After roasting in the Florida heat this month, I think it's time to make a suggestion.
No one goes on vacation to be miserable. Misery is what so many of us endure while making money. It's not something we want to end up with after spending it - especially the amount of money that you have to drop these days on an Orlando theme park or Florida cruise vacation.
But misery is what too many of us now endure when visiting or traveling through Florida for summer vacation. Years ago, afternoon thunderstorms would reset the air every day in the summer, providing relief following steamy early afternoons. Time it right to be inside during the deluge, and you could enjoy a nice evening in pleasant conditions without getting drenched.
However, climate change has disrupted those weather patterns, and too many days no longer see that relief. The result is misery for people visiting or working outside in Florida. Traditional advice about staying hydrated and wearing sunscreen is no longer enough. I guzzled enough water to need frequent bathroom breaks and slathered enough sunscreen that my ginger skin never turned even the slightest shade of pink. But I still ended up suffering the early stages of heat exhaustion while in Florida and The Bahamas.
Staying inside for the duration of your visit means that you will end up missing much of what brought you to these destinations. So how can you protect yourself when spending the day outside at Walt Disney World... or walking to and from Disney's new Lookout Cay on that half-mile unshaded pier to Lighthouse Point?
Here, then, is my suggestion. Get yourself a UV 50+ rated sun umbrella.
The specific brand does not matter. Just make sure that it is completely opaque - ideally lined in black - and rated to provide at least 50+ UV protection. This umbrella will become your shield to protect you from the sun, providing shade wherever you walk, while also allowing your body to shed heat. Hats just trap that heat, without providing the scale of protection that a proper sun umbrella can.
Yes, you should be mindful of crowds. Don't bring massive golf umbrellas into crowded spaces such as theme parks. Get yourself a collapsable, personal-sized umbrella and use it only when needed. Even then, take care not to whack the people around you. But get one, because water, sunscreen and a hat are no longer enough to protect people who are not acclimated to what Florida has become in the summer.
That said, still do what you can to maximize the time you spend inside or at least under cover while visiting. Theme parks and other outdoor attractions can help by creating more indoor and shaded spaces for their new and refurbished attractions, while also installing more fans to help push air to cool guests before they overheat.
Do not give me any excuses about big, powerful fans being "bad show." Yeah, I know that they can conflict with an immersive design, but last I checked "safety" came before "show" in Disney's Five Keys. Visitors should consider bringing handheld or neck-mounted personal electric fans along with their UV umbrellas, too.
I know that a lot of theme park fans have given up on summer vacations to Florida. That's why the winter and spring break seasons have become so much more popular at Walt Disney World in recent years. The early summer weather is much cooler at Disneyland in California, too - though the heat will arrive in Anaheim eventually, making fans and UV umbrellas a smart move there, as well.
I just want theme park fans to enjoy their vacations. Not everyone has the means to visit a place like Disney when the weather is ideal. So allow me to suggest a couple of accessories that I believe can help make your trip more comfortable, and less miserable. Shop for those UV umbrellas and personal fans before your next vacation.
* * *
To keep up to date with more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
And to help support Theme Park Insider while saving money on discounted theme park tickets, please visit our international and U.S. attraction ticket partners.
If you want to know how much Disney cares about its employees try working the Tomorrowland Speedway when its 120 degrees on the pavement while wearing a mask AND a plastic face shield. And then when you pass out from heat stroke and get carted to the hospital Disney says "we followed the law by providing water and breaks so therefore we are not responsible/not paying for the hospital visit."
And if you want to know how much Disney cares about its customers safety, when it rains and the employees operating the rides can't see anything because their face shields are getting rained on so they are working blind, and then after its done raining and gets steamy they still can't see anything because their face shields are all foggy, but hey its "safer" because the face shield makes it so you don't get covid.
As a local, I have been heading out to Universal and Islands of Adventure much later in the day (like 4 pm) to avoid these staggeringly hot conditions. I recently saw a poster on some forum mention that he observed 15 instances where he saw paramedics attending to heat stroke victims at EPCOT in a single day. This stuff is getting brutal, people! Have a game plan that involves taking a break for shows and dining in covered and air-conditioned places.
I never have and never will go to WDW from June-September. Simply too hot. Have family that lives near/on the beach. That is fine. Disneyland is another matter. I can take dry heat all day long. No problem with Disneyland. WDW in early November's or February (depending on dates) is great for temperature and crowds.
I love New Orleans, and I avoid that place during the same time. The hangovers are bad enough without the extra heat.
Pool?
30 years ago living in Florida could be rough in summer but still not too awful. Now sounds utterly horrific.
