Wet Clothes? Ponchos? Chafing? What to do?

[mamahauldren]

In August we are going on our first trip to WDW. (DD 8 & 9, DH & me) I was wondering about a few things.

1. My first ? is about getting wet in the park. I know the FL sun is very hot and I imagine would dry quickly- however what about socks & shoes? Do you bring extra clothes for everyone in your backbacks? Or do you just bring Undies, socks and shorts and let the T'shirts dry??

2. Also one of my little princesses is prone to heat rashes/chafing on middle upper thighs. Do you think spandex shorts or something simular would help her beat the chafing?
It gets so bad on her sometimes she has a hard time walking for days even with all the attention a mother does to try to help.

3. On the issue of Ponchos, Should I buy the $1 thin clear ponchos at my local Dollar store. Not sure how they would hold up. I imagine I would just buy several of these for each of us, and dispose of them daily since it would be hard to repack them. Or should I invest in a heavier poncho at K-mart for 3.99 that Imagine I would repack?

Thansk

 

[JFS]

I hate wearing ponchos in the FL heat. Its alot like wearing a plastic bag. This visit I think we are going to try folding umbrellas (the type that fold up purse size) and see if these are better. Has anyone else tried this?

 

[DisneyPete]

I would vote against umbrellas as I don't need another thing to carry around and would be afraid of bumping others when it gets crowded. I also find the ponchos have more uses than just keeping me dry: they also make a perfect stroller cover when I duck into a ride and an excellent seat cover when all the benches are wet.

Wear clothing that wicks moisture rather than heavier denim or cotton which will hold the water. My kids love to wear swimwear at the parks, even when it doesn't rain there are plenty of fountains and opportunities to get wet. Try to stay dry just before meals as the AC can be very cold but otherwise that sun will dry you off so quickly you will porbably find yourself seeking a chance to get wet again soon.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I would recommend finding shorts that are made of the lightest material possible (I have some with material that feels like parachute material....they dry in no time. They are cargo style). I would wear swimwear under that to aid in drying.

Basically, denim is a really bad idea. I learned my lesson out last trip where I chafed so badly we spent a few afternoons just sitting in a movie theatre rather than enjoying the parks. I could barely move...it was so disappointing.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by mamahauldren
2. Also one of my little princesses is prone to heat rashes/chafing on middle upper thighs. Do you think spandex shorts or something simular would help her beat the chafing? It gets so bad on her sometimes she has a hard time walking for days even with all the attention a mother does to try to help.

Spandex can work, and can also be put under a skirt or shorts or light slacks, but I also find that more breathable cotton sport pants -- the kind you wear at the gym -- work well too. I usually put on a pair of cotton or cotton/spandex bike shorts and then wear khakis over them. It's a little more annoying when you make a restroom stop, since there's more to remove and then have to stretch back on when you're hot and sweaty , but it really helps a lot in the heat rash department. Also, applying a thin covering of something like Cortaid before putting on the sport pants, and then again under PJs at night, will keep heat rashes from forming.

 

[judykay53]

We were there last week and this is what we did:

1. We did not take extra clothes with us to the parks. Our backpacks were plenty full of bottled water, fans etc. We got lucky in that we were inside eating when a couple of the rain showers hit. The times we did get wet we just let the heat dry us . Nobody in the party complained. The kids even played in the fountains and never changed afterwards. I think it depends on your family..

3. We bought the dollar store ponchos. I would take more than one per person. After we used ours we put them in zip lock bags and when we got back to the cabin we just spread them out and let them dry. I think we threw our away once and used the second set. They worked fine. The umbrella sounds like a good idea. There were a lot of them last Thursday at Epcot when the worst of the storms hit. If the park is very crowded then you would need to be careful and not hit someone with your umbrella.

 

[TN Traveler]

As far as shorts go......my 13 & 8 yr old daughters have several pair of the Soffee shorts that they wore. They're very soft, cotton and when you roll the waist band like all the other teens do, they look pretty good w/a tank top......words from my 13 yr old!
She ended up wearing her flip flops for most of the trips but we wore socks and shoes and just let everything dry b/c of heat. We got just a little wet on Splash mtn but didn't get wet at all at Epct or MGM. Of course rain moved in the last 3 days of our trip and rained every afternoon but it's FL and expected. We borrowed 3 Disney ponchos from a friend of mine that went last summer and bought 2 of the $1 ponchos at KMart. Suprisingly, they were very easy to fold back up after the shower and put back in a Ziploc bag in our back pack. I would not take umbrellas due to poking people as you pass. We also liked the ponchos when we went to Sea World -- of course my kids had to sit in the Soak Zone but my camera stayed dry!!! I wore the Lee Riveter shorts and they dried quickly. Perhaps some powder in a back pack for your daughter? and yes I agree about bathing suits. I saw alot of folks that wore bathing suit tops and shorts or wore their suits w/a big t-shirt and baggy shorts. Epcot has some great ftns for the kids to cool off in.....Animal Kingdom does to and you WILL get wet on the Rapid ride!!! A welcome relief. Good luck to ya!!

