G6Adventures
We just returned from an incredible trip to Fort Wilderness and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In June. It was hot. Super incredibly hot. But we managed to survive our summer trip and want to help you do the same!
In full disclosure, we are full-fledged, card-carrying Disney heads. We took our oldest when she was barely a toddler and our second was a baby and were immediately hooked. As much as we love traveling the country and seeing all it has to offer, we consistently get pulled back in to the House of Mouse!
Out of all our trips to Disney World, our favorites typically involve those in the “off-season” (if that’s even really a thing anymore). But, that has become more difficult to pull off due to the kids’ school calendars, sports, jobs and all of that. So, this year, we decided to take the plunge and do something we haven’t done in over 10 years…visit Disney World in the summer! We usually try to avoid the higher crowd levels and the hot and humid Florida summer. That’s why we usually travel north in the summer months!
Nonetheless, we found ourselves booking a 12-day trip in June to Disney. On top of that, we decided to purchase 7-day park tickets. Florida heat is one thing when you are floating in one of the refreshing pools in Fort Wilderness. It’s quite another when you’re navigating the concrete parks through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. But, I am happy to report that not only did we survive the Florida heat at Disney, but we actually managed it quite well! Here is what we used to keep our cool in that sweltering and nearly suffocating humidity of Orlando:
Cooling Towels
What we have learned the most, in our quest to survive the sauna that is a Florida summer, is that water is the key. Out of everything on this list, we, by far, used these the most. They are light and pack easily into your park bag. To wet them, we used water fountains, bathroom sinks, and even free cups of water from various Disney eateries throughout the park. These truly helped with the heat tremendously.
You can order the same towels we have here. They’re very reasonably priced and can seriously help to keep you cool in the extreme heat. If you only purchased one thing off this list, I would recommend it be these towels!
Misting Fans
The kids used misting fans basically all day, every day. Because Disney does a great job of having water fountains and bathrooms located throughout the parks, it was easy to keep the fans full of water. The combination of the water and and fan did an incredible job of helping to keep the kids cool. One word of caution would be to make sure kids with longer hair keep their hair away from the fan blades while it’s on. We encountered a few occasions where our youngest got her hair tangled around the fan, and it took a bit of work to pull it out.
We used this fan, but there are many other options. This particular one looks to have greater versatility. Plus, the fan blades are covered, so perhaps it would minimize the hair issue.
Brita Water Bottles
Staying hydrated at Disney is super important any time of the year, but even more so when you want to survive summer where it feels hotter than Satan’s armpit. To Disney’s credit, they offer free cups of water, upon request, at many of their food locations. However, if you’re familiar at all with Florida tap water, the taste and even smell can be a tad off putting if you’re not used to it. But have no fear, Brita came to the rescue.
These water bottles with built-in filters paved the way for drinking tons of water without the Florida-water-sulfur-taste. We constantly asked for free cups of water and filled our Brita water bottles. This helped immensely to stay hydrated and relatively cool. You can order these bottles in either 26 or 36 oz sizes. There are also both plastic and stainless steel metal options. We chose the plastic option to keep them lightweight for easier carrying. We love our bottles and definitely feel they helped us survive our summer visit to Disney.
Neck Fans
Okay, so moment of truth. These helped. They truly did help cool off. And we saw tons of people wearing different versions and variations of these. We did use them here and there. But, honestly, we felt the cooling towels and misting fans worked better for us. Compared to the towels, these weighed more and took up a lot more space in our park bag. Even wearing them, the towels just felt more comfortable.
To be fair, we had a stroller, so we could easily throw items we weren’t currently using in the bottom of it. And perhaps there are just better versions of neck fans. Because, seriously, nearly every single person in the park seemed to wear one. But, we truly felt the towels, misting fans, and water bottles helped us survive the sweltering summer heat more than the neck fans.
This is the neck fan we have. We bought ours several years ago. There are now bladeless options, such as these, which is what most people seemed to have throughout the parks. Don’t get me wrong, these helped. They just didn’t help quite as much as some of the other gadgets we had.
Backpack Cooler
This one was an absolute lifesaver. The night before a park day, we froze bottles of water and Gatorade. In the morning, we filled our backpack cooler with snacks and sandwiches using the frozen bottles as ice packs. That is just one of the many great things about Disney World. You can take your own food into the parks along with unopened, nonalcoholic, non-glass drinks.
This served as a huge cost saver for food plus a great way to beat the summer heat. As the day went on, we would take out drinks to let them thaw a bit. You essentially always had an ice cold drink on hand. Refreshing and a huge budget help, because it saved you from spending $5+ every time someone wanted a cold drink.
This is the cooler we have, and we love it. It is pretty light weight (until you load it up with frozen bottles of water that is) plus it had plenty of room to pack for six of us. Admittedly, we had a double stroller in the parks, which helped with lugging around the cooler. Typically, the only time someone actually carried it was to get through security. It would likely be a bit more uncomfortable if you had to carry it all day. But if you already have a stroller and can just toss it in, we highly recommend it.
It is possible to visit Disney World during the summer and still survive! And not only survive but actually enjoy your trip. A couple non-gadget tips to make your trip even more enjoyable is to get an early start. If you can get into the parks when they open (and even early entry if you’re staying on site), you can pack in a lot of rides before people really start piling in by 10 a.m.
Also, if you’re able, take a break and go back to your resort. We found that the hours from 1 to 6 were the worst in terms of the heat in the parks. If you can take a couple hours, go back to your resort, take a dip in the pool, and then go back to the park, it really makes the heat much more tolerable.
Finally, similar to being there when the parks open, lines really start to die down later in the day. So, if you can tough it out to close the parks, you will likely be able to ride quite a few rides in the last couple hours the parks are open.
While we opened and closed parks on several days, we also took our own advice a few days, leaving for a few hours before coming back toward the end of the day. Honestly, the kids (and even the adults) managed the heat MUCH better on the days we left and came back. And we still felt like we were able to do pretty much everything we wanted to do on those days.
Between these gadgets and these tips, you really can beat the summer heat and survive the Disney World parks for a memorable family vacation! Comment below with any gadgets or tips you have for managing sweltering summer trips! For more G6 adventures, follow us here. Or to find more of our trip essentials, click here.
