MousePlanet staff writer Steve Russo’s timely article, “The Disney World Summer Survival Guide” (June 18, 2010) inspired many readers to share their own tips for dealing with the heat and crowds of the summer season.
Dan Y. writes:
Thanks for the article on summer touring. Wild dogs couldn’t drag me into Walt Disney World between June and September. The hot is just not fun at all, nor are the thousands of other hot sweaty cranky tourists. But when I have visited in the summer in the past, I’ve used a variation of your cold wet towel trick. I just take a hand towel from the room and throw it over my shoulder. I use it as needed as a sweat towel. It makes a huge difference to the hot day if I can keep my face and neck at least a little drier. And since I’m staying in a hotel, the next day I just grab a fresh one and party on. I’ve had more people walk up to me and say “what a great idea – I’m doing THAT tomorrow!”
That is a great idea. I often use that trick on a golf course on particularly warm/humid days.
Joel S. writes:
I enjoyed your article on Dealing with Summer Heat at Walt Disney World. We’ve been down the last two years in August (gotta love free Dining!), and here’s a few suggestions based on that experience:
- You kind of touched on this, but it’s very important to get an early start on visiting the parks during the Summer. Using your analogy… the morning hours are “only” the surface of Venus, while the afternoon truly is the surface of the Sun. Evening works for this as well, but we have found that you almost can get more done in the parks in the first two hours of the day than you can the entire rest of the day.
- Not all parks are created equal…EPCOT (best) and DHS (second-best) have just about all of their attractions inside and air-conditioned, and are our favorite parks to go to on very hot days. MK is tolerable, but has more outside attractions. We have always found Animal Kingdom, on the other hand, to be much more humid and uncomfortable than the other three parks. Although Orlando temperatures are usually pretty much the same every day in the Summer, we try to pick our parks for the day based on the forecast if there is a cooler day or two in the forecast.
- Related to the point above, but outside of Walt Disney World. Do not EVER visit Sea World on a hot day in the Summer. We learned this the hard way two years ago. Most of the major attractions and shows are outside, with very few opportunities for an air conditioned-break. It was as miserable as I have ever been, and the melted puddles of tourists you described at Walt Disney World in your article were more like one big combined melted lake at Sea World. We became very good friends with the penguins that day!
- Enjoy rainy days… we visited last August and had three consecutive days of rain (on the outskirts of one of the thunderstorms/hurricanes that were close to the area). We joined the poncho brigade and had three of the most wonderful days we have ever had at Walt Disney World. Crowds were very light, and it was so nice not to be sweating that the pouring rain (we’re pretty sure we saw an Ark!) was easy to deal with. On day three, the sun finally popped out for about five minutes in the afternoon and the entire park cheered – but the cheers turned to groans the next day when the temperature went up about 15-20 degrees and it was back in the oven for everyone.
I also agree with your bottom line suggestion – after two consecutive years of the heat, we decided to pull the kids out of school and ditch the free dining this year, and are planning this year’s vacation in December. This, of course, means that we should expect snow in central Florida at that time this year!
Thanks for the tips. I haven’t been to Sea World in years but your point is well taken. By the way… you’re going to love December.
Pammer writes:
Very timely article, Steve! I also agree with you about timing my trips in the off-season (hence, COOLER weather), but I just got back from a trip to Walt Disney World in early June. It’s not my preferred time to visit, but it was with my best friend and her two teenaged daughters (16 & 14) and she didn’t want them to miss school. It was hot, humid, and crowded, but we survived!
This is what we did to keep cool:
- I bought a Kool Tie on the advice of FortWildernessIsHome, and it did help! Wetting a paper towel in the bathrooms and sponging down our hot faces was also a quick fix.
- We froze water bottles and brought them to the parks in a small collapsible cooler (bought at Target for $2.50) and then stored them in a locker each day while we carried additional water bottles in the morning. Then we would go back to the locker later in the day and grab the ice-cold, but half-melted, bottles!
- I found some SPF 80 sunscreen at my local Grocery Outlet store and used that. It worked great on my legs, but you could see when I would miss a spot on my shoulders or neck! My guests used a spray-on sunscreen, and I don’t think the girls burned at all.
- I had a small Mickey fan I’d bought at the Disney outlet stores several years ago which brought some relief when standing in the queues, and I’d given some generic ones to my guests that I’d bought at Dollar Tree. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for and only one seemed to work past the first day. However, the local SuperTarget on 192 sold a generic version of the water fan that the Disney parks sell (for $6.99 compared to $15.95) and it worked GREAT! The only problem was the strap kept coming off, so we used one of my extra bottle straps to carry it later in the week.
