*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[Monykalyn]

So this is my first time going without a stroller. I have never packed light when going to the parks because i have had a stroller to carry everything.

Anyway this time I expect both my son and I will carry backpacks. I know we will have my wallet, phone, and ponchos, but what else should we pack for while in the park?

Pack as light as you can. For our family of 5 we have a single string bag. If I don't have pockets I'll wear a lanyard that will have ID and spare cash, and phone (it's got a waterproof pouch on lanyard- perfect for water rides or rain). String bag will have small can sunscreen, bandaids, water bottle, fuel rod charger). Magic band on wrist. If staying offsite gift card will also be in lanyard along with credit card. Even the water bottles usually get carried by one of us as it's so hot we drink a lot. Oh and frog toggs around neck.

We have ponchos, but frankly- most of time the rain is so short lived we just wait it out. Or get wet and enjoy bein cooler. We all wear quick dry clothes (undergarments too). Or if it is really storming will enjoy an emptier park for a bit then head out for the day.

I LOVE going bagless in parks! And zipping through security is so much easier without bag with enough stuff to last in wilds of Africa for six months lol!

 

[spurk5532]

The idea of being bagless sounds amazing. I try not to even carry a purse when i am at home. I have never had to carry a bag because i had the stroller. And when i went on my honeymoon my husband carried a backpack not me. It just sounds so hot to have a backpack on my back all day. I think we will only need one backpack that my son and i can take turns wearing.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

So this is my first time going without a stroller. I have never packed light when going to the parks because i have had a stroller to carry everything.

Anyway this time I expect both my son and I will carry backpacks. I know we will have my wallet, phone, and ponchos, but what else should we pack for while in the park?

We usually pack cash, phone, ponchos x 4, a couple of bottles of water to share while in line to hydrate, sunglasses, cooling towels, Advil/Tylenol, sunscreen, bandaids, lip balm, flipflops, and sometimes our refillable popcorn container. We just take 1 backpack and take turns carrying it. This year we will take photocopies of our passports and DL for dining plan (alcohol). Although we're nowhere near 21, apparently we still may get asked for ID as I'm reading it's policy. Our DD19 will not be able to drink (but she is legal here in Canada lol).

 

[Funfire240]

we are now down to a drawstring backpack on most days. MK we normally still use a full size backpack just because my DD goes in and out of her princess dress depending on what we are doing. And this year will get much lighter because we are ditching the autograph books!!

I'm getting excited about this trip - DH just said last night that he wants to do Disney After Hours at MK so I was able to switch around DD's BBB appt. and some other ADR's and will get that booked and we are also booking the after hours at Typhoon Lagoon!

 

[DaniMoon]

My husband carries a drawstring backpack and I usually have a cross-body bag. I don't like anything around my neck, and not everything I wear has pockets. In the evenings, we will go bagless and just take phones, ID and money.

We usually have ponchos, sunscreen, small first aid kid with moleskin, cooling towels and personal fans.

We wear Keens or similar shoes most of the time so if it rains it doesn't matter. I prefer my kids have their toes enclosed, they have inherited my "gracefulness"

 

[ColonelHathi]

We have a Bagellini Messenger Sling backpack thingy that we take turns carrying. We put IDs, cards, phones, sunscreen, ponchos, park maps, a few BandAids, lip balm and frog toggs. We also have a couple of homemade insulated water bottle holders which are great at absorbing the condensation and keeping the bottles cool longer. We have a fan spritzer that can be clipped on to the water bottle lanyard, but usually one of the kids likes to carry that around until it breaks. I never thought about the autograph books - we won't have them this time either I don't think, maybe only for DD? Each kid had their own drawstring backpack though last time for that.

I wear flip flops or sandals, DH tends to wear either his sandals or socks/sneakers, kids wear Crocs or socks/sneakers

 

[DaniMoon]

This August thread is so quiet, maybe it means it will be empty in the parks!

Favorite cooling towels? or are they pretty much all the same? My kids each have a personal fan "necklace" and I'm debating whether I want to take the water bottle fan that we got in Disney a few years ago. I don't know if we want to lug it around, but I think it might be worth it. My youngest will be 10 and I was thinking of making him be in charge of that. It has the strap to carry it, plus he'd be the one to use it the most.

 

[Aladora]

This August thread is so quiet, maybe it means it will be empty in the parks!

Favorite cooling towels? or are they pretty much all the same? My kids each have a personal fan "necklace" and I'm debating whether I want to take the water bottle fan that we got in Disney a few years ago. I don't know if we want to lug it around, but I think it might be worth it. My youngest will be 10 and I was thinking of making him be in charge of that. It has the strap to carry it, plus he'd be the one to use it the most.

We have these cooling towels that we got for Mexico this March and they worked quite well. Definitely bringing them to WDW this August!

DS always asks for one of the fan misters but I did not want to lug them around along with water bottles so I picked up 3 of these O2Cool bottles for our DL trip last August and we loved them!

 

[spacefly67]

We (myself, DH, DD 10 and DS 7) are planning a trip mid august 2018 - 4 full WDW days (1 day in each park, no hoppers) Aug 9-12

Last time we were at WDW was 2015 - never been to Universal.

Heat doesn't bother us, we do Rope drop to Fireworks every day.

Whats new in WDW since 2015 (besides toy story land and pandora) that we should not miss?

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

One can only hope. I am just waiting for June to book FPs. I feel like we have been so much that I am more go with the flow this trip than I have been in the past. Plus I know it will be HOT, so we will be spending more time in the pool and relaxing than we are use to.

