Biggest Lesson We Learned from Baby Bricker’s Summer Trip to Disney World
Baby Bricker’s second trip to Walt Disney World did not go as well as the first. This covers the #1 problem our family had during this summer time Florida vacation, along with other thoughts about the good and bad of this visit to WDW with an infant and actionable advice for other new parents.
Our intention was/is to do photo reports following every family trip we make to Walt Disney World, similar to our ‘parent fails’ from Baby Bricker’s first WDW trip – part 1 and part 2. We also shared ‘what went right’ during our family trip – part 1 and part 2. Those posts were well-received by readers, both as recaps of our trip and teachable moments for other new parents.
This post is a pretty dramatic departure from those, and definitely does not rise to being a fully-fledged trip report. Although we did a variety of things on this trip, much of that was overshadowed by this (perfectly predictable) problem. Basically, this post is singularly focused on being a cautionary tale instead of a recap of the highs and lows of our trip…
The #1 lesson we learned from this trip was that we cannot visit Walt Disney World in the summer. The high heat and stifling humidity are just not conducive to trips between June and August for our family. After our recent trip, I cannot fathom all three of us returning to WDW during those months (until we forget how unpleasant they are…again).
This is quite the about-face, especially since I recently shared an update to Is It Still Worth Visiting During ‘Fall’ Off-Season at Walt Disney World? In that, I wrote that we were already planning a return visit as a family so Baby Bricker (Megatron) could experience Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and more. Since her first trip to Walt Disney World went so well (for the most part), we got excited and emboldened to do another.
In my defense, I also added a rather large asterisk that Sarah didn’t experience last year’s brutal weather that prompted that post in the first place, and speculated that maybe she was underestimating just how bad it was. A “time heals all wounds” kinda scenario.
You might say that this quick summer getaway to Walt Disney World was essentially reopening old wounds.
During our trip, the daily high temperature exceeded 95° every single day. With plenty of humidity on top of temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s, the “feels like” reading exceeded 100° every single day, too. Weather so hot it could make even a seasoned WDW visitor cry. (Sweat mixing with sunscreen and running into your eyes has a way of doing that!)
This would be bad enough if it were just the two of us. We are, admittedly, wimps when it comes to high heat and humidity. I know some Floridians claim you get used to it, but we never did during our years spent living in Florida, and weather was the driving factor that led to us leaving. (Even the lizards and alligators–basically prehistoric beasts–don’t get used to the weather; I don’t believe people actually do.)
Regardless, we’ve also done many summer days and full trips to Walt Disney World. Heck, I did several solo ones just last year, and I can’t recall a single day when I logged under 20,000 steps. My shirt was sweat-soaked by like 9 am each day, but I trudged on and still had enjoyable enough experiences, accomplishing plenty. It certainly wasn’t my ideal time to visit, but as the old adage goes, even a hot day at Walt Disney World beats a normal day at home!
It’s a totally different ball game with a baby. As covered elsewhere, we’re avid babywearers. But when the temperature eclipses 90 degrees, babywearing becomes impractical (mild understatement). A lot of advocates claim that, actually, babywearing is good in high heat because being close to your body helps the baby regulate their own body’s temperature, helping them prevent overheating.
This might be true; I’m not a scientist or pediatrician, so I don’t know. It’s also crazy. Things can be both crazy and true. (Perhaps babywearing during summer at Walt Disney World belongs in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”) The operative question is not whether it’s safe for the baby, which presumably it is since babies exist in all climates. That’s a really low bar. (“Is it safe?” is not the standard I want to use for things I do on vacation.)
The real question is whether it’s reasonably comfortable. Which is kind of stupid, since it’s probably patently obvious even to non-parents that it very much is not comfortable. Just being outside at Walt Disney World during triple digit “feels like” temperatures is already fairly unpleasant. Now attach what’s basically a 20-pound heater to your chest. It makes that feeling worse, certainly not better.
