‘Endless lines stretch for miles, while children throw tantrums in every direction, throwing dole whips on innocent bystanders. Mickey Mouse, overcome by heat exhaustion, and humidity, drop kicks the photopass attendant that asks him to take one more photo with a guest, and runs off. There’s no more dining reservations available for anywhere, so everyone is forced to eat popcorn and fries for all five days of their vacation.’ – This might be what you’ve heard summer at Walt Disney World is like. You’ve been misinformed. STOP SPREADING THE INSANITY PEOPLE. IT’S NOT THAT BAD. Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about your summer trip to Walt Disney World. We will start by saying, you have nothing to fear. Summer is just as viable, and good a time to visit the parks, as any other. In this blog post, we’re going to attempt to address and combat many of the common misconceptions, fears, and myths we’ve seen on the internet about visiting during the summer months. Rest assured, you can visit the parks June – August and still have a great time, with magical memories that will last a lifetime.
The Heat:
Let’s just get this one out of the way. Yes, it’s going to be hot. It’s Florida. There are practical ways to combat this. For example, we see people wearing jeans to the parks. This is not practical Florida-summer park-ware. A big way to beat the heat is dressing practically for it. Wear loose fitting, cool clothing, and comfortable shoes – it makes a big difference. During the summer months, we always recommend touring the parks in the morning, and the evening. During the heat of the day (1-4 pm), go back to the hotel, and use the pool, or take a nap. It will make a huge difference, we promise. The mornings and evenings will be much cooler. Make sure you carry water (we always take a water bottle with us, and refill it during the day), and stay hydrated. The other good news is that most of the attractions at Walt Disney World are air-conditioned, and you’ll be spending a lot of time inside. Wear plenty of sunscreen, and you really will be fine.
The Crowds:
This is a more crowded time of year, yes, but if you know how to combat it, it’s not unbearable. Utilize Disney’s FastPass+ system to the best of your advantage, by making your selections early, for rides that will have lines that build. Make sure you get to the parks at least twenty minutes before they open, and ride attractions early in the day, before lines build to their full capacity later in the day. Once again, sit out the heat of the day, when crowds are at their worst. If you simply can’t go back to your hotel, tour unpopular (but still great) attractions during this time, that are inside, in the air conditioning. We recommend The Country Bears, The Hall of Presidents, The American Adventure, Impressions De France, Oh Canada!, or The People Mover.
For more crowd-beating tips, take a look at our Top Strategies for WDW Crowds!
Water Parks:
Summer is a great time to beat the heat with a day (or a half day) at a water park. Our favorite is Typhoon Lagoon, and it’s a great way to keep cool. Usually, in our opinion, there’s not enough to do at a Water Park to stay there all day. We’ve personally found that lines don’t build the same way at Water Parks that they do at Theme Parks, so on our last trip, we went to Epcot for rope drop, rode Frozen and Soarin, and then spent the heat of the day at Typhoon Lagoon (which if you have a Ticket with Water Parks built in, is a good plan). We spent about four hours at Typhoon Lagoon, saw everything we wanted to, and then headed back to Epcot for the evening.
Check out our Guide to Typhoon Lagoon for more tips and pictures.
Special Events:
Disney usually runs some kind of special event in the summer. Last summer it was ‘Frozen Summer Fun’ at Hollywood Studios, this summer it’s ‘Awaken Summer’, to celebrate all the new offerings they have at the different parks. The Fourth of July always sees special fireworks shows (which are INCREDIBLE), and minor decorations.
The Hotels:
We always recommend staying on property during the summer. We think that having added convenience when it’s more crowded and hot will make your trip more enjoyable (as well as having access to a nice pool). It’s a personal recommendation, and we know it doesn’t always make the most financial sense for every family, but if you can make it work, we think it will make your summer trip better.
Click here to take a look at other WDW Hotels.
We go to Disney every summer, and it’s one of our favorite trips we take. We’ve never had a miserable summer experience, and we will keep going back during the summers to come. We think if you plan the trip well, and follow a few simple tips and tricks, you’ll enjoy your time in the summer months too!