Hey everyone, it's Jacqueline at Pixie Dust PhD. It is currently peak summer,
which means super hot temperatures across the country and really high humidity in parts too.
I live in the DC metro area, which is fairly swampy… it gets quite hot and quite humid.
It's not quite as brutal as central Florida, but I’ve certainly had to adjust my habits to
deal with the heat this summer. As this topic is front and center on my mind
I’d love to discuss beating the heat in Walt Disney World with you--stay tuned!
I’m so happy that you're here, and I really appreciate your support. And thanks to all
of you who have already left a like on the video and subscribed to the channel; remember
that you can ring that bell icon to receive notifications whenever I upload new videos.
And if you want to chat about strategies to beat the heat in Walt Disney World please leave a
comment down below. Generally, YouTube is the best place to get a hold of me; but you can also find
me over on Twitter and Instagram @PixieDustPhD. Unfortunately, dealing with the local weather is
a reality of traveling, whether that's to Disney World or elsewhere. And as I alluded to earlier,
many of you may be dealing with rough weather in your everyday life as well. Let's discuss some
ways to help make that a little bit more bearable. First things first, when it comes to going to Walt
Disney World if it is at all possible for you not to travel during peak summer months I would
advise that. Of course, for some people due to various scheduling constraints summer is
the only time you can go, so you definitely still should. It's better to go to Disney World during
July or August than to not go at all. And even if you are able to travel outside of that time,
it can still be really hot. My partner and I have vacationed in Florida during the months of July,
September, November, December, and February. And other than December every other one of those trips
had at least one pretty hot day. I will say that during past November and February trips, even
if it was very hot at least the humidity was not quite as high so it didn't feel quite as terrible.
But the overall point being is even if you do avoid traveling in say July or August you could
still run into some pretty sweaty days in Disney World. It definitely pays to be prepared. First
things first are the basics. Absolutely you're going to need a lot of sunscreen and reapply
it regularly, and drink a ton of water. Ideally bring your own reusable water bottle that you can
be refilling throughout the parks, either at water fill stations or go ahead and get some ice water
for free from a quick service location and pour that into your reusable water bottle. And please
drink your water somewhat regularly; don't wait until you're actually really thirsty. If you're
taking small but consistent sips throughout the day that will help you stay hydrated better than
if you wait till you're quite thirsty and chug a bunch of water all at once. Additionally, think
about other items that may help possibly like an anti-chafing stick--something like body glide,
I definitely use foot glide on my feet, sometimes some anti-chafing for the thighs is really helpful
too--then there's other items like a personal fan--whether that's manual or battery powered,
a mister, and a cooling towel. Maybe you want to bring a parasol to help block out the sun
if you are going during peak summer months. And I also always like to have some body wipes just to
freshen up. Of these sort of extra basic items, I would really advise some type of fan. I personally
prefer a manual fan that folds up just for space reasons, they can be quite small. And then in
times when you are hot and the air is feeling quite stagnant, for example this tends to happen
to me while waiting in lines for attractions, you can just take your very small compact personal fan
out of your bag and fan yourself off a little bit. Battery powered fans are great too, I just don't
really like the bulk. If you have any suggestions for key items to help you beat the heat please
let me know in the comments down below! Before we move on to the rest of the list, let's take
a brief science break to talk about sweat. When you perspire it takes energy to evaporate that
sweat off of your skin; generally the energy used to do this is your own body heat. As your
excess body heat is used to convert those beads of sweat into water vapor, you actually cool down.
But humidity affects the ability of your sweat to effectively evaporate. When humidity levels are
higher it's more difficult for sweat to evaporate off your skin quickly, so you don't experience
that great relief of that cooling sensation. This specifically is why Florida, and other
climates with high humidity, can be especially tough during summer months. Of course it's hot
temperature wise, but the added level of the high humidity really makes it feel even hotter to you.
This specifically is why I have never bought a mister, and I’m not a huge fan of them.
I don't find misters to provide a ton of relief because a mister is essentially putting
tiny droplets of water on your skin with the hope that it will evaporate off and help cool you down.
If humidity levels are really really high that's just not going to be super effective.
But hey, if you can put some ice water in your mister, even if those tiny misted beads of
water aren't evaporating off your skin very fast it's still probably going to feel pretty good.
Many people note that they feel like they sweat way more in high humid climates, and it may
not be that you're actually sweating more--it's just not evaporating off your body as rapidly as
you're used to. For this reason specifically, it's really important that you wear the right clothing.
Moisture wicking clothing is actually designed with little channels throughout the piece of
clothing that will pull the sweat off of your skin and to the outside of the piece of clothing, where
it can then evaporate. Therefore you're not having the sweat just sit on your skin and keep you warm.
