The Best Time to Go to Magic Kingdom

In this month of July, the brilliant minds at Disney World have kept the park open up until midnight every Tuesday. Check their calendar. This is great!

Imagine...driving to the parking lot. No parking fee. Drive right up to the front and get a spot so close that you don't even need the tram to get to the transportation center!

Once the monorail is bringing you closer to the lit up castle in the distance, you start to get goosebumps. The mood at night is truly spectacular. The lights are glimmering. The breeze is cool. There isn't a rushing to get it all done among the crowd. You might think that the "cast members" are tired and grump, but only Grumpy is grumpy. The whole atmosphere is magical.

Then, there are the lines...or the lack of lines. I don't arrive until after 9:00 pm, yet I walk up and onto all the rides I want.

Last Tuesday, we came just before the fireworks at 10:00 pm. I don't waste my time sitting around Mainstreet to watch them burst over the castle. You can view them from all over the park as you're walking to the next ride.

We rode Aladdin, Pirates, then Small World, Peter Pan (that was the only wait of 23 minutes), Snow White, Winnie-the-Pooh, saw the great 3-D movie PhilharMagic, Dumbo, Tea Cups, and Roadway within those two hours. That was ten rides! Amazing! With only one wait line!

One thing to remember is not to look in ANY shops on Mainstreet when you arrive. That area stays open after the other areas have closed. Keep moving through it to the ride you most want to see.

What about cranky kids? OK, you have calculate it out right. Nap late; around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. Wake up and eat dinner then go around 9:00. Don't go earlier than that. Two hours at the park is plenty. Remember, if you get there too early, you'll be fighting the larger crowds that are in the park until 10:00. It's only after the fireworks that it starts to clear out.

And while I've said that the fireworks aren't anything to hang out for, I would highly recommend SpectroMagic. This light parade is great. The weird thing is that it loses its magic if you are standing too close. You actually want to be a few steps back from the street, which works out well, with all of the die-hard Disney-ites plunking down on the curbs in anticipation. Truly, you enjoy Disney best when you don't try to wring happiness out of the experience.

Magic Kingdom! Ahhhh...I'm in love all over again!

Staying Cool in Florida's Weather

I think I suffered from heat exhaustion on Saturday while at Universal Studios. It was a great day, but it was hot.

There are two times to enjoy Florida's theme parks: the morning and the evening.

Really, if you arrive at the parks right at opening, then you are guaranteed a breezy beginning. Most tourists are tired out from the day before and can't get up and get going to take advantage of this time.

The other time is after 7:00 pm. The sun is going down and the air is starting to cool. Walking around becomes refreshing instead of depressing.

How can you take advantage of both times? Take a siesta, as they do in most hot weather climes. The only way you can do that is to stay close enough to the parks so that driving isn't an issue. So, you would eat breakfast, go to the park, eat a snack (that you brought in), have a drink (in addition to the water bottle you brought), leave around 1:30/2:00, be back resting by 3:00, get up in a couple of hours, have dinner and leave for the park around 6:00. This way you avoid the energy-zapping hottest hours of the day.

Even if you try to avoid the highest heat, you should be prepared for sweating. Of course you need deodorant, but you also can try some baby powder. Sprinkle baby powder any place that gets irritated: under bra line, waist line, upper thighs, etc.

Wear light clothes. I mean this both ways: don't wear dark colors (which do absorb so much heat) and wear fabric that is airy and allows your skin to breathe. This outfit is a good example and comes from http://www.coldwatercreek.com/ :

How can you chose the right fabrics to wear? Breathable means natural like cotton and linen. The worst fabric choices would be rayon or polyester.

Then, think to yourself which garments you own dry easily. You know that cotton knit ribbed T-shirt? The one is so heavy when wet and takes forever to dry? That shirt is the wrong choice. While it is short-sleeved, it isn't going to keep you cool. Choose something that is so light weight it is almost dry after the spin cycle.

For pants, everyone and their cousin wants to wear jeans in America, but it truly isn't the best choice for Florida's unforgiving heat. I was wearing mine on Saturday, and I think it contributed to the problem of getting overheated. It's better to wear thinner pants or shorts.

I would not recommend dressing skimpy, however. Covering your skin loosely with natural fabrics, even long sleeves and long pants has the benefit of protecting from the ultra-violet rays.

Whatever you don't cover with clothing, you really have to cover with suntan lotion. Be sure to get nose and cheeks, tops of ears, neckline (where your shirt moves around a lot), shoulders, forearms, tops of legs (from sitting down in the sun), and finally tops of feet (where sandals don't cover).

Do have sunglasses and a hat or be prepared for a headache. If you can't get little ones to wear a hat, see if they will put up with a tied bandanna.

Bandannas, by the way, are the best thing to pop in a diaper bag. They can be a hat, a bib, a washcloth, a handkerchief, and even (in a sad, sad, moment) a diaper.

OK, what if you end up suffering from heat exhaustion like I did? If you find yourself dazed and confused and sweating bullets, the best thing to do is to get into the bathroom. Go for the handicap accessible bathroom, shut the door and cool down at the sink. Splash water on your face, neck, arms. Stand there until you start to feel better.

When you leave the bathroom, go straight for a sports drink. Pay the $3.00 for a Powerade. Drink it inside some air-conditioning. Stay there a good 15 minutes. Sip it little by little, as it will get absorbed better than if you gulp it. Even when you feel better, you should leave the park. You'll need to rest and keep hydrating yourself.

Obviously, no one likes to spend a small fortune to enter a park and then leave early. That's why I'm giving you so much advice on how to avoid that situation. However, if you or someone in your family does need to get some relief from the heat, it's better to leave sooner than later. Be careful with your heath while touring. Nothing ruins a holiday faster than feeling badly and when it's Florida, then the sun can be the quick culprit.