Tips for a first-time summer trip?

[DebLovesPooh]

We are a February/April Disney family. Because my DD’s school is still requiring a 2-week quarantine, and I don’t see this changing, we are waiting until the end of June to go in 2021.

Help! I’m at a loss as to how to plan. I know it will be hot and humid, but do you have any specific tips for going to Disney during that time of year? I feel like I have no idea how to plan our days. We have park hoppers and will be staying be staying at Beach Club Villas. Mid-day breaks at the pool? Plan mid-day meals in the villa and dinner out at Epcot? Stay in the parks when it’s raining and everyone else is running for cover?
I really appreciate any tips you can offer. Thanks so much!

Best,
Deb

 

[lynnfitz]

Hi, we've been going in the summer for quite awhile. We started when our son was in school, and now just continued. What we do is-get to the park early-like when it opens, lunch early is good too-avoid the crowds. We usually then go back to the resort after lunch, go to pool. As far as the evening, it's up to you-we've gone a lot so we don't feel like we have to go back for fireworks, etc. But as soon as that sun goes down, it really helps with the heat. We get up so early, so at night we're tired, lol! That heat of the day, from early afternoon on can be brutal, especially if there aren't many clouds around. Best advice is getting there when the parks open, get the bulk of your rides, done before lunch. We went this past October (rescheduled from summer due to Covid), and this year we're going back in the summer-it's just something nice to look forward to al summer long, good luck!

 

[Jack & Monica]

We still have a DD15 so we are faced with the summer months (although we did go once during Christmas week). The big question for me will be what policies will be in place by the summer. By policies I mean: extra magic hours, fast pass, fast pass plus, dining plan, etc. To answer why this is such a big deal, I will point to our Christmas week experience. We always use the same strategy and it always works beautifully. We go to the park that has extra magic hours (30 mins before rope drop). We target the biggest rides with our fast passes and target the other big rides that are open during extra magic hours. We usually only go for the morning hours. We then shift to the attractions that are not always slammed. We then eat lunch at 11:00 (even when the parks are overwhelmed, 11:00 seems to beat the crowds for eating). We then head to a different park (usually Magic Kingdom or EPCOT). My daughter loves Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and the (now defunct) Perry the Platypus scavenger hunt (hoping that the Duck Tales version is online by this upcoming summer). We then eat an early dinner at the park we are at or we go and eat a table service meal at our resort or go to the Hoop de Doo Revue for the early seating. We then travel back to our resort (which is usually the Wilderness Lodge).
During that Christmas (4 years ago I think) the parks were slammed, but we never had to stand in line for very long by using this strategy. At least twice during that week, parks had to close off new attendees because of crowd size. We were usually leaving the park when this occurred. The biggest time saver for me occurred when we no longer had to chase character signatures.
COVID 19 put a big monkey wrench into planning. We are targeting this summer -- early June for our trip to WDW. I am thinking that Disney will want to bring back the policies above as soon as possible once crowd levels reach the 50% of capacity mark. I think this because the center of gravity for the parks seems to be the resorts. Right now there are not many incentives for staying at the resorts. Disney will have to fix this or people will not stay on property. I think early magic hours will come back soon (it doesn't interfere with COVID restrictions, and the personnel and overhead costs are limited because not everything is open).
One thing I would advise people on (only if you are locked into your dates to visit) -- book airfare early rather than later. As the vaccine goes out and things get back to normal, airfares will rise. Right now, you can still get some pretty good fares. This almost assuredly will change.
I am also hopeful that people will choose later in the summer than early summer to try to catch more of the big new rides (Tron and Guardians are the two attractions that could be ready for late summer -- I know that the word is that it will be 2022 -- it all depends on Disney and costs).
Disney has to have something new to hang its hat on for the 50th. I think it unwise to delay the openings of Ratatouille and the Space 220 restaurant just to keep them for the big birthday. They are enough to lure people back this summer (along with Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, the Slinky Dog Dash, Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon). They can still market effectively for the 50th with just (say Guardians) and the new light show at EPCOT. I can see Disney putting a fantastic "while you were hunkered down avoiding COVID, we were busy making Disney more magical than ever." Disney really does have a ton of new attractions.
I do not begrudge Disney making profits. I do not like it when they make bonehead decisions though. They usually do not. They need to be careful though, WDW is a finely woven tapestry. Let the edges get frayed and the whole darn thing could unravel.
Sheesh, did I ever get long winded. Sorry.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

You say you have a time of year you regularly go, so I assume that you have park experience. You know exactly what you must do for it to feel like Disney and what you can do without. I would prioritize your must do things, one or two, each day of your trip and, make sure you do that thing EARLY.

