You can count on two things at Walt Disney World in summer months: a ton of fun and a ton of heat! On the latest episode of Disney Deciphered, we discussed ways to beat the heat at Walt Disney World. We chatted about how to stay hydrated, where to find air conditioning, and other tips and tricks to stay cool.
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1: Stay hydrated
While it may seem obvious, the importance of staying hydrated cannot be overstated. Thankfully, Walt Disney World makes it pretty easy to stay hydrated.
- Don’t forget to bring a water bottle and pack it in your day bag!
- You can get free tap water at any quick service restaurant, grab multiple and fill your water bottle (or souvenir cup if you have the Disney Dining Plan).
- Grab water if you use any ride sharing services (Uber, Lyft, Minnie Vans, etc.)
- Utilize water dispensers at hotel quick service restaurants
Be sure to hydrate before you hit the parks and remember to keep it up throughout the day. And if you’re Diet Coke addicts like us, drink water to balance out the caffeine dehydration.
2. Take advantage of air conditioning
Whenever you head indoors at Walt Disney World, you will get some pretty nice air conditioning. Sure, sometimes bus A/C fails and the monorail is notoriously bad, but other than that you can often stay cool by staying indoors. Here are some ideas for taking advantage of air conditioning.
- Walk through stores instead of main thoroughfares. You’ll cool down and it will be less crowded
- Dine at table or quick service restaurants that are indoors
- At Magic Kingdom, spend some time on rides like Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Mickey’s Philharmagic, or Hall of President’s
- At Epcot, spend some time watching the films in the World Showcase pavilions, or visit any of the pavilions in Future World. Spaceship Earth also is a nice, air conditioned length, invention of fire aside!
- At Animal Kingdom, check out the Festival of the Lion King or Finding Nemo: the Musical. You can also check out It’s Tough to be a Bug!, but that’s not our favorite ride
- At Hollywood Studios, visit Walt Disney Presents (One Man’s Dream), Path of the Jedi, the Little Mermaid ride, or Star Wars Launch Bay.
While these lists aren’t exhaustive, as you can see there are plenty of indoor attractions. Also, keep your eye out for indoor queues like at Pirates of the Caribbean or Journey of the Little Mermaid (which also for our money is one of the coolest temperature rides at Magic Kingdom).
3. Time your visits to the park to avoid the heat
While it may seem like common sense, visiting the parks in the early morning or late at night really helps to beat the heat. As an added benefit, lines are lowest at those times. Less people in the parks makes things feel cooler as well.
If you’re staying on site, taking advantage of early morning or late night extra magic hours really helps as well. We like to go early and then rest and cool down at the hotel in the mid to late afternoon when things feel the hottest.
4. Spring for a deluxe hotel
If it’s in your budget, springing for a deluxe hotel can really help cut down heat and stress. While it should be noted that bus service to deluxes feels worse for some reason, the ability to walk or take the monorail to the parks really helps when it’s hot out. You can get back to the hotel to cool down without losing that much time. At Walt Disney World time feels like a precious commodity, so it may be worth the splurge. At the very least, a ten minute walk to the Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary sure beats a 30 minute bus ride!
5. Use the waterparks
Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are a lot of fun and you can add the Park Hopper Plus option to any Park Hopper ticket for under $30. You can make an entire day of relaxing at either of the two waterparks which is a great way to stay cool. Do be aware that bus transfer service from Disney hotels can be a little annoying, so you might want to consider using a ride share service.
What are your best tips to beat the heat? Let us know on our Facebook page or on Twitter!
Episode Description
Walt Disney World gets hot in the summer, so check out Leslie and Joe’s best tips to beat the heat and stay cool. Where to find A/C, how to stay hydrated, and what to pack in your day bag to stay cool. Also, how the heat might affect your time in the parks and where you decide to stay.
If you like what you hear, please share the podcast with others you think might enjoy it. Also, we’d appreciate if you subscribed on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, PlayerFM, or Google Play (please leave a positive review if you’re enjoying the show), liked our Facebook page, or followed us on Twitter!
You can also e-mail us at disneydeciphered AT gmail DOT com. Connect with Leslie @TripswithTykes on social media and Joe @asthejoeflies.
Episode Notes
1:47 – How hot is it, actually?
4:15 – Staying hydrated
5:51 – Taking advantage of air conditioning and where to find it
9:19 – Great indoor queues
10:53 – Going early/late
11:48 – Choosing a good hotel location and using the waterparks
14:26 – Ranking the parks from brutally hot to heat of one thousand suns
15:57 – Disney dos and don’ts
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