hot weather in Disneyland

[traveler_t]

Going to Disneyland with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls. Weather forecast is 95 degrees. How should this affect our visit? Are there any attractions that we should aim for once it gets too hot, or things to avoid? I imagine it will be hard to do a lot of walking after noon and that big crowd will gather around weather friendly attractions.

 

[longboard55]

anytime, hot or cold, get there early at opening, it is never crowded the first two hours. The afternoon will be hot, very pleasant after 6

 

[emmybee]

I hate the heat. I make sure to always have my sunglasses, giant hat, cooling towel, and Disney squirt bottle with fan. I like the Star Wars one better than the blue Disney fan. My cat chewed up the blue fan right before we left for our trip last month Of course, you can bring your own from somewhere else, but where's the fun in that?

Now, if it gets too hot, that opens up the almost endless possibilities of cool treats and shops with AC. I wouldn't recommend the cute ice cream from the carts b/c they always seem to come out frozen solid. I don't like to wait for it to soften up enough so I don't break a tooth.

 

[AnnieOakley]

Are you staying in a hotel, or is this a one-day visit?
Also, are you doing just DL or also visiting DCA?

If you will have a hotel, I think the mid-day nap/rest in the room is an excellent option, as is a little pool time!

Some of my "beat the heat" spots in DLR are:

Attractions with generous time in A/C that you can ride with littles: Mr. Lincoln (and the lobby in that building which often has interesting displays as a bonus), Tiki Room, Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through, Small World*, Haunted Mansion*, Pirates* (*check wait times because much of the queue is outdoors in the blazing heat on these!)

Distractions with A/C: A sit-down meal (either in the park, in DTD, or, my favorite, at the GCH), gift shops, Main Street Cinema (showing Mickey cartoons)

Not A/C but still can be refreshing: Grand Circle Tour on the Disneyland RR; Mark Twain Riverboat

(If you are doing DLR for just a one-day visit and parked in M&F parking... DH and I did this plan: Midday break after lunch back at the car. Sounds crazy, but we blasted the AC, used some refreshing wipes, changed our socks, and tipped the seats back for a 30 minute snooze.)

 

[wassily]

Mid Day Nap at a nearby hotel
Hang around Tomorrow Land at Pizza Planet for self serve refreshments (Pym Test Kitchen if you are in CA)
Wet Towels

Do the big rides early or LL+ it.

 

[Kit Jackson]

In DCA Turtle Talk with Crush, Animation Academy and the room with the Zoetropes in the same building has AC.

 

[traveler_t]

thanks everyone! we're staying at the Grand Californian hotel (3 nights) so we could go back to the hotel at noon. I just wonder at what time it is safe to go back, it seem to be hot until late at the evening and then my 3.5yo will probably be tired. We also tried to avoid indoor areas with lots of people and spend most of the time outside.

We didn't plan for park hopper but maybe even in the heat we can quickly go from GCH to DCA in the afternoon and use LL for 1-2 rides? how long do I need to wait in line in a busy afternoon if I have LL?

 

[JavaDuck]

We just returned from our trip and the longest we waited in line with a LL was 20 minutes. The LL's can get backed up especially if the attraction was down earlier in the day. Another ride with nice AC iss the Little Mermaid in DCA. If you are staying at the Grand Cal, definitely use the half-hour entry, especially at Disneyland,

 

[traveler_t]

Thanks everyone! I'm now planning the night shows for our party (3.5yo, 5.5yo). What is the least stressful way to see the parade / Fantasmic with toddlers? Does meal deal for the parade puts us in a good spot? do we still need to come very early? My kids might not have patience at those hours. And same questions for Fantasmic.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Aurora0427]

Going to Disneyland with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls. Weather forecast is 95 degrees. How should this affect our visit? Are there any attractions that we should aim for once it gets too hot, or things to avoid? I imagine it will be hard to do a lot of walking after noon and that big crowd will gather around weather friendly attractions.

95 at Disneyland is really really hot. I’m a native Texan, and it’s HOT. We just did a day trip with my girls and my nephew… ages 11, 6, and 3. We’re locals so we didn’t have a hotel room. We rope dropped and booked a long character lunch at Storytellers at the Grand Californian Hotel. We took a really long lunch there, and then went back and rode Splash.

If you’re staying in a hotel, I would definitely leave at or after lunch and hit the pool, or just rest in the room. The heat starts to get more manageable after 5. Utilize genie plus and start stacking fast passes or lightning lane for your evening. There’s a thread on these boards that describes how to do that.

 

[Pluto468]

When we went in June it was 90-95 every day and it was miserable. BUT... There was a great thread a while ago about ways to beat the heat at Disneyland. Some things I did based on that:

Wore sun hats
Used a sun umbrella
Brought water bottles to fill up at fill stations
Wore neck fans
Used misting fans

We ended up rope dropping every day and taking a big hotel break in the afternoon. We would be in the hotel and rest or use the pool from around 1:00- 5 or 6. Normally we only take a 2-3 hour break, but we just had to get out of the heat.

Is your 3.5 yo still in a stroller? That will help him/her stay a little cooler if there's a shade on the stroller. I saw so many stroller fans on our last trip! You could also use the stroller to carry extra water with you.

I haven't done the parade meal but from what people have said here you can show up 30 minutes early and still get a decent spot to watch.

We watched from Small World area and had a great view, we just walked up about 20 minutes before it started.

We did the River Belle Terrace premium dining to watch Fantasmic. That was really nice because you get a table and a place to sit but your kids might get bored waiting for the show. It starts at 7:15 and ends around 9:30.

