Beating the Heat

[lolomarie]

The first day of my trip is up on the 14 day forecast and it's going to be 33 degrees with a real feel of 46?!?!?!?

Like holy hell? We're obviously going to hydrate and we have stroller fans for the kids, but I have no words. Is this normal for Florida? In Calgary we beat a new record this summer with 37 degrees and I felt like I stepped into an oven. I can even fathom what 46 feels like. What do other Canadian Disney friends do?

 

[bababear_50]

I have been to Florida in Aug and while it was HOT and Humid it was never the temps they are predicting. I know we enjoyed the parks more in the early mornings and evenings. We took breaks in the afternoon at the Pool.We went through alot of t-shirts as everytime we stepped outside we turned into a puddle of water.
We planned shows and indoor attractions during our touring plans.Example--Mickey's Philharmagic /Carousel of progress/ Country Bears Jamboree.
Plan a few indoor Table service reservations if you can. Just having the time in the air conditioning helps.
You are going to Disney and you will have an awesome time!
Hugs
Mel

 

[Donald - my hero]

Take a look at your schedule and make some cuts of things you currently have planned for midday. It will be hot -- yes, brutally hot compared to what you're used to in Calgary because humidity is something you don't normally deal with out there but like mentioned above you can take some steps to make it bearable. The air conditioning will be going full tilt everywhere, take advantage of it whenever you can.

Be aware that the stroller can end up feeling like a tiny oven on wheels if there's a canopy AND if it sits in the sun while you're in a ride little legs can get burnt when you get back.

Look for some cooling towels at the dollar store -- used with the fan they will help a lot.

You can get free cold water at any counter service restaurant-- we find it doesn't taste as nasty as the stuff out of the fountains.

If anyone is having trouble drinking try things like frozen lemonades -- avoid dairy based things that are frozen, they can be hard on an empty tummy when it's hot.

Have a great time -- it will be hot but fun!

 

[hdrolfe]

We went last August, it was HOT. Dress for it. Fabrics that wick away sweat and/or dry quickly are good. Plan for a mid-day break at the pool, or even just the room to rest, you can also change then if you need to. We showered at the end of the day, by then we were sweaty and icky from sunscreen. It was nice to rinse off and cool off before bed. Lots of water of course. Those cooling cloths can help, but my kiddo didn't like it, I had bought bandanna style and he didn't like to wear it. We had little fans you can wear around your neck from dollarama. We also like rides like it's a small world because of the AC.

Honestly, it will feel like you are walking out into an oven, but you adjust to it. Don't expect to rush around. Even if there aren't a lot of people, you just don't want to move too fast.

 

[Aladora]

We just got back a few hours ago after a 10 day WDW trip.

First off, it was brutally hot and humid. Mid to high 30’s with humidity bringing that into the mid 40’s. We went back to the hotel every day after lunch for a rest and then headed back to the park around 4ish.

We ordered two flats of 32 bottles of water to be delivered to our resort and halfway through the trip we ordered another one. We drank every single one of those 96 bottles between the 3 of us. Every morning we each had two bottles in our backpacks and carried another one and every afternoon we did the same.

We brought water bottles that have a mister but we never used the mister part, the humidity meant that we were always sweating so the thought of spraying more water on ourselves was just gross. We did use our cooling towels a lot!

We walked a ton, our final tally for 6 full park days, two half park days and two and a half break days was 118km.

We planned one table service meal a day and on a couple of days we did two but found that no one wanted to eat a ton of heavy meals after dealing with the heat. The two highlights were San Angel Inn and Satu’li Canteen.

Edited to fix funny autocorrect!

 

[Donald - my hero]

We brought water bottles that have a mister but we never used the mister part, the humidity meant that we were always sweating so the thought of spraying more water on ourselves was just gross. We did use our cooking towels a lot!

Baaahaaaa --- epic typo

 

[Aladora]

Baaahaaaa --- epic typo

Bwahahahahahaha! Damned autocorrect!