My thoughts are yes the pools are great and Florida can be visited in the summer for many other activities, but Disney is just so incredibly expensive now, even doing it on the cheap, that if I can eliminate an aspect of unpleasantness, I will. The heat variable can be adjusted. The crowd variable is getting much more difficult to adjust. Disney does have ways to address the heat, unlike the sheer torture of a Six Flags park in the middle of summer.
I'm at parks in August and September for HHN. UP from early admission to close, drinking beer all day long and never have an issue.
Climate changes daily, deal with it!
I'm at parks in August and September for HHN. UP from early admission to close, drinking beer all day long and never have an issue.
Climate changes daily, deal with it!
The parks wouldn't be so bad if ALL of the queues were covered and had A/C. As an Orlando resident who is used to the warm weather, the lower crowds have allowed me to do something I haven't been able to do in a long time, enjoy the parks.
Well, there is a Great Thread on the Discussion forum abut this..
(Seems like someone is stealing ideas here) hahahaahah Just Kidding..
First it was selfie sticks and we will have to dodge umbrellas...
First rule …. Do not wear black !! Staggering the number of people I see in jeans and black tops. And they wonder why they’re hot … LOL.
I would never advise anybody to use an umbrella. Too unwieldy, and a menace in crowded parks. There’s plenty of them though, but rarely the SPF type.
I don’t care about the heat. The hotter the better …. mad dogs and Englishmen etc etc … yep that’s me :). Of late the parks have been great from mid July to mid September. I remember one day last year, I got back to my car at DHS, and the temp read 136, phew. And that’s with a reflective screen up.
My go to summer gear is a Columbia SPF 50 hat, preferably with the neck protector. But if not SPF 50 moisture proof sunscreen applied liberally and often, mainly on my neck. If it’s a steamer of a day, I have 2 white long sleeve moisture wicking, SPF 50, tops, that I can choose from. Other than that the short sleeve version works great for topping up the tan. I never ever wear cotton … nope. Shorts, of course, and low cut socks and sneakers. My dermatologist is thrilled every time I go in for my check up, and my feet are as white as snow .. :)
I’ve lived in Florida 22 years now, and I can say with 100% certainty, that the last 2 years have been the absolute worst for the heat. My oft used word is, brutal …. and it truly is, but it never stops me from going to the parks.
I always use Columbia gear, because it’s been tried and tested with my offshore fishing adventures from a few years back. Sure, it’s not cheap, but better than getting melanoma.
I think it's all about acclimatization, and knowing your body's limits. I don't know about others, but I tend to be more impacted by the heat during the first few weeks of summer than I do in mid-July and August. I also think it's tempting on vacation to set your hotel AC as low as it will go, but that will make it feel even hotter when you get outside - the same goes for spending too much time in air conditioned spaces inside parks. It's probably better to find some shade in an outside space than trying to take refuge in an air conditioned space unless you're really feeling the heat. Also, as is often recommended by WDW experts, if you're staying at an on-site resort, it might be worth planning some time in the middle of the day to go back to your hotel and maybe enjoy the pool for a few hours and have a light lunch.
I also think people tend to front-load their itineraries to the point where they try to pack too much into the first few days of their week-long vacation, which can lead to issues as your body is trying to acclimate to the heat, particularly for guests coming from northern climates. If you have not experienced repetitive 90-degree days before your summer trip to Florida, plan some extra time during the first few days of your vacation for breaks and rest.
I'm with Makorider on umbrellas - they're a menace in heavy crowds typically seen in most theme parks these days. If you need shade, try to find some within the park (and let this be a plea to theme parks to increase the amount of shade in their parks), and absolutely DO NOT get into a queue that is into an uncovered/overflow area lacking shade.
However, I think the biggest culprit of them all is the cost of a vacation to Florida. The amount of money people are paying for these trips is getting out of control, and guests are trying to get as much value as they can out of these trips, and unfortunately they are not considering the impact of weather on their planning. When you're spending hundreds of dollars a day for your family to visit a theme park, you want to see and experience as much as you can for that money, and too many people forget that going pedal to the metal in 90+ degree 60+% humidity just isn't possible for the average person. Guests need to consider that in their calculus when determining the true value of a Central Florida vacation.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Well said sir. I will also reiterate what you said about safety coming before "immersion." I hope theme park designers get that concept well because there is far too much unshaded and outdoor spaces being built for queues and attractions that are not visitor friendly.
Hopefully Universal Creative is keeping all this in mind for Epic Universe. Kudos to Disney for Cosmic Rewind and Ratatouille having relatively cool queues. But that was after the Slinky Dog Dash mess up.
I took a Caribbean cruise two summers ago (lovely but never again, because of the heat) and man that pier photo thing seems so inconsiderate! C'mon Disney, be better!!!