An introduction, a question about summer, and tips!

Walt Disney World
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Hello! I’m a new-ish AP holder, new to the forums, not new to touring plans. I’ve been posting a bit in lines, so I thought I’d say hi over here. Never thought I’d buy an AP, but after 2 years of working at home with a toddler…it seemed like the perfect pandemic coping mechanism! So I bought passes in the brief window they were selling them for my 8yo and myself. (Couldn’t get my husband on board to buy one too, lol).

I’ve got a question about summer weather. I much prefer Disney in winter and I don’t think I’ve been in the summer since I was a kid. Obviously, it’s hot. (And I really don’t like being hot!). But what do you think about a relaxed trip, with early mornings in the park, back to the resort/pool for a good chunk of the day, and then parks again at night? Do you think that would be enjoyable, weather-wise? It’s just easier to travel in the summer…I’m a professor, plus if my 8yo comes, he wont miss school. And I’m tempted with Guardians opening this summer. Curious to hear your thoughts. Nice mornings/evenings? Or just varying degrees of hot 'round the clock?

Here’s what we’ve done/have scheduled for the year!

February-- w/8yo, 2 nights POP, 2 nights dolphin (didn’t really want to do a split, but I booked late)
March-- w/friend, 5 nights Caribbean Beach
Upcoming:
April–w/8yo, 3 nights POP (although would like to move to swan/dolphin if a room opens up)
October–w/husband, 4 nights, swan reserve
November–w/mom, 4 nights, swan reserve or wilderness lodge
December–w/fam (husband, 8yo, 3yo) 3 nights contemporary, 5 nights swan reserve

Would like to fit in a short solo trip and maybe one more with my 8yo if I can deal with the summer heat! It’s a lot of Disney though when I type all that out. Would also love to stay at other resorts, but I’ve got status/points at Marriott and love the location of swan/dolphin. Plus the disney rooms seem to be selling out so far ahead now!

And some quick lessons learned so far:

  • arriving at the SL 15 minutes after opening is terrible timing! Waited 20 minutes at pop, then 20 at caribbean and totally missed RD. I’ve never stayed at a SL resort and should have researched this before going.
  • most penny presses do not take coins anymore! Only cards or dollars. Was stuck carrying around a bunch of change.
  • breakfast before you RD, especially HS. Didn’t eat before heading to HS; starving at 10am; super long lines to get food. Bought some cereal and hardboiled eggs for the remaining days and that was much better. Haha.
  • Had a rough morning trying to RD magic kingdom from Caribbean Beach. Waited a whole hour for a bus to pick us up. Went to a blue umbrella to let them know we were disappointed because the line for mine train was already long by the time we arrived and they gave us LLs to ride it. I hate complaining about anything, but sometimes you should!

Looking forward to chatting and planning with you! Some pics from my Feb trip with my kiddo and March with my BFF. :slight_smile: (Hopefully these aren’t huge when they upload)

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Welcome to this side of TP!
You have the benefit of visiting often, so your
plan to take breaks is a good one. I’ve been in September and October when it was crazy hot. Cooling towels/fans, visiting the gift shops for AC, dining reservations and lots of water were key.

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That’s a good point about October weather, thanks!

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Welcome! I’ve not been on Lines much but I need to change that.
I’m mostly a lurker here but I post more when I have upcoming trips.
I’ve been four times since 2015: 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. All four of those trips? In August. I’m a teacher and my husband is also in education. School breaks are all we’ve got.
Your boy is at a great age, it’s so nice that you can go so often!
So, summer trips. (We are going in early July this year due to many many many scheduling constraints. As the kids get older, this seems to be a recurring theme.) You need to make sure you stay hydrated, and try to break up rides with indoor shows and meals in air conditioning. That’s what works for us. We have never stayed a full day in a park. The kids will be 13 and 11 this year; that means that, during our last trip, they were 10 and 8. They still couldn’t hack a whole day in a park at that age and I’m well aware the heat has a lot to do with it. But the pools are lots of fun anyway! We usually just left from about 1-5 PM for pool/room time and that helped. Plus, that’s usually when the summer rain showers and thunderstorms would happen, so it didn’t mess with our plans much if we had nothing solid planned.

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Oh, and we like those misting fans a lot; the kids like spraying each other and us in the face with them. :rofl:

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Welcome to the forum! I can’t break my chat habit but the forum is”home”.

Are you booking at Swan with the AP rate?

I think I have been in the world most months and I honestly think of June-early October as all of the same heat/weather. I will try to avoid the parks between 12-6 or so (it can avoid the rain too).

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Good tips, thank you! I’m hoping that with such frequent trips, I wont feel so much pressure to be in the parks most of the day! So the plan of being a way for most of the afternoon sounds like a good one.

And OMG, yes, 8yo is so fun! He was such a good RD buddy last month. Totally different than going when he was 3 or 5 (obviously, haha.). Plus no stroller!

