August Do's and Don'ts

[CampbellScot]

Also from New Jersey...also an August Disney go-er!

You've gotten some great advice. I would just add...while it's definitely hot, it's do-able. (perhaps it feels that way b/c we went in June last year and were blown away by the heat. It was SO oppressive. In comparison, August seemed almost comfortable!) New Jersey summers can be brutal and my family has found the Florida weather in August to be similar to days we've experienced at home. We just keep everyone hydrated, make sure we are wearing hot weather friendly clothing and we duck into air conditioned attractions when it gets too hot. Between restaurants and waiting in lines, we have been able to figure out a good system for heat and cooling off intervals! Water is a must. My step kids really use their mister fans a LOT.

It's really a great time of year to go b/c crowds are lower. Makes the heat worth it!!

have fun!!!

 

[tiki23]

Kali river rapids is very popular as the temp rises, it'll cool you down if you're lucky/unlucky enough to get soaked, but I've seen people come close to passing out in line waiting. Again, don't forget to fill your water bottles before getting in line. Our July trip I'm planning on grabbing fast passes for the kids and myself for Kali early so we might have a shorter wait time.

The line for Kali is just horrible in the heat!! The ride was down and I thought I was going to just keel over being in that "gully" with all of the other sweaty, hot people hoping to get soaked.

We gave up and went and soaked our heads in the fountain instead.

 

[Janell]

What are good food items to eat when it is so hot? For example is it better to have a protein snack?

 

[divacat80]

Florida in August... it has to be terribly hot but i guess we'll have to go to WDW in August, there's no other way for us to go in other time of the year
so all of your tips are so useful for us!!!!
we live at the hottest place in southern spain, we usually have 122ºF during the summer and we're used to those high temperatures but we have almost no humidity in the air so it's quite tolerable....
that's what scares me of Florida summer, the humidity my DH thinks he's very macho and that he'll handle Florida summer like a mediterranean springtime but i know he's SO WRONG as for me i know i'll be melting down...

some of you mentioned refilling water bottles at CS restaurants for free... do they give you free ice cubes if you ask for them?
are there ice machines at the resorts?

thanks!

 

[SHOREDAD]

SHOREDAD, just want you to know you live where I DREAM of living! Have been going to Cape May every year for about 11 years now! Might have skipped one year. Two favorite places are Cape May and Walt Disney World! If you ever get a chance to go to WDW in late Oct. or Early Nov. do so! Weather and crowds are good! Have a great trip!

Yeah I do feel lucky to live in such a great place. I will never complain!

TO all thanks for all the awesome advice. With all your ideas my trip will definitely be better. Planning is the first and most important step in a happy trip. Believe me we learned the hard way!!

 

[goofy4tink]

We're headed down for our 4th August trip this summer....July 31-Aug 12.
We get an early start to our day. Leave the parks around lunchtime...1ish, go back to the resort and swim, eat and relax for a few hours. We return to a park after 5ish...eat a good TS dinner after 6ish. You need to get decent food into your body, even though it's brutally hot and humid, so that one good TS meal a day is a huge must.
Drink more water than you think any human could. And then? Drink some more. Plan on time for mulitple potty breaks. With all that water going in..well, you get the picture. And it's nice to wash down your face, neck and arms with coolish water in the bathrooms as well.

Always, always, always wear a hat. We also like sunglasses and short sleeved shirts as well. Yeah, I know...short sleeved shirts in that heat and humidity?? But....it does keep the sun off your shoulders and upper back. Which in the long run, does keep you cooler. Same thing with capris..nothing worse than getting a burn on the backs of your knees.


The thing that most people forget about being in WDW in the summer is that there is a huge amount of pavement under foot. That summer sun beats down on the ground, which makes the surrounding area much hotter than you can imagine. I know that one trip in August, it was about 104 in the MK. Why? All the pavement. I thought my soles were going to melt right off my shoes!!!

Try to cut down on how much stuff you are carrying. That really seems to heat you up. Go as light as possible.

 

[amtag]

This thread has been great! We are from NJ and heading to Disney from August 25-30. While we are used to heat and humidity, I am expecting it to be a bit worse there, I do love that weather, but I am worried about my mom, she's only 61, but when it gets to 70 she's hot, she also has terrible feet, so I am looking for some really good shoes for her. Do you find it is better wear socks and sneakers or a good sandal like a Keen that is waterproof and a bit open?

 

[twinklebug]

some of you mentioned refilling water bottles at CS restaurants for free... do they give you free ice cubes if you ask for them?
are there ice machines at the resorts?

I found that at the CS places if I order "water", they assume I'm asking to purchase bottled water. I have to request "ice water" to get the free, paper cup version & it does come with ice unless otherwise requested.

All the resorts have ice machines... typically near the elevators.

