# Sarasota Springs in August, any advice?



## mthake (Mar 2, 2013)

Hi all,

It's unbelievable, but I was able to secure a week in August.  As my family of 4, with two girls, 8 & 9, are first timers, I'd appreciate any advice you could offer.

We've secured 5 day hoppers, (good deal thru tickets at work).

What is the best way to get to MK, Epcot and AK from Satasota?

We're figuring 2 days MK, 2 days epcot, and 1 day AK, does that sound about right?


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## glypnirsgirl (Mar 2, 2013)

The best way to get to each of the parks is the bus. There are several stops within the resort. Go to the closest stop, wait for the bus with your destination displayed, and ride to the park. You don't have to hassle with parking. The buses are clean, convenient, and frequent.

Have a great time!

elaine


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## glypnirsgirl (Mar 2, 2013)

And I would add Disney Hollywood Studios instead of 2 days at Epcot.

elaine


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## glypnirsgirl (Mar 2, 2013)

Get to the bus stop about 40 minutes before the park is scheduled to open. That will get you to the park before "rope drop." You will avoid the heat of the day and avoid the busiest times at the parks.

Once you get to the park, go on the most popular rides, first. 

Learn how to use the fastpass system --- important for maximizing the number of attractions that you can experience.

Leave when the girls get hot and tired --- or before. Go back to the resort and rest, swim, have a little lunch. Then go back to the park in time for the special events like the Electric Light Parade at MK, Illuminations at Epcot, Fantasmic at DHS. 

It is worth it to read the Unofficial Guide --- their insight into how to conquer the parks is spot on and will help you prioritize what you want to do first.

I think that your girls are the perfect age to enjoy the parks. 

Also, have them walking ALOT before the trip. The average person walks 9 miles a day while at WDW. In order to really enjoy themselves, they should be able to walk at least 3 miles at a time. It also makes their feet tougher which reduces blister risk.


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## mecllap (Mar 2, 2013)

You will have a wonderful time; planning a lot ahead of time will really help with that.  [Sorry to start out with a small nitpick, but it's *Saratoga* Springs (which is a lovely resort)].  I would strongly suggest that you do lots of research on forums that specialize in Disney World info like disboards.com (which has lots of great tips threads), and allears.net and others, so you know a lot about getting around, can prioritize what you want to do and see, and learn how to cope with the serious heat in August.

Disney World (WDW) is incredibly huge; you will barely scratch the surface with a 5-day park hopper, but you can see many of the "major" attractions, if you are fully prepared.  You are very likely to experience one or more of your group getting overheated, overtired, and very cranky (sorry -- that is preventable with careful planning and time management -- mid-day breaks are very helpful).  Know that you will not be able to see and do everything that you all want to do.  Drink lots of non-sugared fluids, use spray misters (carefully), wet bandanas around necks; carry ponchos for brief afternoon rainstorms.  

Use the PhotoPass photographers as much as you can (and pre-buy the CD if you can); they will also take photos with your camera, so your whole family will be in the photos, but the photos with their cameras are better and they do some special shots.  These photos will provide lots of happy memories (and help you forget any odd little annoying things that seem to occur on vacations -- brush those aside).


WDW is wonderful; I love it, have been many times.  My upcoming spring trip is solo, and almost three weeks long.


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## icydog (Mar 4, 2013)

It is incredibly hot and humid in the summer. Just be prepared for it, and have raincoats too, and you'll be fine.  You won't see it all so be prepared for that.  And have a good time.


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## thebreards (Apr 8, 2013)

Magic Kingtom really takes more than one day with the new expansion so you are smart to budget two days.  We love to walk down Main Street the First day and take it all in stopping to see some characters along the way.  The second day we always take the train straight to Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain.  If you do this early enough there should be little to no wait- last time we did both two rides times.  The rest of the park you just need to learn to use the Fast Pass- particularly in Fantasy Land.

Animal Kingdom is definately doable in one day in its entirity and should have have some extra time to spare that afternoon.  

Epcot can really be done in 1 VERY LONG day or a more leigurely day and a half.  I always like to do Epcot one day and then come back after a shorter day (say the Animal Kingdom Day since it closes earlier and is a smaller park) and hang out in the countries at night....so fun and lots of entertainment.  Fair warning- kids and even pre-teens usually don't get a whole lot out of the courntries so they may try to rush you through those.  Be sure to FastPass Soaring when you first enter the park- they go fast and if you don't you'll spend 90+ minutes in the stand by line.  Last time we FP at 9:00 am and our return wasn't until 2:00.  We had time to do everything else up front and then return to Soaring before starting our afternoon loop of the countries.

