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Beat the Heat at Disney World: Our Tips for Staying Cool (and Dry) in the Summer · Ear Scouts Podcast

• Rob: In this episode of the Earscouts podcast, we are sharing our best tips for how to beat the heat and the rain on your next trip to Walt Disney World. We got a lot of information to share, so let's get to it. Hi ho everybody. This is Rob with Ear Scouts coming to you from our makeshift studio here in Celebration, Florida. Also with us today in Celebration is a special guest. Normally he's with us as a host in Indiana, but he is here at Disney World right now. So he's coming to you live from the Celebration living room. It's Craig. Hi ho Craig. Craig: I hope everybody I'm glad we're talking about weather because it's so much nicer here than it is back home in Indiana. Rob: Yes. So this is that time of year where for many people where they're coming from, this is much better weather than they left behind. But in today's show, we're going to talk about is that time of year when almost no matter where you come from, you're like, ⁓ my gosh, how did these people live in this oppressive heat and humidity with all the rain? So but right now is the lovely season. Well, thanks for being with us, Craig. ⁓ Also here in celebration as always is the other half of your scouts, Eric. Hi ho Eric. Erick: Hiho everyone. Rob: So Eric is going to be keeping up with the live chat over on Patreon. If you'd like to join us live as we record each episode of the Ear Scouts podcast and be able to take part in the Patreon exclusive after party, just head on over to patreon.com forward slash Ear Scouts. And of course, also with us is the host of Jessica Scraps on YouTube and our co-host here at the Ear Scouts podcast, Jessica. Hi ho, Jessica. Jessica: Hi ho everyone. Sorry I couldn't be there with y'all. Rob: Well, you were just here, though. I didn't get to see you, though. I know you were here for a while, and we just could never make it work out. Jessica: was just there. I know, we... Craig: We did. We were all here and we didn't get together. Jessica: We were all here and we didn't get together. A lot of that had to do with the rain, which we'll talk about. Rob: Yes, before we continue with the show though, I do want to give a huge thank you to you for doing such an amazing job hosting last week's show. Eric and I were not able to be here, but Jessica, you did a phenomenal job leading the conversation. So thank you. Jessica: Thank you, we had a great time. So I think Craig and I, we held down the fort okay, we did okay. And a big shout out to Dizzlist, Rob and Nick who came on and kind of gave us a moral support and encouragement for that week. I think it made it all the better. So thanks to them. Craig: We did it. Mm-hmm. Rob: Indeed, if you haven't checked out the Dizlist podcast, they're good friends of ours and they they pop in on the show from time to time so you can check them out wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. But for right now, we're going to jump right into the main topic because we have a lot of different tips and things to share. Before we do that, though, I do want to say if you've never been in Orlando during the hottest parts of the year, it may surprise you how quickly and easily you can become dehydrated. You could be on the verge of a heat stroke before you even know it. We're going to share with you tips that make sure you don't get to that place. But I do want to say on the outset of this episode, if you're not used to this heat and you start to feel unwell, it's always a good idea. Find the nearest cast member. Let them know they can show you the way to ⁓ first aid. If you don't see a cast member. you just open up the My Disney Experience app, go to the map, and there at the top, under services, you're going to see ⁓ first aid locations appear on the map. But it's really best to let a cast member know that way. If things, if you start to feel unwell, ⁓ they're going to be able to help you right there on the spot and get you the help you need. But these tips are going to make sure that you don't get to that point because... If you are just careful and thoughtful about how you approach the hottest days at Disney World, it's really not a problem to beat the heat. I'm going to start us off this week because much like knowing where those first aid locations are, it's also helpful to know where the places where you can go in each of the parks where there's going to be air conditioning. where you can have a seat if you need to and just kind of ⁓ catch some cool air. Because that really, a lot of times, can be a lifesaver on the hottest days. So I'm going to start us off with that. In Magic Kingdom, there's a couple. My favorite one is over in Adventureland. It's right across from Pirates of the Caribbean. A lot of people don't know about this, but there's kind of an overflow seating area. that is kind of overflow for what used to be Tortuga Tavern and also Pecos Bills, but they will usually open that area up even before the Pecos Bill opens for the day. And you can just go in and sit down. There's tables and chairs. You can get some AC. Another option, this is technically not a seating area. It's a show, but I guarantee you, you're gonna find so many people when it's really hot out, flock to Carousel of Progress. because they keep that theater super chilly. I think they have to for the animatronics. They're kind of older animatronics and they need to be kept cool. So that theater is always really cool. The other great thing about that one is because Carousel of the Progress is kind of on this carousel stage, the next showing is always starting within like 10 minutes or so. So you don't have to wait. Like some other shows, you have to wait for the whole show before you to finish. That one's kind of always letting people in. So those are my two favorites at Magic Kingdom. Before I go on, does anyone else have a favorite spot at Magic Kingdom to cool off? Craig: I mean, just walking through, just to go down Main Street and just walking through the Emporium the whole way and staying off of Main Street itself. That's another one that I use a lot. like, if it's hot, I'm inside. Jessica: And I like Cosmic Rays. I like going in Cosmic Rays and sitting there and, ⁓ you know, spoiler alert, we ate at Cosmic Rays twice on this trip and both times was pretty good food. Actually, I was shocked that it has improved as much as it has. I used to say I would never eat at Cosmic Rays and now two times in this trip we ate there, but it's really good AC and you get a little show, sunny eclipse. So Cosmic Rays is kind of our ⁓ Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: hours in Magic Kingdom at least for AC. Rob: I love, I will go to just get a little snack at Cosmic Rays just to sit and watch Sunny Eclipse do his show. So if you've never seen Sunny Eclipse, you should put that on your must do list, even when you're not looking for AC. ⁓ Do we have any, I'm going to ask on Patreon, if you have any suggestions, we'll actually, we'll go through the, the parks and then we'll have Eric come in and chime in with your suggestions of places to go in the parks to cool off. but I'm going to move on right now to Epcot. My favorites in Epcot are, and if you're in the front of the park, the land pavilion is great because there's actually seating on both levels. So down at sunshine seasons, they, it's technically seating for sunshine seasons, but there's so many seats and there's never that many people eating at sunshine seasons. Even at peak times, you can always get a table, but Also over by Soren, the entrance to Soren, it's almost set up like an airplane terminal. So they have all this seating set up like you're waiting on your flight. So that's all set up there. And on the second level, kind of near the entrance to Garden Grill, there's also some seating areas over there. So lots of places at the land pavilion to sit and cool off. Sometimes Communicore Hall will have indoor cooled