Thankfully, we also brought our stroller with to Walt Disney World. We hadn’t been using it a whole lot prior to this summer, but that has changed in a big way. The stroller seemed more comfortable for all parties involved, but even that has shortcomings. (Always keeping Megatron in the shade as the sun shifted around being the big one.)
The end result was that Sarah and Megatron spent most of their time in the hotel or otherwise indoors. The whole point of the trip was to check out Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, CommuniCore Hall, and the other new-for-Summer 2024 stuff, so I was out and about most of the day doing that.
Thankfully, we had a rough idea of what we were getting ourselves into, and this was intended as less of a family vacation and more Sarah and Megatron joining me on a ‘research’ trip. Expectations were set accordingly, at least for the most part.
What we didn’t anticipate was that taking Megatron out during the bulk of the daytime hours would be a nonstarter. Irrespective of whether it was safe, it just wasn’t worth it from a comfort and quality of visit perspective. Due to the oppressive weather, we had only a few “good” hours per day in us, and it was better to allocate those to the evenings.
We are in a very fortunate position where we can do this–opting to spend more time at the hotel and less in the parks–since we’ve been to Walt Disney World many times before and will be back again. The stakes for us are way lower than the average guest. There’s nothing we must do, and we learned long ago that it’s far better to go with the flow than force it.
Obviously, that wouldn’t be our outlook if we were first-timers or infrequent visitors. If this were our only visit to Walt Disney World for the foreseeable future, we would’ve felt pressure to do as much as possible. And anything more than a few hours in the parks during the heart of the day would’ve been too much. One way or another, we would’ve ended up being really disappointed–either because we did too much or too little.
We’ve remarked on this before, but it’s so easy to see why adult meltdowns are so common during summer. There’s a tension between the pressure to accomplish a lot, and the heat and humidity beating you down and preventing that from happening. The weather is exhausting, making it exceedingly difficult to do a full day in the parks without a midday break or taking time to decompress. This alone can undermine any efficiency gains from the lower crowds of the slower summers.
Exacerbating this is park hours. The latest any park was open during our trip was Magic Kingdom which closed at 11 pm on one night. On all other dates, it closed at 10 pm. No other park closed later than 9 pm.
The problem with this is that sunset in Orlando during the summer is around 8:30 pm. As a practical matter, this meant as little as an hour in the park (we never left right at 9 pm) up to as much as 2.5 hours post-sunset each day. Those were about the only hours that were pleasant during our time in the parks, and even the word “pleasant” might be a stretch. Temperatures didn’t decrease that much.
Don’t get me wrong, the sun dipping below the horizon is a welcome relief, but it’s still pretty hot–just minus the scorching sun–up until park closing. There wasn’t a single day when the ‘feels like’ temperature dropped below 90 degrees before we left the park in the evening.
I can understand why Walt Disney World has set relatively limited park hours given the lack of summer crowds, but it’s still wild to me that–without paying extra–there are so few dates when any park is open after 10 pm. In fact, there are no dates after the Independence Day holiday when Magic Kingdom is open until 11 pm. It’s all 10 pm closings for the rest of the summer.
This doesn’t strike me as sustainable. I’ve remarked in the past that I’d prefer visiting the parks from 9 pm until 2 am during the summer over the entire day up until that point (usually in justifying a splurge on After Hours events). And I know I’m not the only one, based on the increased popularity of Extended Evening Hours during the summer months and how well After Hours parties continue to sell.
It’s somewhat baffling to me that Walt Disney World hasn’t recognized this and adjusted hours accordingly. To be sure, I’m not suggesting that Magic Kingdom stays open until 2 am nightly, as attendance doesn’t justify it. But having one of the parks offer regular operating hours after midnight might make sense.
