Sometimes, Disney World park guests can figure out what is worse: high crowds or high temperatures. At least with high temps, you can beat it.
The summer months at Disney World used to bring in fewer crowds, but that hasn't been the case in recent years. Now, regular guests are finding that high crowds in the summer mean highly frustrated crowds when the temperatures crawl toward 100 degrees.
Naturally, you can't do much about the crowds, and there is nothing worse than standing in line, out in the sun, near someone who didn't bother to put deodorant on. It's enough to make you want to leave. So how do you beat it? Well, you might not be able to avoid the stink, but you can beat the heat.
I shouldn't have to tell you that water is not only necessary but 100% needed for your survival. There is no way to Disney in the summer without being hydrated. I always recommend Gatorade or the like. Don't buy it at the park, it's expensive. Bring a small cooler loaded with them, but remember, you can't bring in a bag of ice.
Water and drinking are not ways to beat the heat. Those are what you need to not die. Here are five ways to beat the heat.
Select attractions with indoor standby lines.
The best attractions are the ones whose standby lines are inside. Think Guardians of the Galaxy. The best attraction by far is Space Mountain. Almost the entire attraction line is inside, and it is air-conditioned. Rides like Avatar are fantastic, but there is a wait outside most of the time before they cut into the caves. There isn't much of a breeze inside, and you won't hit air conditioning until you get inside the main lab building.
Wear waterproof shoes and enjoy the water pads.
I'm not a fan of letting my kids run rampant through the water pads that are sprinkled from park to park. At EPCOT there is a water pad near Guardians, at Magic Kingdom you can walk through the Storybook area to find one. You can get yourself soaked at either one, and it is welcoming. You just have to spend the day wet. For a less soaked experience, Moana: Journey of Water allows you to get minimally wet.
Taking a break inside doesn't have to be at a restaurant.
Head into The Lands at EPCOT and just relax in the air conditioning away from the sun. There is food, attractions, and even a movie theater that plays a short film about the Earth. Magic Kingdom has several of these options to get you out of the heat as well. At Hollywood Studios, take a walk through the Star Wars exhibit at the Animation Courtyard. Animal Kingdom has a water ride, but honestly, the ride is pretty boring. you don't typically get very wet, but you do get to stand outside in the heat to ride it.
Do your shopping during the height of the daily temperatures.
Believe it or not, many guests will shop in the evening, so they don't have to lug stuff around with them all day. That makes sense, but when it is scorching hot outside, use the time inside to escape the heat. There are two things you can do: buy what you want and carry it with you for the rest of the day or make notes on what you want to buy so when you come back later in the evening, you know exactly what you want and where to find it. You can also opt to rent a locker and store what you buy inside so you don't have to carry it.
Split your day in half and take advantage of your resort.
If you are planning a long day at one of the Disney parks, why not use a split schedule? We do this quite a bit. We get up early and rope drop, knocking out as many outdoor attractions or high-traffic attractions as we can. Then, we head back to our resort and grab lunch if we are not eating at a Disney restaurant. After lunch, we head to the pool for a few hours and enjoy the cooling water before taking a nap. Around 3:00 pm, we are up and ready to go and head back to the park with the hopes of getting into the park around 5. We typically have a good three to four hours and most of those will be after the sun has started to transition to the West and away from us directly.