 

[Cottager]

We've used a misting fan with a carabiner to clip on to our beltloop so we don't have to carry a bag. A couple squirts of water in the face and neck followed by a little fanning and we're refreshed. Alternatively, we've used a necklace fan tied close to the chin for a constant flow of air which worked fairly well.

Misting Fan

Necklace Fan

 

[Mikey15]

Daily high certainly only tells part of the story in Florida. Sure it'll get there with midday sun, but when afternoon showers are such a common thing, either clouds will create some shade or a storm will give a break from the heat. It'll be muggy regardless, but our favourite thing to do is swim in the mornings, have a lunch, and hit a park or shopping or something in mid-afternoon. We're not the rope-drop types, mind you, and we don't have young kids, so I know that changes the schedule for a lot of people, but I do find it more pleasant starting a park in mid-afternoon and not roasting in a line somewhere at the hottest part of the day.

If you are at the park earlier, noon to 2 is a great time to be indoors in A/C at a lunchtime meal. Or maybe a line where the line has A/C.

 

[lolomarie]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and encouragement. I known on all the other boards they say the same things, but having my northern comrades tell me it's going to be ok, gives me confidence that it's going to be ok. Marrying a Scotsman didn't help either, lol, his favourite weather is rainy and cool! We should relocated to Vancouver, if not for the housing prices.

I'm going to look into those cooling towels. Any suggestions or does any brand work just fine? Our stroller fans came in, and I think they'll do the trick! We'll definitely do breaks, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

 

[Aladora]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and encouragement. I known on all the other boards they say the same things, but having my northern comrades tell me it's going to be ok, gives me confidence that it's going to be ok. Marrying a Scotsman didn't help either, lol, his favourite weather is rainy and cool! We should relocated to Vancouver, if not for the housing prices.

I'm going to look into those cooling towels. Any suggestions or does any brand work just fine? Our stroller fans came in, and I think they'll do the trick! We'll definitely do breaks, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

We got these and they worked like a dream!

Sport Cooling Towel 3 Pack

 

[lolomarie]

We got these and they worked like a dream!

Sport Cooling Towel 3 Pack

Awesome! Thanks so much. Were you able to reuse them during your trip. Did they still work as well after the first use?

 

[Aladora]

Awesome! Thanks so much. Were you able to reuse them during your trip. Did they still work as well after the first use?

Absolutely! We actually bought them for our Mexico trip in March and used them in WDW a few days ago.

 

[lolomarie]

Absolutely! We actually bought them for our Mexico trip in March and used them in WDW a few days ago.

Awesome thanks! I'm ordering them now! We leave in 9 days!

 

[starvenger]

That’s a good price. Mission cooling towels run for around the same at Dollarama.

Get some insulated water bottles with a straw like Thermos or Contigo. Load it with ice and fill with water as needed. I recommend the ones with straws as they can reach the super cold water at the bottom of the bottle. Don’t be afraid to ask for as much ice as you need.

Some people swear by coconut water for hydration. I’m not a fan but I thought I should throw that out there.

 

[Disneylover99]

Stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Seriously. Avoid it like the plague if you can.
Cloudy days are good. Sunny days are bad.

If you need to stop to tie your shoelace, look at a map, etc....pull over into the shade quickly or your brain will fry.

 

[BrennerM]

We went once in August and it was hot and humid. I found that I needed to drink a Powerade (sports drink) every once in a while to replenish electrolytes in addition to the water we were drinking. Once I discovered the Powerade trick it really helped me survive. As I recall many locations in WDW sold Powerade (this was many years ago but hopefully they still have a sports drink for sale).

 

[starvenger]

We went once in August and it was hot and humid. I found that I needed to drink a Powerade (sports drink) every once in a while to replenish electrolytes in addition to the water we were drinking. Once I discovered the Powerade trick it really helped me survive. As I recall many locations in WDW sold Powerade (this was many years ago but hopefully they still have a sports drink for sale).

If you’re using the plastic water bottles you could probably get the Mio “sports” flavour drops and squirt some in there.