Otherwise, the decreases in summer attendance and park hours are going to become a vicious cycle. Fewer people will plan trips this time of year since there are few (non-upcharge) reprieves from the heat. Due to fewer people attending, park hours will be slashed further. Yet another reason we’re hoping 2025 marks a return of Summer Nightastic! (or something similar) and later park closings.
Back in my day*, Magic Kingdom was open until midnight for everyone on Fridays in the summer, and offered evening Extra Magic Hours to all on-site guests until 3 am. (*My day was Summer 2010. Those are actual hours from then!)
The purpose of this post isn’t to throw a pity party for ourselves. Again, we’ve been around the block with summer in Central Florida. We knew there was the potential for this. Neither of us expected it to be this hot and humid, nor did we anticipate the challenges of navigating such weather with a baby. But the silver lining is that this was tacked-on to a research trip. Better this than planning an elaborate family vacation for the start of the Halloween season.
Rather, we always like to offer actionable advice; so with that in mind, what can you do to avoid a similar outcome? The obvious answer is to not visit Walt Disney World between the months of May and September, and particularly June through August.
On average, October through April have much better weather. Within that range, November through February tend to be the best bets from a weather perspective. For one thing, these months have cooler temperatures. But that’s not all–or even the biggest thing. These months get an assist from the triumphant return of standard time–and that plus shorter days means more park hours after dark.
I’ve always been a Daylight Saving Time hater, and this Walt Disney World trip further reinforced why. There’s too much daylight. No need to “save” it. Bit of a tangent, but I cannot believe politicians from Florida are leading the charge to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. There’s no need to “protect” sunshine in Florida. There’s an overabundance of it. But I digress.
For many families, this may not be practical. There’s a reason why summer is traditionally tourist season–many families have school aged children, parents who work as teachers, or any number of other reasons why it’s school breaks or bust when it comes to vacations. And even though summer is anything but inexpensive, it’s actually among the least pricey school breaks for visiting Walt Disney World. As such, a simple “don’t visit in the summer” might be viewed as glib and unhelpful.
In that event, my alternative advice might be equally unhelpful, but here it is: visit Disneyland.
Seriously. Although average Anaheim temperatures in the summer may not appear that much lower, the “feels like” numbers are. You’ll likely have daytime “feels like” temperatures that are about 10 degrees lower, which is not insignificant this time of year!
Equally as important, if not more so, is hours. Disneyland is typically open from 8 am to midnight with Disney California Adventure being open from 8 am to 10 pm. Disneyland Resort’s second gate has longer hours than Magic Kingdom for the rest of the summer!
Not only that, but sunset occurs earlier in Anaheim and the temperatures usually fall sharply in late afternoon and drop off a cliff after sunset. Even when highs are in the upper 80s, evenings can be in the low 70s with “feels like” temperatures in the upper 60s. (You read that correctly–lower “feels like” numbers than the actual temperature.)
Even during the summer, it can be chilly at Disneyland in the evenings–that’s a stark contrast to Walt Disney World! We’ve already been back to Disneyland a few times since returning from Walt Disney World, and our experiences were dramatically different. To be sure, there have been hot days in Southern California–but nothing like Central Florida.
I know doing Disneyland instead of Walt Disney World also isn’t practical advice for everyone. I’m just offering this as another alternative, especially since I think a lot of planners don’t realize there’s a huge difference in weather between the two.
To be sure, there are other ways to beat the heat at Walt Disney World. You can use things like the Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad or Bladeless Personal Neck Fan, and other cooling devices of the sort. It’s also probably the case that, in addition to this trip being lower stakes for us, it was also our first exposure to extreme heat as parents. Taking our baby outside in such high heat made us anxious, and it’s probably fair to say we erred on the side of caution a bit more as a result. So that’s also unique to us.
But accomplishing less, feeling fatigued, and having little reprieve from the sun due to shorter park hours is hardly unique to us. Over the last few years, we’ve been hearing from more and more readers who have started to rule out summer time trips to Walt Disney World–even fans who had been before. At least anecdotally, it seems like there’s a growing contingent of fans hitting the wall with summer at WDW, which at least in part explains the lower crowds.