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

We got VERY wet, drenched even, on Kali River rapids at AK. I wore shorts and they didn't dry between my legs all day - chafe chafe ouch. When we went on a similar ride at IOA I went in a cotton skirt and vest (tank top as you Americans say) this dried brilliantly, no chafing.

 

[BrianMonk]

A bunch of good suggestions.

One thing on the umbrella - I was in MGM last Thursday and saw a couple trying to use an umbrella. It managed to keep some of their hair dry and their faces. Otherwise the wind simply blew the rain right around the umbrella. Their clothes were soaked.

We used ponchos (and an awning) and this kept us relatively dry with the exception of our shoes and we were all wearing sandels so it didn't matter.

 

[bobcat]

Another vote for the ponchos over an umbrella. They take up no room, are easy to carry, and you can toss them when its over.

Another post, do a member search for jennymouse, talks about bodyglide to use for chafing. I'm going to ge some before my trip.

Clothes will dry out pretty quickly in the heat. Shoes on the other hand can take days to dry so bring at least one extra pair per person. The dryers at the resorts tell you not to put shoes in them. I have used a hair dryer in a pinch.

 

[goofy4tink]

Light cotton shorts dry pretty nicely. We pack a pr. of extra socks for each person. Change our shoes midday. For chafing I would get some longer shorts and use Caldesene powder or Gold Bond baby powder. It works great for me.

As far as ponchos go...we have used the really thin ones and the Micky ones. I really prefer Mickey!! I felt like a sausage in a casing in the thin ones. The Mickey ones fold up pretty easily. One thing that I found worked really well with them was a baseball cap. The visor kept the hood of the poncho right where it should be.

 

[Aroura]

The whole chaffing thing has been making me worry as well... We went to Seaseme place last year, and being a bigger gal with my thighs rubbing together, and getting wet all the time... it was a painful experience... but the lightweight cotton shorts are a great Idea... I had bought a pair of cotton spandex for under my bathingsuit so I wouldn't get chaffed legs at the water parks, but I think I may wear them under my Khakkis and such as well.. Just in case....

 

[jennymouse]

Originally posted by bobcat
Another vote for the ponchos over an umbrella. They take up no room, are easy to carry, and you can toss them when its over.

Another post, do a member search for jennymouse, talks about bodyglide to use for chafing. I'm going to ge some before my trip.

Clothes will dry out pretty quickly in the heat. Shoes on the other hand can take days to dry so bring at least one extra pair per person. The dryers at the resorts tell you not to put shoes in them. I have used a hair dryer in a pinch.

Yes, I got this stuff called Bodyglide that I found at a local running shop. It looks like a stick of deoderant and I only paid $7 for it. I took it with me last week and carried it around in my fanny pack and it worked wonderfully! I would put it on before going to the park and then whenever I felt the need to reapply it I would duck into a bathroom or sneak and put some on while on a dark ride. No chaffing at all this trip. It says on the container that it's for chaffing and blisters. I couple times I remembered to use a little on my feet but I mostly forgot that. I would use this stuff rather than wearing an extra layer of clothing. It's soooo hot down there you don't want extra layers.

Definately bring extra tennis shoes or athletic sandles. While we were on Kali River ride we put our feet up on the bar and they didn't get wet. But it rained a lot on our trip last week and we had to walk through ankle deep water a couple times and our tennis shoes got soaked. We had a dryer in the villa thank goodness as a couple of my guest only brought one pair of shoes, but you can bring an extra pair so you can let one pair dry out if you need to.

The Farmer's Almanac called for lots of rain the week we went and it was right on. I found the little thin ponchos at Dollar Tree that had 2 in a pack for a $1. I bought a bunch of packs of those so we could have a new neatly folded poncho each day to start out. I saw folks with umberellas who were getting soaked as the rain was blowing at an angle. We saw some hellacious rain while there. Kinda like in the Forest Gump movie, sideways rain, rain that came right up from the ground, etc.

Another tip, if you do get chaffed DO NOT PUT MOLESKIN ON IT. Trust me on this one.

 

[HaleyB]

We found the disposable ponchos great, and they dry out really fast so we just reused them most of the trip. We were much better off than the people in the Disney ponchos, the sides of those snap closed and in the pouring rain and wind they didn't keep people very dry. For chaffing we used Gold bond powder and it worked great. We only got really wet feet one time, next time we go in the summer I will wear sport sandels.

 

[jjarman]

Originally posted by JFS
I hate wearing ponchos in the FL heat. Its alot like wearing a plastic bag. This visit I think we are going to try folding umbrellas (the type that fold up purse size) and see if these are better. Has anyone else tried this?

We did this in June 2002 when we forgot our ponchos at the hotel. DS and I picked up one of the Mickey small umbrellas which would have been just right for one but not big enough for 2. I didn't mind the poncho so much when it was a little cooler but they were very hot. I bought the disney ones and they held up great. The umbrella held up good too but you would need one for each person. They cost more than a poncho but they are cooler.