For those who go in the Summer

[emmabelle]

Ha!
I grew up in Millis (I mention this bc it’s a tiny tiny town nobody’s heard of, so I get excited when maybe some e has) not too far from those outlets! Live in NJ now. ::waves::

well I've heard of it! . My sister in law lives in Plainville so I always make a pit stop in Wrentham before we visit her!

 

[gulliesmom]

Our son thinks Disney Springs is the worst. He compared it to the Wrentham shopping outlets we live near. He said "this place is like being at Wrentham on the surface of the sun."

LOL, MA person here and I love the Wrentham outlets (and DS for that matter).

 

[anorman]

How do you handle navigating the parks in the heat and humidity? I honestly feel like I could not even consider a Summer trip because we would be so hot and uncomfortable. Curious for those of you who have BTDT, how you manage.

I will begin by saying I do not like heat and humidity. Our first trip to Disney in the summer was very worrisome to me. I thought I would not be able to function in the summer temperatures of Florida. Being from NE Canada, I am not used to much heat even in the height of summer here. My concerns were totally unfounded. Yes it was hot and humid however we had a great time and have gone in the summer repeatedly since then...about 9 or 10 trips at least with another one planned for this August.

Do what others have suggested i.e. drink lots, dress lightly, take advantage of AC rides in the midday heat. The only thing we did not do was take midday breaks away from the parks and then return....too much time consumed for little gain. I found it much better to do rides till the lines got long and then do shows and AC rides. By that time we were done (around 4 or 5 pm) and we headed back to wherever we were staying at the time and had a wonderful relaxing evening. Don't worry, it's Disney! You will have a great time!

 

[lovewdwdvc]

I would love to see what the CPs see from rides like Ellen and CoP. Probably lots of people cooling off and catching a few winks.

 

[MudQueen22]

I live in a hot, humid part of the country, and I'm planning on how to deal with the heat and humidity in Florida.

We spend most of the summer, and even our summer vacations, in our home state of Texas. Normally, summer vacations involve lots of swimming, which keeps us cool. Florida, however, will be a theme park trip. We will not get the cooling towels and misting fans. I think those kinds of things make it worse. Our plan, based on the times we have done theme parks in the Texas summers, is to drink lots of water, ride a lot of indoor rides and see indoor shows in the middle of the day, and dress in light-weight clothing.
I also plan to pack a small cooler with water and ice. I know it won't last long, but it will help us to have something quick for grabbing an extra drink when we are in a hurry to get to one place or another and can't grab disney's free ice water.

 

[LovingPooh]

We go every year in the summer as DVC members. We still have one son in high school and with his rigorous course work (Early college program) we do not keep him out any of the school year. We do not go to the parks until around 4:00 pm daily. Our kids are older and we prefer to sleep in and enjoy the resort. We stay in the parks until close. We enjoy the nights more in the parks and the sun isn't glaring down on you.

 

[Justplainchy]

The one nice thing about the summer is the daily rain shower: sure, you can get soaked and things may be shut down for a while but it usually clears out a crowd and is done in an hour: giving a break in the humidity and cooling everything off in the evening. Basically like everyone said here: you're up and active in the morning when it's "cool" (I'm from Texas, 75 is "cool"), then find lunch + long a/c filled rides + shopping as soon as it starts getting unbearable or head back to the hotel if it isn't a million miles away, and then back out after that 4:00(ish) storm, when it's cooled off again. Free ice-water. Lots of ice-water. Repeat viewings of Impressions De France. Cutting through shops to steal A/C, etc. Also just: listening to your body. I think it comes from growing up in the heat of the south, but I had to train my Swedish wife how to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion because no one had ever taught her about them. Know the signs and address them EARLY. If you're too hot - change plans and do something else that is in the A/C.

I grew up going in the summer though, and while I'm sure it was hot - those are definitely not the memories I have! Taking my first summer trip as an adult this year and the Swedish wife is panicking a little about the heat, so we're just planning to take it nice and slow and have the freedom to bail if needed. It's Disney -- a hot, humid day there is still a heck of a lot better than a hot, humid day back home!

 

[jjan]

Realize upfront that you might not be able to go as gangbusters as usual so be kind to yourself.

In addition to the other mentions, bring as little as possible into the parks (bag-wise) nothing makes you feel hotter than a big backpack.
Try to be in the parks when it is coolest-- at rope-drop or evenings.
Bring ponchos!!!
Always look for shade-- if you are walking down a pathway, stick to the shade, go through shops, etc.
Realize that you might not look your best-- makeup will run, etc. Put your hair up and carry on!
Bring rain-friendly shoes as a back up. Once your sneakers get wet in the parks (or hopefully before), remove them immediately. You do not want your feet to get wrecked!
A quick afternoon nap and/or swim is really rejuvenating!
Bring extra clothes as you will likely change them more often after swimming or showers, etc.