- We spent full days at the parks to maximize their experience, but did have one day (mid-stay) where we slept in, enjoyed a character brunch at Chef Mickey’s, and then the others spent the afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon while I did my shopping. They also enjoyed our resort pool (off-site) that evening and the next, when we actually made it back before 9 pm!
- As I said previously, I usually tend to time my visits with my husband in mid-October or early December, although we have gone a few other times of the year as well when our schedule dictated it (e.g. tacked on to a business trip). Definitely you have to plan for the heat, humidity, and the crowds, and then hopefully you and your party will keep your cool throughout your vacation!
Tony writes:
I’ve been to Walt Disney World many times during the summer and have another tip for keeping cool. I freeze bottles of water in the freezer of my timeshare. Each day I make sure that I bring two frozen bottles for each family member. Everyone gets a bottle of ice handed to them when we park the car. The remaining bottles are wrapped in washcloths or towels and put in a backpack. The first bottles will usually melt completely within a few hours, but we all have cold water to sip all morning. Even in high heat the second bottle will stay frozen for many hours due to the insulation provided by the towels and backpack. This insures that we all have a supply of ice cold water that lasts most of the day.
Korie J. writes:
As always, I quite enjoy your witty funny writings about Disney. Your article did touch upon most of the basics about surviving Walt Disney World in the summertime. There are a few things I’d like to point out however.
I live about 30 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona and even at its hottest, most humid time (during monsoon), it is still not as miserable as Walt Disney World in August. My husband and I took our first trip to Orlando right before Katrina hit in 2005. We were quite acclimated to the Arizona heat and thought we could tackle 8 days in Florida without too much problem. Wrong.
The humidity really drained us. We could never get dry. I think I took 2 or 3 showers a day just to get rid of that sweaty feeling, but would be drenched with sweat within a half hour. The heat and humidity reminded me of being in Japan which I think is even worse than Orlando.
Here are some things to add to your list: Let readers know it rains everyday – not light showers, but pours. I bought a Disney poncho and carried in my waist pack. This worked well for me, but my husband found the plastic too stifling so he carried an umbrella (which broke in the wind). Also, we wore sport sandals that were waterproof and that really helped. Chances are your shoes will get wet. I also wore clothing that wicked away moisture and that dried quickly. Women should also bring along something to cover up with in the event of wet t-shirt syndrome. The one great thing about the rain was that a lot of the ride queues would open up.
If someone from Phoenix finds the central Florida heat stifling, well… that about says it all. Thanks for writing.
Brian M. writes:
Our last trip to Walt Disney World was last June and more than likely it will our last trip in June. I can tolerate heat but it was just oppressive. In EPCOT we literally just melted. That place is barren of any type of shade.
While trying to stay cool we always wore light colored clothing, applied plenty of sunscreen, and drank plenty of liquids. I usually drank hot coffee — a trick I learned from working in the steel mill back in the seventies. They told me your body is already hotter than normal drinking ice cold liquids to try and cool it down is a losing battle. Drinking hot coffee your body doesn’t have that internal battle of hot and cold all the time. Another reason it seems so hot is the fact you go from one extreme to another. Its hotter than Hades outside and you go on a ride that the air conditioning is set just above freezing. By midday your body is screaming for some constant temps. Next visit will be in mid October into November, less heat and less crowds.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s appreciated.
Carolyn B. writes:
Liked your article very much, Steve. Here are my additions to some of your solutions :
- Sunscreen / clothing – in addition to dressing appropriately and layering on the sunscreen, you can actually buy loose and comfortable t-shirts (up to size 3XL) from the internet that protect from UV rays up to SPF 50. I know this because I had to buy one for a recent trip to Walt Disney World!
- Fans – spitting water ones – only let your little kids have these if they are under strict instruction NOT to randomly spray strangers with these – grrrr! (Don’t make me kill your child in the Happiest Place on Earth!!)
- Hydration – if you still can’t bear the taste of the stuff out of the Disney water fountains, add sachets of Crystal Lite or a generic supermarket own brand – works every time!
Thanks for the tip on Crystal Light – I should have mentioned that a great way to make the water more palatable.
Kelly writes:
I have traveled to Disney in the summer and the heat and humidity is OPPRESSIVE! We were also there in October 2009 during the hot spell! Here are some ways my family and I keep cool:
- We always, during the day, wear the least amount of clothing possible, without offending anyone, tank top, shorts and most important moisture wicking socks! Amazing things to wear!
- We make constant use of the misting stations in Epcot and Animal Kingdom and also use fountains to wet our arms and necks and drink LOTS of water.
- We always make a “beeline” for any ride that is indoors. Here’s a great one: When we walk down Main Street, we walk through the air-conditioned shops, not out in the heat.
- We always go back in the heat of the day to enjoy the pool.
- We also always ride the “water” rides and pray that we get soaked!