seating. It just depends on what's going on in that space. ⁓ Pretty soon for the summer, it's going to be goofy. Is it goofy core? Is that what they call it? Goofy core. There will not be seating when that's going on. But if you're here before that or after that, then there's seating there as well. The Odyssey Pavilion is pretty much now year round just used as air conditioned seating. There's tables. There's some tables where you don't sit, there's some tables where you do, but you can get AC in there. Also, if you move into the World Showcase, there's certain World Showcase pavilions that are great for getting a break with some AC. The first one that comes to my mind is always the China Pavilion. So when you go into that big pagoda building in the China Pavilion, it's technically a waiting area for going in to see their Circle Vision show, but they don't mind. people just coming in there and just sitting in, because there's a lot of open seating there. And you'll see a lot of folks just kind of come in and sit down and relax in the AC and don't even go into the show. ⁓ In Japan, there's a smaller seating area in the Kawaii Museum. So kind of in the back of that pavilion, there's a museum that talks about Kawaii culture, but there's some seats in there that's air conditioned. And then Jessica, know one of your favorites is in the UK Pavilion. I'll let you share that with everyone because it's one you always like to talk about. Jessica: Right, so the UK Pavilion, Rosen Crown is a nighttime dinner facility that you should go to, that it's lovely restaurant. But during the day, they have the restaurant part of it in the back open for open seating. And you can bring your food in, your food from the Festival Booth, or if you got fish and chips, or whatever it is, and you can bring it in there and sit and eat, and it has AC. But it also has two showings of a live piano player from a 1.30 show and a 2.15 show of a live piano player just singing typically British songs. So they do more of a British songs, but it's Kelly from ⁓ Thursday to Tuesday. And then they have a couple of people that fill in on Wednesday and Thursday, ⁓ but it's wonderful. We've started going there a while ago and now. We've realized he has a following of people that come all the time, but it is great. in fact, both John and I, and then mom and I, we just spent basically two hours sitting in there, eating, relaxing, getting the AC. And it's at that core part of the day where you don't want to be outside. We got there about one o'clock and we left at about three o'clock. So it's a good solid two hours. Rob: Yeah. So any other suggestions, Craig, Jessica, for Epcot of places you'd like to go to cool off? Craig: I think you went through them all every time I was thinking of them and then you take that. I mean, aside from like, you know, the American Pavilion where you can watch the voices of liberty. I mean, there's no place to, I don't think they really have seating there. They might have some, but yeah. But again, that's a nice place to hang out to. Jessica: Well... Mm-hmm, yeah. Rob: ⁓ yeah, that's a good one. Jessica: They have a few benches. And then I'll say similarly, it doesn't have AC, but it has seating is if you go back on your way to O'Canada kind of in that cave area on the way, there's a really good benches and seats back there and they're shaded. So it's not AC, but it's usually a lot, it's usually 10 degrees cooler and it's a nice place to sit back there and typically very relaxing and nobody's there. So that's a good one, I think too. Rob: All right, well, let's move on to studios where Hollywood Studios, I think, is kind of notorious for not having much shade, not having good options for when it's really hot. ⁓ My hope is that when the animation experience area reopens, that there's going to be some solution there. There might be some indoor kind of a lobby seating area is what I'm hoping we're going to see, but we don't know yet. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: I can tell you right now, your best options that I know of are shows. So probably the easiest one to get into at any time is the Vacation Fun Theater, where ⁓ they sort of do like Mickey, it's like a Mickey short. It's just like a little movie theater. And you can usually kind of get into that space within five minutes or so. So it doesn't take a long time to get in. Some other ones that are good, The Frozen Sing-Along is just a great show. Same thing with Villains. They're both really good to put on your itinerary in the middle of the day when it's hot. And you're going to be able to get some very good air conditioning and very comfortable seats. Other than those, I can't really think of any good options in studios. Do you guys have any ideas? Craig: Well, I just wanted to piggyback on that just to say that Beauty and the Beast and, ⁓ gosh, I just had and just forgot about it, but they're outdoor shows. ⁓ Indiana Jones, yeah. So yeah, Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast are both outdoor shows. ⁓ And they are generally covered and you're not like sitting baking in the sun. The air is moving, but just so you know, it's not air conditioned in those two. Jessica: We're in Indiana Jones. Rob: Right. Indiana Jones. They have a lot of fans. Yeah, go ahead. Erick: but like taking, but taking consideration for a Indiana Jones show, like they do a lot of like ⁓ fire and fireworks and things like that. And it sometimes does cause for it to feel warmer actually. Jessica: Yeah. I will say that for me in Hollywood studios, and this is a Jessica only, so people might not like it, but middle of the day, if you see a 60 minute wait at Rise of the Resistance, most of that queue is inside. there's, once again, I'm gonna say it, there's the Play Disney app. And you can actually go in and you scan the QR codes on the different boxes inside of the Rise of the Resistance line, and you could. Rob: Yeah. Jessica: Only do those that if you have a long line in the indoor queue, rise of the resistance. And John will make fun of me every time because I'm like, did I get that QR code? And you're trying to get all the things and do all the missions. there's like different rooms have a different challenge, but it's cool. It's air conditioned. I will wait in an hour long rise of the resistance line in the middle of the day in the heat to get out of it. It's actually a good use of a beat the heat strategy. Just. in Hollywood Studios, in my opinion. Rob: Yeah, and you can see if you were walking by the queue for Rise of Resistance, you can see if everyone is backed up outside or not. So if you don't see that kind of switchback queue that's in the exterior filled with people, then you're going to have a very cool wait for that ride. That's a good tip. Yeah. We're going to move on to Animal Kingdom, and then we're going to get ideas from Patreon. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. Rob: Animal Kingdom is another one that is really limited in terms of ⁓ air conditioned options that aren't restaurants or shows. I've heard many people say that in their opinion, Animal Kingdom feels like the hottest park when it's the hottest time of the year. There's just so much vegetation and I feel like the humidity level feels higher in that park, which can make it feel hotter even if it isn't. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Craig: Mm-hmm. Rob: ⁓ But some good options to get out of the heat. They're all going to be shows. ⁓ Zootopia, which is the show under the tree of life. ⁓ The good thing about that one is usually you can at least get into that air conditioned waiting area very, very quickly, even if you're not able to go right into the next show. ⁓ Another good one is the Finding Nemo show, which is over near the former Dino land. It's a great show. It's adorable, but it's also a massive air conditioned theater. I've never once not been able to get into the very next showing of that show. So you can see the show times posted outside or on the app. If you're close to one of those show times head there. Lion King is a good one too, but it's tricky because Lion King is definitely the most popular show. And so if you, if you don't get there early and it's a really busy day, you may get stuck outside ⁓ until the following show. Craig: Exactly. That queue is pretty much all outside, correct? Rob: Yes, exactly. So the Lion King only works if you're there, you know, and you can just ask the cast member, go and just say, will I make it into this next showing? And they can usually look at the line and tell you if they say, yeah, you've got no problem, then, you know, arrive, you know, a little bit before that show is going to start. But otherwise, you might not want to risk it because you might get stuck outside for a long time. ⁓ Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Alright, well those are my suggestions. Do you guys have any before we go to Patreon for Animal Kingdom? Jessica: I think Animal Kingdom's really hard. It's really hard. ⁓ Used to be that you could go and do the animation experience. ⁓ I don't know what that's gonna be like when we, but we would ride the train and try to do the noon or the one o'clock animation experience and just have like the train ride and be inside and do all of that. But now that's gone. So ⁓ I'm not sure what's gonna happen there. The... Rob: Hmm. For folks who aren't aware, the animation experience was part of the Grafici's Planet Watch, and that is now becoming a Bluey themed area. There will be a Bluey meet and greet. There'll be a Bluey kind of interactive show of some kind. ⁓ And there will still be the animal hospital back there as well. And it does seem like you'll be able to meet some Australian animals, but that's what Jessica's referring to there. Jessica: But I mean, I'm sure Craig is gonna say this too, so I will throw it to him, but Nomad Lounge is also a really good option. So just saying, Nomad Lounge. Craig: Mm-hmm. Yep. That's usually a good one. I was going to say, much like Rise, ⁓ flight of passage, the great majority of that queue is indoors. So think about that if there's a long line. Jessica: ⁓ that's a good one. Rob: Yeah. And Navi River Journey is the opposite. So Flight of Passage, most of the queue is indoors. it's even though it's a long wait, it's a comfortable wait. Flight of, I'm sorry, Navi River Journey is the opposite. It's a very long wait and it's a very hot and sometimes unpleasant, very long. Craig: You Jessica: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, and I'll even, I've even say, and we just talked not about restaurants, but Santulli Canteen there has a nice air conditioned area, but I've seen it in, when it's hot and super crowded, they've limited who could go in to the air conditioning. So like, if you're just there to sit, you're gonna end up sitting outside. So if you don't have mobile ordered food or aren't planning to get food, you won't even be able to get to the air conditioning because there's just that few places with AC in Animal Kingdom. Rob: Yes. Yes. Jessica: ⁓ So it's a rough, it's rough in the summer. Rob: And that's why I didn't mention, you know, some of the air conditioned restaurants, especially at studios and at animal kingdom, they, they will limit who can get inside to those who are ordering food. so ABC commissary is a great spot at Hollywood studios, for example. But if you don't have a mobile order or you're not ordering, the peak times you can't get in there. So, ⁓ yeah, that's just, that's why I didn't include those. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rob: Eric, what are some of the suggestions we've gotten from our friends on Patreon? Any any places to cool off that they like to use in the parks? Erick: Some of our ⁓ Patreon family are recommending that in Magic Kingdom, the Spray Grounds by Dumbo ⁓ and Adventureland, like especially for the little ones, like, I mean, a lot of them just go there to have fun and to cool down. Just, Yes. Just make sure that you bring some extra clothes with you for your little ones or for yourself, just because like you're going to get really wet over there. Jessica: Mmm. Rob: ⁓ yeah. Mm-hmm. But yeah, they're like almost like splash pads. They're like, you know, yeah. Jessica: Splash Bads, yeah. Craig: Mm-hmm. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Erick: in my kingdom someone was suggesting the last floor I mean in say yes and Hopefully also you will get like a good crowd and going have like a lot of fun over there Rob: ⁓ yeah, that's a good one. Yes. Jessica: ⁓ yeah. Erick: ⁓ person was about PhilharMagic. ⁓ Usually like it's a short wait and also like inside and it's AC. ⁓ And well, of course, Carousel ⁓ of Progress. the place that ⁓ I would for you go going to be the ticket office by Liberty Square, where it's going to be in between ⁓ Rob: Mm-hmm. ⁓ yeah. Jessica: That's a great one. Erick: Sleepy Hollow and ⁓ the Hollow Presidents. Yes. And right there, there are only two tables, but honestly, like, it's super cool inside. And ⁓ some people just bring their food from Sleepy Hollow and they spend some time over there just to cool down as well. And while they are enjoying ⁓ something to it. Craig: Hall of Presidents. Rob: Hall of Presidents. Jessica: Hall of Presidents. Erick: So in Epcot, ⁓ one of our Patreon family members mentioned the back of Test Track, which is well basically like the exit, the exit of Test Track. There are places for you to sit and you are inside. So some of them were recommending the American Pavilion show. La Hacienda de San Angel, which a lot of people just, you can talk about it, Rob. Craig: Mm. Rob: ⁓ uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Craig: Cars, we'll show room. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: ⁓ yeah. So the Hacienda de San Angel is, basically ⁓ during some parts of the day, it is a table service restaurant where you have to have reservations like that's later in the afternoon and evening. But if you go there when you really need the AC in the middle of the day, it's overflow seating for the quick service that's outside, but they don't mind. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: people coming in there. I that overflow seating area, even if you're not eating at the quick service restaurant there, you can come in inside and just get some AC and cool off. That's a good one. Yeah. Erick: someone was the Journey of Wather, where ⁓ you can down while you're playing with Wather over there. ⁓ Spaceship Earth, ⁓ so you think of definitions over there. ⁓ There's pretty by Guardians and Mission Space as well. ⁓ Rob: He ⁓ And at Journey of Water, there's kind of splash pads areas, areas there too. Craig: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and you can even get into the seas without doing the ride, too. So if you're going through the gift shop at the end, you can hang out in there. Nah. Not a lot. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Erick: Yeah, well, yeah. Rob: ⁓ yeah, that's a great one. Jessica: Yeah, but it doesn't have, there's not a lot of seating in there. Rob: Mm-hmm. No, there's a little here and there, but not much. Yeah. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-mm. Erick: one that I entirely forget about and I love being there ⁓ the aquarium. aquarium in Epcot, yeah. ⁓ Rob: The seas, yeah, which is what Craig was mentioning. Yeah, that's a good one. There's two ways to get to the seas. As Craig was saying, you can ride the attraction, the seas with Nemo and friends, and then when you exit the attraction, you're in the aquarium. But if you don't want to ride the attraction, you can just walk around ⁓ to what is essentially the exit, the gift shop, and enter that way and just spend some time in the aquarium, and it's nice and cool. Erick: Now moving to Hollywood Studios. They were recommending sci-fi, Dying In, and also, well, ⁓ Star Tours and Walt Disney Presents and another exit that a lot of people forget about where you can sit and relax is the Tower of Terror. Like at the exit, you also have some benches. So, yeah. Jessica: ⁓ Rob: ⁓ yeah, yes. There are some benches over there. Yeah. Craig: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. By the photos. Jessica: Mm-hmm, I didn't know about that. Hmm. Rob: Yeah, right, by the PhotoPass spot, yeah. Erick: Yes. Craig: photos. Erick: And for Animal Kingdom, ⁓ there was a question about Tefence and also Satu-li Canteen, which were some of your recommendations as Rob: All right. So we've covered lots of places you go to cool off. ⁓ And I think it's good to kind of make a note of those ⁓ just have them in your back pocket because when you need the AC, good to know where to go to get it. Jessica, what is your next tip for beating the heat at Walt Disney World? Jessica: So I'm gonna just say that I'm a merch person. You guys know I'm a merch person. I love a lot of the merch. I love the ears. I love the t-shirts. I love all of that. But particularly those cotton t-shirts they sell at Disney World for, you know, two for $25 each are heavy cotton t-shirts. And one of the things that I really, really recommend is find your lightest weight, maybe your dry fit kind of material, wear lighter clothing and wear lighter colors. lighter clothing, particularly it does make a difference. And the spirit jerseys are great. And I love the spirit jerseys. And here's the thing I will say. We kind of, we've kind of been talking about, it's great to find the AC. Um, the AC in Florida is kicked up to a foul. It's kicked up high, right? It's going to be super cold. If you know yourself and you know that you get cold, bring that jersey, put it in your bag because you're not gonna need it when you're outside. You're gonna need it when you go to dinner. You're gonna need it when you go to restaurant. You're gonna need it when you go to a show. So I will say wear the lighter clothes outside, but ⁓ it seems counterintuitive to what talking about. But if you are someone who gets cold easily, The AC that we just praised is going to be a problem for you at restaurants and it shows. So I really, that's why they sell so many Spirit jerseys in the summer. A hundred percent is for people like my mother and my daughter who got freezing. They were freezing inside restaurants. So we bought them a Spirit jersey to put on while they're sitting at dinner. So remember that pack something that you can put on when you go inside. And I know it's counterintuitive. But trust me, lighter weight clothes for when you're outside and bring that long sleeve or light jacket for the inside times, you will not regret it. Rob: Yeah. I love linen in the park. I have, I found a pair of linen shorts that I love. They're perfect for park days. And I have like eight pairs of them. That's like all I wear in the parks is my linen shorts because they just, you know, it's, like you're saying it's lightweight. It breathes it's comfortable in the heat. And that's, that's really important. Jessica: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It is so important. Rob: Craig, what is your next tip to beat the heat in Walt Disney World? Craig: OK, well one of my favorite things to use are cooling towels. ⁓ So if you're not familiar with those, if they're made out of fabrics that retain moisture so you just you can go to the restroom, use the sink, just get it nice and wet, ring it out, bring it out. You give it a flick like you know, you just flick that towel and it just helps distribute the moisture in there. Then you just put around your neck. I like the ones that are like scarf length. There's lots of different ones out there. ⁓ But I like the scarf ones, you can put it around the neck, you can put it over my head. I've done like a, you know, wrapped my head in it, because I've got a bald head if you're not watching on YouTube. And so, you know, that makes a huge difference for me as well. Now I will say the ones I like are made of like a microfiber. They have like a weave that you can actually see like those little holes in the fabric. They also have ones that are like more like a chamois, if you're unfamiliar with what those are. It's like a really thick. And it does retain the water really well, but they're just not comfortable. I've seen them sold and I actually bought one once and that's when I realized, ⁓ do not ever buy this kind again. So make sure it's like a lightweight fabric that you're getting. So I saw a lot of the shammie ones on Amazon pop up, which kind of surprised me. Rob: Yeah. And there's other like a lot of people swear by different cooling devices. So Craig, you like the cooling towels. Some people really like the neck fans that you can get. Usually you can find those on Amazon or ⁓ they sometimes sell them in the parks as well. ⁓ I've tried the I've never tried the cooling towels just because I don't like my shirt to get wet, but I have tried the neck fans. Craig: Mm-hmm. Rob: And they're helpful to some extent, but to put them at the highest level that you need them to be at to stay cool, the battery runs down pretty quickly. I didn't find it to be, for me, it wasn't super ideal. Does anyone else have any devices that you like to use or things like the cooling towel? Jessica: I bought one of those, I bought a fan. I bought one of the circle fans that you can point at yourself and you clip it on and ⁓ it works. But like you said, it worked for one hour before it lost its charge. So it was great for that one hour. Rob: Right. Eric, anything else from Patreon before we move on to our next tip? Erick: Some people like really, they just agree with you guys, like with the NEC fans, like they are not a good option. ⁓ But also some people really like the cooling towels as well, yeah. Rob: All right. Well, ⁓ my next ⁓ is one I mentioned. We did a video you can check out on the main channel about beating the heat at Magic Kingdom specifically. ⁓ And it like I think the title of it was like how to deal with summer crowds and summer heat at Walt Disney World. ⁓ But this I think, the number one tip from that video that I swear by. You really need to plan your day when it's going to be really hot out to balance indoor and outdoor attractions. Ideally, you want to do a one to one. So for every for every really long outdoor cue you're going to have, you want to try to have a show or an indoor cue or something that's going to immediately follow that because that's really when you get into trouble. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: is when you you're going to be fine waiting through, you know, a long queue as long as you are hydrated and have your sunscreen. That's fine. It's when you try to do two in a row that things get dicey. So just kind of look at your must do's and look at the map before you come. Look at what your must do's are and then think about what are the things that are near there that can give us the cool off that we're going to need after we do this attraction. And that's going to make a huge difference in your day. ⁓ Jessica, what is your next heat beating strategy? Jessica: I'm going to just piggyback off what you're saying a little bit, then I'll get to my strategy, which is the other part of that is it's really important in the heat to limit your steps. ⁓ I think if we, every time we've done a strategy video and we've talked about try to go in a circle, try not to backtrack, try not to zigzag, that is a thousand times more important when it's hot. So I just want to reiterate what Rob's saying is, if there was a time to be okay with not trying to get the lightning lane across the park, but just wait in the 45 minute line. It's the time when you're doing this. It's really hot outside. So I would just like to reiterate that. But my next advice, and I'm kind of the person that's talking about, I have very fair skin. My children have very fair skin. the heat Rob: Yeah. Jessica: is bad, the temperature is bad, but the sun is really bad. And the sun in Florida hits differently, particularly in a couple of the parks. I I would say Hollywood Studios and Epcot, there are times when