I am worried about my mom, she's only 61, but when it gets to 70 she's hot, she also has terrible feet, so I am looking for some really good shoes for her. Do you find it is better wear socks and sneakers or a good sandal like a Keen that is waterproof and a bit open?

Summer's tough on the feet & unless you have very tough feet, blisters will develop if your socks get slightly damp with all the walking. Whatever you do, don't let her wear cotton socks - they hold the moisture and make it worse. There are socks that are made for athletic activities that are good.

For myself, I toss fashion out the window when I'm planning on walking 5+ miles a day in heat, humidity and downpours. I normally wear my crocs with short socks and bring an extra pair if they need swapping off. Winter visits I can get away with wearing my sneakers without issue.

 

[amtag]

Summer's tough on the feet & unless you have very tough feet, blisters will develop if your socks get slightly damp with all the walking. Whatever you do, don't let her wear cotton socks - they hold the moisture and make it worse. There are socks that are made for athletic activities that are good.

For myself, I toss fashion out the window when I'm planning on walking 5+ miles a day in heat, humidity and downpours. I normally wear my crocs with short socks and bring an extra pair if they need swapping off. Winter visits I can get away with wearing my sneakers without issue.

I really have to check out crocs - I have never tried a pair, but all the threads where people swear they are the most comfortable shoes they have ever worn have convinced me that we need to try them out! Thanks for the info!

 

[doodlesmommy]

We are headed down in August too. Love the tips!

 

[Lizzybee]

We head for WDW for our 3rd August/Hurricane season/Free Dining trip this year and I HATE hot humid weather. HATE IT! But... love going to WDW and this works best for us. Yes it's hot and humid but there are ways to beat it.

1. Walk through stores with A/C whenever you pass them. For example, in the entrance to MK, there is a long line of stores connected to one another that have A/C, nice way to sneak around the crowd and get cool (Note: if you have kids, it can be tricky however, my kids have a dialy budget - spend it you're DONE, firm no negotiations. This works well to curb the annoying can I can I can I have this that and every Mickey Mouse thing)

2. Water ... even when you don't think you want it. You really DO want it trust me you do. We get free ice water from anywhere that sells fountain drinks. Some people have mentioned the "taste" I'm picky about water, I have not noticed it. Maybe I'm so hot and thirsty I'm delusional? Maybe the water is so cold I can't taste it compared to my tongue? I don't drink tap water at home ever - only bottled water. I am fine with WDW water.

3. Inside rides, inside shows, inside food, table service, shade whenever you can. They key here is INSIDE! Get out of the sun whenever possible.

4. If anyone, yup not just you but ANYONE in your group is exhausted, tired etc REST. Either sit for awhile in the shade or inside A/C or go back to the hotel and rest. Hot crabby people = miserable time at the Happiest Place on Earth.

5. Sunscreen & hats (even tough pirates wear hats)

6. Dress to get wet and protect your electronics. I love the rain. I don't care - I get wet, I cool off, voila! Ride a ride that gets you wet. Yes I have a cell phone and a camera but I store ALL electronics in ziploc. You don't know when it's going to rain anyway.

7. AK park is HOT wayyyyyyyyyyy hot. Seriously I'm not sure why it's hotter but we have gotten miserable there quickly. Go early, ride some rides, watch the Festival of the Lion King when it's hot and cool off, really really stay hydrated and actively seek shade. We have failed to ride everything we wanted to ride in this park because we ALL got overly hot and crabby and had to leave before we got all un-Disney like with each other We went rested and enjoyed another park in the evening

8. Enjoy because I know we will

 

[tiki23]

I really have to check out crocs - I have never tried a pair, but all the threads where people swear they are the most comfortable shoes they have ever worn have convinced me that we need to try them out! Thanks for the info!

If you can, find a place near you that carries Crocs so you can try them out (you can find locations on the Crocs website). The original style Crocs were made to fit loose on the foot; the shoe shouldn't touch the ends of your toes or the sides of your feet, so it's good to try them on to get a feel for sizing.

Love my Crocs!

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

If you can, find a place near you that carries Crocs so you can try them out (you can find locations on the Crocs website). The original style Crocs were made to fit loose on the foot; the shoe shouldn't touch the ends of your toes or the sides of your feet, so it's good to try them on to get a feel for sizing.

Love my Crocs!

I love my crocs too....I must say this once a day on the Dis board they were awesome in the rain last may, the dried so quickly and never had an odor. I have the flip flop capris...LOVE THEM!

 

[d1gitman]

two types of itineraries to deal with the heat

1 - rope drop for AM fun, head back to resort to cool off and relax, head back to park in late afternoon/evening. many swear by this. we might actually give it another try next time we go to see if it works better for us than our previous attempts.

