Tag Archives: Disney

Feelin’ hot, hot, hot!

I love hot weather.  I mean REALLY hot weather.  So today when the temperature hit a balmy 80 degrees in Cleveland, it made me think of my favorite month of the year to go to Disney – August.  Most people think this is crazy but I guess I’m just a cold blooded person. The only time I really feel warm-to-the-core is August in Orlando.   Luckily, with a little preparation you don’t have to melt if you’re not as enamored with the thought of spending 8 hours in stifling humidity and scorching temperatures characteristic of Florida summers.

August in Orlando

August in Orlando

Tip 1: Bring a refillable bottle.  We use the Brita water bottles that have a filter in the lid so you can re-fill at water fountains throughout the parks.  It’s way cheaper than buying water every time you’re thirsty, which is all the time!

Tip 2: Personal fans help in two ways when you’re waiting in lines – blowing air to cool you off and re-directing any sweaty fumes that may be lingering in the area.  Standing in close quarters with a hundred other guests at the end of a 95 degree day can become quite unpleasant, if you know what I mean!

Fan 1Fan 2

Tip 3: Find a spray ground. Every park has water misters in various locations so you can cool off as you’re walking between attractions.

Hot weather spray

Hot weather spray

Tip 4: Alternate indoor and outdoor activities to stay cool.  This can mean walking through the shops, seeing a show, or even going in the bathroom!  That cool blast of air from indoors is a welcome reprieve from the burning summer sun.

  • In the Magic Kingdom, there are several indoor rides like the Haunted Mansion and “it’s a small world” but my top recommendation for a super-hot day is Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.  I have to admit, this is my least favorite attraction in all of Disneyworld.  It’s pretty cheesy with a repeating song that will be stuck in your head for days – but there’s hardly ever a wait and I’ll make the sacrifice to sit in an air-conditioned seat in the shade for 20 minutes!
  • At Epcot, Ellen’s Energy Adventure is similar – slow moving and moderately interesting – but a cool place to relax for about ½ hour.
  • Hollywood Studios & the Animal Kingdom both have really good shows to enjoy while you cool off – The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo, respectively.

Tip 5: Enjoy all the frozen treats Disney has to offer!  From Mickey-shaped ice cream bars to the infamous Dole Whip, nothing tastes better on a hot day than a cool treat.  And don’t worry about the calories – you’ll have no problem sweating them off!

Mickey ice cream

Mickey ice cream

Tip 6: During the hottest parts of the day it’s never a bad idea to head back to your resort and hit the pool for a few hours.  Then you’ll be refreshed and ready to head back to the parks for fireworks!

Re-pin this handy ‘beat the heat’ infographic on Pinterest here.

Beat the Heat at Disneyworld

Beat the Heat at Disneyworld – INFOGRAPHIC

You might also like:

Lines you WANT to wait in at Disney

To hop or not to hop

To hop or not to hop

A big part of planning a vacation to Disneyworld is deciding what kind of ticket to purchase. There are several options which can be customized to your vacation style and budget.

As I mentioned in my last post, we learned the hard way that you can’t use a single day ticket to get into multiple parks (rookie mistake!) We thought if we had a 5 day park ticket that we could use 2 in one day, leaving 3 tickets left to get into the parks. That’s not how ticketing works, which we learned as our daughter threw a tearful fit in the turnstiles of Hollywood Studios.  Since we had a long planned dinner reservation, we caved and upgraded to a Park Hopper ticket on the spot. Lesson learned!

Here’s the lowdown on tickets just in case you aren’t planning on making a special memory of dropping an extra $250 on a ticket upgrade as you’re walking into the park!

Single Day ticket –  allows entry into one park per day. The longer you stay, the lower the ticket price per day.  As of today, a 1-day adult ticket is $89, 2 days are $88/day, but a 6 day ticket drops to $46.33/day. So after your first 2 days, you basically pay another $100 for 4 more days in the parks. Good deal!

  • Best for: First time visitors can definitely get away with single day tickets because there’s so much to do in each park that you can easily spend 8-10 hours there (or more if it’s extra magic hours!)

Single Ticket Prices

Park Hopper ticket – allows same-day entry into any of the 4 parks – Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.

  • Best for: Anyone who wants to go to 2+ parks in one day. Sometimes extra magic hours are available in one park, but your dinner reservation or special event is in another park – that’s when the Park Hopper is so convenient because you don’t have to plan to spend your entire day in a park just because you have a reservation.

Water Parks and More ticket – adds a ton of other options for entertainment outside the 4 main parks. The ticket includes entry to the 2 water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon,) ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney, Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, or Disney’s Fantasia Gardens/Winter Summerland mini golf courses.  One thing to note is that you can only pick one extra per day – you can’t go to 2 water parks or golf and a water park in a single day.

  • Best for: Visitors who will be staying a week or more, have been to the parks before and want other options to spend a few days outside of the parks while remaining in the Disney bubble!

You might also like:

Pros & cons of staying on Disney property (a.k.a. in the bubble)

The best laid plans

No Passport Required!

I’ve always had an interest in world cultures.  I got my degree in International Business and French so I have a natural curiosity about how people in other countries live.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons Epcot is my very favorite of all the Disney parks.  The park is divided in a front and back half, more like a figure eight, with Future World in the front and the World Showcase in the back, made up of 11 different countries.  Walking through the World Showcase is like taking a whirlwind trip around the world, learning about the culture, meeting the people (all the Cast Members in the World Showcase countries are native to that country), and most importantly eating the food!!  With all the options (there are tons) I thought I’d share my ideal 3 course meal in Epcot.

Appetizer – Mexico

The Sopa Azteca at the San Angel Inn: this tortilla soup is served in a carafe along with a bowl full of avocado, cheese and tortilla strips. When you pour the piping hot soup over the ingredients they melt together into an unbelievably delicious sopa!

Main Entrée – Germany

The buffet dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant is one time when I wish I could put away a few platefuls of food in one sitting.  The schnitzel, mac and cheese, brats, German potato salad, sauerkraut, soft pretzels – there’s not a bad choice on this buffet!

Biergarten Buffet

Biergarten Buffet

Dessert – France

It’s not on the main walking path, which is probably why we missed going here until our most recent trip, but Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie is a hidden gem in the back of the France pavilion.  The crème brûlée is the perfect way to end the evening.  My husband and I made the mistake of thinking we’d share one – which ended with both of us stuffing our faces so we didn’t miss any.  How very French and sophisticated!

After dinner drink – Canada

If you’re going to dine at the expensive Canadian restaurant Le Cellier, you might as well go all out!  We ordered ice wine to finish off our fantastic steak dinners and it hit the spot!

Le Cellier Ice Wine

Le Cellier Ice Wine

This is just the tip of the iceberg – I can’t wait to discuss in more detail all the other delicious dining options in Epcot!

You might also like:

A Typical Day at Epcot

Back From Disney!