We never went during the summer until my 50th birthday. All I wanted was to be at Sanaa when my big day came! My husband and daughter melt in the heat but agreed to go and be on their best behavior. We made very relaxed plans. I was terrified of the heat and their inevitable revolt, but we had the BEST TRIP EVER! We were able to dance to Buridika, watch the gorillas as long as we wanted, and leave the parks every day when everyone around us started freaking out from the heat.

My advice - You must be on your way out of the park no later than 1pm. Don't get in one last ride or shop or anything, just get out. Go back to the resort and sleep or swim or just sit with a cold glass of water. Go back to the parks if you can, don't bother if it seems like too much work.

We always have hoppers and we didn't for our summer trip. It was perfect. With the restrictions for park hopper I am not sure I would keep, even at Beach Club. The pool bar at Beach has really good food for quick service, and there are other food options in that area outside of the parks. It all depends on how much park food is valued in your must do Disney things as to whether hopper is worth it. Remember, right now hopper might do you no good if Epcot is full. The second park can only be entered after 2pm. Hopefully ph conditions will be much better by June....

 

[Shellyred8]

I would recommend getting everyone in your party the following items:
1. Personal cooling fan. There are lots of options out there for these. Do a bit of research to find the style you like the best (and that gets good reviews as actually being a style that does it's job!)
2. Cooling towel
3. Insulated thermos bottle for ice water. Get one that is the 16-20 ounce size and has a good handle for carrying. I found that when I carried the bottle I actually drank the water like I was supposed to! LOL!!!

These are the three things that I've found help me manage the heat.

Our touring plans during hot times are usually this: rope drop, go back to the room for a break in the afternoon, then come back in the evening when it's cooled down a bit.

 

[holden]

We rope drop in the morning. This allows us to cover several attractions before it gets super crowded.

Sometimes we stay all day. Other times we leave for a break, eat dinner and return to the parks to close them.

The heat is more tolerable after the sun goes down.

If you have already seen the fireworks/nighttime show or don't care to see them, fireworks time/show time is a great time to hit some of the more popular attractions.

Get in line for a popular attraction (like FOP, for example) a few minutes before the park closes. The line usually moves pretty fast because many people are on their way out of the park.

Disney is exhausting, and the heat in summer makes it even more exhausting. We like to have a down day (non-park day) or a day or two where we just hit the parks late.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

Thanks all! These tips are so helpful! We have the military salute tickets so they are automatically hoppers. We are also early risers and will get our must do's done early. I love the shopping list. I've never had to worry about cooling towels before but I'm about to put them in my Amazon cart!

Thanks again!

Best,
Deb

 

[elittleton]

We always go the end of May /first of June. We do rope drop and normally leave late afternoon. We don’t go back to the room for a rest but we only stay late one day per trip. The more water you drink the better you will handle the heat. Limit sodas because caffeine will actually dehydrate you.

 

[Barlament]

These are great suggestions

 

[bluezy]

We've done numerous trips to Disney in June. We have 2 plans of attack. The one we use most often is to do rope drop and spend the first 2-3 hours doing standby lines while they're a little shorter than later in the day. We schedule our FPs for approximately 11:00-1:00. We eat an early lunch (we're usually one of the first families in line wherever we're eating) and then after our final FP, we head back to the room for naps (for the adults), swimming, or just simply to be in the a/c and not out in the heat. Then we'll usually head back to a park in the early evening (sometimes we eat dinner at the resort and sometimes we eat at a park).

Our other plan is that we sleep in and don't hit a park until early afternoon. We have our 3 FPs scheduled for mid to late afternoon and then we either schedule another FP for later or just start doing things with relatively short standby lines (like shows or anything with less than a 30 minute wait). We also eat dinner in the park and then focus on getting a spot for the fireworks or we start hitting the bigger rides during the fireworks.

