hot weather in Disneyland

[traveler_t]

Going to Disneyland with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls. Weather forecast is 95 degrees. How should this affect our visit? Are there any attractions that we should aim for once it gets too hot, or things to avoid? I imagine it will be hard to do a lot of walking after noon and that big crowd will gather around weather friendly attractions. thanks!

 

[DLR92]

I would seek attractions like Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, most of fantasyland dark rides to stay cool. Jungle Cruise, Railroad perhaps too. Stay hydrated.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Going to Disneyland with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls. Weather forecast is 95 degrees. How should this affect our visit? Are there any attractions that we should aim for once it gets too hot, or things to avoid? I imagine it will be hard to do a lot of walking after noon and that big crowd will gather around weather friendly attractions. thanks!

If it's hotter than 90 degrees Disney offers prorated refunds on tickets as well as complimentary bottled water at any drink stand.

 

[Lilofan]

If it's hotter than 90 degrees Disney offers prorated refunds on tickets as well as complimentary bottled water at any drink stand.

?? I don't think it happens at WDW but DLR I can see happening. Some CA residents don't even have central AC and my family in Newport Beach had no AC.

 

[Sailor310]

Little Mermaid has great A/C.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Disneyland's too hot in the summer, you should go to WDW.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

It's hellaciously hot and HUMID there this weekend.

The rides where you get soaked - Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Rapids - will be super popular, but are likely too hardcore thrill rides for girls that young and they may or may not meet the height restrictions even if they are adventurous enough to try.

Aim for lots of indoor shows like Mr. Lincoln and Tiki Room at DL or Philharmagic, the Animation Academy, Turtle Talk with Crush, and the Animation building lobby which shows Disney videos in a loop for DCA. Oh, at their age, they'll probably enjoy the Disney Junior show which is indoors, too.

Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Most quick service locations will provide free cups of ice water - just go to the counter and ask. Drink water often.

 

[DLR92]

I wonder if OP is considering park hopper for DCA too? or just staying in Disneyland?

 

[traveler_t]

thanks everyone! we're staying at the Grand Californian hotel so we could go back to the hotel at noon. I just wonder at what time it is safe to go back, it seem to be hot until late at the evening and then my 3.5yo will probably be tired. We also tried to avoid indoor areas with lots of people and spend most of the time outside.

We didn't plan for park hopper but maybe even in the heat we can quickly go from GCH to DCA in the afternoon and use LL for 1-2 rides? how long do I need to wait in line in a busy afternoon if I have LL?

 

[PiratesMansion]

thanks everyone! we're staying at the Grand Californian hotel so we could go back to the hotel at noon. I just wonder at what time it is safe to go back, it seem to be hot until late at the evening and then my 3.5yo will probably be tired. We also tried to avoid indoor areas with lots of people and spend most of the time outside.

We didn't plan for park hopper but maybe even in the heat we can quickly go from GCH to DCA in the afternoon and use LL for 1-2 rides? how long do I need to wait in line in a busy afternoon if I have LL?

Thank you for responding to this thread and not creating a new one!

I'm not sure when you're arriving (you may already be there?) or what your typical experience/tolerance of heat would be. As someone from the midwest where we have a great deal of humidity, I find that the mornings and evenings at DL are pleasant and cool. It's only from ~11-5 or 6 that the heat is particularly bothersome for me, though you're quoting higher temperatures than I experienced in July. YMMV based on what you're used to.

If you want to get out of the heat at DCA, I'd take them to the Disney Jr show (assuming it's running?) and the animation building, which has a cool lobby, the area with Beast's Castle, they can meet the Frozen characters, and watch Turtle Talk. Unfortunately, there's not much else at the moment. Otherwise I'd just hang out in the hotel room, enjoy the AC, and have the kids nap for a bit until it cools off again.

I'd go back around 5/dinner time. It should be starting to get more bearable at that point.

I'd recommend a parkhopper simply because there are only so many things for young children to do at California Adventure. Remember that you can't parkhop until 1 though under the current rules. Theoretically you could get some lightning lanes for that time period (and you should be able to reserve LLs for DCA before you're able to enter the park), just watch the app and see if you can get reservations for times that are convenient for you. No guarantees, but it should be doable and you should be able to get onto the attractions quickly after you use LL (the one exception that can take some time is Guardians, which I'm assuming you're not hitting given the age of the children).

