June.
We have been meaning to go to Disney for a couple of years now. Every year I start planning, get sent to the Dis boards, get completely overwhelmed and put it off.
Well, this year we are biting the bullet and planning go in August - probably the first week. What do I need to know? Is it a terrible time? How are the crowds? And the heat?
We are thinking of going with another family - what are good places to stay that have a kitchen and pools or something else on site? Staying on site vs off - what are the pros and cons? We would have a car - do most places make you pay for parking?
Where can I look that will not make my eyes bleed from abbreviatons and Disney-speak?
Costco has some deals for slightly <$1000/pp for 6 nights . This includes some park-hopper tkts and things that I have to research. As deals go, is this terrible? I know I can probably do better but I do not have the stamina to chase down each deal, IYKWIM?
Thanks!

I live here and I can tell you it will be very, very crowded and very, very hot and humid! We locals don't venture to the theme parks then;) If you are prepared for it I 'm sure you will be fine. If you can come another time of the year that would be much better. June is far better crowd wise and weather wise.

Not to scare you away, but I think August is the worst month. Hot, humid, and some of the highest crowd levels. And prices.

I don't know if other resorts charge you for parking, but if you're not staying on property, you have to pay for parking at the theme parks, it's $14/day. Once you pay at one park, you can park at the other parks, you don't have to pay at each park.

If you want to stay off property, try the Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It has suites with kitchens and a nice pool. It is located closer to the theme parks than some Disney value resorts. We are staying there for the first time this fall, we normally stay on property, but decided to give it a try after reading many glowing reviews, and driving past the property the last time we went. The pool looks gorgeous with a lazy river etc. We are there for 9 nights, it is $1100 TOTAL. For a one bedroom presidential suite. We are going through an agency called Vacation Strategy. Search for it on Disboards...then leave Disboards. ;)

Instead of reading Disboards forums, you might want to try allears.net, it's a little less, well, crazy. :) It's more of a blog than forums. Disboards is helpful, but some of those people are 1) whacky, 2) grouches, 3) did I mention whacky? :) Also, the book "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" is very helpful. Asking here is good too.

Thank you, thank you for the FB. I predict this summer is going to be HOT on the East Coast given that it is 80 now in Boston!
I think I will try and rally the troops for early June. It is a little sad how much I am dreading the planning for this. It should be fun no?

Here is the fine print for the Costco deal:
Six-day intermediate rental car, including one additional driver (if desired, car may be removed during booking; package price will change accordingly)
Six nights in a Dolphin Resort-View Room
Two Walt Disney World® 4-Day Magic Your Way® Tickets with Park Hopper® Option (for the price of two 3-Day Magic Your Way® Tickets with Park Hopper® Option)
Extra Magic Hours – each day one of the Disney theme parks opens one hour early or stays open up to three hours after regular closing for guests to enjoy
Complimentary round-trip water taxi from resort to Epcot® and Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, and bus to all Disney theme parks, Disney water parks and Downtown Disney® (approximately every 15 minutes during park hours, including Extra Magic Hours and one additional hour)
All applicable taxes


It includes car rental also but we may waive it.

So with car rental it is $1035/pp for June. Too high??? It includes some tkts too - not sure what park hopper is but does it make it worthwhile?

Also kids eat free at the resort and we get a $100 credit - is this a Costco exclusive or for all guests? Can I find a better deal without reading a ton of sites/pages etc??

I am really intrigued by the Extra Magic hours - is that only for people who stay onsite??? We would love to stay late - all of us are complete night owls. We would be so much happier staying out till 10PM or so than getting up before 8 AM.
So that would be a big draw for us.
Thanks for any help.

You don't pay attention for one minute at dinner and suddenly you are in charge of planning the trip for everyone!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anamika

I am really intrigued by the Extra Magic hours - is that only for people who stay onsite??? We would love to stay late - all of us are complete night owls. We would be so much happier staying out till 10PM or so than getting up before 8 AM.
So that would be a big draw for us.

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I'm not sure about the price as I have never looked in august and we booked through disney travel company directly.

as for extra magic hours... it is one park that either opens early or closes later.

here is the link to the calendar
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/

EMH are only for guests staying onsite. But I think it's not the difference between leaving at 7pm vs 10pm, it's more like leaving at 1am vs 10pm.

Just looking at the Swan site, it's $305/nt for a package that includes kids eating free. That includes taxes. I only looked at one room, arriving 6/09. I didn't see anything about a $100 credit, that may be a Costco thing. As far as I know, the Swan just has regular hotel rooms, no rooms with kitchens. That's not including tickets or car, just the room.

If you don't want to shop around a lot for packages, I'd just give Southwest Vacations a look. They usually have pretty good rates, and you don't actually have to book airfare with them. Also, try calling the Swan and booking with the code "allears" allears.net is always pushing that, but I've never tried it I don't know how much of a discount you get. To me the rate you're quoting doesn't sound terrible, but it doesn't sound amazing either.

Thank you for the info - so useful and my head isn't spinning (yet).
Yes, I will check out the Bonnet Creek place. I saw it on the DIsboards the 2 times I went there.
Good to know about the EMH (aha, I know an abbreviation now!). Is that the only perk to staying onsite - or are there other nice extras? We are going for the first and maybe the only time - so we would like the full experience as far as possible! So it may be worth it to stay onsite if there is something special about it.
Do all the Disney resorts have the characters? The Costco site mentioned something about that. I think DD will like it this year (next year she may be too old).

I would call and see if you can add a Disney meal plan since you are technically staying on site and the Swan and Dolphin resorts are booking options on the official WDW site IIRC. The Costco deals usually include park hopper tickets, which this one does so they might be a plus if you add on a meal plan and want to eat or can only get ADRs at different parks on the same day. That might be a problem if you are going during high season.

I am reasonably certain that you cannot do the dining plan at the Swan or the Dolphin. . They are not Disney properties. You don't get Magical Express either, but I believe you do get extra magic hours and buses to the parks. (not related to the Costco deal). Also note that the Swan and Dolphin charge a resort fee and a parking fee. (they may still end up being a good deal, but you have to add the fees).

I am not entirely sure why everyone hates the disboards so much, ;) but you really can get a ton of info on there. There are massive threads on all of the resorts.

I am not sure whether or not your Costco deal is good. Do you need park hoppers? Do you only need two tickets (am I reading that correctly)? I would at least go to the WDW website and price some options so you have some basis for comparison. If you stay at a disney property, you could do magical express and might not need a car... You really just need to look at what you want to do and then price it out.

We were debating an August trip. It seems like August is hot (but someone mentioned that you will have had all summer to prepare for the heat, whereas if you go in June, Orlando will still be pretty hot, but your hometown might not be, so it might be a bigger shock). As I understand it is crowded, but gets less crowded as the month progresses.

The Unofficial Guide is a great book (and pretty beginner friendly). Lisa's recent thread might have some other ideas!

Have fun!

Glad I read thru first and that you've changed your mind on August, cuz there is not good or bad in that month, it's all just ugly, ugly, and more ugly. for all the reasons mentioned.

Can I get you to consider September or January? Deader than doornail months, termperate (well, Jan is cold, but not midwest cold), and alot more flexibility all around.

Do you have to stay on property?

Tusker House is my favorite restaurant in all of Disney, which is at AK.