Walt Disney World in Summer: Essential Heat Survival Tips

Travel experts Ryan and Julie share hard-earned lessons from their recent Walt Disney World summer trip, revealing practical strategies for beating Florida's intense heat while maximizing park time. Fresh off their Utopia of the Seas cruise, both hosts experienced Disney's summer challenges firsthand and provide actionable advice for families planning summer visits.

Key Topics Covered

Heat Management Strategies:

• Early park entry to avoid peak temperatures
• Strategic indoor/outdoor ride rotation
• Resort breaks during hottest afternoon hours
• Pool timing recommendations (avoid midday heat)

Essential Packing List:

• Cooling towels and personal fans
• Misting bottles with fans
• Rain protection (ponchos vs raincoats)
• Extra clothing changes for split park days
• Amazon delivery for snacks and water bottles

Money-Saving Tips:

• Lightning Lane purchases to minimize outdoor queue time
• Strategic dining reservations for air-conditioned breaks
• Amazon grocery delivery (40 water bottles vs $6 Disney water)
• Capture the Moment photo sessions

Weather Preparedness:

• Florida's unpredictable summer storms
• Ride closures during lightning
• Must-do attractions scheduled for mornings

Expert Recommendations

Best Practices:

• Book sit-down lunch reservations for air conditioning breaks
• Save indoor shows for afternoon heat
• Park hopping for scenery changes and cooling
• Prioritize must-do rides early in the day

What Didn't Work:

• Resort pools during midday (too warm)
• Skipping Lightning Lanes (long outdoor waits)
• Inadequate rain preparation

Bottom Line

While Disney World summers are extremely hot, proper planning makes visits manageable. The hosts emphasize that if summer is when you can travel, these strategies will help you survive and enjoy your magical vacation despite the challenging weather conditions.

Transcript

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 0:00

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. our recent cruise on Utopia of the Seas, Ryan and I went to Walt Disney World for a few days. know summer is hot and it is especially hot like standing on the sun hot in Florida. Today we're gonna talk about how we handled or didn't handle the heat and our tips for visiting Disney in the summer.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 0:25

Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts. Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation, and she's a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel. All right, so we have been back a week. Julie, have you recovered from being in the sun so much at, uh, Walt Disney World?

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 0:58

I had a lot of things to recover from this trip.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 1:00

you went from, Your kids on a cruise to Walt Disney World to getting home and a husband getting sick and having major delays on your way there and back.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 1:13

It's been a brutal coming home, but you know, we're making it, it's Friday, we've been home for about a week. so we both decided that since we were gonna be cruising out of Port Canaveral, it would be fun for us to meet up in Walt Disney World for a couple of days. And

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 1:25

yeah. Yeah.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 1:26

when we say meet up because we don't actually see each other at all on these trips.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 1:30

here's what I've learned, if we're doing something like this, if you don't plan it, it's not gonna happen. Jasmine and I, this was her first time to Walt Disney World in 13 years, and she is a go, go go person, like rope drop to fireworks. Like, why wouldn't you do that? you're wasting your time and money if you wouldn't do that. And so. It was awesome. But yeah, there was not a lot of breathing space to do those random meetups anyway, even if we were able to accomplish it.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 2:04

Well, yeah, that was your schedule. And then mine was all for the kids and doing their stuff. So we're just are at very different rides. to overlap some rides. It never seemed to actually work,

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 2:14

we did a cool thing together we did a capture the moment photo shoot in Epcot, this is, my third time doing it. last summer, when my son and daughter went, we did one for her high school graduation. I contend this is still one of the best things to do.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 2:31

fun.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 2:31

we got fantastic pictures Jasmine and I got pictures. You and I got pictures together. We each got individual pictures that we can use, personally we can use for our business. our camera guy and his assistant were phenomenal. They are efficient because it's only a 20 minute session and you're like, how in the world can you do this? And man, they do it. it was so much fun. if you are thinking about this or if you have a reason to get some special pictures, do the capture the moment.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:01

Oh, it's definitely cheaper than like anywhere at home. I would do a photo session.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:04

Yeah, absolutely.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:06

so we were there, we got off the ship on Monday and went straight to our resorts. I stayed

