Most fans associate theme parks with warm, summer temperatures. And for most of the year, warm temperatures persist at the Orlando and Southern California temperatures, where daily high temperatures tend to remain at least in the low 70s even during the winter months, allowing those parks to remain open throughout the year. But cold snaps happen. Heck, I worked at Walt Disney World one day when it snowed.
Cold temperatures, even snowfall, are no strangers at Disney's theme parks in Tokyo and Paris. But theme park fans traveling to Florida don't expect to have to use heavy coats and sweaters when they visit the parks.
What's the coldest daily high temperature you've experienced during a theme park visit? If you spend most of your visits going to regional parks, which are open only during the summer, you might not have spent much time in a cold theme park. Nor if you've been fortunate enough to avoid the occasional cold snaps on visits to the Orlando or Los Angeles areas.
But if you're a regular at the Florida or California theme parks, or you've traveled outside the United States, you might have had quite a few cold days in theme parks. Let's make this our Vote of the Week. For the vote, consider the lowest daily high temperature during one of your park visits. In other words, don't count nighttime lows here. Even on sunny 80-degree days in Anaheim, the temperature often dips as low at the 50s at night. Let's not count that for this vote. We're only looking for what's the lowest "high" you've experienced in a park. And since we're a US-based website, we're talking Fahrenheit here, not the Celsius scale used pretty much everywhere else in the world.
In the comments, please tell us one of your favorite cold-weather theme park stories. And if you're in Orlando today, bundle up and have a great day in the parks!
We spent the next day at IOA with temps around 40F. It was perfect clear sunny skies on only felt cold in the shade.
Unsurprisingly there was no queue for ripsaw falls.
In 2010 I ran the WDW Half Marathon and over the course of the race (on Sat) it snowed, hailed, sleeted and rained on us. From what I heard on the news is was the coldest two days in Orlando ever recorded. Sunday it was sunny but the temp was worse because it was windy. I had on every piece of clothing I packed that day as I watched the Marathon and toured the parks.
Aside from Orlando, I've been at Canada's Wonderland for training in February - COLD! - and as a guest at La Ronde in October (also cold!) and at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in April (cold rain!) At those locations, cold is part of the geography, but in Orlando, sun and warmth is part of the contract you're emotionally making with the airline that takes you there, so it's a big disappointment to unpack the down coats even if you're perfectly comfortable (and still better off than home) with proper apparel.
But hey, Disney gives Cast Members coats as part of their costume, so at least you're not having to buy one for the couple of weeks it actually is needed.
It was very near Christmas (a day before or a couple of days after). On that VERY COLD morning, I was scheduled to work the opening shift.
At the time my room-mate and I were living at the Barcelona East apartment complex on Oak Ridge Road. Right next to the apartment was a building that flashed the time and temperature. I vividly remember watching the numbers flash back and forth.
"6:22 AM. 22 Degrees. 6:22 AM. 22 Degrees."
I arrived at work and picked up my costume from wardrobe. Typical Main Street black and whites (navy blue three-piece suit) and a wool pea-coat. Black gloves
And then I spent the day ... wind swept ... riding in the open air on the back of a train.
(Shiver)
I imagine this is how Mr. Disney feels at this very moment.
One day, it was far colder than normal and the crowds were not prepared for the weather. All day long, we sold sweatpants, sweat shirts and coats in all sizes. We were constantly stocking from the back, and the tables by the doors were switched to hold all the warm clothing. That day, this one store in one of the smallest parks, sold over $100,000 in merchandise. I know the Disney theme parks are money making machines, but hearing of total so high, was just amazing.
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