Hollywood Studios is really one of favorites and it shouldn't be missed.  Just make sure you go on a day that are doing the Fantasmic Laser Show.  I know it's not every day all year long.

SSR itself is very nice and has really great pools.  If you can you should try to take a day off in the middle of your trip to just lounge by the pools.  I think the main pool will be best for your girls.  The other has a really great water feature which of course attracts a lot of younger kids.  We did a few hours in at each, had lunch and naps and by 4:00 we were ready for downtown disney for some shopping! 

August will be hot so be prepared!  Bring sunblock and some decent walking shoes.  I prefer flip flops in the heat of summer but everyone has their own opinion on shoes.  Just do whatever is most comfortable and forget about how you look.year long.


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## simpsontruckdriver (Apr 9, 2013)

I am not a DVC owner, but being a resident of the Orlando area, the weather from late May - late September is predictable. Daytime highs in the low-to-mid 90's with humidity over 90%. Buying those mist fans are good. Usually, after 3pm, our infamous thunderstorms hit, but they usually last less than 20 minutes. Then, the 90% humidity becomes 100% humidity.

So, to work with the storms: bring rain jackets, do not buy in the Parks (MUCH cheaper). Do NOT bring umbrellas, as you become a lightning rod (Central Florida is the Lightning Capitol of the USA). If you stay at a DVC resort, you can do that: go to the parks early, return for the thunderstorms, return after the storms!

TS


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## Amy (Apr 12, 2013)

mecllap said:


> Disney World (WDW) is incredibly huge; you will barely scratch the surface with a 5-day park hopper, but you can see many of the "major" attractions, if you are fully prepared.  You are very likely to experience one or more of your group getting overheated, overtired, and very cranky (sorry -- that is preventable with careful planning and time management -- mid-day breaks are very helpful).  Know that you will not be able to see and do everything that you all want to do.  Drink lots of non-sugared fluids, use spray misters (carefully), wet bandanas around necks; carry ponchos for brief afternoon rainstorms.



To somewhat echo mecllap, as long as you have reasonable expectations about a first time trip with young kids during some of the hottest/most humid days of the year -- that is, don't expect to see everything and let the kids get lots of rest -- then you should have a great time.  I always see exhausted looking kids at the end of their ropes with parents yelling at them late in the afternoon or late evening and wonder why the parents just don't let the kids go back to the hotel -- they clearly needed to rest/call it for the day.  Each park is huge -- so a ton of walking.  But some parents (understandably) want to get as much out of their ticket $ as they can; however, at some point that type of mentality just brings misery to the family (or at least the kids).  

I highly recommend the DISBoards for all things Disney theme park-related.  You can get sample menus via that site or allearsnet and if you want to do sit down dinners (as opposed to counter service), such as a character meal, make your reservations NOW as folks can reserve as early as 180+ days in advance.  I also recommend the Unofficial Guide to WDW.

I second the Hollywood Studios recommendation.  It offers some great attractions.  For example, our entire family (kids 5.5 and 9) loves Toys Story Midway Mania and my older one loves Star Tours (as do I).  It has Muppet Vision 3D show and the Beauty and the Beast stage show.  

Keep in mind that the lines can be super long.  It has been a long time since I've visited WDW during the height of summer.  I recall lines of 45 minutes to well over an hour for popular attractions when Fastpass wasn't available.  Not sure if that has changed.   And you may want to line up for the shows and the parades in advance for better choice of seats.  Definitely learn the ins and outs of the Fastpass system before you go and beware that Disney is rolling out changes to the Fastpass system as we speak (using RFID chip bracelets and enabling limited advance reservations).


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## blondietink (Apr 12, 2013)

When is August are you going?  End of August can be a lot less crowded than early August.  Weather will still be just as hot and humid.


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## AnnaS (Apr 15, 2013)

We used to go end of August all the time when the kids were younger.  If you know what to expect - everything said above, you will be fine and it's doable.

Ponchos, hats, sunscreen, plenty of water.  Afternoon breaks are a must.

Enjoy!!!


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## MichaelColey (Apr 15, 2013)

Disney parks can be very packed, but there are three things you can do to mitigate the crowds:

1) Time of year that you go.  There are busy times and there are slow times.  You can research crowd levels on easyWDW.com.  If you already have your dates, there's not much you can do about this one.

