Here’s how FashionEarstas stay cool and chic in the parks, at Disney resorts, and at home this July.
July can be brutal, especially for FashionEarstas trying to enjoy their summer vacations! That summer sun can be relentless, and whether you’re trying to beat the heat at the Happiest Place on Earth or just your own backyard, you have to be careful to avoid heatstroke, sunburn, and temper tantrums from overheated kids (and adults).
Fortunately, we’ve made all the Disney-in-summertime mistakes so you don’t have to! Here’s how FashionEarstas stay cool (and chic) at the Disney Parks, Resort Hotels, and at home.
Beat the Heat at the Disney Parks
July is one of the hottest months in central Florida, but that doesn’t mean that you have to avoid planning a summer vacation to Walt Disney World! You do, however, need to have a plan – otherwise you and your family may very well end up sweaty, cranky and overstimulated by 11:00am!
Fortunately, the Fancy Floridian is a Florida local; here are her top tips to beat the heat during a Disney summer:
Don’t plan to spend the entire day at the parks!
I know you want to get every second’s worth of your ticket price when you’re visiting Disney. But believe me: it is not worth being miserable all day! The hours from around 11:30am until 4:00pm in Orlando are usually either one of two things: brutally hot or full of thunder storms. Do yourself a favor and don’t subject yourself to that!
I have two strategies: if I’m staying at a resort I’ll head back to my room around lunch to change out of my sweaty clothes, take a shower or hit the pool, and maybe even take a nap! Disney usually offers discounts on resort rooms in the dead of summer, so I often stay on-site just for the convenience of being able to cool down during the day! Then I head back to the parks after 4:00pm. The crowds are much lighter, the weather is cooler, and you get to see the beauty of Cinderella’s Castle and Main Street, USA at sunset!
If I’m only driving in for the day, I won’t even bother arriving until after 4! Especially now that Happily Ever After and other nighttime spectaculars have returned, I’m so much happier if I can be there to see those instead of trying to tough out an entire day in the heat and getting too dehydrated and cranky to stick around for the best part of a Disney day!
Plan Your Snacks Wisely!
It’s really hard to say “no” at Disney World, especially when the snacks are just so cute! But in July, resist the temptation to start snacking early in the day or having dessert with your meal! Disney’s frozen snacks, like Mickey bars, ice cream sandwiches, and Dole Whip floats can be the perfect weapon against the Florida heat (and heat-induced crankiness).
My advice: avoid quick-service restaurants that don’t have indoor seating in the summer (my apologies to the Friar’s Nook, Sleepy Hollow, the Lunching Pad, and all of the booths at Epcot). Instead do a table service lunch or quick-service at a restaurant like the Pinocchio Village Haus with air conditioned seating. Then, later in the day when everyone’s feeling the heat, treat yourself to a frozen snack to help cool down. Your body temperature will like you and the kids (or teens… or adults) in your party will think you’re cool!
Dress for Success
All the strategy, hand fans and cooling towels on the planet can’t help you if you started off your day wearing polyester! July is a great month to show off your 4th-of-July or resort-inspired fashion, but there’s no use dressing up if you’re going to be sweaty and sweltering all day.
Keep in mind that you’ll probably want to cool down on one of the parks’ water rides, like Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids. That means you’ll want to make sure to wear anything but cotton! Remember: getting splashed + Florida humidity = soggy shirts.
I wrote a post about dressing for a Disney Summer last year, and it has all sorts of tricks for staying cool *without* resorting to dry-fit shirts or sporting sweat stains on your cotton tee. Check it out:
And if you’re looking to celebrate the 4th of July in style, check out Junk Food Clothing: Shop Red, White, and Blue for unique Disney Americana fashion!
There you have it: the Fancy Floridian’s top three tips to beat the heat at the Disney Parks. If you follow my advice, you’ll be (relatively) well-rested, well-dressed, and well-fed at the end of your day! Did I miss anything? Let me know!
Beat the Heat at Disney Resorts
If you’re “staying in the magic” of your favorite Disney Resort during the summer, make sure to take advantage of all the ways that your home away from home can help you stay cool and relaxed during the hot summer months!