We tried carrying fans, cooling towels, etc. but did not find them worth the trouble (we actually prefer to go to the parks with no bags). It's hot enough just walking around in June, the last thing we want is to be carrying stuff around while we're walking in the heat. I know a lot of families like to bring snacks, drink, cooling products with them, but our family isn't one of them. If we need to cool off, we go to a show or something else that is indoors. We buy cold drinks when we're thirsty and spend some time on a bench in the shade while drinking them.

The nice thing about going in the summer is that the parks usually have longer hours than other times of the year so we find it easier to get a lot done. And that allows us to sleep in a day or two during our stay (though we always go to a park every day even if it's only for a few hours in the evening) to recover from the heat exhaustion (a mid-afternoon nap does wonders for that as well). I miss the days that MK would be open from 8:00 a.m. (not EMH) to at least midnight. Even with a 4 or 5 hour break in the afternoon, we could get so much accomplished in a day.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

Thank you! That is very encouraging. I am grateful for the longer park hours, especially early ones during our trip. We are usually up at 5! That means earlier nights for us too. I am much more confident now. Thanks again!

Deb

 

[LovesTimone]

Local here... Winter Garden

Sunscreen... and lots of it... good quality sunscreen - sweat and water proof, 50 SPF or better... ( put it on before you leave the room) - as well some type of face/body wipe, you can use for your face and body, let dry and then re-apply sunscreen...

Lots of Water, and sports drinks - refillable Water bottles - for each person - we normally use these at the pool and in the room, my family really doesn't like to carry backpack, when my family was young, we carried inside the park a small soft-sided cooler, to put in water, juice boxes, grapes... If you are in a DVC... you can freeze bottles the night before...

Cooling towels, or fans - I like the cooling towels, they are easy peasy, and easy to store,

Plan on taking a break... swimming and cooling off in the pool, even throw in some naps... the heat really takes it out of you..

Light colored, breathable clothing... lightweight shoes... sock's...

Sunglasses - for everyone -

Hats - or visor...

Plan on a couple of late nights, and sleep in mornings... use the pool early morning or late nights...

Commando touring is a no no...

Keep everyone, hydrated - kids and adults alike... - as well lighter meals and more frequently...

First aid kit- bandaids, mole skin, face and body wipes, neo-to -go, tummy med's and ibuprofen...

Extra masks - mints, Listerine tab's, cough drops - all help with mask mouth...

Good Deodorant and - Body glide or something to help with chaffing...

Pace yourself... know everyone's limitation... watch for dehydration, plan breaks - alternate rides, and shows, so that you can relax and sit down and get some air conditioning...

Mickey ice cream bars are a must...

 

[Heather07438]

Thanks all! These tips are so helpful! We have the military salute tickets so they are automatically hoppers. We are also early risers and will get our must do's done early. I love the shopping list. I've never had to worry about cooling towels before but I'm about to put them in my Amazon cart!

Thanks again!

Best,
Deb

I think you'll have a great time! Early risers, hoppers and SAB pool sound like a great combination. I'd plan many long afternoon breaks- be out of the parks by noon and plan alot of evenings in EP and HS.

 

[nycdisneygal]

We cannot take the heat at all. But we finally decided to do august - and liked it so muc we did it again the next year. Our survival guide
Rope drop - after a few hours mainly indoor stuff/ lunch or back to resort
lots of water. Took bottles with us but did a lot of the free ice water which I think is not available so maybe take more bottles
chillytowels and hand held fans
moisture wicking shirts
went back again in evening.
ice cream
also got gatorade/powerade.

have fun!

 

[DebLovesPooh]

These tips are invaluable. Thank you, all! Especially like the idea of smaller and lighter meals. No table service lunches for us, way too much food for the hot afternoons.

 

[leebee]

We go against the grain in our summer touring. It's pretty hot in general until the sun goes down, and as we like to close the parks, rope drop never works for us. For our August trips, we sleep in, maybe hit the pool, and try to be out of our hotel sometime between 10 and 11:30. FP rides in the "heat of the day" along with shows with a/c. We've found that lines are shorter in the afternoon as so many people go back to their resort to nap/swim. We do a sit-down dinner (a must for us, for the a/c and time off our feet) and go back into the parks at night, for fireworks and late-night riding. Because of the heat, we find we aren't as hungry so we usually eat breakfast in the room, share something quick service (if we need a sit-down and a/c) for lunch, and then each have our own meals for dinner. There are always park snacks to supplement in the afternoon if anyone's hungry!