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:11

Yeah.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:11

club And you stayed at Riviera?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:14

stayed at the Riviera and we got some pixie dust. that night when we were going to our room, I we were walking down the hallway and we had a porter with us with the bags. And, I had, I've stayed on DVC points and had, uh, rented us a studio, which is a basic, hotel room.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:30

Yeah.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:30

Yeah, accommodation. And I pointed out the laundry room because Jasmine wanted to do a bit of laundry from the crew. he goes, well, you guys have a laundry in your room. And I go, no, we just have a studio. he said our number again. He goes, no, that's a one bedroom. we walk in and we had a beautiful one bedroom at the Riviera, which honestly I could live in.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:50

Yeah, those are beautiful rooms,

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 3:52

There, there IJI love the Riviera so much. So yeah, so we went straight to the Riviera, dropped our stuff off. I had packed for the park, so I had my park bag all ready to go. Pulled that out of the luggage and we, got on the bus for Animal Kingdom.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:08

Yeah, you guys had a great day. We chilled at the resort a little bit more.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:12

You just had a resort day, a. relaxation day, which I think is also a great way to do it.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:17

We We also went to Hollywood studios that night.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:20

Yeah,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:20

I got down board on for like

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:21

I do remember that, and I'll talk about our experience with that in a second. coming off of a cruise, I think heading to your resort and having a resort day is great. Also, remember that through 2026, Disney is having that, uh, waterpark the first day of your stay. So maybe going to the waterpark, I think that's a great way to use your time. But to be honest, we got off the cruise in Port Canaveral, took our transfer over and we were at the parks by noon.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:51

you were there early. we had a good day. But, let's talk about the elephant in the room nobody wants to go to Disney in the summer because it's so freaking hot

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 4:59

Yes. But before we talk about everything Disney in the summertime, if you did not listen to last week's episode, we talked about some off the beaten path destinations in Europe that you can visit before the crowd's catch up. So you did three of the parks? We did four of the parks. We had a park hopper, so we were bebopping around. let's talk specifically about the heat and summer aspect of it, because we've talked a lot about the, logistics of Disney. I don't think we need to spend as much time on that. what was your experience and what are some of your tips, Julie?

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 5:36

Yeah, so going into this, we knew it was gonna be really hot. Obviously it's July in Florida and we've never been in the summer. The only time I went when it was hot was in September, and I remember it being. Miserable. So plan to combat the heat was to do early entry. At the park. get there as soon as the parks open, hoping it's a little cooler and a little less crowded. Go back to the resort in the afternoon and then maybe go back in the evening depending on what we wanted to do. The day we went to Hollywood Studios, we planned to only go in the evening because that was the day we got off the ship. So we were like, let's just go for a couple hours. We'll do a couple rides. know, nothing crazy. Um, we also, when we were in the parks. tried to alternate indoor outdoor rides so that we would be outside, dripping in sweat and then be able to go into the air conditioning for bit. only made reservations for lunch at the parks, like no dinner because I didn't wanna have to go back if I didn't want to. I didn't wanna do breakfast reservations because I wanted to capitalize that early time. In the park doing the rides when potentially it'd be a little bit more cool or maybe just not 8,800 degrees outside. so I made lunch reservations thinking that we'll do the park all morning, we'll do lunch, it'll be inside, and then we'll get to go back and just relax. that plan worked. Pretty well, the other thing we did is I always do an Amazon delivery. When you have kids, it's just so much easier to have snacks that they're familiar with. And a lot of them, Disney food, it's not cheap that, know, a snack is a minimum.$6 plus

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 7:18

Right.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 7:19

of water is a minimum of like$5. Right. Like, something like that. I

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 7:24

a bottle of Desani Water most places is$6.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 7:27

Oh my gosh. So I did an Amazon order. I probably spent like$190 on my Amazon order, but we had so many snacks and I purchased like 40 bottles of water. that, a lot of water. I definitely recommend that as a way to combat the heat because you've got water for everyone all day long, which you need that. to survive as you're sweating out everything in your body. know, the kids, they get cranky when it's hot. So if you keep handing them snacks, It helps a little bit. this plan worked. For the most part. I had planned to like come back and do the pool in the afternoon thinking like, oh, it'll be a great break. That pool was warm, it was not refreshing. maybe come back Chill in the room and then go to the pool. there was one day that we ended up at the pool five in the afternoon, and that was nice. But when we were there at noon, it was brutal. It was so warm. The Yacht Club, beach Club Pool, though it was amazing. We know this like one of the best pools on property, but specifically for my kids' ages, my older one can swim. My middle is getting there. My youngest obviously can, shoots two. the sand bottom section though is like feet deep. it was just great for them to be able to like waddle around play obviously we're on guard, but they're.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 8:41

