From Rainstorms to Blistering Heat- Florida Weather

Florida weather is like us Floridians. A mxed bag of nuts. A day of 0% chance of rain, may be cloudy by noon and pouring by 3pm. And even when it’s scheduled to rain, it may rain on one side of the street and be bone dry on the other (don’t think I’m exaggerating. I’ve literally seen that occur more than once). Our summer heat is different than the West- we may be about 10-15 degrees cooler- but our humidity in summer is about 60-80% most days. Even if you’re from Florida, but live on the coasts, don’t think you’re safe in winter or summer. Our weather in Tampa can be 5-10 degrees cooler during summer and 5-10 degrees warmer during winter. If you noticed, I haven’t mentioned spring or fall. That’s because those are literally two weeks each year. If you could live at Disney for that time, it would be perfect.
As you can tell, when you walk out the door of your house/apartment/condo/rental/hotel, you have no idea what you’re walking into. So be prepared! (Totally quoting Lion King, there) And we’re going to prepare on the tightest budget we can!

Clothing
By this point in time, you should know that if you’re wearing jeans in direct sun during summer, you might try to find a dull butter knife to hack away at them by noon. If you’re from Florida- In winter, expect Disney World to be cooler than most places. Especially in Magic Kingdom and Epcot, since the wind is stronger in both parks. If you’re not from from Florida- cotton and linen is fabric of choice- with how humid it becomes, nylon, polyester, synthetic materials and the like become stifling.

Shoes

Flip flops? Bad idea. Unless you have worn them on long walks, and have not received blisters or foot pain, they are not for you. Especially do not wear them if you’re going for multiple days. I tried that once- foot cramps are no fun throughout a day. Let alone blowing one of those shoes out. Solid sneakers like converse or designer sneakers are a no-no too. After one of those Florida downpours, they’ll be squishy for days on end. What has seemed to work decently well for many of us- either sandals meant for hiking or good walking/running shoes that breathe. This means they’ll dry quickly without killing your feet. The only other caveat my hubby and I have found is if we’re driving, to bring flip flops and wear sneakers. That way if you’re feet are soaked, you can change out of them either on your ride home or to the hotel/other park.

When, not if, it rains.

Long before you leave for Disney World, know that this will be an eventuality. So instead of forking over $17 per poncho to get a flimsy plastic bag with Mickey Mouse on the back of it, that may or may not last another usage, buy a decent one from a Walmart or something like it. Ours have lasted a full year now, and they’re heavy duty and we paid about $5 a piece and once they were dried out, they fit into little zippered pouches that came with them. They fit perfectly in our Disney go-bag. (See pic- More on that later.)

Accessories

So it doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter, it’s always sunny. Those sunglasses and baseball cap will never go amiss. If you have a smartphone (who doesn’t anymore?) make sure to have the Disney app on there. When it rains, have a plan on which indoor ride to go on – the ones further back in the park usually have smaller lines- but use that app to help make that decision rather than get there, find out it’s a 70 minute wait and you don’t want to wait that long, and have to venture back out into the rain to head to the next one.

Heat stroke

This is a real issue here. It’s one of the main reasons for serious injury in Florida during the summer. A mild case will knock you out for a day. A major case can knock you out of the game for a week. Straight from the CDC, there were over 1,400 deaths from heat stroke last year in the south. There are many times more that have had cases of heat exhaustion or stroke that go undiagnosed. Again straight from the Mayo Clinic, symptoms to look out for are:

• High body temperature. A body temperature of 104 F (40 C) or higher is the main sign of heatstroke.
• Altered mental state or behavior. Confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and coma can all result from heatstroke.
• Alteration in sweating. In heatstroke brought on by hot weather, your skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. However, in heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, your skin may feel moist.
• Nausea and vomiting. You may feel sick to your stomach or vomit.
• Flushed skin. Your skin may turn red as your body temperature increases.
• Rapid breathing. Your breathing may become rapid and shallow.
• Racing heart rate. Your pulse may significantly increase because heat stress places a tremendous burden on your heart to help cool your body.
• Headache. Your head may throb.

If you start to get any of these, get in the shade and drink lots of water. Disney is a prime spot for this to occur at- not only have I seen it, I’ve experienced it myself. You don’t want to stop moving, and yeah it’s hot, but not that hot, you rationalize. But it’s not cool when you pass out on family or friends. For you or them. Just saying. For more information, this site on mayoclinic.org is very informative and helpful.

To avoid all of this, know when to take a rest in the shade, and drink as much water as you can. Not soda, not alcohol, not juice. Water. If you down a bottle of water, and don’t have to use the bathroom within an hour, you’re still dehydrated. Drink more. The hubby and I always have two full bottles of water in our Disney go-bag, and consistently refill it with cold water from quick serves. It’s free and cold. And usually a big cup of ice water.

And with all of that…

A lot of other posts will expand beyond just these basics from us, and when those posts hit the blog, we’ll be sure to cross reference with each other for you. But here are just some of the basics we’ve come across to share with you! Hopefully this’ll make your visit to our temperamental state a little more manageable!

Signing off!

Mrs. TFM