That said, with your group I wouldn't parkhop to DCA; I'd parkhop back to DL when you inevitably run out of things for them to do at California Adventure. It only really makes sense for you to parkhop to DCA if you started the day at DL, they're resting at the hotel, and you want to run into DCA and do some things on your own.

 

[traveler_t]

Thank you for responding to this thread and not creating a new one!

I'm not sure when you're arriving (you may already be there?) or what your typical experience/tolerance of heat would be. As someone from the midwest where we have a great deal of humidity, I find that the mornings and evenings at DL are pleasant and cool. It's only from ~11-5 or 6 that the heat is particularly bothersome for me, though you're quoting higher temperatures than I experienced in July. YMMV based on what you're used to.

If you want to get out of the heat at DCA, I'd take them to the Disney Jr show (assuming it's running?) and the animation building, which has a cool lobby, the area with Beast's Castle, they can meet the Frozen characters, and watch Turtle Talk. Unfortunately, there's not much else at the moment. Otherwise I'd just hang out in the hotel room, enjoy the AC, and have the kids nap for a bit until it cools off again.

I'd go back around 5/dinner time. It should be starting to get more bearable at that point.

I'd recommend a parkhopper simply because there are only so many things for young children to do at California Adventure. Remember that you can't parkhop until 1 though under the current rules. Theoretically you could get some lightning lanes for that time period (and you should be able to reserve LLs for DCA before you're able to enter the park), just watch the app and see if you can get reservations for times that are convenient for you. No guarantees, but it should be doable and you should be able to get onto the attractions quickly after you use LL (the one exception that can take some time is Guardians, which I'm assuming you're not hitting given the age of the children).

That said, with your group I wouldn't parkhop to DCA; I'd parkhop back to DL when you inevitably run out of things for them to do at California Adventure. It only really makes sense for you to parkhop to DCA if you started the day at DL, they're resting at the hotel, and you want to run into DCA and do some things on your own.

thank you! our plan was to only do DL with our group for 2 full days and then DCA in the last half day. given the heat condition and the proximity of GCH to DCA I was wondering if it's better to do DCA in the second part of the day to reduce the walking (i.e. we could quickly go 1-2 LL rides and go back to the hotel if my kids don't want to nap). Is this a good idea or better focus DL with this age group?

Do I need park hopper for re-entry to the DL park or only if I switch parks? is there limit on how many switches I can do after 1pm?

Regarding reservations, do I need them only for rides (I believe this is the LL) or also for the shows mentioned before? can I reserve LL before my trip or only same day?

thanks again!

 

[PiratesMansion]

thank you! our plan was to only do DL with our group for 2 full days and then DCA in the last half day. given the heat condition and the proximity of GCH to DCA I was wondering if it's better to do DCA in the second part of the day to reduce the walking (i.e. we could quickly go 1-2 LL rides and go back to the hotel if my kids don't want to nap). Is this a good idea or better focus DL with this age group?

Do I need park hopper for re-entry to the DL park or only if I switch parks? is there limit on how many switches I can do after 1pm?

Regarding reservations, do I need them only for rides (I believe this is the LL) or also for the shows mentioned before? can I reserve LL before my trip or only same day?

thanks again!

I think about a half day for DCA is a decent plan with that age group. I can see the appeal for entering after 1 since your hotel is right there, but it may actually be better to start the day at DCA (don't forget to switch your park reservation over to DCA for that day if you do this). You can do all the rides that interest your family and probably do it fairly easily with short waits-you might not even need LL at all if you do it right-and then the hotel is right there in the same park when you run out of steam.

The only show that would need a reservation (Disney calls it a Virtual Queue) is World of Color, which becomes available at 12 PM. Each member of your party needs to have entered DCA in order to make the reservation, which would be another reason to start your day at DCA, since otherwise you can't join the queue until 1.