2 - late start (our preferred method). we like to have the entire morning to stay at the resort to sleep in/swim/veg out, etc... then we have lunch ADR's at diff resorts around 1:00. By the time lunch is done and we are in the parks it's 3:00'ish. this gets us past the scorching 10am - 2pm hours. We then get to enjoy half our time in daylight and half our time in the evening. we like to stay till close, so the late start allows us to have a leisurely morning.

try to make most, if not all, of your park meals TS meals. it will force you to cool off and relax for an extended period. TS meals are usually 60-90 min in length, even with ADR's. cooling off by going in and out of stores/attractions can be good/bad. it is temp cooling but we get headaches from it too.

oh, and along with tons of hydration, wear hats! makes a huge difference.

 

[d1gitman]

...7. AK park is HOT wayyyyyyyyyyy hot. Seriously I'm not sure why it's hotter but we have gotten miserable there quickly...We have failed to ride everything we wanted to ride in this park because we ALL got overly hot and crabby and had to leave before we got all un-Disney like with each other We went rested and enjoyed another park in the evening ...

ditto! ditto! ditto!

AK is ALWAYS our meltdown park. we have avoided it on more and more of our trips. HOT, HOT, HOT and way too much walking. We like some of the attractions but it is one park we could do with out, EE is great, but RnR makes up for it IMHO.

 

[Planogirl]

We are going in August this year and I'm planning to skip Animal Kingdom. We've been there when it's really hot and we had a miserable time so we'll concentrate on other parks this time. Epcot can also be rather hot with all of that concrete but it's easier to get out of it IMO plus catch a breeze if there is any.

Most days we leave the parks around 2ish and head back to the hotel for a while. We do that whether we're onsite or not. If we decide to stay I like to head to one of the nearby resorts and doze in the lobby while DS finds the video games. Just getting out of the crowds and relaxing in the AC makes a big difference.

 

[2BEKs]

This is an amazing thread!!!

We're headed to WDW for our first visit in Aug (19 - 25) and know that it will be ridiculously hot

my mom lives in Ocala now - and just hearing about the crazy heat has us VERY worried!

we're going to use RideMax, plan on big afternoon breaks, and lots and lots of water (both to drink and to get wet in).


My Musts:
I have used the cool neck wraps before - and LOVE them! If any of you are QVC shoppers, they have a set of 6 of them for just about $20 (with shipping) They are called "Cool Downz" and the item # is F08546.
REI also sells them (wayy more $$) and you can find them in wal mart, etc. too.

Multiple pairs of shoes/outfits per day - we're figuring we will wear one set in the AM, then go back to the resort for rest/swim and then change into a whole new outfit including new shoes for the PM. Don't forget the kids too! I'll probably also bring an extra outfit for each of us in our day pack too (we're bringing a stroller JUST to carry our stuff! )

Hats/sunglasses for EVERYONE. For the babies, they make great band style sunglasses that are super comfy. Target had them when we needed them, now that my kids are older, we just use really good quality kids ones (not ones you can get at toy stores, as most dont have UV protection).


Now a Question:
I'm thinking about getting the kids each a kid size camelback... not sure if they'd think that's neat (and therefore drink more) or if it will be too hot/cumbersome?? anyone have any experience w/ this?


thanks!

 

[tiki23]

Now a Question:
I'm thinking about getting the kids each a kid size camelback... not sure if they'd think that's neat (and therefore drink more) or if it will be too hot/cumbersome?? anyone have any experience w/ this?

First, thanks for your tips!

I don't know about the kids, but I found that even my small backpack was too much in the heat, plus it was getting all gross from me sweating on it. I ended up using a small vinyl purse with a small strap - vinyl for waterproof-ness and the small strap for less sweaty body contact.

 

[smileyk8]

We're hoping to spend our honeymoon at WDW next August, it will be DFiance's first time so I feel very mean taking him at such a hot and humid time!

The only other thing i would add:
Yes you need to go in and out of airconditioned rooms/buildings/transport, but be aware that the rapid change of temperature may cause your head to hurt. We generally take cool gel sheets to put on our heads and a mini supply of pain relief for once we're back in the room.

 

[SHOREDAD]

Question about Animal Kingdom? just a reminder we will be there Aug 16-23

My kids love this park and we have to go at least twice on our visits

1. We have a breakfast ADR there cause the kids love Donald's Safari. Should we just go in early then leave after as soon as everyone has the meltdown?

2. We then have a dinner ADR in AK for another day at 6:00pm at Tusker House, another fav of the family((gotta do what they like.) On this day should we go in early then leave and come back for the ressie or just start late say 2 or 3 PM?


We are trying to avoid getting park hopper. So if we have a meltdown it may mean staying at the resort to swim or just leaving and coming back to AK. If we park hopped we would probably do MK or DS.

I am thinking of maybe putting both ressies on the same day but that is too much food for us.