Right.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 8:42

really well in

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 8:43

I.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 8:44

even though we planned early entry, it was so hot in the morning, hotter than I anticipated. Like we walked outta the resort and we drenched. I don't know if you thought that too, but man, it was hot in the mornings when we did our photo session, I was like, where's the shade?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 8:59

Yes. And so I had been with my kids the same week, the year before, so I knew it was gonna be hot. so some of my tips are the same every day. We had a lunch sit down. We did Yak and Yeti at Animal Kingdom the first day. Then we did Crystal Palace the second day. That was the same, thing as you, you I know. And um, then we did sci-fi drive in diner, the third day. And I love having that break from the heat, with the air conditioning. I also like to park, hop in the afternoon even if you're hot and cranky, getting a change of scenery helps with that a little bit. Getting in the air conditioning, sitting down, having a drink during the trip. Always have water, obviously, with you I always try to save some of the inside shows for the afternoon. we never went back, with our park hopping tickets, we went. from morning till night. so yeah, the same types of things, as you

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 9:55

Is there anything that you felt like didn't work in relation to the heat? is there anything that you think you should have done differently or you would tell people to do differently?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 10:02

no,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 10:02

day, or do you think

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 10:03

I don't think so, but to be honest, my biggest tip is. Spend the money to get your lightning lanes and to buy your individual lightning lanes. I know that it costs extra money and people don't like spending that extra money right before their trip, but not having to stand in the queues. Being able to get on those rides, you want to get on as soon as you want to get on them, or the time that you have scheduled and not have to stand in 80 minute lines. You don't want to do that. Yeah.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 10:35

day at Magic Kingdom, we did end up missing a lot of rides because it was like lightning in the area. Like it never

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 10:43

Yes, so, the one day we actually left early, Was because it didn't seem like there was gonna be fireworks and the nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom, which there ended up being. but it was also nice to have kind of a quote unquote evening off, um, if you will.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:00

and we also saw each other that day because you came running over to me and threw some ponchos at me

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:07

Yeah.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:08

my husband and daughter were stuck on the

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:10

And, and I think, to be honest, I agreed to do that quickly and I think if Jasmine had gotten wet running to the bus, because we had given you the ponchos. I don't know if I'd be getting married in two months. But,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:23

it

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:23

well,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:24

but that's okay.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:25

No, So let's talk about how, what can we pack, what can we think of ahead of time to help with this other than these tips?

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:34

Yeah. So that was how you need to plan your day and what you need to know

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:38

yeah,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:38

to do in the parks when it's really hot. what do you need to bring with you to help with this heat?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:43

so you're gonna laugh. I had cooling towels in my backpack the entire time. We never used them.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:48

funny.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 11:49

Yeah. So, but I love cooling towels for this. It really does make a difference. I don't like being wet, even though I'm sweaty. and it's not like it drenches you'cause it does feel good, but I just felt like I didn't need to use them. But they work so, don't hesitate to have them'cause they certainly work.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:08

Especially for little kids, if

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:10

Yeah.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:10

are hot, that's definitely going to be something to cool them down. fans, I was prepared. like I had one for each kid. a fan for my husband and I, and that was helpful because then everyone could put the fan in their face,

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:25

Yep.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:26

I'd also recommend like a MR Bottle. we brought our MR bottle and then it was out of batteries, so that didn't really work out well for us.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:33

Good job, mom.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:34

one in the park, it's probably like$35, but probably worth it. when I say Mr. Bottle, I mean, you spray the water and it has the fan and it's really lovely

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:44

Yes,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:45

All right, what else?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 12:46

well, you have to have some sort of rain protection because rain pops up at any point in Florida. My preferred is the throwaway ponchos, because they can pack small and you can get'em out quickly. I know not everybody likes that. but I tend to like that as our version of rain gear.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:05

They're also not like, as hot as a raincoat would be. Like a

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:08

Right, right,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:09

fun fact I brought ponchos, I brought raincoats. They stayed in the room the whole trip. I am

