Disney Nerds’ Tips: Staying Cool In Disney
With the summer heat turning up, many people struggle to keep cool at Walt Disney World. Here are some great tips on how to keep cool and enjoy your vacation.
Take it slow!
Many people have trouble trying to fit everything in the parks into their vacation. No matter how long your Disney vacation is, it’s always a short amount of time. This is why trying to fit everything in is one of the top mistakes when vacationing at Walt Disney World. For example, when making your dinner reservation and FastPass+ selections. Don’t make a dinner reservation at one end of the park and then a fast pass shortly thereafter on the other side. You’ll end up running in the heat and trying to try your party with you, which is not something I suggest doing.
Take a Break
If you plan on taking a trip to Disney World during the summer I highly recommend planning out your day giving yourself a lot of breaks in between. These breaks could be anything as long as you just take a pause from the heat. Take a break for lunch by eating a table-service or do counter service but sit inside. If you don’t want to break for lunch then take advantage of some of the indoor shows such as the Country Bear Jamboree at the Magic Kingdom or Finding Nemo at Animal Kingdom. Most attractions queues are out of direct light and most are even in air conditioning. Don’t forget you can also take a stroll through any of the stores, the majority of them are air-conditioned too!
Ice Water
The Florida heat and humidity make it imperative to hydrate while in the parks. We recommend carrying a refillable water bottle to save from buying water all day. There’s a variety of refillable water bottles on the market so you can have your choice in size, shape, color, and more! We recommend getting one that is insulated or double lined to keep your water cooler longer. We love the Tervis, HydoFlask, and S’well brand water bottles for the parks. You can always go to any counter service counter and ask for a cup of ice water, it’s free! Just fill your water bottle up with ice water and you’re good to go. Sometimes the counter service has the small cups they give when you ask for ice water so don’t worry about asking for 2 if you want. We’ve also noticed that Disney has been upgrading some of their water fountains with an easier spout to refill your water bottle like the one pictured above at The Odyessy at EPCOT.
Cooling Towels
Cooling towels are a great way to beat the heat. Have them sit in a small cooler in the hotel and take them out when you go to the parks. Don’t forget to reapply water on them throughout the day to keep them cool though. These are priced around $5 to $10+ and you can find them in any color or size on Amazon. We like ones like this one with a great carrying case, easy to store when you’re not using it.
Battery operated fans
Fans have almost become a must-have in the parks for the summer. You can usually find the handheld battery operated fans with the ability to squirt a small amount of water sold in the parks. Those are great and we recommend refilling them every night with ice and water and storing them in the fridge in your hotel room or a cooler so they’re nice and cold for the next park day. If you’re not a fan of those then the variety of fans out there online is amazing. The more popular and upcoming ones are the fancy wear around your neck. You can find these on Amazon.
Rest during the middle of the day.
Every time I vacation at Disney, I always make sure that I go to the parks at opening and then come back to the hotel to rest or go to the pool. Then in the evening, I’m rested and I hit the parks again. By doing this, I avoid high-temperature hours and I don’t wear myself out. If you’re staying on property, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of that beautiful resort pool! If you’re staying off property and don’t want to go back to your resort, then it’s a great time to check out a Disney resort. Have a meal at the resort, relax in the lobby (deluxe resort lobbies have some comfy seats to relax in!), or check out the lounge or bar and just get off your feet in the A/C. The worst thing you can do is overdo it the first day or two of your trip. This will make the rest of your vacation miserable.
Hopefully, these few tips can help you enjoy high heat temperatures and stay cool while at Walt Disney World. Disney offers a vast majority of resting spots, indoor air-conditioned attractions, and merchandise to help keep you cool.
Need help booking your trip? Then look no further than Welcome Home Travel Co! They are the official travel agent of The Disney Nerds Podcast! Also, they’re fee-free so it doesn’t cost anything extra for their expert advice!
