The summer travel season is almost here, and you’re ready to make your vacation plans. A trip to Disney World tops your bucket list, but you’re worried about visiting Florida in the summer months. Maybe you’ve heard the heat is unbearable or that it rains a lot.
While it’s true the weather can be less than ideal for some people, there are a lot of advantages to visiting Disney World in summer. Lower crowds, combined with lower resort and ticket prices, could make this the perfect time to take your dream vacation. Throw in the added discounts we’ve been seeing lately, and it’s really hard to make a case against a Disney World Summer vacation.
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Best Time to Visit Disney World in Summer
When considering the best time to take a Disney World summer vacation, most guests focus on 2 primary factors: weather and crowds. While weather remains fairly consistent throughout the summer months, crowds can differ greatly deepening on when you schedule your trip.
Visiting Disney World in June
Guests who visit Disney World in June can expect temperatures in the high 80s with increasing humidity as the month progresses. According to Weather Spark, humidity is typically in the oppressive range by month’s end. The good news is, that humidity is made more bearable by cloud cover most days.
Since temperatures are generally lower in June than July or August, you’ll see more people in the parks. Crowds are generally elevated, but lower than you would see during holiday periods, such as Christmas, Easter or popular school break weeks in February or March.
To put crowd conditions in perspective, you can expect the following peak wait times for the most popular Disney World attractions:
- Tron Lightcycle Run: 40 minutes
- Frozen Ever After: 64 minutes
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: 63 minutes
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: 71 minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash: 106 minutes
- Avatar Flight of Passage: 85 minutes
Keep in mind, these are peak wait times, usually reached later in the day. Morning wait times, particularly if you are utilizing Early Theme Park Entry, are typically much lower.
Visiting Disney World in July
Once July rolls around, you can expect highs to reach the low 90s for the entire month. Humidity settles in at the oppressive range, with most days experiencing periods of overcast conditions. You can expect a shower most days, since July receives an average of 23 days of precipitation.
Crowds begin to thin out as well after the fourth of July week, and wait times for rides begin to trend downward as well. In general, you’ll see the following peak conditions for these popular Disney World attractions:
- Tron Lightcycle Run: 40 minutes
- Frozen Ever After: 50 minutes
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: 50 minutes
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: 65 minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash: 78 minutes
- Avatar Flight of Passage: 88 minutes
As mentioned above for June, these are the average top wait times. You may experience higher wait times for brief periods during the day. Much of the day may also have lower queue lengths.
To learn more about visiting Disney World in July, click here to access our detailed guide.
Visiting Disney World in August
August turns out to be the crown jewel of the summer months, with decreasing crowds and some of the lowest ticket and resort prices of the year.
Weather wise, you can expect more of the same, with average high temperatures topping out in the 90s, to start the month, but gradually decreasing to the high 80s toward the end of August. You’ll find humidity is behind temperatures in following a downward trend. Weather Spark reports that oppressive humidity reigns supreme in August, with a 99% chance than any given day will be muggy (better than oppressive).
With so much humidity, it isn’t surprising that there is a 42% chance of rain on any given day throughout the month. Pop-up showers that come in quickly and disappear are the norm.
Since many schools resume session in August, crowd levels also fall consistently until month’s end. Starting around the middle of the month, you’ll see lower average peak wait times across major attractions:
- Tron Lightcycle Run: 40 minutes
- Frozen Ever After: 55 minutes
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: 55 minutes
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: 65 minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash: 64 minutes
- Avatar Flight of Passage: 65 minutes
Keep in mind, the numbers above reflect average peak conditions. You will find lower wait times early in the morning and closer to closing.
To learn more about visiting Disney World in August, click here to access our detailed guide.
Best Disney World Resorts in Summer
While we love all Disney World resort hotels for their immersive theming and atmosphere, there are a few that provide some additional perks or considerations when visiting Disney World in summer. While all Disney World resorts provide free admission to one of Disney’s waterparks on check in day, there are 3 we’d highly recommend for hotter months as listed below:
Disney’s Contemporary Resort for Summer Travel
If you plan to spend much of your time at Magic Kingdom, then the Contemporary Resort is the place to stay. As the first resort built on the property, the Contemporary has a lot of Walt’s magic imbued in the design, including the monorail track which runs right through the resort.
With the monorail station inside, you’ll be able to wait for your ride in crisp, cool comfort. If you’re staying in a tower room, you’ll be able to head right to the station without leaving the AC, but even garden view rooms are a short walk to the cool comfort of the station.
While staying at the Contemporary, you can watch the nightly fireworks from your room, if you book a theme park view. That means standing in the temperature of your choice while the show erupts over Cinderella’s castle.
