we went for the first time to disney world the first week in dec 2008:) and we loved it. the crowds were ok ,but we are thinking about going in mid june,so how huge is the crowd and are the waits really long? my dd 4 b-day is june 20 we are thinking of going for her birthday.

Well, it's crowded, but doable. Every time we go, we go in either mid-June or early July (like this year). As long as you don't expect to walk on every ride, take advantage of the fast pass and early/late entry opportunities, you'll do fine. It just takes a bit of planning, that's all. I find that crowds can even add to the enjoyment, as long as one is patient. The biggest problem at that time of year will be the heat. It's really, really, really hot! Drink lots of water, find the shade and AC often (difficult in AK), and take particular care with kids and the elderly. Plus, you'll have the pop-up thunder storms. They can be extremely wet and fairly robust, but they pass quickly; duck into a store and shop for a while and when you come out, the rain will most likely be gone.

thanks:) we are from texas so we know to much about the heat:( about how long are the waits for the rides w/ no fp?

Well, it depends on the ride. Peter Pan is long, almost too long to endure in the heat without a fast pass; Grand Prix is pretty long, even with the fast pass; Splash Mountain can be an eternity without the fast pass; Soarin' at Epcot is a loooong wait without the fast pass (and keep in mind we're talking about during the peak hours -- if you hit some of these rides really early or really late, you'll do fine), as is Test Track; over at Hollywood Studios, the big lines will be Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania, although the latter is not so bad. Over at AK, the safari ride is long most of the time, and Expedition Everest can get pretty long as well, but both can be done without fastpasses at the right time of the day.

Again, careful use of the fastpass is fairly easy; just send someone over to grab the fastpasses for one of the long-line rides, do a few other rides, and then head back to the fastpass ride, making sure to grab the next fastpass for another long line ride on the way (if the window is open). It becomes second nature after awhile. I haven't waiting in a really long line for years, except for Finding Nemo over in Disneyland, but even that wasn't too bad. The fastpass is your very best friend! Also, utilize the early and late entry times since you are staying on property; you can easily get in some of the best rides before the rest of the people enter the park, and then as you exit, you can pick up a fast pass for later in the day!

... Grand Prix is pretty long, even with the fast pass; ..., the big lines will be Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania, although the latter is not so bad.
The Indy Speedway (or whatever the new name will be, the official website hasn't been updated yet) doesn't have fastpass. Also, the times I've visited the Studios since Toy Story opened, Tower of Terror is a LOT shorter than Toy story on the waits, and the lines rival Rock 'n' Roller Coaster most of the time. On a Saturday evening in early December the standby queue to Toy Story was posted at close to an hour (I think that's what it was -it was posted quite long) and was close to that. The park was closed when I exited, so it was late in the day.

I agree, with good use of fastpass, you can make it a doable trip - but both Expedition Everest and Toy Story Midway Mania have EXCELLENT stand-by queues (including Mr. Potatohead at Toy Story) and if you can swing a 'rush to the attraction at rope drop and go standby - I'd highly recommend that for these two.

thanks:) we are from texas so we know to much about the heat:(

Well, unless you're from the south of Texas, it's still MUCH warmer in Florida in the summer than in most of Texas. I live in Dallas, and I just wouldn't plan a WDW vacation from around June to around mid-September. It's the humidity that gets to you, along with the fact that it doesn't cool down when the sun goes down. Highs in the high 90's with lows in the mid-80's are common. If you do decide to go, take a hand towel from your room for a sweat towel - you'll thank me!

The Indy Speedway (or whatever the new name will be, the official website hasn't been updated yet) doesn't have fastpass. Also, the times I've visited the Studios since Toy Story opened, Tower of Terror is a LOT shorter than Toy story on the waits, and the lines rival Rock 'n' Roller Coaster most of the time. On a Saturday evening in early December the standby queue to Toy Story was posted at close to an hour (I think that's what it was -it was posted quite long) and was close to that. The park was closed when I exited, so it was late in the day.

I agree, with good use of fastpass, you can make it a doable trip - but both Expedition Everest and Toy Story Midway Mania have EXCELLENT stand-by queues (including Mr. Potatohead at Toy Story) and if you can swing a 'rush to the attraction at rope drop and go standby - I'd highly recommend that for these two.

Does the raceway at DL have fastpass? I vaguely remember a fastpass associated with the cars; did it use to have FP and then they got rid of it, like HM? Ah well. All I know is that the line is slowwwww, especially the side I choose (you know where you go down the stairs to the cars -- I always pick the wrong side).

Does the raceway at DL have fastpass? I vaguely remember a fastpass associated with the cars; did it use to have FP and then they got rid of it, like HM? Ah well. All I know is that the line is slowwwww, especially the side I choose (you know where you go down the stairs to the cars -- I always pick the wrong side).

DL does have FP. I don't recall if WDW used to or not. Not having kids, that's one of those attractions I don't go on unless I'm 'in the mood' and that never happens if the line is long!

DL does have FP, and I'm pretty sure WDW does not.

lol... I am from south Texas:) we went the first week Dec 2008. The crowds were ok, but the deco was beautiful. The line for toy story mania was 80 min. We never got a FP for it,so we never rode it:( I don't think I will like the heat in june. I wanted to do the 4/3 deal,but I guess we will wait:( when truely is the slowest time of the year? is march really crowded?

