Your best “beat the heat” products

We use Liquid IV, but the main thing we use are Columbia Coolhead hats - they are made of a material like a cooling towel and are made to get wet. You just douse them between bathrooms - it works amazingly well.
 
The mission cooling hats are on Amazon Prime sale* today. $15.99 baseball caps, $17.49 full brim hats.

*I haven’t been following them so don’t know if good idea, I just know it’s cheaper than it’s been the last few weeks
 


If it is hot, the fan will be blowing hot air. Walking through an air conditioned store will allow cool air to be blown on you.
 
We bought one similar to Lois just had a bigger battery but it was great. There relatively easy to carry and store when you have to put them away for a ride. We usually carry a battery pack just in case we need a recharge for phone or fan but I don't remember ever having to use it for the fan. We usually end up back at the hotel in the summer during the afternoon for a recharge so the fans would have been only running for 3-5hrs at any given time.
 


If it is hot, the fan will be blowing hot air. Walking through an air conditioned store will allow cool air to be blown on you.
In theory yes however they always made my family feel cooler so however they work it does the trick. Wearing them in AC is just a bonus.
 
We pretty much just go as normal, except we drink lots of water. We make a point to get electrolyte water and drink some apple/pineapple/orange juice. We also get water at QS, but carrying some is more convenient. We wear cotton just fine. We otherwise minimize what we carry.

We make a point to eat fresh fruit/produce, avoid big meals mid-day. Salads are good mid-day. They get a bit monotonous, but WDW has some variety now. Tangerines are good.

We do use jackets called "packable parkas." They fold down into a pocket. If there will just be a short burst, plastic ponchos are okay, but wearing one for more than a few minutes gets miserable. The parkas are mostly what we use.

Water-tolerant, good quality walking shoes (usually sandals) are also great. Sneakers are okay if it will be dry, but once they get wet they can turn nasty smelling!

Last, before we go we get outdoors walking as much as possible.
 
Anyone else tried cooling hats? I’ve been looking at a few brands (I would do one with a brim, not baseball cap style). I worry they would still just make my head hotter.
 
Monistat Chafing Cream. Best thing ever! We did body glide one trip and it did work that well. Next trip we used this and absolutely no issues. We keep it on hand at home now.

MONISTAT Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel, Anti-Chafe Protection, 1.5 oz, 4 Pack

https://a.co/d/j1sSgEX
 
We started with cooling towels. I'd previously gotten a cooling vest for yard work that worked the same way, so this was not a big leap for my family.
We tried handheld and neck fans. The issue with the neck fans was dealing with them once you get to the food, on fast rides, and they did feel to get heavy for what they brought over handheld fans.
I also tried a Sony Reon Pocket one year, but found that it wasn't effective for the price.
What I found works the most for me is the compact UV umbrella for shade. It's an absolute game changer. Being a man that shaves his head, I prefer to wear a hat. Need one that breathes and protects from the sun. But it does trap heat. I find that if I'm in the shade (or under the umbrella), best to take the hat off and let the heat out.
We started to use chub rub to reduce walking chafing, and it lasts all day for us.
For the boys, the best product are these: Hanes Men's Total Support Pouch Boxer Brief https://a.co/d/bH1bhZI
It's a moisture wicking material that gives you some separation to reduce rubbing.
 
If it is hot, the fan will be blowing hot air. Walking through an air conditioned store will allow cool air to be blown on you.
Yes, it may blow ambient temperature air but one of the main ways your body cools down is by sweat evaporating from your skin. Fans increase the rate of evaporation by moving more air over your skin. More evaporation = cooler skin.
 
We use Liquid IV, but the main thing we use are Columbia Coolhead hats - they are made of a material like a cooling towel and are made to get wet. You just douse them between bathrooms - it works amazingly well.