It’s also worth pointing out that there were plenty of positives, too! Although this post revolves around the weather and is framed as a cautionary tale, this trip still had its moments. Among other things, we had some great meals, got to meet more characters (but still no Figment), were wowed by “Disney Dreams That Soar,” got to enjoy a wall-free Diet EPCOT for the first time in 5 years, and logged several rides on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. All of that was fun!
The highlight of the trip, though, was watching the Electrical Water Pageant as a family. I don’t know how we missed this on Baby Bricker’s first trip–it totally slipped our minds–but what a massive oversight on our part. Megatron is enamored with bright lights, so this was a huge hit.
It makes me really, really hope that a night parade actually is in the cards for how Walt Disney World will “compete” with Epic Universe in 2025. We didn’t think anything could live up to the nostalgia and sentimentality we have for SpectroMagic, but whatever night parade our daughter grows up on probably will. (She absolutely adored Dreamlights and Nightfall Glow, the night parades at Tokyo Disneyland.)
Speaking of which, and to conclude on an unequivocally positive note, our family trip to Japan went almost flawlessly. (The above image is from opening day of Fantasy Springs and is one of my favorite photos and memories from the entire trip. Baby Bricker thought the Lost Kids hats were hilarious for some reason.)
We expressed a tremendous amount of trepidation prior to that trip to Tokyo Disney Resort, but literally none of our fears came to fruition. I’m very glad we did Walt Disney World first, as it was a great learning experience for flights, hotel stays, and traveling in general–we made several major adjustments as a result of that Florida trip.
Nevertheless, we had our worries. Traveling to Japan is different from a week at Walt Disney World for obvious reasons. About the only mistakes we made were overpacking (once again–but not by as much) and one rough night. I doubt I’ll do a full post about that as I think it offers limited value–not many of you are probably planning on taking infants to Tokyo Disney Resort–but I’d nevertheless highly recommend it. We’re so glad we did!
For that matter, we’re glad we did this summer trip to Walt Disney World. Sure, it didn’t go nearly as smoothly or well as expected, but it was also a learning experience. That’s a big part of life, and some of our favorite memories aren’t the best moments–but the ones where things didn’t go according to plan. I’m sure we’ll look back at a couple of events from this trip that were not fun in the moment–but they’ll put smiles on our faces and make us laugh for years to come.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about visiting Walt Disney World in the summer? Is it worth doing for families if you have no other option but school breaks? Does the high heat and humidity negatively impact your visits? Or, would you take the higher crowd levels but subjectively superior overall experience during Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Mid-Winter Break, etc? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Acclimatisation comes to mind particularly for babies who cannot regulate their temperatures properly yet. This is particularly true for premature babies.
Babies regulate their temperature primarily through their head, particularly their face. In a heavily wrapped baby, 85% of total heat loss is through the face. If this normal method of heat loss is restricted by covering the face, wearing a bonnet, hat, hood or beanie or tummy sleeping/covering the tummy there is a significantly increased chance for thermal stress to occur.
Don’t be scarred about just dressing your baby in just a nappy/diaper I’d definitely be speaking to a healthcare provider before any trip.
Children are not tiny adults – when they are sick including heat stressed they do not respond like adults, in short they look like they are coping but they are not – children keep accommodating them just crash.
This is good advice from British Columbia which considers sustained exposure to temps of 31C/ 88F risky. https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/safety-infants-and-young-children-during-extreme-heat
UNICEF USA https://www.unicefusa.org/what-unicef-does/childrens-health/parenting/heatwaves
There is also advice on the use of baby carriers/slings from Australia – they know a thing or two about heat there.
You may find summers become a necessary evil in a few years, unless you want to give up on WDW altogether.