I don't have a favorite cooling towel but do use them. I am going to take our mister fans as well. They were great when we bought them - I only wished we got them earlier in the trip!

What are you guys MOST excited for? I can't wait to spend time in the pools at AoA and go back to Typhoon Lagoon. My last few trips it has been way too cold to swim. Also excited for my parents to go with us! They have only been once when I was five.

 

[DaniMoon]

We have these cooling towels that we got for Mexico this March and they worked quite well. Definitely bringing them to WDW this August!

DS always asks for one of the fan misters but I did not want to lug them around along with water bottles so I picked up 3 of these O2Cool bottles for our DL trip last August and we loved them!

Thank you, those bottles are perfect and my kids could use them for their sports.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

This August thread is so quiet, maybe it means it will be empty in the parks!

Yes! Keep it quiet! We need all of our FP at exactly the right time. Amiright?! Of course, I kid. But quieter parks as kids return to school would be a nice bonus to anything after 8/13. We, too, are blocking off a lot more time for pools and A/C relaxation.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

What are you guys MOST excited for? I can't wait to spend time in the pools at AoA and go back to Typhoon Lagoon. My last few trips it has been way too cold to swim. Also excited for my parents to go with us! They have only been once when I was five.

My dad, who is a huge Disney fan is coming with us again, so I am really looking forward to that- his favourite ride is Tower of Terror and he's 75 - love hearing him laugh on this ride. I think that I'm most excited for our first Club Level stay at the Beach Club. We are surprising my dad with this portion of our stay to celebrate his 75th birthday. I am also looking forward to FoP. We rode it once last trip, but I was so afraid of getting motion sickness (I didn't) and I didn't enjoy it as much as I know I will this trip. Finally, I'm just looking forward to 2 weeks of not having to cook or clean lol Disney food is way better than what I make!

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

My dad, who is a huge Disney fan is coming with us again, so I am really looking forward to that- his favourite ride is Tower of Terror and he's 75 - love hearing him laugh on this ride. I think that I'm most excited for our first Club Level stay at the Beach Club. We are surprising my dad with this portion of our stay to celebrate his 75th birthday. I am also looking forward to FoP. We rode it once last trip, but I was so afraid of getting motion sickness (I didn't) and I didn't enjoy it as much as I know I will this trip. Finally, I'm just looking forward to 2 weeks of not having to cook or clean lol Disney food is way better than what I make!

How cool! I love that your Dad's favorite ride it ToT. Flight of Passage is amazing. I can't wait to ride it again myself. I worried about my husband getting motion sick, but he was fine. Now it is his favorite ride!

 

[crazedprincess]

Hi guys! I'm super excited to stay at Wilderness Lodge for the first time! I can't wait for the gorgeous pool and I am super excited to see our room view. I love the surprise and not knowing until you get there. We booked a bunk room, and my girls are thrilled that they don't have to sleep together! It will make our trip much less stressful since my youngest is a wiggle worm while she sleeps.

 

[ColonelHathi]

This August thread is so quiet, maybe it means it will be empty in the parks!

Favorite cooling towels? or are they pretty much all the same? My kids each have a personal fan "necklace" and I'm debating whether I want to take the water bottle fan that we got in Disney a few years ago. I don't know if we want to lug it around, but I think it might be worth it. My youngest will be 10 and I was thinking of making him be in charge of that. It has the strap to carry it, plus he'd be the one to use it the most.

It's SO quiet, even on our August Disboards FB group. I am busy working so that I can chill come vacation time.

We use Frog Toggs (2 towels for 4 of us), and we used them A LOT in August 2015. We also had a mister fan, but the fan propeller broke off midway through the trip. The kids would argue on who would get to be in charge of it (probably why it broke). We'll either get a mister fan again or maybe the mini fans you can wear around your neck since they are smaller. We also have some Columbia cooling sleeves that we got at the MN State Fair that we might bring if I can find them...

 

[juuuliebeth]

Hello, all! I'm relatively new to the boards, but oh-so-excited for my August 2018 trip. It's a solo venture from the 16th-25th. Ten whole days, including travel, but there is park time on those days. I'll be staying at the Contemporary in a Bay Lake View room in the Main Tower. Could not be more excited if I tried. I've always wanted to stay there - ever since I passed through on the monorail for the first time.

I'm also wondering if it will be crowded or not. ADRs were surprisingly easy to come by when I chose them - I could have had BOG, CRT, or 'Ohana if I wanted, but I am trying new places this trip. Those are gone now, but at 180 days out, they weren't uncommon. And I got everything else I wanted almost right off the bat. I'm also finding few people on this board talking about August trips. So I guess we'll see. Crowds or no, I plan on having the time of my life!

 

[CaperCris]

I've been peeking at availability for my dates (Aug 15-29) @ POP and there is still rooms with free dining in all room categories, I'm hoping that's a sign of light crowds!!

 

[crazedprincess]

Eiiiiiii, 89 more days for us! I don't want summer to fly by, but I want our trip to be here! LOL

Yes, it's tough to say about the crowds! I think I will still go into it thinking MK will be packed to the max. That way, I won't be disappointed. And I would think HS will be crowded due to Toy Story Land?

 

[Ds4angels]

We've planned an every other day to be park day so we have plenty of time to enjoy the campground and all it offers. 18 days till it's time to make FPP selections. Hoping for SDD for early in the day and then maybe be able to hit again right before closing if the kids really like it. Figuring a same day FPP for TSM on a Monday. We have MK planned for Wed so we can take advantage of EMM at night, love MK in the dark