Feeling Florida's Fury? Disney Has the Cool Down You Need!

As the mercury rises at Disney World, you’ll want to steer clear of these exceptionally heated areas throughout the theme parks.

Everyone knows that Disney World experiences extremely high, hot temperatures coupled with intense humidity. After all, the theme parks and resorts are situated in Florida—thus, even if you plan your trip during what should be the cooler season or winter, you could still face temperatures reaching into the 80s or higher.

Curious about ways to stay cool when visiting the theme parks during the height of summer heat in July or an equally scorching month?

August or September

Well, there are numerous suggestions available. However, we suggest steering clear of specific zones within Disney World’s theme parks if you wish to avoid overheating.

As seasoned Disney aficionados with countless visits under our belts, we’re highlighting the spots throughout the parks that tend to become scorching hot on warmer days. Either steer clear of these locations or make sure you stay hydrated and brace yourself for the intense warmth!

Animal Kingdom

It may seem paradoxical since Animal Kingdom is the Disney World theme park brimming with greenery, shady trees, and beautiful aquatic landscapes. However, it is undoubtedly the most sweltering location within the whole complex.

Indeed, the whole park experiences intense heat, notably throughout the scorching periods of July, August, and September. The warmth in Florida becomes overwhelmingly heavy within the realms of Animal Kingdom, causing visitors to search for air-conditioned areas and shaded lines for rides.

If you’ve observed higher temperatures during your visits to Animal Kingdom, you’re not imagining things.

The Animal Kingdom features several serene, deserted trails abundant with verdant foliage for those seeking respite. Photo by Laurie Sapp

What makes this particular park warmer compared to the others? The abundance of plants within the park appears to contribute significantly to trapping heat. These elements obstruct airflows and restrict movement throughout the paths and areas, making the space feel warmer. This situation arises from both the topography and how the park was designed as a whole.

Moreover, even though Animal Kingdom boasts the most tree cover among all of Disney World’s theme parks, it has the least number of indoor and air-conditioned attractions.

While

all

In the height of summer at Animal Kingdom, several areas can become exceptionally warm and sticky.

For instance, DinoLand, U.S.A. has more cement and fewer plants (along with less shading) compared to other areas of the theme park. At present, this section is undergoing development as part of an upcoming Tropical Americas extension scheduled to debut in 2027. Nevertheless, several sections remain accessible until at least 2025, such as DINOSAUR and Restaurantasaurus.

If your aim is to stay cool or escape the heat, make sure to utilize all of Animal Kingdom’s climate-controlled areas. They include:

Conservation Station
DINOSAUR
Lion King Festival
Finding Nemo: The Great Blue… and Beyond!

Toy Story Land

In my personal opinion,

Toy Story Land

it might indeed be situated on the Sun’s surface. Certainly, it’s

technically

In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, visiting this part of the park during scorching weather makes you feel as though you’ve been dropped into Death Valley on one of its hottest days ever recorded.

Toy Story Land could easily be the most popular spot in any Walt Disney World theme park due to its abundance of solid surfaces and scarcity of shade—there isn’t much overhead cover here, and limited opportunities to seek refuge indoors with air conditioning for relief from the heat.

As the Florida sun warms the pavement beneath your feet, it can make waiting in fully open-air lines, such as the one for

Slinky Dog Dash

absolutely unbearable.

Photo by Cliff Wang

Although there is an air-conditioned table-service restaurant called Roundup Rodeo BBQ where you can cool off, the main spot for escaping the heat within Toy Story Land is essentially limited to just one other location—the restroom.

Should you require rapid cooling off or stepping away from the sunlight briefly, go into the restrooms situated opposite the entryway to Alien Swirling Saucers.

Alternatively, consider leaving Toy Story Land and venturing into Hollywood Studios to experience some indoor attractions—perhaps catching one of the many refreshing shows for a more extended respite from the warmth. There are plenty of family-oriented performances you can watch here.
For the Very First Time inForever: A
Frozen
Sing-Along,
The Little Mermaid: A Musical Journey
,
and
Disney villains: Maligned for Eternity
.

EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion

Although many areas inside EPCOT can be quite warm, the Italy Pavilion in the World Showcase stands out as particularly sweltering.

With increased exposure to concrete and reduced shaded areas throughout the pavilion, and a

lot

In contrast to its World Showcase counterparts, the Italy Pavilion features an expansive, bright space that can become extremely warm during midday hours. Although it offers ample opportunities for sitting outside, finding shade as you wander through this pavilion is quite limited.

Photo by Cliff Wang

From a technical standpoint, the rear portion of EPCOT – including all of World Showcase – constitutes one of the warmer zones within the theme park. This is due to extensive areas with direct sunlight and wide-open spaces that offer minimal shade along lengthy paths between indoor, climate-controlled attractions.

The great thing about the Italy Pavilion and EPCOT overall is that you’ll come across numerous spots to help you cool down as you move around the park. Most of these areas are conveniently close together. Should you start feeling overly warm, here are some of our top recommendations for taking a refreshing break:
1.
2.
3.
4.

American Adventure
CommuniCore Hall
The Disney & Pixar Shorts Film Festival
Living with the Land
The Seas featuring Nemo & Friends

Frontierland in Magic Kingdom

I believe that within Magic Kingdom, no place gets as sweltering as some of the aforementioned spots. However, if I were forced to pick one particularly warm corner within this theme park, it would be Frontierland—a region with ample sunlight and limited shaded areas for escaping the warmth.

Frontierland shares several characteristics with Toy Story Land and EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion: It provides limited shaded areas, minimal indoor spaces for respite from the heat, and plenty of warm concrete surfaces that quickly elevate your body temperature. As an always-bright section within Magic Kingdom, this part of the park can become quite warm on a sunny day, particularly when standing in numerous outdoor lines that do not offer air-conditioned relief.

Photo by CJ Ayd

Moreover, it’s probable that Frontierland will become even more crowded in the upcoming years.

The shutting down of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island

to clear space for something new

Cars

A section of the area in the park will have its water feature removed, which could potentially increase temperatures in Frontierland.

A pleasant addition is the latest attraction at the park, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, offering a watery adventure for visitors seeking excitement.
really
chill out. All you have to do is tackle the outdoor portion of the line first!

Feeling overheated after queuing up in the sweltering line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? Check out these nearby chill zones with great air conditioning, all within walking distance:
1.
2.
3.

Country Bear Musical Jamboree
Diamond Horseshoe
Hall of Presidents
Haunted Mansion

If you’re heading to any of these particularly hot locations within Disney World’s theme parks, be sure to

avoid these common mistakes

So you don’t end up overloading.

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