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:17

Oh, you,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:18

owner of five Disney Park Ponchos.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:22

oh, Julie. Oh, no.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:24

When we went to Hollywood Studios. When I say it was pouring it. Poured were,

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:31

at the same time you were there, we were in Ebco under Spaceship Earth and strollers were actually like rolling down the sidewalk because the wind was so strong. People wearing ponchos were being forced down the sidewalk. It was nuts. it started to rain as we were walking into Epcot and I'm like, we need to get under Spaceship Earth now. And literally we got under and it just, it just opened up. Yes.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 13:56

I remember we were in line for alien swirling saucers for our lightning lane, and it was starting to look a little funky. We pulled up the radar and Steven was like, oh, it's gonna miss us. It's gonna go right past and miss us. We get off alien swirling saucers, we check again. We're like, no, still gonna miss us. And then it just Drizzles and then it just pour. So I am running through Hollywood Studios, me, my husband, and these three little kids running from one spot to the next because we still of wanted to make the most of it. We had Aliens Rolling Saucers was the first ride we did. We were supposed to also do Slinky Dog, and to mania. We went straight to frozen. Sting along because it was

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 14:36

I.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 14:36

We got there, we were drenched. we went from there to Mickey and Mini's runaway railway because Slinky was down. So we got one of those multiple experience lightning lanes, so we were able to go inside again. Which was great. And actually my kids did really well. Like we were, you could wr out these kids' hair. We were

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 14:55

Yes,

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 14:55

the stroller was drenched. We go on toy story mania, it's now been raining for like two hours, like pouring for two hours. We get up, we are in the gift shop for Toy Story Mania and we're like, what are we gonna do for the stroller? these kids can't just like sit in the stroller like it is, the stroller is soaked. So I'm like, maybe we should some sweatshirts that way, like it's something they can use later. They can sit on them, whatever. But then we can take'em home, whatever. We end up buying ponchos because the ponchos were like 10 bucks a piece. the kids so excited to put on their ponchos. We get outside. The rain is stopped. Of course it has, right? Of course it's not

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:27

Of course.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:28

the Panchos were really helpful for the stroller. my husband spent that evening hair drying the stroller.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:33

Mm-hmm.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:34

a time.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:34

Very nice.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:35

even if you don't think

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:36

Yep.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 15:36

it. another thing, extra clothes, if you're splitting up your park day. And this was something that took me forever to pack and why we needed extra suitcases, if we are going to. Magic Kingdom in the morning and taking a break and going back to Magic Kingdom at night. we're not gonna and wear those sweaty clothes again. I made sure myself and all the children had an extra set of clothes for each day. even if you not going back to the park that night, if you came back and hung out at the resort, your clothes are still kind of gross.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 16:03

obviously bring hats, sunglasses, all that stuff for the parks. sunscreen, definitely. I tend to do bad with this. I put it on in the morning and then I forget about it the rest of the day, but obviously you should be putting it on. and then, like you said at the beginning, have that water so that you don't even have to think about it. It's already there.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 16:22

wrapping up, what do you think about recommending Summer in Walt Disney World?

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 16:27

Well, I think it's one of those things where if that's when you can go, then that's when you can go. now that I'm engaged to a teacher, if that's when you can go, that's when you can go. so you just know what you're getting into and you know how to handle the heat. Think about either dates that can counteract that or, or how do you pack that way? I would it stop me from going? No. Do I know it's gonna be hot? Yes. But you know, would I say don't go? I don't know if I would, because most people come to me already knowing when they can travel. I would just make, sure that my clients were prepared.'cause I don't think people know how hot. And how weather dependent their trip is really gonna be at that time.

j_1_08-08-2025_145409: 17:13

And then especially like how we talked about it's raining rides shut down in the evenings. even just knowing if you have a ride, that's a must do. Do it in the morning when it's less likely to rain.

ryan_1_08-08-2025_145409: 17:24

The world is full of wonder and your next adventure is waiting at Wonder and Beyond Travel. We work with you to create a one of a kind journey taking the stress off your plate so you can focus on the joy of exploring and the memories that will stay with you forever. If you're ready to start planning or if you just want to dream a little bit more, head over to Wonder and beyond travel.com. We would love to help you get started. We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel. When we finish our off the Beaten Path Travel series with the Caribbean.