Wisdom When Doing Disney

Wisdom When Doing Disney

I know it is so easy to get excited about being at a Disney Park. You want to see everything and there never seems to be enough minutes in the day! But be careful!!!

I was recently reminded how dangerous getting overheated can be. My husband and I decided to go to Disneyland for a short day. We arrived at the park around 2:30 pm and decided to head over to New Orleans Square to check on prices of a pastel drawing. The temperature that day was hovering around 100 degrees. We tend to forget that inside the park will be hotter because of all the cement, buildings and people warming the area.

I never do well in the heat but thought at Disney what the heck. I’ll be ok. We walked from the tram through security check and in the gates and I started to feel the heat! We walked onto Main Street in front of the train station and I started to get weak.  The heat was worse inside the park. By the time I had gotten up the steps to the train station I was about to fall over. We boarded a train that was just about to leave and I laid my head in my husband’s lap for the short ride to New Orleans.

Once at New Orleans with the help of my husband I made it to a table in the shade just inside the French Market. My husband got three glasses of ice water. He poured most of one cup down my back and on my head. I slowly sipped at the second while my husband sipped his glass of water.

After resting for a while and letting the cool water do its wonder we headed off to check on the pastel drawing information. We also stopped and purchased a hat for me. We poured more of the ice water into the hat and I put it on my head with some of the ice inside the hat. We then made our way back to Main Street and into Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln to see the Voices of Liberty and Mr. Lincoln. We did this for several reasons, one is we wanted to see VoL and the Opera House is Air Conditioned! It is a great place to cool off! For the rest of the day at the park we moved slowly and stayed in the shade. We spent a lot of time in the buildings with A/C such as the shops and a quiet meal at Flo’s.

This is not the first time, nor most likely the last that I’ve had problems with heat. I’m extra sensitive to heat, especially muggy heat like we had this day. I usually catch myself before it gets to the point it did. I’m lucky I knew what to do quickly to protect myself.

Here are my tips for dealing with the heat:

1.    Don’t let the drive of having to see/do everything or someone else push you to do too much. Stop if needed and rest.

2.    Stay in the shade. If you can’t find it make it. Buy/bring an umbrella or even hold something over your head. Open that park map, grab a second and make a fan.

3.    Take time to just sit and relax often in the shade. Plan on doing inside shows, attractions and meals during the heat of the day. If you have a hotel near by then go back to rest in the cool room or swim.

4.    Drink plenty of fluid, water is best but anything non-alcoholic is good.

5.    When you start to feel weak listen to your body and stop! Find a shady place or go watch a show inside a building with A/C. Even take the time to do some shopping in a building with A/C. The idea is stay in the cool.

6.    Don’t care if you are wet. Do a “wet” ride such as Splash Mountain or Grizzly Rapids. Can’t wait for the line to get wet? Grab a cup of water and pour it over yourself. Make it ice water if you are majorly hot. Bring a mister and spray yourself.

7.    If you have a baseball type hat get it wet. If you are super overheated then use ice water. Put ice cubes in the hat. Body heat escapes through the head. Cool the head and the body cools.

8.    Blood flows near the skin through the wrists. Putting ice or cool water on the wrists can help you cool down. The back of the neck is also a good place for a cool rag or ice pack.

9.    If you have waited too long or the above steps are not working do not hesitate to stop in First Aide. On hot days they have cold towels in baggies that you can put on your neck. Go back as often as needed to get more, they really do not mind helping you. If needed sit or lay down and rest in First Aide. That is what it is for.

10. If you have young children or older people in your group be particularly mindful of them. Children and seniors often do not realize they are getting overheated until they have made themselves sick. Watch for confusion, flushed or pale skin, excessive sweating

11.  If you know you have a problem with the heat delay your visit if you can until the weather cools down to where you can enjoy.

Don’t let the heat destroy time at the Happiest Place on Earth!