Should we take mid day pool breaks in August?

[jasmine217]

My husband and I went last July (childless) for a whirlwind 3/day 4/night trip, and did not end up taking pool breaks as planned because of our short timeframe and desire to see as much as we could. My husband is a farmer, so he was totally conditioned to the heat and did not struggle in the slightest (which is funny because by the look of him, it's hard to believe he could be so heat-tolerant...big, tall guy with fair skin and red hair!) I, on the other hand, struggled, because I spend so much time in air conditioning. Epcot was especially hard on me because of the expansiveness of the park and lack of shade. One of our days was cut short because of my heat exhaustion.

We are going again this year in late July, for a bit longer, and plan to take pool/room breaks. My advice to you is, if you have the time, definitely head back for a combo of pool/room time to refresh and recharge. To me, mornings and evenings are more enjoyable at the parks than afternoons anyway.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I think so.

 

[ajkraz]

We're going in July and we're just gonna possibly go to the parks before 3 but probably just swim or explore and then stay from like 3-closing, it's a good system for my family

 

[s&k'smom]

We always take pool breaks. We were there November 2015 and it was so hot and humid we loved being able to jump into the pool and enjoy the room (we were at the CR). Yacht Club in August and my kids are used to use going back to the room after lunch for a swim. They love it.

 

[danyoung56]

No matter what the temp, I always schedule an afternoon break. I take a short power nap, and then head back into the parks and storm till closing. Gone are the days when I could go from rope drop to park closing. Gotta have my old guy nap!

 

[DfromATX]

We are going August 14-24 and I know it's going to be hot. I was thinking of getting to each park for rope drop, staying until lunch ADR at 12 then leaving after lunch to go swimming at hotel which is 10 minutes away. We would come back to the parks for rides and dinner around 5. Is it too much to come and go like this or Is it more enjoyable and refreshing getting to cool down and take a break? Thank you for any help. I want to plan ADRs around our Dayton. Also , with taking breaks, will 2 days per park be enough time in each park? Especially Magic Kingdom and Epcot?

That's exactly what we did in July and it worked out great. We were there at rope drop, left after lunch/mid afternoon and went back to the hotel to rest AND shower (cause we were so hot and sweaty), then we went back around dinner time and stayed until closing. We decided that's what we'd do from now on whereas before we tried to stay all day and it would get too tiring, even for my teens.

 

[parkhopper1213]

We've done a few August trips with the intention of going back to the hotel for a swim break. Never happened. We found indoor attractions instead. We spent more time at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios. There were more shady and indoor things for us versus Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Those cooling neckerchiefs (spelling?) and mist bottles were a godsend. Buy those ahead of time.

 

[21stamps]

We've done a few August trips with the intention of going back to the hotel for a swim break. Never happened. We found indoor attractions instead. We spent more time at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios. There were more shady and indoor things for us versus Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Those cooling neckerchiefs (spelling?) and mist bottles were a godsend. Buy those ahead of time.

The mist fan was the best $20 I have spent in my life!!!lol. It was literally attached to my kid at all times.
Another tip- make use of the splash areas!
I ran around Casey Jr's Splash & Soak with a 5 year old.. cooled us off and is a great memory

 

[larryz]

I want to plan ADRs around our Dayton. Also , with taking breaks, will 2 days per park be enough time in each park? Especially Magic Kingdom and Epcot?

If you're planning on going to Dayton while you're at WDW, you'll need more than two days for each park.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I always like to take a mid day break, no matter what.

 

[fractal]

Our last three trips have been in either late July or August. Mid-day pool breaks or heading to a waterpark has been our MO. Stay at the Beach Club for 2 of those trips didn't hurt.

Another tip I got from @sweetpee_1993 which we forgot to utilize; Disney Buses make a stop at Blizzard Beach after AK - so pack your swimsuits, hit up AK in the morning, then stop off at Blizzard Beach. Of course this assumes you are staying on site and have the Park Hopper/Water Park ticket to do so.

 

[parkhopper1213]

The mist fan was the best $20 I have spent in my life!!!lol. It was literally attached to my kid at all times.
Another tip- make use of the splash areas!
I ran around Casey Jr's Splash & Soak with a 5 year old.. cooled us off and is a great memory

We live in Texas and thought we could handle the August Florida heat just fine. The thing is, when its hot in Texas, we are not standing in a line for an hour waiting for an attraction. Those cooling neckerchiefs are also great. You run them under cold water and put them behind your neck. I kept us cool for a long time. I got my water mister bottles at Walmart for under $10. They don't have Mickey on them, but they had a strap so we could carry them around easier. I'd also make sure to bring a refillable water bottle.

 

[xdan0920]

Unless you're staying at one of the monorail resorts, a pool break will take about 3 hours round trip with only an hour or so in the pool. It eats up a lot of time.