Once you have school aged children, especially when you don’t want to pull them out of school, your options are limited. Prices and crowds are MUCH higher during non-summer school holidays.
So if you bite the bullet and can survive the heat, you get lower crowds, long park hours, and lower prices. You just truly need to avoid being outdoors from 11am to 4pm.
Tom,
As a WDW attendee from 1972 through 2024, I can tell you that the older one gets, the less tolerance one has for Florida’s natural sauna. In 2018, my wife and I took our daughter, her husband and their three kids to WDW from late June through early July. We vowed never again to go in the summer. Even after sundown, the concrete and paved surfaces that had been absorbing the Sun’s rays throughout the day, radiated that heat back up at us.
You mentioned taking your baby to WDW for MNSSHP. Depending on the situation, babies and even young children can view something fake and not so scary as a real monster or some such other terrifying thing. Tread lightly and best of luck to you.
We just got home an hour ago from 5 days at WDW with our 11 month old. It actually wasn’t as horrible as I expected it to be in terms of dealing with the heat. It was our first trip with a baby and there were definitely new inconveniences and the heat wasn’t nice, but I expected worse. Overall happy anyway!
My baby will be 13 months when we go the first week of September. I hope the heat isn’t too bad then (we are coming from Texas, so heat is something we are used to).
When our daughter was tiny, we would go for rope drop in the morning and stay until we had eaten an early lunch around 11:00 am. Then we would come back to the hotel for a nap and maybe a cool dip in the pool later in the afternoon. Our trips revolved around breaks in the air conditioned splendor for rides/movies/shows that had that as an option or cool drinks inside a restaurant for a bit in between ride lines. We learned to take a break every couple of rides to avoid toddler meltdowns. As she got a little older, we could stay in the park during a stroller nap — we’d find seats inside a restaurant or in the shade (the porch outside Cosmic Ray’s was usually very quiet and the waterfall noise was great nap ambience noise, FWIW. Ditto for the covered patios around the Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom.). We’d get a cold drink, prop our tired parental feet up on a chair and relax a bit while she slept. We also found it useful to bring a beach towel for underneath her in the stroller — it helped with comfort and sweating with the old plastic Disney double-strollers back then. To this day, I still know all the good air conditioned break areas and nicest restrooms, which has come in handy when we’ve travelled with family since those days. We found that break in the heat of the day really made a difference, but we still never went in the worst of the summer heat. It was just too much, and it’s even worse now than it was 20 years ago.
Meant to also say that we would go back to the park later in the afternoon, once it had begun to cool off. Mid-day was just too much for our daughter — and us, frankly — in a crowded park. But a nap was always worth its weight in gold, especially if it came with air conditioning in the middle of the day.
One resource that was a life savor for our family were the baby care centers in each of the WDW and DL parks. We would pop in for diaper changes and feedings or even just a chance to cool down with the AC in an infant and young child friendly space. They even had “kid size” toilets to help during potty training. The cast members as usual were amazing as well. They were always supportive and made “older” littles feel special when so much time was focused on the the youngest child in the group. It has been a few years since we needed the centers so I don’t know what has changed. Wow, they were amazing for us and our little ones!
“It has been a few years since we needed the centers so I don’t know what has changed.”
Can confirm that Baby Care Centers are still amazing. Well, except the one at DHS, which is still fine but not as good as the others IMO.
I’m spending the whole summer in Orlando for the first time ever (teacher from PA), and what has worked so far is rope drop and leave the parks by 10 or 10:30 am (or else have a table service dining reservation around then), and then don’t return until 6 or 7 pm. It’s super annoying that the parks aren’t open later. I remember from previous trips in the summer being at MK until 1 am or later. Other helpful things are hydration tablets (I’ve been using Nuun), tons of water, cooling towels and portable fans, and minimizing time in direct sun. Also lots of a/c breaks. How many times can you watch Hall of Presidents in one summer? I’m about to find out! But it also helps that I have an AP and will be here for seven weeks so I don’t really care if I only ride two rides each time I come tap in. Plenty of days to do everything. So I think my best tip for a summer trip would be to stay as long as you can so each park day doesn’t have as much pressure.
