The Best Way to Enjoy Disney World during the Summer Heat (Written by a Emergency Physician Mom)
Updated: Mar 29, 2023
The best way to enjoy Disney World in the Florida summer heat is to take breaks in the mid-afternoon.
The magic of Disney is real, but so are the meltdowns and heat exhaustion brought on by Florida's grueling summer heat. Living in Florida and visiting Disney World during summer vacation, we have developed many tips and tricks to share. We want your next summer trip to be a memory you all enjoy for a very long time.
Contents How to Pre-Plan for Disney
1. Pre-Plan
Set realistic expectations. Disney has excellent experiences for all ages. Each park is tailored to have different adventures depending on what you are most interested in experiencing. Each park also has something to offer all ages, from food and beverage choices to characters and thrill rides. Of course, you will not be able to experience every park's adventure, so do not overreach and try and absorb every possible option.
Form a plan by starting your day off knowing what your Must Dos are. These would be a max of six ride or park experiences you will stay in. Next is your Want to Do's (if you can); these are experiences of opportunity. Finally, watch the Disney App for rides and encounters near your location with unusually low wait times. Sometimes unplanned, unexpected happenings make a good trip a great trip.
Research is an essential part of any good pre-planning session. Using online search engines will connect you to many helpful articles and blogs by professional travelers. I have found a great quick reference book on Amazon that combines the information I need to gather online for a day or two. I can quickly plan my Must Do's and Want to Dos each year using this guide. If you are interested in purchasing a quick reference guide, check out the 2023 edition here.
2. Use the App
The Disney App has real-time data on ride wait times and is a MUST-have. Searching experiences and seeing the list of ride wait times can help you make critical decisions in your day and help you tailor your list or pick up an experience of opportunity.
For example, Haunted Mansion has a 20-minute wait listed on the App, as does Buzz Light Year. For the sake of our example, you are currently standing at the Carousel behind the castle. If Mansion and Buzz are the last two attractions you want to do, go to Haunted Mansion first. A 20-minute wait for the Mansion is rare than a 20-minute wait for Buzz. In our example, you are also closer to the Haunted Mansion. The low wait time will be short, so arriving quickly is essential. If you wanted to experience a pretzel from Tomorrow Land or ride Space Mountain before you leave, then the Buzz ride would be the better choice in this example because those three attractions are grouped in Tomorrow Land. Choosing attractions grouped together eliminates extra walking and backtracking in the heat.
Minimizing movement and being intentional with energy use is crucial to staying hydrated and keeping our bodies cool. I am including an Amazon link to cooling towels and hydration bladders. We use both to keep our bodies hydrated and cooled.
Download: My Disney Experience - Apps on Google Play and My Disney Experience on the App Store (apple.com)
3. Flexible Plans and Cooling
Be flexible. In years past, we have arrived with set itineraries and plans. Now that fast passes are gone, we can have more fun by being flexible and grabbing opportunities as they materialize. Going by current wait times and how we feel in the heat is the best plan for us. We try to be out of the parks in the summer around 11 am. In the summer, even in the morning, heat stress is a real problem. To reduce heat stress, cooling cloths/ towels, water Spritzers, and misting fans can cool you down quickly and make you feel much more comfortable. Part of our flex plan involves splitting the day in the summer to avoid being in a park for the hottest part of the day.
4. Magic Hour
My biggest recommendation for your summer plan is to stay on Disney property. We have visited Disney countless times in the last three years as annual pass holders and have stayed both on the property and off. One thing is clear; Magic Hour is KEY to dealing with the summer heat.
Magic hour lets you enter the park and start riding rides 30-60 minutes before everyone else arrives with reservations that day. In contrast, most park-goers will plan on coming and spending all day. I have repeatedly found that using the magic hour, we can get into Magic Kingdom and get most of our (Top 6 ) favorite rides done by 11 or 12 am and then leave. These top rides include (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain!) We even did all 6 of these July 4th weekend!
The 60-minute head start of the magic hour keeps your group one or two attractions ahead of the general admission visitors. After finishing our must-do rides, we return to the hotel and enjoy the pool for the afternoon. Finally, we have dinner at the resort hotel or off-property, rest, and return for the fireworks and another ride after the show!
Remember that each Disney Resort has something different to offer. There are so many that we have not stayed at them all... Yet!
Some resorts are extremely close to the parks, and you pay for the convenience of walking or taking a boat right to the gates. The properties have a theme; if your kids love Disney like mine, they will love the ambiance. Some hotels even have little extras. The beignets at French Quarter will get me to go back there again. We also love the Polynesian, you can get Dole whips (with coconut rum too!) At the Yacht club, the kids can get sand toys at the beach bar to use and take home. The Art of Animation has been one of our favorite resorts. It is no longer a value resort because it is along the Gondola route. The price is significantly higher. As the Disney infrastructure changes, so do the cost to stay on property. The new value or affordable resort changes based on month-to-month promotions. There is no longer a resort with mid-level quality at a consistently low price like Art of Animation used to offer.
If you want to book a Disney World resort or discover more about each property, check out Trip Advisor's Disney Collection.
5. Mid Afternoon Break
Start making your way out of the parks around 1–2 pm. We transition to a waterpark or back to our hotel in the mid-afternoon. The hottest part of the day in Florida is between 3 and 4 pm when temperatures peak. We try to be in air-conditioning or swimming pools during this period. We then return to the park where we want to spend our evening. We love fireworks, and Disney has some of the best. We usually find that after 5 pm, the humidity and temp start to drop, and you can again enjoy yourself in a safer, more comfortable atmosphere. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to rehydrate, an electrolyte powder is a great choice. We get our Drip Drop brand powder packets from Amazon, and you can check the latest prices here.
We hope you have picked up a few tips and tricks that will make your next visit to the park much more enjoyable. We had a lot of fun last summer following the five steps; 1. Pre-planning 2. Using the app 3. Flexible plans and cooling 4. The magic hour and 5. Mid-afternoon break. Please Share this post with friends planning a Disney trip this summer so they can make the most of their time.
Bonus tip and Most value of all.... Remember to pack your sunscreen and water. Disney is good about letting you bring a backpack into the park. Re-apply sunscreen while waiting in line, and be sure to hydrate!
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