We will be at BC in August. I'm scared of the heat and crowds, but figure with SAB, we will spend a lot of time at the resort in the afternoon. How is it in the heat of the summer?
Any suggestions?
First, I have to mention that Dee (natebenma), Robyn (Disneymomx7), MickeyT and many others were really helpful to us in planning for the summer heat. Since childhood, my WDW trips have always been between December and March. But we bought APs in March of this year, and with all the great deals, we decided to add a 3-night trip last summer. We were so happy with our decision!
We told our three boys that it was going to be super hot, and that we were going to plan that trip differently. Instead of going all day (which they like to do in the cooler months), we had the following plan.
1) We made at least two ADRs per day, and we didn't use the dining plan. We knew for certain that we would have a place to sit and eat inside and in the air conditioning. We didn't order big meals each time - lots of appetizers instead of entrees, or salads and sandwiches. We really wanted to avoid eating outside or worse, standing in line in the heat!
2) We bought one standard Disney water bottle/mister fan and it was a good purchase. We didn't need one for each of us - sharing was fine.
3) We usually get up early for rope drop and go all day in the parks in the cooler weather. But in the summer, we not only got up early, but we were sure to be at the EMH morning park by 7:30am each day for an 8am opening. We had lunch ADRs for 11:30 and then we would leave around 1pm. We'd swim (SAB was great for that!) and rest in the afternoon. As for the water temps in the pool, I know some would prefer it to be cooler, but I get cold very easily, so it was really a perfect temperature for me. At night, we'd hop to another park in the evening. World Showcase, for example, was great at night. Not so much in the afternoon!
4) We considered the heat when packing. That sounds obvious, but I was really careful to pack the lightest shorts and t-shirts for the boys, and I wore sundresses the entire time. I met another mom wearing an Athleta sundress similar to mine at the bus stop one day, and we were sharing how we ordered the same dress in four different colors for our trips and we were so happy we did that!
The rest of the strategies are the same ones we use all the time, with fastpass, etc. But in the summer it was even more important to have a plan, and we always knew exactly where we were headed next when we left an air conditioned spot, so that we didn't extra spend time walking around in the heat. Our touring plan was more compact with less criss-crossing of the parks and more stops in the shops.
So the summer trip was different, but great. We really loved the afternoon breaks and the swim time. When we go between December and March, the weather is sometimes warm enough for the boys to swim in the evenings after we return from the parks, but not for me! So in the summer, it was so hot that I spent lots of time in the pool with them and we had a great time. We'll miss that part during our upcoming January and February trips!
Hope this helps!