 

[princesscinderella]

We just returned and I wish I would have packed a couple of the small compact umbrellas to provide my own shade wherever we went. If the sun wasn’t shining directly on you it wasn’t so bad.

 

[traveler_t]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! A couple of follow ups:

1. where can I buy personal sun umbrella at or near the Disneyland resort? Ideally walking distance.

2. I heard it's not a good idea to do Peter Pan first thing even if you rope drop since you waste critical morning time in line. If we have early entry to the park (as hotel guests) is it reasonable to do Peter Pan first or still not advised?

 

[Version 6]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! A couple of follow ups:

1. where can I buy personal sun umbrella at or near the Disneyland resort? Ideally walking distance.

2. I heard it's not a good idea to do Peter Pan first thing even if you rope drop since you waste critical morning time in line. If we have early entry to the park (as hotel guests) is it reasonable to do Peter Pan first or still not advised?

Don't know about the umbrella.

Yeah, if you have early entry I would do Peter Pan during that period, before regular rope droppers.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I just spent the weekend at Disneyland with a friend that came in from out of town. I drove everyday, and he stayed at a nearby hotel. One Friday, we saw Tale of the Lion King, and even though it was really hot that day, the theater got a decent breeze, and it was really comfortable. I recommend going to the show. It wasn’t super crowded, so I think even going 15 minutes before the show would be good, and you wouldn’t have to stand in line in the hot sun. We also watched the fairy tales - Beaty and the Beast, and Tangled. We just waited in a shady area until the line started, and then got in line. I didn’t pay attention to how crowded it was, but even right before the show parents were showing up with their small children to sit on the round mats by the stage. It was really enjoyable.

The queue for it’s a small world has a lot of trees, so even though it was really hot the shade was welcome. I think we only waited 15 minutes for that attraction.

We never used Genie+ and went on the attractions that interested us.

At DCA - thinking of shady spots. I was only there until 3:30pm, because I had to go somewhere else, but even then, we found areas that were kind of shady.

It starts cooling down around 5pm or so. Once the sun goes behind the buildings it gets really comfortable.

I think the other suggestions were really good here. I have a small umbrella and forgot to take it. Drinking a lot of water was helpful. Besides the Mark Twain there is the Columbia Ship, too, and the kids might like that. The train is a great attraction. It’s about 20 minutes to go around the park, and it’s interesting, so a nice way to get off your feet.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! A couple of follow ups:

1. where can I buy personal sun umbrella at or near the Disneyland resort? Ideally walking distance.

...

Many posters here got their umbrellas on Amazon. If there isn't enough time to have it delivered to your home, maybe you could have it delivered to your hotel.

 

[AustinTink]

I just spent the weekend at Disneyland with a friend that came in from out of town. I drove everyday, and he stayed at a nearby hotel. One Friday, we saw Tale of the Lion King, and even though it was really hot that day, the theater got a decent breeze, and it was really comfortable. I recommend going to the show. It wasn’t super crowded, so I think even going 15 minutes before the show would be good, and you wouldn’t have to stand in line in the hot sun. We also watched the fairy tales - Beaty and the Beast, and Tangled. We just waited in a shady area until the line started, and then got in line. I didn’t pay attention to how crowded it was, but even right before the show parents were showing up with their small children to sit on the round mats by the stage. It was really enjoyable.

The queue for it’s a small world has a lot of trees, so even though it was really hot the shade was welcome. I think we only waited 15 minutes for that attraction.

We never used Genie+ and went on the attractions that interested us.

At DCA - thinking of shady spots. I was only there until 3:30pm, because I had to go somewhere else, but even then, we found areas that were kind of shady.

It starts cooling down around 5pm or so. Once the sun goes behind the buildings it gets really comfortable.

I think the other suggestions were really good here. I have a small umbrella and forgot to take it. Drinking a lot of water was helpful. Besides the Mark Twain there is the Columbia Ship, too, and the kids might like that. The train is a great attraction. It’s about 20 minutes to go around the park, and it’s interesting, so a nice way to get off your feet.

Will it be too hot for pants? I don't do shorts anymore now that I'm an old lady.

 

[disneyerin]

Will it be too hot for pants? I don't do shorts anymore now that I'm an old lady.

Hey, I'm an old lady too!
Yeah, no more shorts for me. But I am going to wear capris: One white cotton pair and one very lightweight pale blue denim. Then you just do a sleeveless top or light t-shirt. I also might wear a knee length cotton dress.

 

[AustinTink]

Hey, I'm an old lady too!
Yeah, no more shorts for me. But I am going to wear capris: One white cotton pair and one very lightweight pale blue denim. Then you just do a sleeveless top or light t-shirt. I also might wear a knee length cotton dress.

I have worn a dress for all of our other trips but this year I have to wear compression socks due to an injury. I'm very self conscious about them so no dresses this year. That's why the long pants. Although, I wear the cute bombas brand compression socks for runners and my son says I'm in style. He's so nice to humor his old mom.

I'll probably go with capris and a sleeveless top... aka my mom uniform.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I also hate the heat, but to echo the above advice:

1) Take advantage of rope drop (or early entry if you’re on-site), even on 90-100 degree days, the parks are pleasant until about 10am-12pm, where it will progress from warm to unpleasant.

2) You’ve probably hit most of your punch list by noon, so head back to the hotel, eat lunch, nap.

3) Return to the parks after 6pm and you should have 6 more hours of open park and steadily cooling temperatures.