We definitely understand if a nap is your favorite way to cool off from a day at Disney; we’ve done that many a time! But if you like to stay on the move during your vacations, here are FashionEarsta’s favorite ways to beat the afternoon heat at your Disney Resort Hotel.
Splish Splash!
First up – get in the water! Whether you spend all day at the pool or just an hour or two, this is a great way to cool off. All Disney Resorts have incredible pools that give you the opportunity to swim, splash down a waterslide, or just chill. Many guests will choose their hotel based on the pool so they can dip their toes in their favorite swimming hole, and kids love the themed water slides!
Did you know that cast members sprinkle pixie dust at the pools? Throughout the day, they lead several kid-friendly activities poolside, including trivia, water balloon toss competitions, and even screening movies under the stars!
If you love water parks, you can also choose to purchase a ticket for Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park or Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park (not currently open). Hit the waterslides, rapids, and wave pools before you relax on a lazy river ride! Just remember, that these water parks offer all-day fun and you’ll want to make sure to spend some time out of the heat. Hop back to your resort for a nap or rent a beachcomber shack or polar patio to enjoy shade and ice water all day.
Bon Appetit!
Another way to beat the heat is to change up your eating schedule and hit the air conditioning in the afternoon for a great meal. A late lunch or early dinner lets you make the most of your Park day but gives you a chance to get out of the Florida heat during peak hours. Plus, Disney transportation back to your resort is not usually busy at these off-times. Once you have rested and refueled, head back to the Parks for some evening fun.
There are so many different types of dining experiences available at the resorts. You can choose quick service meals to grab a piece of pizza, burger or sandwich. Or pick poolside dining if you are having too much fun to leave the pool area. Plan ahead and you can make a reservation for a table service dining experience that matches the theme of a resort, like the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. (Best of all, you don’t have to stay at a particular resort to dine there!)
If you are looking for more magic, select resorts such as the Riviera, Grand Californian, and Contemporary Resorts offer character dining. We love to mix in a few character meals since it is such a unique experience. Where else can you eat with Mickey and Minnie and enjoy some incredible food?
Shop ’til you drop
Don’t waste precious park time shopping when you can do it back at the (air conditioned) resort. Whether you are shopping for essentials or souvenirs, you can beat the heat and shop during those scorching hours of the day.
You’ll find your favorite clothing, home items, jewelry, stuffed animals and more in these shops. You can even find resort-specific merchandise that you can’t get anywhere else.
Of course we always keep our ears to the ground for ear news, and the resort stores offer a great selection of ears (and sometimes you can find ears there that have sold out at the parks)! If you have a favorite shop, let us know in the comments!
| You May Also Enjoy |
| Disney Birthday Parties for Grown-Ups! |
| Snacks with a Side of Fashion |
| Surf’s Up! Lilo & Stitch Ear Review |
| Disney T-Shirts – The Quest For The Best! |
Game on!
If you are looking for indoor fun, load up your game card and hit the arcades at most Disney resorts. This is a fun way to beat the heat but, we definitely suggest setting a time or money limit on the game cards so the kids (or adults!) don’t overspend.
Select Disney Vacation Club resorts also feature a community hall where activities include crafts, games and tv/movie areas. Activities vary by resort, but we’ve really enjoyed these common areas during past trips, especially during the afternoons when they aren’t as crowded.
Even when it’s hot outside, make the most of the most magical place on Earth by utilizing your resort as an oasis from the summer heat!
Beat the Heat at Home.
Not quite ready to plan a magical adventure away from home just yet? We’ve got the very best tips for keeping yourself cool and refreshed while having wet-and-wild fun in your own backyard!
Scoop up some tasty treats
Why not host a backyard “Design Your Own Cone” party? You can recreate Disney’s Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, complete with fun cookies, candy, sprinkles, fruit, and maybe even the infamous Kitchen Sink (8 scoops of ice cream smothered in every topping you have)! Keep your ice cream frozen for longer by packing it in tubs of ice or wrap ice packs around it. Chances are, with your hungry crowd that ice cream isn’t going to stick around for long anyway!
