Places to Beat the Heat in Magic Kingdom

I was provided media passes in order to facilitate this review.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.A few weeks ago I had the idea to take my son to Magic Kingdom. Now, I know what you’re thinking and it’s probably something along the lines of, “It’s hotter than the face of the sun out there lady, why in the world would you want to do that?”, but hear me out… The girls were at Camp Grandma for a few more days and Everett was an only child. As a mom of 3, the idea of taking just one child to a theme park seemed almost inviting, plus, as a third child our little guy rarely gets a day to himself, let alone a whole trip. And since he’s only 2, his admission to Magic Kingdom was free. Huge perk.

The decision was made – we were going.

We went in knowing that it would be hot and it definitely lived up to that – the temperatures that day hit 98 degrees! But honestly, keeping cool wasn’t difficult.  Besides the quick serve restaurants giving out free cups of ice water (seriously, all you have to do is ask), there are lots of places to beat the heat in Magic Kingdom.  Here are just a few:

Country Bears Jamboree – Oh, how I love those signing bears…they have what might be the coldest air conditioning in the entire park.   Twelve full minutes of cold a/c and a show that’s loud enough to drowned out the sounds of my squirmy 2 year old.   Bonus: If you “accidentally” miss the first show, you can make this 24 minutes in super cold a/c, which is just about what it takes for to get brave enough to go out and do it again.

Baby Centers – So you guys have heard me rave about these places for years, but it’s true.   We didn’t use the Baby Care Center in Magic Kingdom this trip, but we’ve used them in the past and will use them in the future. Even if you’re kids aren’t super little, they’re still a great place to regroup on a hot day and normally have a small play area for slightly older kids.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – Never a line. Completely shaded. Built in breeze. Need I say more? Perhaps not the most exciting ride (except to my 2 year old who was enthralled by riding on the “train”), but definitely one of the better locations to beat the heat considering it goes through lots of attractions with a/c!

Splash Mountain – Okay, so riding Splash Mountain wasn’t an option for my 2 year old, but you can still cool off by watching the log flumes plunge into the Briar Patch.   For littler ones, you might consider Pirates of the Caribbean. You probably won’t get soaked, but might get a little splash to cool off.

Casey Jr. Splash & Soak Station – Located in the Storybook Circus area near the train station, this water play area is all about getting cool. While this attraction is mostly geared towards little ones, adults can cool off at the Tomorrowland Cool Scanner Misting Station (between Tomorrowland Speedway & Space Mountain) or the Adventureland Totem Pole that spits water (near the Magic Carpets of Aladdin).

Pete’s Silly Side Show – Also located in the Storybook Circus area, Pete’s Silly Side Show gives park goers the opportunity to meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy dressed as circus stars. While you don’t get to meet Mickey, this attraction does offer an indoor wait, which tends to be quicker than other character meet and greets since it’s at the back of the park.  

Obviously, that’s an old picture because Greenleigh wasn’t along for this trip (I think she was about 4-5 here), but it just goes to show we’ve used this “cool” spot for years!

It’s a Small World – It’s a classic ride and a great place to cool off. I’ve tried to keep just about every other ride that has a line outside off this list – because outside lines aren’t the least bit cool – but this one makes the list because the ride is longer than many others, plus, it normally takes them an extra 3-4 minutes to get you off the boat after the ride is over. I’ll gladly wait in a (covered) outside line for this one.

How do you beat the heat in Magic Kingdom?