All of these tips are right on the money (well, I can’t speak to hydration tablets). Great advice!
I know two diehard Disney World fans who had miserable experiences visiting in the past two summers (separate from each other). Both swore off any more summer visits, and both seem really down on WDW overall after these trips for various reasons- the heat, price increases, food quality decreases, loss of value for money. Anecdotal but the anecdotes keep adding up- there are so many frequent WDW visitors who are becoming disenchanted and planning to visit much less. We’ll see, but increasingly I think WDW has big problems. And back to the heat- they really, really need to increase shade, free water refill stations, splash pads/misting stations, and park hours after sunset. It’s dangerous and makes no sense that a park known for the highest quality isn’t doing a better job in this area.
Heat and humidity definitely come down to the person, I think. We live in New Orleans where the “feels like” temp is 118 this week, and we visit Disney World during the first two weeks of August to escape from the heat here. We rode the Friendship Boat with a family from the Mississippi Gulf Coast last year and joked about how much hotter it was back home (yes, everyone else on the boat looked at us like we must live on the surface of the sun). When we had babies in the carrier, they had to be in the one that was the most breathable for sure, and now that we have a big kid walking and a toddler in a stroller, we’re careful about when we’re on hot surfaces like World Showcase (kids are closer to the ground so they feel the heat rising up more than adults might). And we hydrate, sunscreen, wear hats, take a break during the hottest part of the day, all of that. But overall, if you live in a hot and humid climate, Disney World in the summer might still work for you.
It definitely comes down to the person–every individual has different heat and humidity tolerances. But also, I think you all from New Orleans are just built different! 😉
I have always said that WDW would have to pay me to go there in the summer and then I still probably wouldn’t go. I lived in South Florida for 6 years and the summers were AWFUL! I spent as much time as I could during the summer going other places. As a teacher, I said that we should go to school in the summer and have the winters off in Florida. Summer is just such a waste in Florida. You pretty much have to stay inside in air conditioning all the time. Even going to the beach in the summer is terrible. The water is like bath water so not refreshing and then thunderstorms come up and they kick you off the beach.
This does not address bringing babies to Disney World, but summer heat. Back in 2013, when i was 56, i went on a month-long trip to Southeast Asia during which the temperature and humidity were sometimes so high that people in my group got heat prostration or heat stroke. I was fine. I figured heat and humidity were my friends. In 2018, at age 61, i moved from the Northeast (where i had medical issues because of the cold) to a hot, humid Southern state. The first five years were excellent. But now that I’m 67, I’m having a harder time tolerating heat indexes over, say, 108. There is a lot of evidence that, as you age, your body’s ability to sweat or otherwise handle the heat decreases. My next WDW trip is May 2025. My thoughts are that, probably, no one under (say) age 7 or over 65 should visit the parks in the summer heat. Disney World is going to have to address this. Other comments about adding cooling stations, more cover from the sun, and more indoor attractions seem worthwhile, but i think the best is to make the parks nighttime only June-September. Problem with Animal Kingdom, though.
I am Daylight Savings hater too. We are in the minority, however. I do feel, though, that those on the other side of the Daylight Savings aisle would come to our side with regards to amusement parks. We all know there is a certain magic in the evening. So, if it gets darker earlier…more time to enjoy that magic!
By looking at your previous posts on the blog and social media, I think we were at WDW the same time. And yes, the weather was just awfully hot and humid. Moreso than our previous early June treks.
Conversely in reference to the closing hours, most of the morning hours are not as early as we would like. We are now early birds (thank you, 11 year old son with Autism!) and loved getting to AK for early entry at 7:30 am. I agree with having a rotating park stay open late for the late birds.