you feel like you're just baking on concrete. You're just an egg baking on concrete. I love my ears. I love ears. I will wear a hat. I wear a hat and I will put my child in a long sleeve, thin shirt to not have the sun hit her arms. And The sun in the middle of the day, guys, it's killer. So I just really recommend doing what you can to protect your eyes. Wear sunglasses with the right UV. Make sure you're doing all the right things because that sun is intense. And it's not just heat, it's sun. So for me, hats are a big thing in the heat of the day. And then I have been known to wear a light long sleeve if I know that I'm going be out in the heat. just to make sure I don't get sunburned. Rob: Yeah. I have a hard time with hats actually because for me, I feel like my head gets very hot from the... So what I like to use sometimes is an umbrella to just keep... It blocks the sun, but it keeps it a little away from my head so that I don't feel like my head is just getting Jessica: Mm-hmm. Craig: Yeah, well, funny, because my next tip was about hats, but I got some specific recommendations. So there's a couple. There's the safari hat, which you actually see a lot of. that's going to be like a wide brimmed hat, usually made of straw, very well ventilated. And again, this is for my bald head. This can be pretty important. But you still to do the sunscreen. If you have a ventilated hat that has holes in it, you can still get burned. Jessica: Yeah. Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Mm-hmm. Craig: I think anyone who has a bald head and burns easily knows it's just you automatically put it on before you go anywhere. ⁓ And my favorite is called a desert hat. And it's more or less like a regular ball cap, but it's got a piece of fabric from the back to like protect your neck from the sun. ⁓ And so it's kind of like a hat with a mullet, if you can picture that. Yeah. And Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: That's a good one. Mm-hmm. It's a bullet hat. Rob: Yeah, I was gonna say it's like it's like the 80s mullet hat. Craig: kind of going back to the cooling towels. The one I got was from Helly Hansen. And I think I did buy it in the ⁓ Norway pavilion in Epcot. ⁓ But it's that same kind of fabric. So even though it didn't advertise itself as a cooling towel, I will take the hat, go to the bathroom, get it nice and wet, wring it out really well. And it just it makes such a huge difference just to have that cooling, especially on the back of your neck. That's a great place to to keep it cool to keep the rest of your body cool. Rob: Mmm. Very nice. So I actually want to piggyback off of the sunscreen that we were talking about. Obviously, I think it goes without saying, if you have fair skin, or even if you don't have fair skin, sunscreen is going to be key at Disney World during the hottest times of the year. But what I like to do, because I'm pretty good about remembering to put on my sunscreen before I get out in the sun. Jessica: ⁓ yeah. Rob: My problem is remembering that I need to reapply frequently. So what I like to do, set, if you have an iPhone, I'm sure Android does the same thing. You want to set yourself a series of ⁓ alarms that are silent. So you don't want any sound because these alarms might go off when you're in the middle of a ride or an attraction. And this is something people don't know. Even if you have your phone set to silent, Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: In many cases, an alarm will override that silent setting. So make it ⁓ an alarm that doesn't have sound. It's just a vibrating alarm. But you can set those before you even head out for your park day. You can set them for, you know, look at your sunscreen, see when it recommends reapplication, ⁓ and just set those alarms to just remind you throughout the day to reapply. And that's been a lifesaver for me before. ⁓ Because I just you you're you've got so much competing for your attention in Walt Disney World You're gonna forget you're gonna forget to to do that and it's ⁓ Eric do we have anything coming in from patreon? Erick: Yes, from this disrupt, he mentioned that he likes to use gold bound powder. That it's awesome. My days on tour with my band with minimal AC, we had to use it often. It instantly cools me off at Disney World. I keep a travel size bottle in my bag. Rob: Mm-hmm. Okay, that's a good idea. like that. All right, Jessica, what is your next strategy for beating the heat? Jessica: ⁓ And we've kind of talked all around it, but mine is to go away. Go away. Go away from the parks. Go to the resort. Go do something else, right? I mean, I think you kind of talked about planning indoor outdoor rides. We've talked about all the places you can go inside, but if there was ever a time where a midday break makes sense, a midday break makes sense in the heat of the summer. Rob: Hahaha! Erick: hahahahah Rob: Ha ha ha. Jessica: And I think the other thing you need to bear in mind is it's gonna stay lighter, longer, and you're not gonna miss anything. And in fact, you're going to be 100 times more effective at getting everything you wanna get done done if you leave by noon and you come back at four and you have a solid four hours when it's the heat of the day where you're not outside. So go somewhere inside for those four hours, whether it's back to your resort, Whether it's resort hop, go to another resort, go see something. I really recommend to everybody who's a first timer and they're going to go in July, they're going to go in August to plan your days where you purposely have lunch away from the parks. Purposely leave the parks so that you have to get out of the heat. You don't have a choice. ⁓ And I will add to this, Disney Springs doesn't count. because everywhere you have to get to in Disney Springs is you're gonna walk outside and bake on concrete in the middle of the day. And it's just not as good of an option to avoid the heat. The hotels are just a much better option to avoid the heat, in my opinion. I know we kind of joked about some other things, but I really honestly believe leaving the parks from noon to four, best strategy to avoid the heat and give yourself a reset. Rob: I would say you can do that in Magic Kingdom. You can kind of do you can do that in studios. I think it would be hard if you only had one day in Epcot and also Animal Kingdom just because of their hours. I feel like that would be hard to still do everything in one day with that large of a break. But I agree with you. A break is a great idea. Craig: Mm-hmm. Rob: And in Magic Kingdom and at studios, I think you can do that for hours and not, you could still make your day work, especially with Lightning Lane. Yeah. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Yes, Animal Kingdom is harder because they close earlier. ⁓ But you would have to, then I would spend noon to two inside a Nomad Lounge. Rob: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Craig, what is your next ⁓ tip for beating the heat? Craig: Hahaha Well, and this is another one that seems kind of obvious, but it's keep hydrated. Keep you gotta keep yourself hydrated, drink that water. ⁓ I highly recommend the electrolyte powders like the liquid IV. Jessica: ⁓ yeah. Craig: ⁓ Keeping bottle with you, there's lots of refill stations where you can ⁓ refill with filtered water. ⁓ If go to the app you put, you just search for water bottle refill stations and it'll show up on the map wherever you are. like there's several in the Magic Kingdom, there's several in all the parks. So that's just a great place to refill your bottles. ⁓ And I know we were talking ⁓ We all like different kinds of water bottles, right? So I think Jessica's got one I think she wants to talk about. Jessica: Well, I was just showing you my corksicle. So I got the corksicle and then I got the pop top I will I put ice in this in the morning and even in day, it'll be ice in it by midday. ⁓ It's a really good one, ⁓ but it's heavy. So I think the downside this one is it's really heavy to carry. Craig: Mm-hmm. Erick: ⁓ Yes. Rob: Yeah. Jessica: around with you. So I think if you had, if that was a problem, ⁓ and I can clip it onto my bag because it has the handle, but it's heavy. But I really love this one in the summer. I don't use it in the winter because I don't need to keep things cold. But when I need to have ice, I use this one that's the one I recommend. Rob: is also a big fan of the corks. ⁓ favorite is corksicles as well, Eric, right? Yeah. Erick: Yes, I really like it. ⁓ love the material. They keep the water very cool. Craig: But yeah, I was going to talk about mine. so yeah, I want to talk about what I'm using now, and I'm just started using it. So you know my opinion may change, but so far it's been great. I'm using it for a couple months at least, and it's called vapor. It's VAPUR and you found it on Amazon and it's collapsible. It's plastic, it's thin, it's lightweight. It has a carabiner on it that you can clip to whatever. Rob: Craig has his favorite, yeah. Erick: Another brand, Rob? ⁓ yes. Yeah, yeah. Craig: ⁓ The opening is big enough you can get like small ice cubes, not you can't get big ones in but just what you'd normally find at any ⁓ ice machine in hotel or whatever will fit in here. ⁓ The only thing is it's not insulated. ⁓ But what I found is the fact that it's so thin and collapsible and you can literally, if you're halfway through, you can fold it up, throw it in your bag and that helps insulate it. as well. ⁓ So ⁓ I just like the lightness. don't like, you know, the metal detectors and all that stuff and carrying a heavy bottle. That's not something I really enjoy. So for me, ⁓ this has been the best. Rob: I do to kind of throw in my next tip is adjacent to this before we jump to Eric, because I think Eric has something to share from Patreon. But while we're talking about water bottles, I did want to mention a tip that we've shared in previous episodes. Any spot where they sell fountain sodas at Disney World, ⁓ this doesn't If you look and you see that what they're selling is bottled sodas, this doesn't work. But anywhere where they're selling fountain sodas, you can request ice water. They expect you to come and request ice water. It's not something that's going to be like in in position at all. In many times, they're going to have trays already filled with ice waters because they just know people need it and they hand it out. So ⁓ anywhere you can get a fountain Coke, you can also get a complimentary ice water. And those are great. for filling your water bottle with because they're going to stay cool, even if it's not insulated like Craig's. Craig: And I've just walked through Peko's Bills today and they had a whole tray of them just sitting there. ⁓ I also wanted ⁓ to add as far as the water bottle, the collapsible ones, ⁓ they them that are silicone. I do not recommend any of those. ⁓ To me, like I think we were talking about earlier, Rob, ⁓ and just within a week or so, I start to taste that weird chemical. So ⁓ I recommend those. But that's another reason why I like the vapor ones, because they do not. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-mm. Rob: Yeah. Jessica: Yeah. Rob: Yeah. Craig: have any kind of taste that leaches out into the water. Rob: Yeah. Eric, what do we got going on in the Patreon chat? Erick: Okay, now that we have been talking about keeping yourself well hydrated, there was one question from Chaddy, and I it's very important. We always even make fun about it. ⁓ Well, Chaddy asked, big question. I heard that the water in Florida tastes swampy. ⁓ So last time went. ⁓ Jessica: Mmm. Rob: Hehehehehe Craig: Ha Erick: We brought a breather water bottle for the filter, but it was hard to get the water out. So I'm wondering if the Quickserve places give you water that really needs to be filtered. Rob: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay, great question. Here's the thing. The Magic Kingdom notoriously has the worst water. I don't know why Magic Kingdom water is specifically especially bad. ⁓ The best water that you're going to get is gonna be the water that comes out of the soda fountains because in many cases those soda fountains are filtered. They do have a filter on them so that so that the Coke doesn't taste like swamp Coke, as you put it. ⁓ those generally the generally the water that you get from the soda fountains is is your best bet. But even there, sometimes they're still a bit swampy. I did exactly what you said, though. My my first trip back to Walt Disney World after I came for some as an adult and was like, ⁓ this water is disgusting. I had the same thought you did. and I got one of those Brita water pitchers, it didn't help. It still tasted like Florida water, I found. I didn't find that it was able to get rid of it. ⁓ I don't know that that would be a worthwhile solution. But yeah, just aim for the, get the places where they sell the cokes and get water there. In most cases, it will be filtered. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And then at Magic Kingdom, if you use the actual water bottle refill stations, those are a little bit better filtered than if you use just a drinking fountain. So it's a slight difference. Magic Kingdom is never going to taste as good as the other parks, but the water bottle refill station inside of Pinocchio's Village House, it's right there when you turn left. That water tastes a thousand times better than the water fountains at the other places. Rob: You Jessica: Highly recommend water bottle refill stations over water fountains. Rob: This is going to sound crazy, but for some reason, the water fountains around Cinderella's fountain, call it, Eric and I call it Cindy water. The Cindy water is better. And I don't know why. I don't know if it's pulling from a different aquifer or what it is, but Cindy water is usually better. So if you go to the Cinderella fountain that's behind Cinderella castle, there's water fountains there. Jessica: ⁓ really? Hmm. Erick: Yeah. Rob: The other one that is sometimes better is the one right in front of City Hall. I don't know why sometimes that one it's usually chilled. It's more chilled. So maybe that just makes it so you don't taste it as much. But those are my go to if I'm going to do a fountain, I do Cindy water or I do City Hall water. So before we move on to strategies for being the rain, because that's going to be your other challenge when you're here at summer in Orlando, I do have a quick little list of things that you might want to think about when you're beating the heat. One is during that hottest part of the day where Jessica recommends you just leave the park. What I recommend. is just plan on doing ⁓ indoor dining. A table service restaurant in the park is great because it's just going to force you to sit down for a more extended period and just kind of get some AC. I also love to plan to do shows during that hottest part of the day. So if you have any shows that are going to be in the vicinity of where you're at, that's a great time to plan to do those. ⁓ This is the other thing that I think is really important. If you're planning to watch the daytime parade, that is, think, the worst in terms of getting overheated. Do not plan to do anything outdoors immediately after the parade. Have a plan for some indoor activity. There's very little shade. I'm talking specifically about Magic Kingdom, the Festival of Fantasy Parade. It's great. You should do it. You should see it. It's an amazing parade. But man, during the hottest times of the year, it is punishing the heat. So ⁓ have an umbrella can be a good strategy. Cooling hat like Craig mentioned. But biggest thing, plan on doing something before and after that are cool, because you'll need that. ⁓ All right. With that said, let's move on to the rain. ⁓ So if you're if you're not familiar with Orlando weather for some reason in the summer ⁓ we get rain almost every day and In many cases your weather app on your phone is gonna say sun sun sun. ⁓ it's a sunny day You're not gonna have any rain no sun at