2) Which park you go to each day.  There are things that draw people to specific parks on specific days (and thus away from other parks).  Each day, there's a "worst" park to go to (usually the one with Extra Magic Hours) and one or more "best" parks.  easyWDW.com is BY FAR the best source for figuring out which park is the best to go to.  Pick the order of the parks you go to so that you maximize the best days, eliminate the bad days, and minimize the moderate days.

3) Touring style makes a HUGE difference.  The first hour that a park is open is BY FAR the best time to be there.  You can do many attractions with 0-10 minute waits that will be 30-120 minutes later in the day.  Most wait times peak between Noon and 5pm.  Plan on BEING THERE half an hour before rope drop (which means leaving the resort about an hour before). Do the headliner rides first.  Collect and use FastPasses.  As crowds start to build, shift to doing the second tier rides.  Around lunchtime, head back to the resort for either rest or some pool time.  I'll say it again...  That first hour is BY FAR the most important part of any plan.  What you get done in that hour might take 4-5 hours if you do it later in the day.  You want to stay just ahead of the crowds (who won't make it to rope drop).

I strongly, strongly, strongly suggest that you read and learn at easyWDW.com (both their blog and their forums).  It's as helpful and friendly to Disney fanatics as TUG is to timeshare owners.  And it's totally free.

With five days, it'll be a challenge to do all four parks.  Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios are each hard to do in a single day.  And the walking (often 5-10 miles a day) and heat (90s with high humidity) can be grueling, so you might even be tempted to take a day off or do a late start one day.  The mornings are so important, though, that I would encourage you to try to just do afternoon naps instead and never miss a rope drop (at least on trips this short).

I would definitely hit all four parks once, and would probably do Magic Kingdom (or perhaps Epcot) a second time.  (Actually, if it were me, I would hit Hollywood Studios twice because I love Toy Story Midway Mania so much!  But for a first timer, MK would probably be best.)

Even if you bought hoppers, I would suggest sticking with just one park per day.  It's so time-consuming to switch parks, and you lose some of the benefits.  Presumably, you started the day in the best park, so you would be hopping to a busier park.  It'll disrupt collection and use of FastPasses.  It typically takes between 1 and 2 hours to leave one park, return to your resort (or another central location), go to another park, and get through security/gates.  The exception might be if you're returning for evening entertainment after resting during the afternoon.

You'll probably want to designate one person as a FastPass "runner".  Give them all of your passes after you enter the park, and they'll break from your touring, go get  FastPasses for everyone, then join back up.


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## elaine (Apr 15, 2013)

we go in the AM, eat lunch in the park (or heavy snacks we brought in--bagels, pbj, frozen juice boxes, cheese sticks, carrots,as they will allow a small soft coolpack to be brought in and food a $$$ and my kids are always hungry and I would rather offer them a healthy option), then we go back to resort from 2-7ish), swim, get out of the heat, etc. eat a light dinner at DVC condo, then go back to the parks until 10pm or so.
SSR has a nice community hall near the pool open 8-8 with crafts, games, activities. My kids like to go midday during the break and color, etc.


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## chunkygal (May 23, 2013)

We take $1 rain ponchos from family dollar or some such.

You have gotten lots of good advice. You won't be able to "do it all" so don't put tons of pressure on yourself. We love doing the early..break (nap)...late thing and hardly ever park hop cause it is logistically time consuming. Especially when our kids were little ans required pushing naps essential (for us).


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## ptlohmysoul (May 23, 2013)

mthake said:


> Hi all,
> 
> We're figuring 2 days MK, 2 days epcot, and 1 day AK, does that sound about right?



That's what we did.  On our Animal Kingdom day (park hours were short that day), we went to the pool in the evening.  

Also, consider going to downtown disney (on a non-park day?).  Staying at SSR, you may be within walking distance.  My kids enjoy the lego store there.  The lego water dragon is pretty cool.  Earl of Sandwich is one of the best food deal for your money places.  Ghiradelli also gives out free samples sometimes.

Are you flying or driving?  Disney Dining Plan or not?  Definitely check out www.easywdw.com - great advice for free.


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## MichaelColey (May 24, 2013)

No Hollywood Studios?  I would probably do that over AK or a second Epcot day.


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## krmlaw (May 28, 2013)

I would switch one of you Epcot days to DHS - it's a must especially if you have kids. Plus is smaller to walk from ride to ride in the heat. And many attractions are inside or in the shade, unlike AK or Epcot.


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