The Walt Disney World Moms Panel has some great ideas to keep your family cool as a cucumber this summer. Disney Mom Tanya M is from New Jersey and her northern blood isn’t used to the weather that blankets Central Florida during the summer. Here are her tips on beating the heat:
- Visit the parks in the morning and the evening when the summer crowds and sun are less intense. Go back to your resort for a swim, lunch or afternoon siesta in between to cool off.
- Purchase some clip-on fans for your stroller. We bought these for my boys and coupled with the canopies on their strollers, they stayed cool even on the warmest days.
- Spend an afternoon at DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney. This indoor, interactive amusement park has games and attractions for kids of all ages, a great restaurant and lots of air conditioning!
- Carry along a soft-insulated cooler bag with plenty of water and/or juice boxes for everyone in your family. If you can, stick everything in the freezer the night before. The beverages stay super cold during the entire day. Include a zip lock bag with a wet wash cloth. These work great for quickly cooling off sticky, sweaty kids in the parks.
- When all else fails hit the water parks. It’s just about impossible to be hot when you are soaking wet!
**Bonus tip for moms like me who insist on trying to look fabulous while melting, skip the mascara and bring along some extra powder.
Got any tips for staying cool at the Parks? Please let us know in the comments.
Comments
Go slow and travel light. This is not a race! Recovering from the intense heat takes a lot longer than the time you spend taking it slow. Get the kids small fanny packs so they can carry their own things.
You can find Frogg Togg Chilling Pads at any sports store! We will be in Orlando in 5 days!! So excited!
How about Staying Cool with in the Parks using what thye provide for you? There are special places in each park to stay cool
We just returned from Florida and boy, I never thought I would experience humidity like that again. I lived in Thailand for a year and Florida has similar weather. But like everyone states, get to the parks early and get in as many rides that you can stand. We stayed at GF so the Monorail was perfect and a fast way to get around. We reserved sit-down lunches to cool off a bit and then shopped until about 2:00. That allowed us to return to the hotel and take a dip in the resort’s pool before enjoying dinner. We watched the fireworks from GF before turning in for the night. We did this routine every night for the five days we were there. Our time in Orlando was great plus we got in a cruise to the Bahamas to end our vacation.
WE go frequently all year round. We have been there freezing in the winter and overheated in the summer. In the summer, have plenty of water with you. I always freeze some bottles completely and I also take partially frozen bottles too and top them off with cold water. That way you have a really cold drink quickly and the rest stay frozen for later on. We also have the misting fans, they’re great.
I agree with whoever said neck coolers! We have some from REI and we go everywhere with them in the summer. My husband gets terrible migrains from the heat, so he HAS to wear them whenever it gets above 75 degrees. Ours cost under $10 and have been worth WAY more than that. You just soak them and the little beads suck up water and keep the whole thing very cool. We have to turn them every so often, but they are great. Drinking lots of water, spray fans and a little lunch-box cooler with ice packs works wonders too. Freeze your water bottle before you head out for the day (that’s an oldie, but a goodie).
WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN!!!
The heat in California (DLR) is WAY more barable than the heat in Florida (WDW) – be prepared!
Small coolers are allowed. Great if you have a stroller for storage, but for us with older kids, they do have lockers. If you are willing to carry a back pack with a few bottles of frozen water, it’s not a bad idea. We still find going in the morning, and either eating at a sit down mid day or going back to the room is the best way. Make sure you look to see which park is having magic hours (if you stay on property) and take advantage of those. And don’t forget the water rides in the parks…if you can handle the line wait, great way to cool down mid day!
We went August last year and are going August again this year. It was very hot but you learn to deal with it. The first day at MK was we were crazy hot. The next we bought hats and visors. Surprisingly it made a difference because you didn’t have the hot sun pounding on your face. We also bought the fan water bottles at Walmart before our trip and they worked great. MUCH cheaper then the ones at the park. We would even fill them with ice so the water stayed cool for a short time. Drink lots of water and take lots of breaks in the shade and AC. Don’t even attempt to worry about your hair and/or make-up because it is pointless. I was going to attempt to rent a double stroller for my son who was 6 last year just to give him a break now and then. He ended up being a bit too tall. So, a Castmember at the stroller rental told us to rent a wheelchair instead and besides that it was MUCH cheaper. Worked great plus we had somewhere to put our backpack.
Great tips to beat the heat. I like reading the tips from the DIsneyworld Moms Panel.
We went for the first time last year at the end of July. Staying on property worked so well for us. We have three kids – then 7, 3 and 18 mos – and being able to go to the room for a midday break made a BIG difference!! Well worth the extra money! We also used the spray fans from Wal Mart with the foam fan blades. They were great because the kids could use them and we didn’t have to worry about them getting hurt on the fan blades. We brought plenty of water with us too.
Neck coolers – we have Disney themed ones (though did not purchase them at the park) – you soak them in cold water and wear around your neck – keeps you cool all day. I would never go to Disney in the summer without them!
The misting fans are truly excellent. Best investment we made on our last trip. We go in August this year and were there in August last time, as well. I agree that the water parks fill too quickly on the super hot days. If you can time your day so that you go back to the pool when it’s brutally hot, or time your late lunch/early dinner reservations well, that’s the best plan. The bonus of August is that the crowds are a bit thinner then!
can you take coolers into the parks?
We’ve been there in late June/early July before, and are going mid-Aug. this year (I’m a teacher, so summer vacation is WDW time for me!). Disney Quest and the water parks are great ideas – unfortunately, we found that most everyone else has the same idea! On hot days, you almost have to go to the water parks when they open in the morning or risk not getting in. They reach capacity VERY quickly. Same with Disney Quest. We usually take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and get there as early as we can, and then leave around lunchtime for a dip in the resort pool and a nap. Then go back for dinner and the evening festivities.
We make reservations for one sit down (table service) meal a day…a late lunch. It gives everybody a chance to cool off in the a/c and re-fuel! Plus, if you’re not on a dining plan, lunch is less expensive than dinner. (We go in 2 weeks!)
I’m going for the first time in August (SO EXCITED!) and even though I’m not going with any kids I’ll take any advice I can get! 🙂
Much more cost effective to purchase the fans (we love the spray bottle fans) at walmart. About 1/2 the price.
We’ll try to visit the indoor rides (pirates, tiki room, etc) during the hottest part of the day…and cut thru the stores whenever we can to get in the A/C for a bit.
Paula…we’re headed there next week! Where did you pick up the Frogg Togg Chilling Pads?
We were there last week!! Brutally hot until we started using these… Frogg Togg Chilling Pads! They were great!!
We freeze individually wrapped handiwipes. They stay cold all day and feel great during an afternoon parade
We bring misting bottles for the kids to spray them down throughout the day!
The battery operated spray-bottle fans are fun! We bought ours at Toy Storia Mania.
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