Lightning Lane is same day only. Make sure you've linked all of your family's tickets together on your Disney account before you go. Each person can get Lightning Lanes once they have entered a park. Look at the tip board page on the app and it will tell you what time is available; if you like the time you see, book away! You can then get another Lightning Lane once you've used the LL OR after 2 hours, whichever comes first. Note that some Lightning Lanes are NOT included in the general LL groupings and have to be purchased individually (Rise of the Resistance, Radiator Springs Racers, Spider-Man webslingers). My one caveat with LL is that a lot of the options are for the more thrilling rides-while there are things on there that all ages will like, it's probably something worth thinking about. As said, the crowds don't usually show up til around 11, so if the park opens at 8 (and you're ready and in the park at that point) you may be able to get on some things without waiting too long, so you might not necessarily want to start booking LLs immediately.

If your ticket is a parkhopper, it will be flagged in the system and you won't need to do anything extra. The only difference from a one day ticket is that after 1 PM you can go from one park to the other. You can do this as many times as you want, and it's easy as the parks' main entrances face each other. You don't need to go through security again or do anything special, just move from one entrance gate to the other. If there isn't a line at the turnstiles you can do it in less than five minutes. Note that parkhopper can only be purchased for length of stay-so if you're there for three days, you can hop on all three (so you can't just pay less money to hop on only one day of your trip).

If you don't get parkhoppers, you can still re-enter the park you chose to visit that day by presenting your ticket at the turnstiles. If you don't get parkhoppers I would do DCA as the middle day of your trip so that it can become the down day between two more active Disneyland days.

 

[josephinelcajon]

Going to Disneyland with 3.5yo, 5.5yo girls. Weather forecast is 95 degrees. How should this affect our visit? Are there any attractions that we should aim for once it gets too hot, or things to avoid? I imagine it will be hard to do a lot of walking after noon and that big crowd will gather around weather friendly attractions. thanks!

Its not just hot its humid much like Florida. Our weather has changed! Get an early start. Drink lots of water. Do outdoor rides first then indoor dark as it warms up. Go back to the hotel for a afternoon nap and come back refreshed! The East side of the park seems to get hotter than the west to me. Eat light and cold meals.

 

[traveler_t]

I think about a half day for DCA is a decent plan with that age group. I can see the appeal for entering after 1 since your hotel is right there, but it may actually be better to start the day at DCA (don't forget to switch your park reservation over to DCA for that day if you do this). You can do all the rides that interest your family and probably do it fairly easily with short waits-you might not even need LL at all if you do it right-and then the hotel is right there in the same park when you run out of steam.

The only show that would need a reservation (Disney calls it a Virtual Queue) is World of Color, which becomes available at 12 PM. Each member of your party needs to have entered DCA in order to make the reservation, which would be another reason to start your day at DCA, since otherwise you can't join the queue until 1.

Lightning Lane is same day only. Make sure you've linked all of your family's tickets together on your Disney account before you go. Each person can get Lightning Lanes once they have entered a park. Look at the tip board page on the app and it will tell you what time is available; if you like the time you see, book away! You can then get another Lightning Lane once you've used the LL OR after 2 hours, whichever comes first. Note that some Lightning Lanes are NOT included in the general LL groupings and have to be purchased individually (Rise of the Resistance, Radiator Springs Racers, Spider-Man webslingers). My one caveat with LL is that a lot of the options are for the more thrilling rides-while there are things on there that all ages will like, it's probably something worth thinking about. As said, the crowds don't usually show up til around 11, so if the park opens at 8 (and you're ready and in the park at that point) you may be able to get on some things without waiting too long, so you might not necessarily want to start booking LLs immediately.

If your ticket is a parkhopper, it will be flagged in the system and you won't need to do anything extra. The only difference from a one day ticket is that after 1 PM you can go from one park to the other. You can do this as many times as you want, and it's easy as the parks' main entrances face each other. You don't need to go through security again or do anything special, just move from one entrance gate to the other. If there isn't a line at the turnstiles you can do it in less than five minutes. Note that parkhopper can only be purchased for length of stay-so if you're there for three days, you can hop on all three (so you can't just pay less money to hop on only one day of your trip).