This does help a lot. You can do this with any lightweight "active" or running hat. My son dunked his UnderArmour running cap into the fountain in Disneyland toontown last week and the water was so cold (the fountain is designed as a kids splash play zone, so it's chlorinated and everything). He said it felt so good! I took my Columbia bucket hat off and did the same thing!
 
I ordered some lightweight, quick dry skorts from 32 Degrees and they are just right! They fit perfectly and are so light and breathable. Not too short and the bike shorts underneath are not see through like some other brands.

I heat tested them today running errands all over tarnation. It was 103 and the skorts were breezy and super comfy in the heat.

I ordered several more and now I’m all set for our trip!
 
More important than the color of your clothing is the material. Cotton is your enemy. You want light, breathable fabrics. They come under various names, but you are looking for things like "quick dry", "stay dry", "moisture wicking", etc.

And since you are looking for the thinnest materials possible, it can actually be better to get a darker color that doesn't show through like white would, especially if you get wet.
 
These are the neck fans we have, and they worked amazingly well for us, both at Disney and at home. I am laid up on the 2nd floor of a house without a/c and it's been a lifesaver, and DH wears his when he mows the lawn or works in the garden.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DYRQ4L9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

We do NOT like the cooling towels. No matter how well we rinse them at night, they don't seem to dry in the Florida humidity and end up being wicked stinky after 2 days. Instead I freeze washcloths. I fold washcloths in quarters, soak them, put them in ziplock sandwich bags, and freeze overnight. These go in an insulated lunch bag (it's really thin, just folds over at the top, no hard structure to it) in my backpack. They stay frozen and then cold for quite a while and make a great wipe down in the hot afternoon sun. For some reason, the washcloths don't hold the stink like the cooling towels do.

I used to lug frozen water bottles around but now we get cups of ice water from the QS stands. We bring the little bottles of flavor/sweetener drops to add to the water cups. For some reason drinking plain water makes me bloated in no time, but if there is some sort of flavor in it, I can drink a lot more.

Feet: In the morning, I spray my feet with antiperspirant and let it dry before putting on my socks. Keeps my feet from sweating as much and wearing socks keeps the blisters at bay. I can only wear crocs and once damp feet start chafing in the crocs, large bloody blisters are guaranteed. Keeping my feet as dry as possible and wearing socks (with a back-up pair in a backpack) keeps my feet blister-free.

Avoid chub-rub (chafing of the thighs... or other tender areas) at all costs. I've been known to rub susceptible areas with antiperspirant stick and then liberally dust with powder to help with this.

Ponchos: I bought ultralightweight waterproof ponchos at Walmart. They aren't plastic; they are made from a thin fabric that is significantly cooler and far less sweaty than regular ponchos. I think they were $6. I think this is the one we have: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frogg-Toggs-Adult-Emergency-Poncho/35736507?from=/search

Obviously, we strategically schedule watching shows or having snacks/meals to take advantage of the air conditioning, but I need to bring a thin sweater or gauze shirt with me. Sometimes when I am really hot and go into the a/c, I chill down far too fast and it's almost as uncomfortable/nauseating as being too hot. The thin gauze shirt seems to keep this from happening. Once I am acclimated, I can take off the shirt- or not, if I'm just "too cool!"
 
I been reading through some threads this morning looking for items we can purchase to beat the heat during our next trip. Since new heat/sun related items are always hitting the market I thought I’d ask what products you all recommend. I’m looking for specific fans, misters, cooling towels, uv umbrellas, wicking clothing, etc.

Prime day and other summer sales will be upon us soon so I’m hoping to build a list of products to buy for our September trip. Thanks!
It might rain every day. That will cool you off.
 
We just returned and the heat is ridiculous. We wound up taking mid-day breaks (leaving parks around 2pm) and returning after dinner. Post 7pm or so the heat was more tolerable. Some nights it was actually pleasant! Crowds are lower that time of day too.

We also took full advantage of Genie+/ILL/$ILL. That helped us ride the attractions more quickly so we didn't mine leaving early/having a shorter amount of time at night.
 

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