all. No no rain at all all sun Do not believe the weather app because it is almost always wrong this is Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: I feel like Orlando is the place where rainstorms are born. just, they, come into existence out of nowhere, right over top of Disney world. And they just, they're not forecast because they're not blowing through. They almost just generate here. And so it's unpredictable and you will need to kind of plan ahead for how you're going to deal with rain in the summer. Jessica, why don't you start us off? What is your, what is your first. rainy day tip for Disney World. Jessica: I it seems silly, but I mean, I'm a big fan of a raincoat. I'm a big fan of a collapsible raincoat or poncho that fits in your bag, that's lightweight, that you can just slip on. ⁓ Needs to be breathable. ⁓ Some of the ponchos, you feel like you're, you know, suffocating in a microwave when you put them on, but there are some that are built with like vents and they're good. So I would, I personally would go ahead and invest in a better poncho. that you can use ⁓ and do that. Or I have an Eddie Bauer raincoat that collapses into itself. ⁓ But it's just an easy thing. You can slip it on, slip it off, put it your bag, tie it, ⁓ move on. So ⁓ it's an easy one, but I think it's something that people should really think about doing. Rob: All right, Craig, what is your rainy day strategy? Craig: Well, first of all, it's kind of going back to the cooling thing. You could do what I did the other day and forget to pack an umbrella or a poncho or anything and get stuck in a huge storm that came out of nowhere. So it cooled me down. I will say that. ⁓ actually, so as far as my rainy day stuff, I love to wear sandals to the park, strapped in sandals that are good for your feet, have a really good support. ⁓ That's my go-to. I'll even wear them in the winter. I wore them in December. Jessica: hahaha Rob: Mm-hmm. Craig: just because it gives my feet more time to breathe. ⁓ And yeah, when they get wet, you're fine. They'll dry off quite quickly. And you're not stuck with soppy socks or anything like that. Rob: Yeah. So that's a good segue into mine. So I have to wear very supportive sneakers. I've tried. I can't really get away with sandals. But what I do is I keep some lightweight sandals. ⁓ For me, I just have some lightweight flip flops. I'm not going to wear them for long. But I keep them in my bag. They don't take up much space. They don't add a lot of weight. And if it's a deluge of rain, I can just slip into those so that I'm not going to have wet, soggy shoes and socks for the rest of the day. So consider just packing some lightweight sandals in your bag. Another thing you could do, if your shoes are relatively waterproof-ish, you could just keep a fresh pair of socks in your bag. because that can also be a ⁓ big help. ⁓ Jessica: I have a pair of socks in a Ziploc bag that's in my permanent summer. It's in my permanent summer bag. I have just a pair of socks in a Ziploc bag and a poncho, disposable poncho that's always in my park bag, just in case. Rob: Yep. Yep. And I'm going to add to this while we're talking about wet shoes and socks, you absolutely either need to have multiple pairs of sneakers because you're going to basically you're going to have one day where they're drying out from the day before. And you you're going to need that alternate pair to wear the following day or You can do what this was suggested to me by someone who watches our YouTube videos and it was the best suggestion. I love this little thing. I'll put a link to it in the video description on YouTube, but on Amazon they sell these. think they call them boot dryers, but they work for any kind of shoes. They don't have to be boots and they're relatively compact. mean you can. They don't weigh much. You can. They fold up and you can put them in your your bag. And what's great about these things, they will dry your wet shoes in, mean, the one I have does it in under an hour. So it's a really great way to, you know, if your shoes do get waterlogged to not have to deal with that day after day. So we'll, yeah, we'll put a link to that in the description. Jessica, what is your next rainy day tip? Jessica: You know, it's good, Edmund. So this is ⁓ kind of maybe counterintuitive, but I do want to mention it because I think it's important. If it's raining and not thundering and not lightning, go to the safari if you're in animal kingdom. That's tip. That is not because you want to stay dry, but the animals like to get wet. And some of the best safaris I've seen are when John and I are completely soaked and the safari is still running and we've seen the hippos out of the water. Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: Only time I think I've seen the hippos out of the water. We had the rhinos running across. the rain is, it's gonna rain. It's gonna rain in the summer. You're gonna get wet, but know there are some things that it's an advantage. It's an advantage to have the rain. And the safari is my number one. The safari in the rain, there's nothing like it. The ⁓ walking trails in the rain, there's nothing like it. So if you can suck it up and if you've got a poncho or an umbrella or even if you're just okay, you got dry fit clothes on, you're okay getting wet, Animal Kingdom in the rain is a little bit magical. That's my advice. Rob: Craig, what's your next rainy, rainy season tip? Craig: Well, something I just thought of if you're at the Magic Kingdom ⁓ and sometimes they do a rainy day cavalcade, which is just like little mini parade. ⁓ That's really cute. And then sometimes they'll do that in lieu of the main parade if they can't do that. ⁓ But yeah, it's a cute little parade and they come with their yellow slickers and sing. It's really cute. Just enjoy it. Rob: ⁓ yeah. Jessica: ⁓ yeah! I love that. Rob: That's actually the perfect segue. That's the perfect segue into my final rainy day tip, which is you need to plan for the fact that the rain usually happens in the afternoon. It's usually not always, but usually over by the time the sun is setting. It's usually kind of mid to late afternoon. So what you want to do is make sure that you experience the attractions that are going to get closed if there's lightning ⁓ or heavy rain. Do those earlier in your day or plan to do them later in the evening because there's a very good chance they'll get rained out. One of those is the parade. ⁓ But if you're in Magic Kingdom, as Craig said, ⁓ Your parade might get rained but you'll get to see the rainy day parade instead. ⁓ That said. I much prefer the regular parade over the rainy day parade, but they're both cool. Glad they do the rainy day parade. ⁓ But outdoor rides, especially roller coasters, things like big thunder mountain, things like in Hollywood studios, Slinky Dog Dash is a big one. Any outdoor ride will go down for lightning ⁓ or heavy rain. So Just make sure you plan your day accordingly. The good news is Disney World is filled with attractions that are indoor attractions that are built for these days. So Disney knows it's going to rain for a lot of the day. And that's why the parks are built the way that they are. Tron is actually an interesting example of this. They built Tron specifically so that it doesn't generally go down for rain or even lightning. So Jessica: Mmm. Rob: Usually Tron will still run even when other coasters are down. Jessica: That would be cool. I've never ridden it in the rain. That'd be fun. Rob: Yeah, I haven't, but I've noticed that it's always still going. Not always, but usually still going. ⁓ Eric, do we have any other suggestions before we move on to happy thoughts? Erick: Some people were mentioning about their team umbrellas and honestly, I'm one of those as well. Just because you can use the umbrella also ⁓ when it's sunny and it will protect you also from the sun. There are UV ⁓ protective umbrellas. well, again, if it's raining, mean, you're also protected. The bad part of it, if you want to see it that way, it's just like when you have to go through security. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: And you can get around that by when you go through security. If you have an umbrella, you want to hold it out way in front of you and walk through slowly with the umbrella extended in front of you. And that way they will see that it's the umbrella that alerted and not your bag. And you hopefully can avoid the bag search. Craig: ⁓ I just saw one pop up. Jules, I'm ⁓ I didn't think of this, bring a gallon Ziploc to put your wet umbrella in when the rain is over. And I think just keeping Ziplocs for if you're on a water ride or whatever, just to put your phone in, or that's ⁓ I always try to keep in my bag as well, just to, you never know when you need them. Erick: something that we use is like the waterproof bags. And also like we use this especially when we are doing like a little bit rapid when just remember if your phone gets like if the charger port of your phone gets wet, you won't be able to charge it like for a long period of time. also, well, the Ziploc bag it's a very ⁓ cheap and easy way to do it. But like ⁓ also you can find these things. ⁓ Rob: Yeah. Erick: for a very affordable price as well. Rob: Yeah, I for me, I like I like raincoats better lightweight. That was the key. I use they're almost like windbreakers with hoods. Yes, the water will go through them somewhat because they're a little bit porous, but I'm willing to have that trade off because it doesn't get so swelteringly hot inside. And I don't mind getting a little bit damp because it cools me off, you know, during the hottest Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: parts of the day. ⁓ The ones that they sell in the parks, those ponchos, they're just, it just traps the heat inside and it's just miserably uncomfortable during hot days. ⁓ But a lightweight raincoat is great. The other great thing about raincoat over umbrella is you can use it on water rides like Tiana's or or Cali River Rapids. So it kind of has a dual purpose. But I agree. Other than that, the umbrella the dual purpose of having the sun protection as well is a good ⁓ perk. since this entire ⁓ episode was kind of an answer to a question that we got ⁓ from one our Patreon family members about ⁓ how to deal with the heat, they're planning to come during the summer for the first time, they were really freaked out about it. This whole show was kind of the question of the week. ⁓ So we're to jump right into ⁓ Happy Thoughts, we share something ⁓ positive to the show on a positive note. Jessica, what is your happy thought this week? Jessica: So my happy thought, and I've had a lot because we did skip a week, but ⁓ I did do my very first run Disney event. ⁓ And John and I did the Judy and Nick 5K. And my happy thought is Lisa and Alicia from the Patreon. They really went out of their way to make sure we knew what to do, to make sure they met us at the races. They were supportive. They came out. ⁓ And Lisa actually is the hero of the week because she got the Judy Hopps pin for the 5k for me when it sold out, she was able to get me that 5k pin. So thank you so much. But really I was super nervous about doing the 5k and I, you know, it was one of those deals where you get up at two o'clock in the morning and the text messages and the Instagram messages and just the Patreon love was, was there. So just a really big shout out to them and, they're my happy thought and, the fact that we did it and. I don't think this will be our last Disney 5K. So ⁓ we'll definitely try to be getting it another one. So it was a lot of fun. ⁓ And I just wanted to give a shout out. And I did get the ears with the cute little Judy Hopps patch. So thought I'd wear those. But thanks for everybody for all the kind words and a big shout out to those two ladies who came and met us at the races and we took pictures. So it was fun. Rob: Awesome. So glad that you got to do that. And I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much you're going to do it again. Craig, what is your happy thought this week? Craig: Well, my happy thought is kind of similar to Jessica's in that ⁓ my happy thought is just this Patreon family that we have. ⁓ Our friend Fiona from the UK ⁓ is here now and I got to have dinner with her and her husband and we just got to know each other. And I just want to encourage that if you have I mean, I can speak for myself for sure. If you see me on the part, please say hi. I'd love to meet you, you know. ⁓ And I unless you know, Rob and Eric have a camera in front of them, you might want to wait a little bit, but yeah, you don't have to do that with me. Jessica: You Rob: We always love meeting folks in the parks. It's a treasured moment. we feel so blessed to get to meet so many people when they're here on their Disney vacations. I completely agree. Eric, what is your happy thought this week? Craig: ⁓ yeah. Erick: My family was able to visit from Mexico while it was my father, my mother, and one of my brothers. And just the fact that I was able to share the magic from Disney World just really, really brought a lot of joy ⁓ during this whole week. And I really feel very emotional about it. So also I want to give a shout out to Fiona. Fiona, the gesture that you did for us and for my family, like, it was amazing. Thank you so much for saving a spot for us for the parade. You have no idea ⁓ how much my family, like, ⁓ the parade and having the option to watch it, like, one of the best spots was... Rob: Mm-hmm. Erick: was really nice. So thank you. Thank you so much, Fiona. Thank you. Rob: Yeah, Fiona's amazing. She's one of our Patreon members, Patreon family members who lives in the UK and is here and she was so kind. She saved the spot. I call it the spot because it really is the best spot. It's basically right in front of the flagpole ⁓ in in town square. But you can see the parade coming down Main Street with the castle behind it and she saved that spot for us. So thank you so much, Fiona. That was awesome. Craig: You Rob: ⁓ my happy thought this week is, ⁓ we were, we were gone during the last podcast episode. We were not here because we were on a trip where we got a puppy. ⁓ we have a new, we have a new furry ear scout friend named Chuby and we're actually, think we'll have to, we'll introduce Chuby in the after party. But my happy thought is I have learned so much about. bringing your pets with you to Disney World because now obviously we spend a lot of time in the parks. We have to stay at resorts, you know, for, for to make videos. And I think we're actually going to make a video about, you know, how to bring your dog with you to Disney World and the things to think about. But I'll just share now that I learned there is, there is one dedicated resort. at each of the tier levels. So at the value level, the value resorts, I believe it's, is it art of animation or is it pop century? It's one of those two. I think it's art of animation that is pet friendly. ⁓ At the moderate level, is a Port Orleans Riverside is pet friendly. And at the deluxe ⁓ tier, is yacht club is pet friendly. And then for DVC members, it is the new Cabins at Fort Wilderness are pet friendly. So if you stay at any of those places You do have to pay an extra fee per day. It's like a cleaning fee but you can bring your ⁓ four-legged Specifically dogs currently they don't allow other pets but specifically dogs and If you're not staying in one of those resorts, there is the best friends pet hotel That is on property at Walt Disney World Jessica: Hmm. Rob: And they do accept ⁓ cats and dogs and other, think, assuming that it's not a venomous ⁓ creature and its cage can fit in the space that they have available. You can even bring other ⁓ pets with you to Disney World for the best friends pet hotel. So ⁓ I can't wait to make that video and to make Chuby part of our Ear Scouts adventures. But until then, I hope you all have lots of happy thoughts. Thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you again real soon.