March isn't bad as long as you stay out of the way of Easter and the 2 weeks surrounding it. Early December is a really nice time, with great temps and all the Christmas stuff up and running. The crowds don't usually show up till the week or so before Christmas.

we loved it at christmas,but I hate to keep taking my son out of school for a week. our spring break is the second week in march. is this a crowded time?

Depends on when Easter is. This year it's in mid-April, so I'd think mid-March would be a pretty nice time to visit.

I was there December 10-16th, and I was VERY, VERY surprised at the crowd levels. It was much busier than I expected and there were several rides that I didn't do because of the lines. I was at MK for EMH (quite late in the evening) and the wait for Peter Pan was still 50 minutes.

I don't know if there really IS a down time anymore except maybe after MLK day and before President's Day?

I was there December 10-16th, and I was VERY, VERY surprised at the crowd levels. It was much busier than I expected and there were several rides that I didn't do because of the lines. I was at MK for EMH (quite late in the evening) and the wait for Peter Pan was still 50 minutes.

I don't know if there really IS a down time anymore except maybe after MLK day and before President's Day?

I have yet to discover a real "down time". We arrived last January on MLK day, that week was at least as crowded as early/mid August, plus they had no where near the staff that they have in the summer, so less lines were open.

BTW, Dan's right about the heat. For the last two years, we've gone in August, and I thought we were used to summer heat on the east coast. But even if you're accustomed to being in 95 degree heat with 90% humidity, you're probably not used to standing outside in it for hours at a time, or waiting in line in a non-air conditioned queue with little air circulation (to me, the Safari queue at AK is particularly brutal in the heat).

We've gone a number of times in mid-June and experienced crowds just about exactly as Petesimac described (Hi Pete!). I'm from a very dry climate and actually haven't found the humidity to be too horrendous in June and it sounds like you know just what you'll be dealing with. We did have one August trip during a heat wave that was brutal though.

we've gone a number of times in mid-june and experienced crowds just about exactly as petesimac described (hi pete!). I'm from a very dry climate and actually haven't found the humidity to be too horrendous in june and it sounds like you know just what you'll be dealing with. We did have one august trip during a heat wave that was brutal though.


:d

That last entry was supposed to be a big grin, by the way; don't know what happened.

thanks for all the info. we have decide to wait on our trip:( we are thinking about going again in dec. ,but with everybody getting these 40% off codes for nov and dec. i'm worried it will get more crowed. when we went in dec 2008 i was shocked at all the people there. there is no way i could handle the crowds in the summer.:eek:

What does every one think about not making ADR's for a trip June 12-15? It will be a girlfriend and I, no kids, no men. I was thinking about just kinda going with the flow on this trip, no schedule*. We may even hit the pool for one day just to chill. What are the odds of getting a table for 2 anywhere, we are not overly picky about food or time on the same day?
As far as I know there are no must do places for this trip. If any come up I would certainly make ressies for those places.

*this may kill me though so we will see...I may have to at least have a park schedule or something! :eek:)

Personally, I would not attempt such unless I was doing it a) without the dining plan and b) content with Counter Service dining as a backup.

If you are going without ADR's I would say it can be done but you are not going to be able to get into the most popular places. If you want to do it that way I would at least figure out what you want to do in the AM and stop by guest services if you can get in somewhere at least. That way you are not wandering around guessing if a place has any spots open.

Thanks Gusman.
I am pretty sure we will not be doing the dining plan for this trip, I find it kind of restrictive on a short trip. I think we might go with the see whats available once we figure out were we will be for the end of the day, which would probably be either MK or Epcot. If we hit either of the other two it would lonly be to do certain things and leave.
If we go with figure it out day by day thing can we go to guest services at either park to check dinning in the other?

You can call WDW-DINE from any pay phone for free (unless they've changed this recently) and get in touch with dining. As long as you're ok with the idea of not being able to get ANY sitdown dining (a distinct possibility!), you can still have a great time. Usually you can find something that still has ADRs available. Just don't plan on walking up to a restaurant and expecting any luck - it just about never happens, especially in June.

Hey experts--

I've been with my DD and DH to DL several times, always in late June or August. We cope with crowds very well using FP.

I have never been to WDW (I am 47). My mom (do the math) really, really wants to go, but can only go in June. She has never been, and I would like for her to go while she is still robust and healthy. It will just be the two of us.

We are booked at YC for June 18-25. I know it will be crazy hot and humid (we can both cope with this.) However, how do the crowds at WDW in June compare to weekday DL crowds in June? Since we are West Coasters, I am thinking that we might just skip the parks during daylight hours and do our touring at night. I booked with Dreams Unlimited, who will make our ADRs for us (we plan to eat our way around World Showcase.) I'll plan our week around these dinner ADRs.

I would greatly appreciate any comments/suggestions.

Thanks.

I figure we can always get a snack some where if we decided we must eat at a certain place and the wait time is long...and if it does not work out I think it will be OK.
We had actually hoped for a room at the Beach Club so we could graze the World Showcase before heading back to the hotel. We eneded up in Jambo house at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.