June heat- getting into a hot car?

[ADisneyQueen]

I've only stayed offsite once, in October. If we stay offsite this June, one thing that has me concerned is being in a hot parking lot and car when we take a break in the afternoon. How bad is it going to be? We're from the north and not used to the high humidity.

 

[mareed]

It's bad! But we live in Houston, TX so we're used to it - it's a way of life. We pack one of the fold-up spring-like sunshades to put in the front windshield of our rental car. We always use these at home, and they do help a bit.

In warmer weather, you're going to be subjected to heat during your transportation no matter what. If you're using Disney busses, you're going to spend time waiting in the heat for your bus. If you're driving yourself, you won't have the time waiting, but you'll have some time in the car before it cools down. All the rental cars we've gotten seem to have very good air conditioners!

When you get in the car, start the A/C on high and leave the windows down for just a few minutes to let the worst of the heat out. Then, be sure that you've switched the setting to be recirculating inside air instead of pulling the air from outside. This is the max A/C setting, but we've had some rental cars that reset to pulling outside air everytime the car is turned off.

Personally, I'd rather deal with the short-time in the hot car rather than the unknown length of time in the heat waiting for a bus! We drive ourselves even on the rare time that we're staying at a Disney resort.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Packing the sunshade is a great idea! I'll add it to my list.

 

[Brian Noble]

We go a little earlier in the year, but even so, the car gets hot. We usually open the doors a bit to let the worst of the hot air escape before we hop in. And, all of the rentals we've ever gotten had monster AC that worked quickly.

 

[mickeymom24]

I live in the hot, dry heat in southwest Texas. Always cover the steering wheel with a towel to keep it cool and try to cover the metal part of the seatbelts for the kids. Those things can get hot and if you got kids they will let you know how hot they are!

 

[dfarner]

I've only stayed offsite once, in October. If we stay offsite this June, one thing that has me concerned is being in a hot parking lot and car when we take a break in the afternoon. How bad is it going to be? We're from the north and not used to the high humidity.

One of you can get out to the car a little bit before the rest of the family to cool down the car. We also keep a cooler in the car with bottled water, pop, whatever, to have when we get there .

 

[DOOM1001]

Getting into a car after it's been parked outside under the hot summer Florida sun for a couple of hours is literally like stepping into an oven.If you're not used to it open all the doors of the car and let some air get in and flow before you even step into the car!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Everyone is right....it is bad. But often Philly summers are very similar. There's been a couple summers where we were hotter than Orlando. Just be prepared. Def use a sun shade. Open all the doors and run the AC full blast for 3-5 min. If you have misters, mist your self.....cold drinks help too. Usually the cars cool down in 5-7 min. You know what bothered us more.....walking on the steaming hot asphalt parking lot with flip flops and sandals ! Now that felt HOT ! Felt like our shoes were melting.........

I hate it when our car has to start a new line in the parking lot and gets directed ALL THE WAY to the back of the parking lot.......UGH. I feel this happens like 50% of the time. There was an incident this past August that I have never witnessed before in 30-35 trips to WDW. The car in front of us, had to start the new line all the way in the back......he refused. He idled his car until he could maneuvar closer to the tram stop. The CM's were yelling at him to move....I mean yelling....he was blocking traffic. But he just sat there and refused to move until he could park his car up front. It was that hot I guess.........

Maria

 

[MiaSRN62]

We also keep a cooler in the car with bottled water, pop, whatever, to have when we get there .

We did too this past Aug....and everything was always warm when we got back to the car ! It was that hot......

 

[dioxide45]

One of you can get out to the car a little bit before the rest of the family to cool down the car. We also keep a cooler in the car with bottled water, pop, whatever, to have when we get there .

We find the best thing to do is freeze the bottles of water and put them in a soft sided cooler. When you get back to the car they are thawed out but should still have some ice in them and will be very cold. That is a great thing to remember you have when you get back to the hot car after a hot day at the parks.

We did too this past Aug....and everything was always warm when we got back to the car ! It was that hot......

As I mentioned, freeze those bottles of water and put them in the trunk. The trunk will stay cooler so they shouldn't completly melt.

 

[FLChick]

LOL I never knew people thought about this before they come to Florida. It's really not THAT bad guys. What you do is you open the car doors to let the hot air rush out like everyone said but it also helps if you reach in and turn the car on for a minute before you get in as well. That helps because then you don't have a blast of hot air in your face when you first turn on the car and it cools the car down a little before you venture in as well. If you have leather seats you can put towels on them so they won't be as hot. And I totally agree that parking the shade is a BIG help. Besides, it's not that much hotter in the car as it is outside. Make sure you drink LOTS of water (FYI - soda will dehydrate you even more). But trust me, you will survive. I have my whole life.

 

[DOOM1001]

LOL I never knew people thought about this before they come to Florida. It's really not THAT bad guys. What you do is you open the car doors to let the hot air rush out like everyone said but it also helps if you reach in and turn the car on for a minute before you get in as well. That helps because then you don't have a blast of hot air in your face when you first turn on the car and it cools the car down a little before you venture in as well. If you have leather seats you can put towels on them so they won't be as hot. And I totally agree that parking the shade is a BIG help. Besides, it's not that much hotter in the car as it is outside. Make sure you drink LOTS of water (FYI - soda will dehydrate you even more). But trust me, you will survive. I have my whole life.

I agree with everything you said except that it's not much hotter in the car as it is outside as a locked car in 95 degrees can reach 150 degrees.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

DH is our designated car starter. He usually gets to the car before the rest of us, starts it and cranks up the air conditioning. Then he hops out and stands next to it until we catch up to him.

By that time, the car has usually cooled down a notch or two. We keep a towel in the car to cover the steering wheel so it's not overly hot from the sun since we don't have a sunshade for the car.

 

[FLChick]

I agree with everything you said except that it's not much hotter in the car as it is outside as a locked car in 95 degrees can reach 150 degrees.

Really? You really think it's that much? Well, maybe but I know alot of days it feels that hot outside.