A viewing platform is also available for guests of the Contemporary resort. It is outside, but it’s far less crowded than watching the show from inside the park. Add in a bit of a breeze, and it’s bound to feel much cooler.
Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Club Resorts
Guests who plan to spend any portion of their day at the hotel pool, should consider a stay at Disney’s Beach Club or Yacht Club. These two sister properties share a water park, complete with lazy river, sandy beach and pirate slide. It’s the perfect oasis for the beating the heat, and you won’t have to go far to get there. Best of all, the area is reserved for guests of these 2 resorts, so it’s easy to find a nice shady spot or a tube to float.
Location is another perk of a Beach Club or Yacht Club stay. Located on the shores of Crescent Lake, there is often a breeze at this resort. There is nothing like a little bit of wind to relieve the feel of soggy air.
Another locational advantage is the proximity to 2 Disney parks. You can catch a quick air conditioned boat over to Hollywood Studios or reach EPCOT via a mostly shady 5-minute stroll.
For other parks, the bus pick-up area is shaded and centrally located. You’ll find it easy to reach, with no long walks to your depot.
Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside
This is hands down our favorite moderate resort. While you won’t have access to a water park or monorail, you can fit far more in your budget with the lower rates at Port Orleans Riverside.
The amazing grounds are another reason we rate this resort high for a Disney World summer vacation. Most paths are shady treelined retreats, providing a cooler and more peaceful ambiance than you’ll find at other resorts.
Given the magnificent tree cover at Port Orleans, we also found it easier to find a shady spot at the pool. In addition to the main Ol’ Man Island pool, complete with pool bar, you’ll find 5 leisure pools, so there is always a nearby watering hole to cool off.
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Disney World Summer Tickets
Disney World summer tickets come in 2 main varieties: A single park per day ticket or a park hopper ticket.
A base ticket allows you to visit one park each day of your trip. If you enter Magic Kingdom in the morning on a Tuesday, you may leave and re-enter that park as many times as you wish that day. You may not, however, visit any other parks on that Tuesday.
A park hopper ticket allows you to visit multiple parks in a day. You may take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry to experience Tron Lightcycle Run with reduced wait. Then, since EPCOT typically opens later than other parks, head in that direction before the lines get long.
When visiting Disney World in summer, a one-day ticket starts at $119 per day and top out at $196 per day. However, if you’re purchasing a multi-day ticket, you’ll find the per-day cost decreases the longer you plan to stay and visit the parks.
In both 2023 and 2024, Disney released a special 3- and 4-day ticket just for the summer months. Guests could purchase a base ticket for a discount, and even combine this purchase with available special offers for Disney World resort hotels.
Click here to access our quote form.
Get a quote for Disney World park tickets for your summer trip.
Disney World in Summer Special Offers
Guests visiting Disney World in Summer can usually take advantage of special offers to reduce the overall cost of their trip. For summer of 2025, Disney has rolled out 2 separate discount specials.
The first provides a free dining plan for each person on your hotel reservation, when you book a Disney World resort with park hopper ticket. With this offer, each guest on your booking will receive 2 meals and 1 snack per day, as well as a resort refillable mug, included in the cost of a room and ticket package.
If you don’t think the dining plan is for you, or you plan to spend some time at other Florida attractions during your stay, you can book a discounted room at many resorts. Plan on saving up to 30%, depending on where you stay and when you travel.
For complete details on current special offers, you may visit our Disney Discount page.
Disney World Summer Events
Another reason to visit Disney World in summer is to take part on some of the summer events. Since days are longer and nighttime warmer, you’ll find some interesting happenings when visiting Disney World in the summer.
- Disney After Hours: This special ticketed event limits attendance at specially selected theme parks. The fun starts after the park closes for the day, so you must have a ticket to enter. Capped attendance means low to no wait for rides. Disney After Hours in 2025 will be held on select dates at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT June through August.
- EPCOT Food & Wine Festival: As of this writing, dates for this popular festival have yet to be announce. However, with the EPCOT Flower & Garden show coming to an end in early June, we do expect the Food & Wine Festival to start some time during the summer. We’ll post exact dates here when they are announce. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter to be apprised.
- Special Tours: Throughout the summer, you’ll find a full slate of tours available. These include the popular Keys to the Kingdom Tour, allowing you to escape for half a day into backstage magic, as well as the unbelievable VIP Tour. A VIP tour provides you with your own guide for a day, private transportation to and from the park, and Lightning Lane access to all attractions.
- Disney H2O Glow After Hours at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon: Splash into cooling fun at this special ticketed event held at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water park. Dates have not yet been announced for 2025. We’ll post exact dates here when they are announce. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter to be apprised.