Conversely, cotton will just soak up moisture. Cotton will really retain your sweat and just make
you feel soggy, hot, and gross. If you don't mind sacrificing a little bit of fashion, my best piece
of advice is to wear moisture wicking clothing. So these are going to be workout type clothes. If you
want to find a nice middle ground where you feel cute but you are wearing moisture wicking clothing
consider clothing made for sports like tennis or golf. Those are often a little bit dressier,
but still made of moisture-wicking fabrics. I am not the best example of this; I definitely will
wear 100% cotton in the parks. Especially a lot of my cuter dresses are 100% cotton. I know what
I’m signing up for though when I do this, and I am mentally prepared to be a soggy mess. Personally,
I don't want to wear straight up workout clothing to the parks. That's the sacrifice that I choose
to make. I do think though that you can find a lot of nice in-between items. For example,
this top is actually from Eddie Bauer, it's made for hiking. So it's a blend of polyester,
cotton, elastane, viscose. While I wouldn't say it's quite moisture wicking, it was designed to
at least be very breathable. And if you are going to wear 100% cotton, please make sure it's flowy.
Anything a little looser fitting that's going to allow air to pass through is going to help
promote evaporation of your sweat. For example, this Winnie the Pooh t-shirt that I love is 100%
cotton, but it's a bit boxier, definitely airy and flowy. So it works well enough for me. If
you are headed to Walt Disney World during hot months with high humidity like July, August,
and September though, I would advise against 100% cotton generally speaking.
And if you're like me and don't want to be dressed head to toe in workout gear from Nike,
Under Armour, or similar, try looking at some outdoor clothing stores like REI, Eddie Bauer,
L.L. Bean, and similar. You might be surprised what kind of cute items you can find like an
eyelet tank top and a nice skort. Whatever you do fabric-wise though, stay away from 100% polyester.
And this can get a little tricky to judge because some moisture wicking fabrics are 100% polyester,
but use your best judgment. You know what's moisture wicking, made for working out, made for
sweating, versus like 100% polyester office wear. For example, this dress that I love, it has little
koalas on it, it's one of my favorites for work. I think it's super cute. I think it fits well. But
it is 100% polyester, and not the good kind with channels to help wick sweat away from my skin.
Most polyester fabrics actually block the outward flow of moisture, so it retains heat. Then your
sweat is building up on the inside, and this is just absolutely the opposite of what you want.
Ultimately, find fabrics that breathe. Linen and TENCEL are good options, and some rayon blends can
work well too. But ultimately, you know your own wardrobe, and figure out what breathes
and pack that over the things that don't. Don't forget about other articles of clothing too.
Moisture wicking socks are going to be key. And if you plan on staying in the parks all day, which I
wouldn't really suggest but I understand some of you are going to do that anyway, bring an extra
pair of socks with you. Changing socks midday can really change your whole mood. And for those of
you who like to wear makeup: if you're headed to Walt Disney World during really sweaty months,
honestly, I would think about not wearing makeup. I am currently totally fresh-faced;
I spent this morning outside in the DC metro area running around… it was very hot, very humid, I was
sweating a ton. Your mileage will vary with your own makeup and how sweatproof it is or is not,
but honestly if you're really gonna be outside running around in the parks chances are decent
that it is just going to sweat off. When I do wear makeup to the parks it's usually pretty light:
I’ll fill in my brows, maybe put on some waterproof mascara, typically not a lot more.
I pretty much never wear foundation, and I often even skip tinted moisturizer because I just know
it's going to sweat off. If you're having a great time you'll be absolutely radiant--don't worry
about the makeup. Next, let's talk about bags. If you have a backpack, consider getting one that
is ventilated. Ventilated backpacks have a gap behind the back mesh that helps promote airflow.
Most of us are probably familiar what it's like to have a backpack on and have your back sweat just
build and build. Ventilated backpacks help this not be as much of a problem. Personally, I like
to find a hybrid of a purse and a backpack that converts from backpack style to crossbody style.
This way if my back is getting quite hot I can always just move to crossbody style pretty easily.
And when I’m in dense crowds I like to have my bag in front of me, so then I can have
crossbody in front. But if we're on the move and I’m not too sweaty at the moment: backpack it is.
Those are some key things you can do to prepare while you're still home; let's talk about what
happens once you're in the theme parks. Choose your attraction strategically. Of course,
wait time plays into this, but not all ride queues are made equally. The comfort of your wait time is
also pretty important if we're talking about peak heat. There's a variety of different styles of
queues in Walt Disney World: some are indoors and air conditioned, some are outdoors but covered,
some are just not even covered. You really don't want to be stuck in stagnant air next to a lot
of hot bodies at 2 p.m. in August, for example. If you are going to be trying to get attractions
done during peak afternoon heat on very hot and very humid days there are some queues
that are more amenable to this than others. In Magic Kingdom, the inside portion of the Space
Mountain queue is pretty nice, as is the Buzz Lightyear ride; though those can extend outside.
And the Pirates of the Caribbean queue, I’m not sure if it's officially air-conditioned but it's
quite dark and really cool so that's a good one too. Over in EPCOT you've got Living with
the Land and Soarin’ that are totally inside, so those are great attractions for peak heat times.