If you don't get parkhoppers, you can still re-enter the park you chose to visit that day by presenting your ticket at the turnstiles. If you don't get parkhoppers I would do DCA as the middle day of your trip so that it can become the down day between two more active Disneyland days.

thank you! we have 2 full days at DL and 0.5 day (day of departure) at DCA. The day of arrival is not park day since we only arrive at afternoon and want to sleep early. Do you think for our ages it is better to have 1.5 DL and 1 full day at DCA?
Another consideration is that we only have 2 nights with park entry and for our age group the two DL night shows (parade, fantastic) might be better than the DCA show (WOC). What do you think?

 

[PiratesMansion]

thank you! we have 2 full days at DL and 0.5 day (day of departure) at DCA. The day of arrival is not park day since we only arrive at afternoon and want to sleep early. Do you think for our ages it is better to have 1.5 DL and 1 full day at DCA?
Another consideration is that we only have 2 nights with park entry and for our age group the two DL night shows (parade, fantastic) might be better than the DCA show (WOC). What do you think?

Stick to 2 full days at DL and half day at DCA.

Although there's no such thing as a hassle free nighttime show/entertainment/parade etc. you're probably better off sticking to Disneyland, if only because then you don't have to mess with the virtual queue and you have more options.

 

[traveler_t]

Thanks! I'm now planning the night shows for our party (3.5yo, 5.5yo). What is the least stressful way to see the parade / Fantasmic with toddlers? Does meal deal for the parade puts us in a good spot? do we still need to come very early? My kids might not have patience at those hours. And same questions for Fantasmic. thanks!

 

[Phroobar]

Does it really matter that a toddler watches the nighttime show or is it just you that wants to see them?

Is the toddler actually going to remember any of it?

My experience is to put the needs of the toddler first before your own and settle down back at the hotel before bed instead of giving them a huge dose of stimulation beyond their bed time and then try to drag them back home. Trust me. You and the kids will be happier.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Thanks! I'm now planning the night shows for our party (3.5yo, 5.5yo). What is the least stressful way to see the parade / Fantasmic with toddlers? Does meal deal for the parade puts us in a good spot? do we still need to come very early? My kids might not have patience at those hours. And same questions for Fantasmic. thanks!

Fantasmic: do a dining package. You can do the Hungry Bear package for about $35 and you're reasonably front and center, to my understanding. You'll need to get there well before 9 to get the best spots, but it will be a much less stressful situation than what the non-dining package folks face, where people will camp out for hours and there are people everywhere. Hungry Bear is the quickest and cheapest option, but if it's booked up you can always try River Belle Terrace or Blue Bayou, both of which are sitdowns that are much pricier.

Honestly the meal package is probably a good plan for MSEP too (it's at Plaza Inn). Apparently your viewing area is in Town Square facing the train station. Arrive in advance, etc. but again, should be a lot less stressful.

THAT SAID, dining packages need to be reserved in advance and may not be available at this point (note that most of the dining packages are listed separately from the regular restaurant menu on the DL website; if you're doing Blue Bayou you just tell them you want the Fantasmic dining package once you're seated). They tend to book up very quickly. If they're booked up, the only thing you can really do is show up really, really early and have patience. I would let the kids be your guide and if they're not going to make it to nighttime showtime, I'd probably just head out (you can always come back for another trip). The park gets super busy and stressful leading up to the nighttime stuff.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

The least stressful way to see the nighttime spectaculars is to pay a few thousand dollars for a VIP tour.

Otherwise, as folks have said, the dining packages may already be full if you're going to be here in the next few weeks. People who don't have VIP guides or dining packages start lining up for the first nighttime parade by early afternoon. That requires losing your entire day just to see the parade that your kids will likely be too tired and cranky to enjoy anyway since it can take a while after the parade begins before it actually reaches your location. Agree with others here on skipping it until they are older and can stay awake to appreciate it more.

 

[traveler_t]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! A few of follow ups:

1. if we just want to see the fireworks, is there a stress-free way? we will be in GCH in a room facing downtown.

2. where is it best to buy sun hats + personal sun umbrellas + stroller fans, ideally walking distance from GCH?

thanks!