August 2012 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: AUGUST 2012 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews Walt Disney World in August 2012: crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes, and ends with week by week summaries.
AUGUST 2012 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
August begins as one of the most crowded periods at Walt Disney World. Late in the month, crowds moderate, and by its end, crowds are low and manageable.
On a crowd scale of 1-11, the weeks beginning 7/28, 8/4, and 8/11 have a crowd rating of high/9, the week beginning 8/18 has a crowd rating of moderate/6, and the week beginning 8/25 has a crowd rating of low/3.
See this for more on 2012 crowds at Walt Disney World.
AUGUST 2012 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Prices begin the month at the values 55% higher than the lowest of the year, and moderate prices are 20% higher. On August 5 these prices drop to 3-5% higher than the lowest of the year.
Deluxe prices begin the month 3% higher than the lowest of the year, and on 8/19 drop to their lowest level of the year.
Click the image to see a Pop Century Resort example of Disney World resort pricing. (When open, click again to enlarge.)
See this for more on 2012 prices at Walt Disney World.
AUGUST 2012 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Deals are available for late August. Find the details here.
AUGUST 2012 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
August weather is about as bad as Orlando gets: hot and humid, with afternoon storms common.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.
The hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but the peak of the hurricane season begins in mid to late August.
It is very rare for a hurricane to ruin a Walt Disney World vacation. It does happen, though.
Click the chart to see more on the typical timing of hurricanes.
AUGUST 2012 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance, but changing during busy periods even the day before.
These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
The calendars can be tricky to use–see this for hints on how to work with Walt Disney World’s online calendars.
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR AUGUST 2012 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow below are from 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2012 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
7/28/12 Prices are 3-55% higher than lowest of the year. High crowds–crowd ranking is 9. Week ranking=31. Use the Summer Itinerary.
8/4/12 Prices remain at 3% higher than lowest of the year for deluxes, and drop on 8/5 to 3-5% higher than the lowest of the year for values and moderates. High crowds–crowd ranking is 9. Week ranking=30. Use the Summer Itinerary
8/11/12 Prices are 3-5% higher than the lowest of the year. High crowds–crowd ranking is 9. Week ranking=29. Use the Summer Itinerary.
8/18/12 Prices at deluxes drop to lowest of the year on 8/19; Moderates and values remain 3-5% higher than lowest of the year. Moderate crowds–crowd ranking is 6. Week ranking=27. Use the Summer Itinerary.
8/25/12 Prices are 0-5% higher than lowest of the year. Low crowds–crowd ranking is 3. Week ranking=26. Use the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary.
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the next best dates, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
- For the 2012 Week Picker, see this
- For 2013 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2012 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2013 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2012 price seasons, see this
- For 2013 price seasons, click here
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
8 comments
Hi, My family are in RSA and we would like to go to DisneyWorld Florida during 20 Oct 25 Oct 2012. A few questions – 1. What will the chances of hurricanes be like? 2. Will some rides be closed during this time? 3. What will weather be like for taking advantage of the water world? 4. Are meal plans discounted during this time by any chance? 5. Are tickets affordable during this time? 6. Are the crowds lower this time of the year? Sorry for all the questions, I just wanted your informed opinion on this. We really want to make it fun for our teenagers , 12 and 14. Thanks a ton for this opportunity to ask these questions and more importantly, thank you for an excellent detailed website (which I should be using more!!!!)… Natty
Hi Natesha, and thanks!
That’s a great week–I rank it as the fifth best of the year–see this: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/10/20/2012-weeks-to-visit-walt-disney-world-ranked-in-order/ and also the second part of this: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2009/12/23/the-most-comfortable-time-to-go-to-walt-disney-world/
Your other specific questions are answered on this page on October 2011 at Walt Disney World: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/04/04/october-2011-at-walt-disney-world/ I haven’t written the equivalent for 2012 yet, but all the basics remain the same…
Hope this helps! Dave
Does anyone know why the Week of August 19,2012 is the only week in the Summer of 2012 without any type of Disneyworld Discount…??
Hi Christine! I’m guessing that it’s because the various summer discounts just announced seem to end when the respective resort types begin their deepest-discount summer value seasons (see http://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/05/26/walt-disney-world-2012-price-seasons/ ) but not enuogh kids are back in school yet for them to have rolled out free dining…it does stink!
Hi Natasha,
I was at Disney for the first time in 2011 and was extemely impresses with everything. Noting the age of your kids, I would suggest to try to also visit Universal Studios. I found it comparable to Disney, if not slightly preferable… My boys are a little younger but the Harry Potter world was out of this world, even though really geared for slightly older kids, especially if you like roller coasters.
I greatly appreciate all the info I’ve read here.
We are looking at visiting Disney the week of Aug 18-25. I am finding conflicting reports on crowds for that week. Some site are saying to expect low crowds and little wait time and others are saying moderate crowds with up to an hour wait time for rides. We do have the flexibility to go the next week, the 25-1st but that starts the free dining plan week and thought that might bring in bigger crowds. What are your thoughts comparing these 2 weeks? Also, the week of the 18th, we are getting a 25% discount at a moderate resort vs. no real discount but free dining the week of the 26th. The crowds are our biggest concern. Thanks so much for any advise.
Tammy, rank me with those who see a major difference in crowds between the two weeks, with the week of the 25th better. See http://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/10/20/2012-weeks-to-visit-walt-disney-world-ranked-in-order/
Free dining crowds the restaurants, not the parks. They offer it because demand for hotel rooms is otherwise low after later August. Adding another 5,000 or so families from free dining makes no real impact on the park crowds compared to the enormously bigger positive impact on crowds of most kids being back in school then, and parents being unwilling to take them out for a visit to WDW at the very beginning of the new school year.
A 25% discount on a moderate is worth $40-50 a night. Free dining value depends on your family size, age and what you would spent on food without it, but for a typical family of four it’s worth around $150/night
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