Dining after long hot day in park?

[chai latté]

My DH and I are going to WDW this September. I know the weather will be HOT HOT HOT. This might seem like a silly question, but how does everyone deal with feeling gross and sweaty after being in the park all day, then going directly to an ADR in the evenings?

Do you just suck it up and accept that you're not as "fresh" as you'd like? Do you bring along a change of clothes with you in the park? Do you get a locker? I know some people might go back to their resorts and freshen up and change, but I don't know if there's time given the fact we're relying on the bus system (staying at POP). Any suggestions?

 

[imthatgirl]

to be honest youre just so hungry and tired and hot and needing a break by then, you dont care much how you look.

 

[dmw@lakenorman]

Hi - we are going in September also! I hope it won't be that hot - maybe we'll be lucky and have a cold spell... We are planning on going back to the room in the afternoon to get refreshed and changed but I was worried about all the commute time also. If you are taking a fanny pack, put a travele deodorant and powder in it and that may help you feel a little more refreshed.

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

We went in September a couple years back, and yes, we were sweaty, hot and disgusting. We stayed at Pop, and would take a late afternoon break and use Disney bus to get there, rest a bit, shower, and get back in time for our ADR. We had good luck with the bus system and didn't have a problem. On other trips we have just brought along baby wipes for quick "cleansing", those are quite refreshing, especially if you have a fridge to store them in your room. I am a deoderant freak, so I always liked using some baby wipes to get the sweat off, re-deoderant myself, and I felt ready to take on the world all over again!

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

I second the baby wipe idea as well as the deodorant. I up it one more by carrying a little baby powder container.....there is nothing better than wiping down with a cold wipe, applying fresh deodorant and dousing yourself with some fresh smelling baby powder. I feel like a new woman LOL!

 

[chai latté]

Thank you for the suggestions! I never considered baby wipes before. I'll definitely have to give that a thought, along with the other suggestions. I know I'll likely be very tired and hot and cranky (no! not at WDW!), but I like to feel somewhat presentable!!!

 

[leebee]

Just remember that everyone else in the restaurant more than likely will have just come from a theme park too, and more than likely will be cranky, hot, sweaty, perhaps even "fragrant"!! Have an iced tea and relax in the air conditioning and you'll be fine!!

 

[mousiemom]

i always make our adrs for 6:30 so we have enough time to go back to the resort and take showers and change. we went last labor day week for free dining as we are this year and it was a scorcher but we enjoyed that a/c while we were eating all that free food!!!
mousiemom

 

[starbox]

We head back to the resort around 2:00 and swim/shower/change - catch a bus to wherever we are eating around 5 pm - usually eat around 6:30

OR

We eat a leisurely sit-down LUNCH (around 1pm) just when it's getting hot. The cool air and plenty of water refreshes us for the afternoon. Dinner is just counter service.

 

[Shagley]

If we were going to a restaurant that was at one of the resorts, we would usually pack a backpack with a washcloth, deodorant, hair brush, and an extra shirt for each person (sometimes a light jacket too, those restaurants could get cold when you went into the air conditioning after being hot and sweaty all day). We then left the backpack in a locker at the front of the park. Before we left the park to head to the resort where our restaurant was, we would pick up the backpack. Then, we would get to the resort a little bit early, go into the public restroom and wash up and change our shirts. If our restaurant was at one of the parks, we just showed up as we were.

 

[ZoZo]

I used Kleenex brand "Splash and Go" wipes last year, and they really worked well. They're pretty big (quite a bit larger than a regular wet wipe) and very refreshing on your face, etc. when you're hot and sticky. Maybe you could bring an extra shirt in a backpack to change into, and use a Splash and Go wipe, too. It's probably not worth spending the time to go back to your room unless you're really sticky and grubby (or if you need a break before dinner). It can take so long to get from place to place, sometimes it's best to just go straight to dinner.

Give it a try!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

It is SOOOO hot in Sept that you will literally NEED to go back to your resort to swim/shower and cool off in the mid-afternoon. Now that we've done this plenty of times, we make dinner ADRs for later than we would normally eat at home so we have enough time to go back, swim, shower, change, and head back out for dinner.

I'm from MA so September means AUTUMN to me...but it's definately not Autumn in Florida!!! It's very hot and VERY humid. Plan accordingly and make sure that you plan to drink tons of water to stay hydrated.