If that all seems way too complex for you, hit the freezer section at the grocery store for some Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches, some Strawberry Shortcakes and your other favorites from the ice cream truck. You can even play the new ice cream truck song from Good Humor and see who comes running!
Chilly treats for the kids-at-heart
You know FashionEarstas love a good kid-friendly snack, but we also are huge fans of chilly treats and beverages for the grownups! Start your summer fun with a make-at-home Dole Whip recipe. EarstaDiva shares both a boozy and a non-alcoholic version of the recipe in her Pineapples to Parties post, so pull out those blenders and whip up some fun!
Oga’s Cool Concoctions
If you haven’t made your way to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to visit Oga’s Cantina just yet (or if you have been before and simply can’t wait to get back), you’re probably pining for their fabulous cocktails. Why not mix up some unique summery drinks inspired by Oga’s, perfect to help you beat the heat at home?
Bespin Fizz Bloody Rancor
So, before we get into mixing, shaking, stirring, and blending, open up Spotify and click here to get the amazing R3X playlist from Galaxy’s Edge Oga’s Cantina.
Now that we’ve got our galactic groove going, let’s get back to beating that heat….
To help keep your Jedi family and friends cool and refreshed, try one of these copycat recipes we found from Geeks Who Eat and Diznify. Be sure to click through to their websites – there are plenty more recipes where these came from!
The Yub Nub: A Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Copycat Recipe (Geeks Who Eat)
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 oz Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum
1 oz Reàl Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple Rum (they use Malibu in the park)
A few dashes of Angostura Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a tiki mug filled with fresh crushed ice. Serve.
To make this a virgin mocktail for your Bright Suns, combine pineapple juice, lime juice, and passion fruit syrup with club soda and serve shaken over crushed ice.
This next drink is not necessarily going to keep you hydrated, but it will keep you cool. So grab a glass of water before you dive into creating the infamous glowing Jedi Mind Trick!
Jedi Mind Trick (Diznify)
INGREDIENTS
1.5 oz. Ketel One Botanicals Grapefruit and Rose Vodka
1 oz. Welches white grape juice many white grape juices taste bad! We recommend Welches!
1 oz. John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
1 teaspoon Bols Blue Curacao
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 dash Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters
Combine all ingredients and shake or stir. Serve on ice.
Notes: We recommend click through to the original recipe and reading the instructions about using specific brands of ingredients and how it changes the taste. These guys know their stuff!
Slip, slide, and spray!
Water games should definitely be on your summer stay-cool list! Not only is it super cheap to play with water, but it provides hours of possibilities, from splashing in your kiddie pool to surprising your kids with a little sneak attack with the garden hose!
Put on this kid-friendly party playlist and host a “water day” as fun as you’ll find at any Disney Resort Pool!
Cup to Cup Game
Our family’s favorite, also known as “pass the water.” You can find the rules for this messily delightful game here!)
Slip and Slide
You can find ready-made slip and slides, or make your own with a tarp or garbage bags!
Sponge Toss Relay Race
A cheap pack of car wash sponges can go a long way when you challenge the kids to see who can keep the most water in their sponge at the end of a race or obstacle course. Maybe you can even convince them that the follow-up game, “wash the car,” is just as fun!
Run through the Sprinkler
You can’t go wrong with this classic!
Water Balloon Fight
Did you know they make self-sealing water balloons now? Finally, the kids have fun filling and throwing water balloons! Just make sure you clean up afterwards so no animals are harmed!
Water Gun Fight
We don’t love guns, but who can resist a super soaker? You can even get one modeled after Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster!
Kiddie Pool Fishing
Challenge everyone to use their toes to fish for floating objects in a in a kiddie pool – it’s harder than you’d think!
Happy July!
So that’s our July advice for staying cool at the Disney Parks, at Disney Resorts, and in your own backyard! Let us know what you think here, on Instagram and Facebook (@fashionearsta) and our brand new YouTube channel! Be sure to follow us so that you’re always in the loop and can follow along with our adventures!
Pixie dust and glamour!
The Fancy Floridian, Belle of the Ball, and EarGoddess
[…] How to Beat the Heat at Disney & at Home […]