Things to Do Near Disney World in Summer
When visiting Disney World in summer, some guests will take advantage of the time in the Orlando area to visit other attractions. Universal Studios Orlando is one of the more popular destinations.
At Universal, you can visit both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, come face to face with rogue dinos and visit with some rather unique characters. There are very few places where you will run into life size versions of the Simpsons or Transformers.
Others seek adventure outside the theme parks. Visiting one of the nearby springs is a great way to cool down and see some of Florida’s natural geography.
Wekiwa Springs State Park is only 30 miles from Disney World and offers crystal clear spring water for swimming as well as snorkeling. Other nearby natural springs offering swimming, kayaking and outdoor adventure include Rock Springs in Apopka and Silver Glen Springs in the Ocala National Forest. For the best experience, you’ll want to take your trip to any of these locations during the week when fewer visitors will be joining you.
We recently embarked on an adventure to Wild Florida Gator Park. Despite the name, this sanctuary is home to more than 200 different animal species, including the cute and cuddling capybara. We joined the capybara experience and spent around 20 minutes feeding and interacting with these fun and adorable creatures. Airboat rides are also available.
How to Stay Cool at Disney World in Summer
Since you may be battling high temps and humidity when visiting Disney World in summer, it’s important to know some of the best strategies for beating the heat.
- One of the most important tips is to stay hydrated. We usually carry insulated water bottles which we fill with ice or refrigerated water before leaving the resort. Alternatively, you can always stop at any quick service restaurant or kiosk serving fountain drinks and ask for a cup of water.
- Your apparel will also play an important role in staying cool. Athletic shirts made of moisture wicking material are perfect for days in the parks. Other travelers swear by Merino Wool for its temperature regulating properties as well as the material’s ability to resist odor.
- Other tips for staying cool at Disney World in the summer revolve around how you structure your day. Since many attractions are indoors, we recommend hitting those rides with outdoor queues early or late in the day when temperatures are cooler. It’s also a good idea to rotate rides with outdoor queues with those where you will spend most of your queueing time indoors.
- When visiting Animal Kingdom in the summer, it’s easy to duck into a show to cool off. You can choose from Finding Nemo, the Lion King and the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether show coming soon to the site of the former “It’s a Bug Life” theater under the Tree of Life.
- When looking to beat the heat at Magic Kingdom, the queues for Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, It’s a Small World and Space Mountain are located entirely inside. It’s a situation where a long line could actually spell relief from the heat.
- If you’re at EPCOT, you’ll find that most ride queues, with the exception of Spaceship Earth, are located in a cool air conditioned space. At Hollywood Studios, though, you’ll find a mixed bag. Head to Star Wars Rise of the Resistance or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (soon to become a Muppet themed experience) to completely escape the heat while waiting to ride. Other experiences, such as Toy Story Mania and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad, may have partial outdoor queues if the lines are extremely long.
- One of our favorite ways to break the heat is to head back to our resort hotel and spend the afternoon at the pool. We usually return to our room right before dinner, get changed and go back to the park in the evening hours when it’s cooled down some. If pool time isn’t appealing, why not take a nap in your air conditioned room?
- Personal mini fans are another way to help alleviate the impact of the heat. It’s amazing what a little moving air can do when the temperatures soar. We see many parents using clip on fans with strollers to keep kiddos from overheating.
- Another way to make the heat more manageable is to grab a cool snack. Dole Whip is our favorite, and it’s now available in more places than Magic Kingdom. You can also swap it for a Mickey Ice Cream sandwich or any other cold snack or drink.
- It’s important as you make your way from ride to ride that you take frequent breaks to cool down. This is particularly important for parents who are pushing strollers or anyone who may be piloting a wheelchair. It’s easy to overexert yourself in the heat, so grab a place in the shade and just sit for 5 or ten minutes.
- It may be tempting to have a glass of wine or cool beer with lunch, but waiting until dinner when temperatures are cooler might be a wiser choice. Alcohol can cause dehydration, which can inhibit your body’s ability to stay cool.
- Last, don’t forget that pop-up showers may be part of your day. It’s entirely possible that you’ll be queueing inside for a ride when they hit, but if you’re outside, you’ll want protection against the precipitation. Some rain showers can become torrential downpours. Either a rain poncho with a hood or an umbrella works, but you’ll want to have something tucked away, just in case. Emerging drenched from a storm into the ensuing heat won’t help you feel cooler when the humidity is high. Click here for our complete packing guide.
Visiting Disney World in Summer Final Thoughts
Don’t let the heat deter you from enjoying a trip to Disney World in summer. Recent special offers, combined with some lower costs during specific weeks, make the summer an advantageous time to visit. Many children will already be out of school and families often vacation during this season anyway, so it just makes sense to take your bucket-list trip to Disney during the warmer months.
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