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Good to know! I’m in South Carolina and I feel like October is usually starting to cool off here; but it sounds like I need to plan for pretty hot weather at the parks. And yes, I booked the AP rate at swan! A lot easier to grab a discount there than the disney rooms.

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All of this, plus cooling towels, comfortable clothes that won’t chafe, and bring lots and lots of hydration!! We are water people so we couple that with some salty things throughout the day. I’ve seen quite a few people pass out at Disney in august, so be very aware of hydration (check the color of your pee!!)
This past year I also brought an umbrella for waiting in line, to get out of the sun.
Just go with expectations that it will be a very relaxed trip. Make a general plan, but be flexible. My DD8 often just wanted to go back to the hotel to swim most days. Usually in summer, we enjoy and early morning, and lunch at the park (or at a resort close by) then swimming/showers/relaxing in the afternoon, and then either do a qs dinner or dinner reservations. Then a few hours in the park in the evening (we are early risers so we don’t usually close the parks down).

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In Florida, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that will get you. The very high humidity makes the “feel like” temperature or heat index up over 100F. That humidity can be stifling, and will easily wilt you. I don’t know if you’re used to high humidity already. Late summer months and early fall often have quick afternoon showers, so try to plan for outdoor rides in the morning or evenings, and do a lot of the indoor shows in the heat of the day as places to get A/C and stay out of heat and rain. Afternoons are also great for swimming (unless raining) or just resting in your room. Rain may close a few rides, but lightning anywhere within 6 (or 10?) miles will shut down more outdoor things including the Skyliner and pools. The weather wlll usually cool down immediately after the rainshower for a few hours. One advantage of rain closing rides is if you have a LL for them, they turn into anytime LL If you’re eligible to book then, you can pick another closed ride and get another anytime LL (such as Barnstormer or Magic Carpets).

For breakfast, we like to do chewy granola bars in the room or have them along in a backpack for easy snacking. You can also grab treats the evening before to keep overnight in your room for breakfast (muffins) rather than waiting in line in the morning.

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Adding to @PrincipalTinker we have had some really good luck using AP https://disneyspringshotels.com/annual-passholder-rates/

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Nice! Thanks for the link. I wasn’t aware of these discounts.

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I cannot lie. It is very, VERY hot in the summer. I don’t mind being hot, but oh man, between like 10am and 6pm, that heat really zaps you. We’ve done a couple of June trips, and as long as we concentrate on rope dropping, going back to the resort for a nice long midday break at the pool/in the room, and then heading back later in the evenings, it’s bearable.

But the real moral of the story is—you’ve got an AP! Use the crap out of it!!!

Oh yeah this is real important. Drink ALL the water. Then drink some more. (Maybe also get a beer while walking around Epcot. That’s helped keep me cool in the heat :sunglasses:)

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I’ve been in June more than once and mid day breaks, whether a nice long table service lunch or back at your resort are huge. We used cooling towels and those really help, you get them damp with a little water (or honestly your own sweat) and then I wear it around my neck and it feels cool to the touch.

Definitely early morning and after the sun goes down it’s more comfortable.

Drink water, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Lots of it.

That said, the one time I ended up with heat exhaustion was a trip in October!

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Welcome! I’ve been local since 2019. There is already lots of great advice here. I’m the summer we try to just do evening visits to avoid the heat. I bought a neck fan last year and it was a game changer!

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Fellow South Carolina-based AP here as well! Welcome to the forum!

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Our last few trips have been summer - July & August. We have made them work fairly well for us. We try to get up early to rope drop, get a lot of things done, eat a nice lunch at a table service typically to enjoy the AC and force us to slow down - maybe do a couple quick things after lunch and then head back to the resort to rest/swim etc. But get out of the heat by 1-2PM if possible. Try to nap, maybe take a shower and get a change of clothes. Then look to head back later in the day when the heat is starting to come down - eat another nice meal. Tour hard at night and enjoy the parks during night time when it is cooler and the parks take on a different look.

This works well when the park hours are extended like they normally were pre-pandemic. It was a little rougher last summer when the hours were compressed. We still had fun, but it was different.

Another thing to note is in the summer, thunderstorms around 3 are super common. Resting then is great as you tend to avoid the weather. Although swimming then can be rough as the pools evacuate during lightning. So if your plan is to swim in the afternoon you may need to have a backup plans if the weather doesn’t cooperate that day…

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Thanks, I needed an honest assessment of the heat…unlike you, I DO mind the heat. Ha. So it sounds like I might plan to RD a few rides and then get out until the evening. If the parks end up being open until 11, I think that would likely work well.

And thanks for enabling my frequent AP use, lol. I went from planning 2-3 trips to wondering if I can make a monthly trip work.

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Hey SC!

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The nice thing about having an AP (and therefore having many trips planned) is that you don’t have to feel as much like you have to wring every hour of value out of your day. Spending a few hours in the morning and evening can be enough. :relaxed:

You’ve come to the wrong place if you’re looking for anything other than enabling :nerd_face:

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