Even though I agree with all that you are writing about the horrific summer weather, we will still likely head there in early June for our boy’s birthday. We live in OC (CA) and we meet our east coast family, stay in a 2 bedroom DVC Villa (this year we did a Grand Villa overlooking the savannah at AKL KV!) and just persevere like your attitude knowing it was research for you. For us, we plan a lot of pool time and selective about rides, park hours, etc. And I guess I am secretly hoping that most people avoid summer, so the crowds stay like they were during our week, which was pretty nice!
Having said all that, it was nice to return from OC in FL to OC in CA to late 70s/early 80s weather! But why you gotta clue everyone in to our awesome Summer weather and point them to DLR?!? 😉 In all seriousness, that is some solid advice.
“…this year we did a Grand Villa overlooking the savannah at AKL KV!…”
Very jealous of this–that’s one of my bucket list resort rooms!
Honestly, I think I would welcome the high heat and humidity if we were in your shoes. I’m completely serious. One of the big “struggles” we have when staying at nice hotel rooms is park time vs. resort time. This summer’s weather would make that decision so much easier!
A little background; We lived in Orlando area for 18 years and the heat was one of the major reasons we moved, never got use to it. We stayed in Florida but moved to the panhandle near Destin, yes we also get hot but for a far less amount of days. This May in Orlando, every day was at least 90 degrees with the heat index 100+ and our first 90 day was in June. Even today our high was 87 and Orlando was 95, it may not seem like it but that is a major difference, especially if you are walking around outside. Our 1st trip with our infant daughter we knew we would not want to do the baby wearing in the parks. Our stroller was the most important thing we took during those trips, it offered SHADE for her, we were able to attach 2 fans on the stroller blowing on her and having a basket underneath for baby supplies was great. We were worried taking our stroller on our very first family trip because I read so many parents saying how strollers were such a struggle in the parks and on transportation, reading those posts actually caused us to change our resort to a monorail resort from a Mod for more $$. Needless to say after our 1st, my wife and I agreed that those parents were ridiculous. After our first bus trip we had it down pat, wife takes daughter and maybe a bag and I grab the rest and fold up the stroller all in under a minute. We used CS places, stores and the baby center to cool her and us off throughout the day. We have used a stroller and then a sit-n-stand for years and totally missed it when we no longer needed it. Our daughters never had any melt downs and we were also not the parents carrying a dead weight child at the end of the day either. So many times waiting for transportation, we would hear the parents or children having melt downs and most of them were families that did not have a stroller and made their children walk the whole day. Parents do not realize that their child is probably taking 3 times more steps then they are during the day. Also, we chuckle when we see posts of families going back in the middle of the day to cool off by the pool. With living in Florida we know that from 10-2 you do not want to be swimming, because the water just amplifies the sun.
Tom, I am going to take issue with you and daylight saving time, please do not speak for the whole state of Florida! You have to remember or maybe you did not know, but most of the panhandle is in central time and we much prefer keeping daylight saving time, because during standard time we get dark around 5pm. Now they should just make all of Florida EST.
“We were worried taking our stroller on our very first family trip because I read so many parents saying how strollers were such a struggle in the parks and on transportation, reading those posts actually caused us to change our resort to a monorail resort from a Mod for more $$.”
I had this feeling with not only the stroller, but pretty much everything we’ve done while traveling. Information overload is very real, and if you do too much research, you’re bound to find opinions that have you questioning your own judgment.
As it turned out, once we got the hang of folding up the stroller and boarding, it was no issue whatsoever. And even before that, it wasn’t really an issue. People are pretty patient everywhere–but especially at Walt Disney World. Most fears like this are unfounded.
With that said, I still prefer non-bus transportation over buses…but I agree that the problems can be overblown.