If the queue isn't extending outside quite a ways Test Track is also a good indoor queue,
same with Frozen Ever After. But again, you can be waiting outside for those for quite a bit of time.
This is a little trickier in Animal Kingdom. I would say the Dinosaur queue is definitely
a good one. Then Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey once you're inside are very cool,
but again you may be standing outside for quite a long time. And it's a similar story in Hollywood
Studios. For example, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror once you're on the inside
portion of the queue pretty nice and comfortable, but you can be standing outside for a while.
And aside from attractions that are quicker rides like the ones we've just talked about,
consider also using the hottest part of the day to get some longer indoor attractions done. These are
mainly going to be shows; so things like Mickey's PhilharMagic, It's Tough to be a Bug, Festival of
the Lion King, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, etc. If the attraction requires that
you'll be seated inside for something like 15 or 20 minutes that's a great way to cool off.
Another way to strategize attractions, which I’m sure is not the most popular with some of you,
would be to buy Genie+. Honestly, waiting less time in line means less time in that heat.
Depending on what crowds and wait times are like, buying Genie+ may be worth it.
And consider making use of the splash pads around the parks as well as water rides, but only if you
and your party are wearing the right clothing. Again if you are wearing 100% cotton and you get
soaked through it might feel nice initially. But then if it doesn't evaporate off you're going to
be miserable. For example, if you have little ones that want to play in splash pads, I would suggest
you pack their bathing suit, let them play, and then let them dry off in their swimsuit. Don't
change them immediately necessarily. A lot of swimwear is designed to dry very quickly,
so leaving them in that as it evaporates off may feel very nice for them. Also consider popping
into shops when you need an air conditioning break. Pretty much every indoor permanent shop
in Disney World is going to be air-conditioned. This is a great one-two punch of you can look
for souvenirs and other items you want to buy and take a break in the air conditioning. You can also
strategize your food a bit. So of course quick service wise get yourself plenty of ice water.
Again, it's free. But then also other cool treats… there's loads of ice cream and fresh fruit around
the parks. It's all going to feel pretty good to eat on a splintering hot day. When we went to Boo
Bash and it was something like 95% humidity all night and we were sweating so much, we also ate
several of those frozen strawberry bars: those were great. And if you are going to stand in an
attraction line that may be longer, and especially if it extends outside, consider at least bringing
some ice water with you if not a cool treat. And if you want to do table service dining you could
plan this strategically around the heat instead of perhaps your normal dining times. If you normally
eat lunch around noon, consider instead booking a table service lunch for something like 2 p.m.
This essentially guarantees that you're inside in air conditioning from at least 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.,
if not longer. Conversely, you could do an early dinner; something like 4 p.m., which is also still
a very hot part of the day. But my biggest tip, and one that I do swear by and practice, is just
take a midday break. I know that Disney World is incredibly expensive, so it's so tempting to go
park open to park close--the whole time. But if you're there when it's very hot and humid,
it is very difficult to stay in that park that long and not have a meltdown in my opinion. And
I’m not only talking about kids, I’m definitely also talking about adults. My partner and I will
generally rope drop to make the most of the morning time because A) it's cooler, and B)
there's less crowds. So we can get quite a lot done before the sun is really beating down on us. Then
we are typically vacating the park around 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., where we are leaving to get lunch.
Sometimes this is back at our resort, sometimes it's just somewhere else on property. Most of the
time we will also return to our resort, go to our hotel room, and honestly shower. Then we're also
changing into fresh clothes just to feel better. If you are able to return to your resort: take a
nap, head to the pool. The point is take a break. If you're staying further away and don't want to
trek all the way back to your hotel, go explore the Disney resorts! There are a bunch of really
awesome ones pretty close to the theme parks, and you can stay inside in the air conditioning,
sit down, relax, just take a breather. Yes, you want to make the most of your time at Walt Disney
World. But you also don't want to be miserable by 6 or 7 p.m. By taking a break from 2 p.m.
to 5 p.m. or so you're typically missing some of the hottest part of the day, and also some of the
times that are the most crowded. If you are going to press on though and not take a break outside of
the theme parks, please do be smart about it. Absolutely utilize as much indoor time as you
can. I hope that this is helpful. At the end of the day, ultimately, you can't really escape the
temperatures and humidities if you are going to be mostly outdoors at a theme park. Do what you can
to stay cool. Drink a ton of water please, before you get thirsty. Wear a lot of sunscreen. Bring a
hat. Use air conditioning at opportune moments, whether that's shops, restaurants, queues,
or attractions. And I’d love to hear your advice in the comments down below! I’ve lived in a fairly
swampy, humid climate for about a decade now, but before that I lived in the pacific northwest where
none of this really was a concern. So I’m sure I have some learning to do, and I can't wait to hear
from you. May the rest of your day be magical, and we'll see you real soon at Pixie Dust PhD!