Keeping Kids Cool

Judging by how warm springtime has been in Southern California,
people are predicting a steamy summer at the Disneyland. Recently, my family headed
to the parks with sole purpose of visiting our favorite cool spots. We had a great,
wet time, and compiled our list of favorite places to beat the heat.

Before
hitting the parks in search of cool spots, it pays to be prepared beforehand.
Lani Teshima has written a wonderful article about being prepared for hot weather
at the parks (link).
In addition to heeding her advice about warm weather, plan to do some extra planning
for children. They will more than likely be soaking wet before the day is through,
so you will want to pack the following:

• Change of clothes
• Small
  towels (we brought dish towels)
• Large Ziploc bags or plastic grocery bags
  (to hold wet clothes)
• Sunscreen
• Plastic sandals (for getting wet)

Yes,
it seems like a lot of stuff to carry around, but believe me, you will be thankful
for it when your child is complaining that her clothes are sooo uncomfortable.
Parents have mixed opinions about letting their children wear bathing suits or
even diapers or underwear alone in the water play areas of the parks. I prefer
to let my children play in shorts and T shirts, but children wear all manner of
clothing and non-clothing to splash around. I’ll rate the cool spots by soak factor:

Disney’s California Adventure

For
whatever reason (lack of dark rides? Lack of shade trees?), the new park provides
many areas for children to get soaking wet.

Bountiful Valley Farm

Most
guests pass by Bountiful Valley Farm to head into A Bug’s Land, but there are
a couple of good opportunities for kids to splash water on each other. I’m not
sure what the technical farm terms for these gadgets are, but the short yellow
columns squirt water periodically and encourage children to run through them screaming
with happy terror.

Next to the
yellow squirting things are large concrete water containers overflowing enough
to allow children to get pretty wet if they stand close enough. These water activities
are just a teaser for the sheer soaking power they will find in A Bug’s Land.

Dot’s Puddle Park

This
is the first place my children beg to visit when they’re in the mood for cooling
off. The Puddle Park in Flik’s Fun Fair is a creative space with an enormous sprinkler
head showering at odd intervals, and sprays of water popping up out of the ground.
There are benches for parents constructed to look like used Popsicle sticks surrounding
the area, and close enough to get the odd splash of water.

One of my favorite things
about Dot’s Puddle Park is the concrete flooring instead of the typical squishy
rubber floor. Rubber floors are great for playgrounds, but add a constant flow
of water and chlorine to the base and it immediately becomes decayed, shabby and
just plain unattractive. Just have your children keep their sandals on so they
won’t slip as they cavort from one fountain to another. Don’t forget to visit
the huge leaky water spigot behind the main Puddle Park.

This is
an excellent place to rest in the shade while getting lightly misted with water
from the hose that’s not screwed on quite tightly enough.

Grizzly River Rapids alcove

This
little gem of a place is as entertaining to the adults as it is to children. Walk
past the lockers at Grizzly River Rapids and head up the path to the overlook
for the final waterfall of the rapids ride. The very last section of the path
gets a healthy dose of water each time a raft hurtles by.

Parents
can stand in the shade a bit farther up the path and watch the onslaught. Our
children spend a good hour watching the rafts slide down and finding the perfect
spot to get completely doused.

Animation
Building—Hollywood Backlot

This is a nice, cool, dark place to hang
out for a while and let the kids dance about to the great collection of soundtrack
clips in the spacious lobby. During some of the songs, little light effects play
on the floor and make most children delirious with happiness (go figure). One
recent drawback to the lobby is the removal of several of the overstuffed couches
weary parents could collapse on. The carpeted floor will do in a pinch.

Misters at Soarin’
Over California

The huge rocket jets in front of Soarin’ Over California
give the best dose of misting at the whole resort, which is a good thing since
Condor Flats is extremely lacking in trees and shady spots on the whole.

The misters are a good stopping
point on the way to the brutal stand-by line of Soarin’ or Grizzly River Rapids.

Challenge Creek Trail

It
doesn’t look like much, but the little creek that the whole attraction is supposedly
named for draws children in droves. Occasionally a cast member is stationed by
the creek to politely request that children leave their shoes on while they splash
around, but more often one finds kids kicking off shoes and getting good and wet.

Disneyland

Disneyland
boasts many more dark rides and air conditioned show buildings to keep guests
chilled. Obvious choices are the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash
Mountain, It’s a Small World and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. In addition to the
air conditioned buildings, Disneyland possesses more shady alcoves for parents
and kids to refresh themselves. Here’s just a sampling of our favorite cool-down
spots.

Marble ball in Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland seems to be the
least shady area of Disneyland, but it does have one thing going for it: the large
marble ball, once part of the Cosmic Waves “attraction.” All that remains
of the large interactive fountains is the ball, located in front of Pizza Port,
turning slowly on water power and kid’s determination.

If your children are desperate to splash
water on each other, this is one of the only places at Disneyland that will accommodate
that wish. Most of the other water in the park is dark green or inaccessible.

King Triton’s
Fountain

A lot prettier than the marble ball, King Triton’s Fountain is
located in between the entrance to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Jets of water
shoot right over the winding path that leads to Ariel’s meet and greet cave. If
someone has a mind to get wet, standing with arms outstretched patiently in the
water’s path will do the trick. Children enjoy running up and down the path shrieking
at the top of their lungs, hoping to get splashed. Good clean fun.

Critter
Country

Critter Country boasts the most shade in the park, as well as the
very damp Splash Mountain. Lines for this attraction get very long in the afternoon,
so head over early in the day to secure Fastpass tickets. The towering pine trees
in this corner of the park nearly block out the sun entirely on warm days. Unfortunately,
the long lines for the Pooh and friends meet and greet often crowd this area.

On very busy days, head up to the Hungry Bear restaurant
and enjoy the trees and shade next to the Rivers of America.

Disney Gallery Balcony

When
energy levels are low and the sun is blazing, head up to the Disney Gallery in
New Orleans Square, above the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance, to sit for a
while and recharge.

Our
kids like to have a game of crazy eights on the balcony overlooking New Orleans
Square. The exhibit areas of the Gallery are air conditioned as well.

Fowler’s Landing

Fowler’s
Landing, located across from the Haunted Mansion at the edge of New Orleans Square,
is another nice shady place out of the main traffic flow to sit and relax—buying
MacDonald’s fries are not required.

Just through the trees
one can spot the Mark Twain sailing by, and if the kids drop pieces of
bread into the dock of the Sailing Ship Columbia (when the Columbia
is out sailing), they will see thousands of minnows emerge out of the opaque green
water.

Great Moments with
Mr. Lincoln

This underrated attraction in the Town Square area of Main
Street, USA, is a must-visit in the sweltering heat of summer. Talk about your
air conditioning—this attraction will have you iceberg cool by the time you
leave, plus you will have a spiffy new virtual haircut thanks to the surround
sound headphones during the Mr. Lincoln presentation.

The pre-show lobby is also a nice, cool place to relax,
and kids usually like to ogle the replica of the capitol building and watch the
short film on Walt Disney and the development of animatronics.

Enjoy it
while you can; the 50th anniversary celebration next summer includes removing
this attraction in place of a historical Disneyland exhibit.

Tom Sawyer Island

Sure,
it can be dusty, and yes, your children will make you jump across the barrel bridge
repeatedly, but Tom Sawyer Island has some of the best tree coverage at the resort.
My kids like to bounce across the suspension bridge while I watch from a nicely
shaded bench.

Here’s hoping all our
MousePlanet readers and their children will stay cool this summer. If you have
a favorite chilly spot at Disneyland, share your discoveries with us.