As for the DST hate, my madman rantings are, as always, solely my own. I can’t even speak for Sarah, let alone the entire state of Florida! 😉
We were noticing the lack of decent nighttime hours as well. If Disneyworld invested in more nighttime hours (with shows to go with them) they’d have much bigger attendance bumps from Floridians and much happier out-of-towners. Now it takes something like the Country Bears return to get us out there in the height of summer.
I’ve visited in late August quite a bit. I used an extended stroller shade and made use of all ride exits and AC. A portable fan clipped onto the stroller helped too. Afternoon pool breaks are awesome. And finding any water sprayers, etc in the parks.
We definitely need to buy a extended stroller shade, as our current one doesn’t provide enough coverage depending upon the angle of the sun. Already have the portable fans, which are great!
Since my oldest started kindergarten in 2013, my family has had no choice but to travel during school breaks. We have favored 10-days trips during the last week in August. That has allowed us to take advantage of super low crowd levels, off peak pricing and freakishly early MNSSHPs. We’ve done 10-day trips vs 1-week stays so we could intentionally work in resort breaks, afternoon swims, and contingency time, BUT the heat and humidity during our last trip nearly broke us. With a theoretical $17 billion to spend, WDW imagineers ought to be finding creative ways to work in shade, misters, splash pads, light/white pavement, water-based attractions and air conditioned theatrical experiences.
“WDW imagineers ought to be finding creative ways to work in shade, misters, splash pads, light/white pavement, water-based attractions and air conditioned theatrical experiences.”
All of these things seem so obvious…but they also should’ve seemed obvious back during the last decade of expansion. The last few summers have been especially brutal, but it’s not like Florida being hot and humid is a new phenomenon. And yet, look at Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, etc.
Back in my day was also 2010 onward! I miss those late nights. I’ve advocated that for summer, WDW should just go nocturnal – park hours from 6PM – 9AM and shut down during the day. We were there one week when the dew point was consistently 75-79°F. It was gross. We’ve always been park warriors, but had to retreat to an air-conditioned hotel room. Even the pool felt like being in a hot tub while the sun pounded on you.
Our first trip to Disney World in July (Like you, with a young child), was before dirt was invented and was our last until our number 2 son decided to get married twenty some odd years ago in Disney World in . . .yep . . July. Luckily the only park activity connected with the wedding was the reception on the Epcot lake patio near the International Gate. As it was an evening affair and guests were all urged to wear white and dress in shorts and comfortable tops it was more than bearable. Also, we were bussed from the wedding chapel near the Floridian to the rear of the park by the Japanese Pavillion. Entered there.Was an easy walk. Told everyone who gawked that this was the Clorox Family Reunion. Stayed at Beach so easy walk back. Had a ball, great memories, but will NEVER do WDW in June, July or August again! EVER!
“Told everyone who gawked that this was the Clorox Family Reunion.”
Literally laughed out loud at this. Well played.
After experiencing miserable Disney World trips in July (bought a DVC contract with expiring points) and late August (baseball tournament at Wide World of Sports), we set a “never again” policy and now visit in early December, late January and early March where we enjoy the weather and our three favorite EPCOT festivals!
Disneyland is exempt from our “never again” rules and we do August or September visits there every two or three years – summer weather definitely better there!
On a side note – heading to Japan for three weeks in October (including five nights at TDR) and definitely avoided summer there as well!
After our trip last August for my brother’s 30th we too are in the “never again” crowd! OOF! November-April for us from here on out!
I spent a lot of time outside all day in Florida in the summer when I was in the military. I could not stand it. I don’t do well in the heat either (Scottish blood or something like that), and found the whole experience pretty miserable. I’ve often remarked that one of the primary reasons we fell in love with Disneyworld was being fortunate enough to do visits between late October and early December. I can’t imagine having your once in a lifetime/rite of passage trip in July. Happy 4th!
I guess my excuse is Scandinavian/Euromutt blood. That’s also why I seem to get burnt with even the slightest exposure to sunlight.
Happy 4th to you, too!