My best tip is the frozen wash cloth. I bought insulated lunch packs at Dollar Tree (they are only big enough to hold a sandwich or two) along with some washcloths. At night, I soak the washcloths, fold them in quarters, and put them in the freezer. When it's time to leave the hotel, each washcloth goes in it's own ziplock and into the insulated lunch bag, along with a small ice pack (the gel kind you'd put in a lunch box). These stay frozen/cold for awhile, and feel delightful on your face, neck, and arms in the mid-afternoon. We re-wet them in the bathrooms and while they aren't frozen, they are cooling, and sometimes we get a cup of ice from a quick service place and put the cubes in the baggies. We've tried the cooling towels and found them almost useless, and the mister fans are a pain to lug around.

If we are going to lug drinks with us, I keep the empty bottles and at night half-fill them with water and freeze them. In the morning before leaving for a park, fill them with icy cold water. They'll give you cold water for a good part of the day. However, we usually just get ice water cups from the quick service locations. I am not sure if they are still doing this due to covid, so check it out first.

 

[VandVsmama]

We went in early June a couple of years ago for a week. We live in AZ and I'm a delicate desert flower, so I wasn't used to the super duper humidity of Florida. Stuff that I learned on that trip included:

• use Body Glide on everybody's feet and on any other areas which are prone to chafing.
• wear hiking sandals (like Tevas) instead of sneakers. Having my feet open to the air helped a lot with my overall sweatiness/comfort level.
• wearing a wide brimmed hat
• I was envious of the people who had UV umbrellas. So I'm going to buy 2 or 3 for us to use on our trip in June of this year. A friend of mine here in AZ uses one when she has to take her kids to all day swim meets outside when it's 105-110. She swears by these things, says it drops the temp under the umbrella by a good 10 degrees (or at least, it feels that way).
• drink a lot of water. Even when you're not thirsty.
• make my kids wear their hair up in ponytails, even if YDD strongly protests.
• bring 1 folding fan per person. DH thought I was crazy for buying these ahead of time. I got them at Cost Plus Imports for about $3 each. They were great.
• get 1 battery operated fan per person. I bought 2 from Target ahead of time, but honestly, the $20-$25 one that we bought at Epcot worked way better. So yeah, I'm totally going to plunk down $100 on WDW fans this summer. That was the best $25 I spent the entire trip. Should have done it on the first day!
• wear clothing that wicks the sweat away.
• We tried the cooling towels, but only DH really got relief from them. For the kids & I, they felt like a heavy wet blanket that just kept the humidity hovering around you even more. Perhaps if we'd combined this with 1 of the WDW battery operated fans per person, then it would have worked out better.
• AK was oppressively hot by 11:00 am. I'm glad we got out of there by noon and went back again in the evening.
• Dress in loose clothing as much as possible.
• Take a break in the afternoon at your hotel.
• Because of all the sweating, bring extra underwear.
• The free ice water there tastes a lot different than at home. My kids hated it. Next time, I'll bring some sort of flavor stuff to put into their water instead. I found it tolerable if it was really really cold water, like, with lots of ice. ODD didn't mind sucking on ice, so sometimes we'd just ask for a few cups of just ice and fill our water bottles with that.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

Great ideas, thank you! I will have to check out those UV umbrellas!

 

[BobbyDukes]

One cool thing about the summer is the late nights. Yes it is daunting to hang out at the park all day and going back to the pool for a mid afternoon swim is great, I would like to offer you the NIGHTTIME swim. The pools generally are open later and the air is cooler and the pool warm. My kids love the pool at night, adult cocktails for mom and dad poolside is a great way to finish your day off.

 

[magicalmom1]

We usually go between December-February, but we did a trip in June 2019. It was HOT.

I agree with everyone suggesting to go early and then take a break midday. This is the hottest time of the day! Go back to the hotel, take a nap, go in the pool, take a shower, just sit and rest. Everyone will feel so much better. Return to the parks in the evening

We each had our own cooling towels, and neck fans. We LOVED having a neck fan vs a handheld one, because it is hands-free and we have two young kids The combined effect of cooling towels and neck fans were perfect for us.

Definitely pack ponchos for those common rainstorms. They usually don't last long, cools things off (temporarily), and empties out the park a little bit.