It’s inevitable. At Disney, there’s always crowds, and there’s almost always unbearable, killer heat. Summer, Winter, Spring, or Fall – the Florida Sun vacations at Disney for them all. Combine unbearable scorching sun with thousands of warm bodies cramming into any available space and, you’ve got a miserable day at Disney World.
Sometimes you don’t have fastpasses available, or a hotel pool
Here’s some of our favorite places to wait out the heat and the crowds.
Magic Kingdom Lines
When it’s hot, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, The Jungle Cruise, and Space Mountain are lines to avoid for us.
Most of the rides above are either partially shaded, or mostly outdoor lines. The heat and humidity permeate and make it miserable. The Space Mountain line is entirely inside, but it’s still very warm. The airflow isn’t great, and the body heat makes it miserable.
Definitely prioritize fast passes for these on hot days.
7 Dwarves Mine Train can be worth the wait. The inside portion is typically cool, and the outside portion has a lot of high powered fans. Splash mountain is mostly inside and not too stuffy. Pirates of the Caribbean and It’s a small world are inside water rides and are naturally pretty cool.
The little mermaid ride is very well air conditioned, the line is…. okay in the heat, but many spots are exposed to the sun. If the line is short, definitely wait – otherwise you’re better off elsewhere.
When in doubt – ride the people mover.
Hollywood Studios Lines
Hollywood studios doesn’t have many rides as it is.
Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers are entirely outside, and hot. Toy Story Mania is a better (And more interesting) line to wait in.
The other rides are all out of the heat and are “okay” to wait in. There’s plenty of shows and exhibits to escape the heat. Take advantage of them.
EPCOT Lines
EPCOT seems to have the least amount of shade, and the least amount of stops.
On a hot day, the inside of space ship earth is like a furnace. The only really cold ride is “The Seas With Nemo and Friends”. I guess because it’s “Water Cooled”. The Soarin’ ride is extremely stuffy. Test Track is hot, despite being inside.
Even the Frozen ride can be extremely warm and uncomfortable.
Los Tres Amigos is just about the only relief from the heat outside of shops and restaurants.
The coldest place we’ve found in the entire park is the Baymax meet and greet area.
Fast Pass everything you can and make restaurant reservations, or go to the hotel pool. There’s not much relief to be had here.
Animal Kingdom Lines
Animal Kingdom is another scorcher. It’s basically designed to be a jungle, and while there is some shade, it’s really humid. Even for Florida.
The Flight of Passage line is tolerable, as is Expedition Everest. Dinosaur is decent, but slightly stuffy.
Everything else is going to be hot. Try and spread out your time. Watch some shows and take a lot of breaks. A lot of this park revolves around the jungle, safari’s, and hiking. Dress accordingly, bring extra water and pretend like you’re a world traveler. There isn’t much else you can do.
There’s a lot of really nice restaurants, but the seating is mostly outside or the restaurant itself is open air. Consider Eating at Satu’li Canteen or another enclosed restaurant.
General Preperations
Florida really is hot. Bring (and actually wear) sunscreen. Bring in extra bottles of water. Clip on fans for children. Consider cooling towels. Wear a hat and sunglasses if you can.
The quick service stands give out ice water. Take advantage of that. Be aware: Especially at Magic Kingdom, the water is fine to drink, but tastes gross.