Forever Magical
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Beating the Heat

As summertime approaches the temperature is rising in Southern California and Florida along with the attendance at the Disney theme parks. So regular guests who are used to brief waits and moderate weather have developed favorite ways to beat the heat. Here’s some of the things I do when the parks are hot.

The first step is easy wear comfortable summer clothes - t-shirts and shorts are great. Keep in mind that since the weather is nice you may actually try the water rides that are too cold other times of the year, so wear clothes that dry easily or bring an extra set. Some guests carry personal cooling units like misters. Sometime they have a fan attached so they can spray a little mist of water and then blow air across it cooling them off. While these are nifty little things keep in mind that not everyone around you wants to get wet. Another thing I've noticed is that young ones will drink from them sucking on the bottle nozzle then spritz the water all around them - not a very pleasant feeling.

Keeping cool on Grizzly River Run

Doobie and I have found Hydroties very helpful on our trips to Walt Disney World. A Hydrotie is a garment that is soaked in water and then worn around the neck. Special crystals inside the tie absorb the moisture. After drying the crystals remain cool on the inside. The tie is worn around the neck and. we've found it to be very effective in beating the heat.

I'm not fond of sunglasses so I wear a baseball cap which also keeps the sun off my face so I don't get sunburned (another thing to keep in mind during summer visits). Others wear large straw hats that allow the air to circulate more freely around the head and keeps the sun off the face and the ears.

Growing up we'd always arrive when the Park opened and would hotfoot it over to Fantasyland. The lines for these attractions were shorter then and since the attractions themselves are short it was a good plan. We'd often finish off Fantasyland just in time for lunch. I haven't tested this system recently - guess that gives me an excuse to get to the park early sometime this summer - but I suspect it still works.

With the advent of FastPass guests can often bypass the long waits for popular attractions altogether. However, there are a limited number of FastPass tickets and they can disappear rather quickly during the summer. Guests insert their entry ticket into the FastPass machine and receive a FastPass ticket that shows a window of time that they can return to enter the FastPass queue which will generally have a wait time of less than 20 minutes. Unfortunately, FastPass is not a guarantee of a brief wait time, especially if an attraction has to close down for a period of time because the FastPasses that were valid during that time period are accepted throughout the remainder of the day once the attraction begins running again. Another way to better your chances of not waiting in long lines is to ride during show and parade times. Some attraction's wait times drop significantly during parade times.

When summertime comes I find we often avoid the heat by enjoying leisurely lunch at indoor, air-conditioned locations. At the Disneyland Resort there are many options just outside the theme parks at Downtown Disney, the Disneyland Resort Hotels and surrounding neighborhood. Enjoying a sit-down meal and taking a break from the crowds and lines can make the day more enjoyable. This past Sunday we spent time at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel's Napa Lounge. It was great to be away from the crowds of people and be able to sit for a while. At Walt Disney World we might've escaped to one of the resort hotels and rented a pontoon or water mouse and enjoyed the breeze and the solitude of the Seven Seas Lagoon. I also remember hiding from the heat and crowds by enjoying lengthy meals at Epcot's San Angel Restaurante in the Mexico Pavilion and at Alfredo's in Italy.

After a relaxing lunch break the crowds are still heavy and the sun is still hot, high above. First we'll check the schedule to see if a show is playing soon. If so, we'll enjoy the shade and seating opportunities those offer. At Disneyland, if you can get into the Golden Horseshoe, you'll be treated to 30 minutes of air-conditioning and a fun show. Over at Disney's California Adventure Steps in Time is performed in the Hyperion Theater which is also air-conditioned and has 2,000 seats. At Epcot we noticed the acrobats were moved into the China Pavilion air-conditioned building allowing guests and performers to escape Florida's heat and humidity.