3 hours? That seems aggressive.

 

[21stamps]

We live in Texas and thought we could handle the August Florida heat just fine. The thing is, when its hot in Texas, we are not standing in a line for an hour waiting for an attraction. Those cooling neckerchiefs are also great. You run them under cold water and put them behind your neck. I kept us cool for a long time. I got my water mister bottles at Walmart for under $10. They don't have Mickey on them, but they had a strap so we could carry them around easier. I'd also make sure to bring a refillable water bottle.

I didn't even think about buying one until I noticed how much the heat was bothering my son. I don't even think our's had mickey on it, if I remember correctly it was just blue with a yellow "Disney Parks".lol Like you said, there's a world of difference between living in a hot place and actually standing/walking in the sun for hours. A cooling towel is a great tip..I will definitely do that for our next warm month trip!

Agree with the water bottle! We have the Brita filtered ones..they're great..and travel with us as many places as possible.

 

[AndyS2992]

Yes. My schedule in summer is get there for park opening, leave at 4pm to return to the resort and take a nap or swim and then have dinner and then return to the park at 7pm and stay until closing.

 

[thomas998]

We are going August 14-24 and I know it's going to be hot. I was thinking of getting to each park for rope drop, staying until lunch ADR at 12 then leaving after lunch to go swimming at hotel which is 10 minutes away. We would come back to the parks for rides and dinner around 5. Is it too much to come and go like this or Is it more enjoyable and refreshing getting to cool down and take a break? Thank you for any help. I want to plan ADRs around our Dayton. Also , with taking breaks, will 2 days per park be enough time in each park? Especially Magic Kingdom and Epcot?

Not sure on the ages of the folks in your group. Some handle heat better than others... some need more rest. My biggest concern with your plan is that you are probably not 10 minutes from your hotel. Assuming you are staying at a Disney hotel you might be 10 minutes from MK if you are in a monorail resort, but otherwise you are more likely to be 1 hour from your resort. Give yourself 7-10 minutes to get from most places in MK to the monorail/ferry/whatever out of the park. Then you add on the time for whatever transportation to get you back to your hotel. That could be a 5-10 minutes if its a monorail resort but otherwise you are probably looking more like 30 minutes.... then factor in the walking distance back to your room to change into swimsuits... an then get to the pool... So while you got finished dining around 1:00... you've gotten to the pool at 2:00.... spend an hour and a half at the pool... by the time you are back to your hotel and gotten changed its time to start getting back to the park if you want to be there by 5:00..... To be honest it isn't really that refreshing to take that kind of a break because you didn't really get a lot of time relaxing as much as you spent getting ready and traveling back and forth.

We've done what you said when we stayed at the Contemporary and it wasn't that bad, but when we did it staying at a non-monorail resort it really sucked. I think we ended up finally rolling back to the parks around 6:30 or 7:00... My only point being if you do think that is your plan don't schedule any fastpasses before 7:00 because there is a good chance you'll miss the window.

My person suggestion would be to spend a day at the waterparks and not bother with a pool on a day you plan on going to a park.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Over eight nights, I tour in 4-hour half day segments. We go to the parks 9a - 1p and then 4p to 8p after a midday break. My August 4-12 trip will be split up the following way:

4 half-days at Magic Kingdom
3 half-days at Epcot
3 half-days at Animal Kingdom
2 half-days at Hollywood Studios
2 half-days off

This system has worked with our daughter on three trips age 6 months to 2 years.

 

[xdan0920]

Over eight nights, I tour in 4-hour half day segments. We go to the parks 9a - 1p and then 4p to 8p after a midday break. My August 4-12 trip will be split up the following way:

4 half-days at Magic Kingdom
3 half-days at Epcot
3 half-days at Animal Kingdom
2 half-days at Hollywood Studios
2 half-days off

This system has worked with our daughter on three trips age 6 months to 2 years.

That's my plan in April with my 3 year old. He's still taking daily naps, so that midday break is a necessity.

 

[Chef Mickey]

3 hours? That seems aggressive.

I'm not sure which way you mean, but I could actually see closer to 4 rather than closer to 2. Mid-day, buses can take 30 minutes just to pick you up and another 30 to take you back, plus drive time. If you're staying at an All Star and coming from MK, I'd say easily 4 hours particularly if you're shlepping younger kids.

 

[21stamps]

I'm not sure which way you mean, but I could actually see closer to 4 rather than closer to 2. Mid-day, buses can take 30 minutes just to pick you up and another 30 to take you back, plus drive time. If you're staying at an All Star and coming from MK, I'd say easily 4 hours particularly if you're shlepping younger kids.

UBER!! For $15 round trip you save 60-90 minutes of wasted time.