 

[Joe Arkansas]

Lots of good tips here.

My best of advice is to have the right mindset. It's going to be hot. So be it. (It's also going to be crowded, and food will be expensive.) It's a lot easier to handle all these things if you just accept it as part of the deal. Be smart (drink water, avoid peak hours, etc.), but don't fight it. You will lose, and you will not be happy.

After all, at the end of the day, would you rather be walking through Frontierland in 90-degree heat, or sitting at your desk at the office?

 

[MOM2MC2]

We've done multiple summer trips and planning another this June. We do take afternoon breaks and head back to the hotel for a swim. I've found a small hand-held portable fan works great - not the misting kind, just a regular one. Always take a/c breaks whenever available.

 

[tguz]

I agree that there are attractions that make nice cooling or nap stops. Use them.

I fell asleep in Epcot at the France movie. I guess I needed a quick nap.

 

[Dashzap]

We don't do well in the heat, but took a summer trip to WDW a few years ago due to scheduling issues.

We rope dropped. Went back to resort midday for lunch, shower, sleep in a/c, change of clothes, and went out again at 4:30 or 5pm and stayed late. The evenings can still be hot, but it feels cooler when you aren't slathered in sunscreen.

 

[Sara_H]

We have never done a week at Disney in the summer because I just couldn't handle it. However, we often go to Florida in the summer which tends to lead to one day at Disney. What we have done is we buy spray fans from WalMart or Target before we leave (because they are cheaper than at Disney) and we make sure we bring those, sometimes even adding ice cubes. We also will freeze water bottles so then as it melts throughout the day we still have cold water. Like others have said, take advantage of the air conditioned lines during the hottest parts of the day and take breaks in gift shops when needed.

 

[tex1989]

We have taken a lot of trips to WDW in the summer. We live in a climate that is basically the same as Orlando so it's sweat at home or sweat at WDW. We prefer the latter. We just take it easy stay in the shade when we can, go all day but take breaks and enjoy the showers if they occur. Never, repeat never do ponchos in the summer when it rains. We take the fold up umbrellas because I will get wetter from the sweat inside those things from the heat build up then from the rain. I wear shoes that can get wet and shorts and carry my umbrella. We also step out of the parks on occasion to look around the resorts and that affords some ac time as well. We never have minded going in the summer.

 

[dizneefan13]

So, where would you go in AK to cool off in the worst heat of the day? Guess the only choices are indoor table dining?
I'm more bothered by the downpours than the heat. Although neither am I looking forward to. We usually go in the winter but granddaughter can only go in summer when school's out.
Next trip is for her.

 

[DLgal]

We go in summer and only go into the parks after 5pm. It's very enjoyable. We sleep in, have a late breakfast, hit the resort pool or a water park. We eat a late lunch around 3pm. We freshen up and head to the parks between 5 and 6, and stay until closing. We do evening EMH sometimes, but generally having 4-7 hours in the parks with regular hours is enough. We did a 10 day trip last time and went to the parks every night except one. We never got too hot.

 

[dizneefan13]

DLgal, that's not a bad idea, especially for some of the days if we're drained from the day before. We could make an ADR for 2 or 3 pm, then head to a ride with an indoor queue, and be through the worst of it. This would be even better on a day when a park is open later.

 

[Magical2017]

Our choices last year were school breaks only. We chose late summer. Crowds were manageable. My favorite time to go is January, but it's not feasible to take the kids out of school right now.

 

[DLgal]

DLgal, that's not a bad idea, especially for some of the days. We could make an ADR for 2 or 3 pm, then head to a ride with an indoor queue, and be through the worst of it. This would be even better on a day when a park is open later.

We have a child who is very heat intolerant so this is the only way he can handle it. Making a late lunch ADR is a good plan as well, as it gets you out of the heat. For us, we tried doing the early morning thing and found the humidity completely unbearable in the morning hours and it was hardly cool. By 8am, it was already 85 degrees so you dont get much of a break. By contrast, once 5pm hit, usually it had already rained or it was about to rain and the cloud cover plus the drop in humidity and the breeze made it feel very comfortable. We were only rained on 2 nights out of 10 in mid July.

We tried one day to go to MK in the late morning because it was cloudy and felt okay. We planned to ride Splash Mountain and a couple others and then go back to the hotel. The sun then came out after we passed through the gates. My son got as far as the MK train ride to Frontierland and had a meltdown and requested to go back to the Contemporary to swim, so I took him back. My older son and husband stayed and watched CoP but had to leave afterwards because the heat was completely unbearable. We stuck to evenings after that and had a great time.

 

[dizneefan13]

We were there for two weeks beginning 10/6. It was at least in the 80's every day and most days were so humid you would have thought it was summer. So much for going after summer.
Maybe it will surprise us this time too, more favorably and stay a "little" cooler and lower humidity. Ya never know about weather these days!