A Pre-Trip Report and Summertime Park Touring Tips
We have officially entered “Mayvember” here in New England. My 1st Grader’s first ever Dance Recital is rapidly approaching. Teacher Appreciation gifts are ready to distribute this week. My youngest has her Kindergarten Screening coming up. Both kiddos have routine Dental Appointments on the Calendar. I feel prepared for the month ahead, but am dreaming about the end of the school year.
Can I share a secret? We have a June Trip to Walt Disney World planned! The we? My best friend Lindsay (her 6 month old son) and I. Morgan and Maggie don’t know yet!
I was supposed to head down to Walt Disney World the last week of April for my nephew’s First Trip. Life happened and I had to cancel. Lindsay is still there this week, but we both wanted a do-over.
The summer promotions this year are absolutely amazing. We booked a Cars Suite for our family’s first ever stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. If you haven’t checked out the Disney+ Subscriber promotions, see if your dates still have availability. We saved $1,900 booking our room through one of the promotions and I bought the girls’ tickets at a discount as well.
There is a LOT to be excited about for our upcoming trip. Due to the INSANE cost of Flights, we will be skipping Logan this trip and flying out of a smaller airport near us.That means flight time options were limited. In classic Disney Math fashion, we’re adding a discounted night at Disney’s POP Century and an additional discounted day/night at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Both are Firsts for the kids, and I’m looking forward to checking Coronado off my list. I’ve heard many people describe it as Moderate Plus, so I will report back.
Cool KIDS’ SUMMER is something we experienced for the first time last June. Crowds were lower, the weather was warm enough for Pool Time, and we had so much fun. There are exciting new additions to this Cool KIDS’ SUMMER, not to mention that May 26th is bringing many new (and newly reopened) offerings across the Parks!
I am especially looking forward to checking out Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster Starring the Muppets. Morgan got to ride the previous version in January and LOVED it. The Muppets were a big part of my childhood, and we all miss Muppet Vision 3D. I can’t wait to see The Muppets back at Hollywood Studios.
While there is lots to love about a Summertime Trip, one thing I am always a little nervous about is that Floridian heat and humidity. Have you ever traveled to Florida in the summer? I learned a lot on our last June Vacation. If you’re considering flying South June through August, I’m hoping this post will help you figure out whether such an adventure would work for your own travel party.
Walt Disney World in the Summer Time
Pros
✨ Often a lower crowd time (August in particular is one of the lowest crowd times all year)
✨ Fewer Rides are closed for Routine Maintenance/Refurbishment
✨ (more than) Warm enough for Pool Time
✨ Most children are on break, so you don’t have to take the kids out of school
✨ Typically there are great Discounts and Promotions
✨ May experience longer Park Hours being offered
✨ Both Water Parks are open(in 2026 on-site guests get free entry on day of Check-In)
✨ Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party begins in August (in 2026 the first party is August 7)
Cons
✨ Summer Heat (temps are 90-100+℉ and the humidity makes the “feels like” even hotter)
✨ Rain will most likely occur at some point in the day/on your trip
✨ Hurricane Season (August & September often see the largest impact)
✨ Nighttime Shows happen later in the evening (hard if you have early to bed littles)
✨ EPCOT has no Festival in June, July and most of August (in 2026, EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival starts August 27th.)
Our Itinerary & Hot Park Day Strategies
Lindsay and I are Walt Disney World Annual Passholders. Her son is under 3 and, therefore, has free entry to the Parks. For my daughters, I purchased the 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket on offer this summer. This allows them entry to all 4 Parks once during our trip. One park per day.
For this trip, some essentials I will add to my park bag include:
✨ Sunscreen Stick
✨ Hats for myself and the kids (and sunglasses)
✨ Cooling Towels for the kids
✨ Handheld fans for the kids (and Stroller Fans for our double stroller)
✨ Refillable Water Bottles (and electrolyte packets)
✨ Change of Clothes for the kids (or bathing suits) in my Wet Bag
✨ Extra Socks (we tend to wear Crocs or Tevas instead of sneakers in case of rain)
✨ Disposable Rain Ponchos
✨ Travel-sized deodorant for me (if there is room)
✨ I also travel with blister bandaids (though I could utilize First Aid in the Park) & Body Glide
We’ll arrive after bedtime on Saturday. We’re presently debating between Mears Connect or my preferred private car service Away We Go Transportation. We will need an infant car seat and two booster seats, so we are researching the best choice for our travel party.
Given our late arrival, we won’t push the kids to get up and out first thing Sunday morning. We’re planning to go to Animal Kingdom. We’ll purchase Lightning Lane Multipass for most of our park days, to avoid queuing outside in the heat for long periods of time. However, on this day we might only buy the Lighting Lane Single Pass for Flight of Passage. Our focus will be shows, trails and tasty treats. The Festival of the Lion King and Nomad Lounge are particular favorites.
Monday we’ll head to EPCOT. As on-site guests we generally aim to get to the Parks for Early Entry. We like taking advantage of the times when the temperature’s lowest. Going early works best for my earlier risers. Touring the Parks in the evening, after the sun has set, is another good choice. However we don’t tend to hang that late. One of Maggie’s favorite things is “seeing the EPCOT Ball at night.” We”ll see if we can make it until dark, but have yet to stay for Fireworks.
Our midday break strategy primarily involves Dining. Walt Disney World Annual Passholders have some great Dining Promotions as part of V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days, and one of our favorite Character Dining Locations (Garden Grill) was on the list! If Lindsay’s son turns out not to be a stroller napper or is showing signs of being overheated and needing a longer break, her midday plans may differ from our own. We will see how it goes, as this will be my first time (Lindsay’s second time) touring the Parks with a baby. Luckily, our Resort is on the Skyliner. Heading back to the Room for a longer midday day break is very doable.
Tuesday will be our first Rest Day. Typically, on family trips, we don’t do more than two Park Days in a row. Our Rest Days feature sleeping in and/or going to bed early. On our January/February trip we can’t always utilize the pool, but on our Summer holiday we absolutely will take advantage of the pool and splash pad areas.
We’ll most likely take a Skyliner Ride and enjoy our favorite on-site Quick Services, Primo Piatto at Disney’s Riviera Resort. Closer to our dates, I will check out the Resort Activities Schedule. We may do crafts, participate in pool side games, check out the Arcade, etc If people are up for it, we may venture to Disney Springs; closer to the 10am hour than the more likely to be crowded evening.
Wednesday and Thursday will be our Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom days. Again, we will utilize Lighting Lanes, and dining will be a midday heat break. 60 days out from our check-in date, as an onsite guest, I was able to book Hollywood and Vine for lunch at Hollywood Studios, another discounted option for Annual Passholders this summer. I also got a reservation at The Beak and Barrel in Magic Kingdom. I can’t wait to check out this newer pirate-themed Lounge. I’ve heard rumors that we are more likely to be given seats with younger kids in the group. I will be sure to report back. Crossing my fingers we end up in the main room.
Friday we check out of Art of Animation and head to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. This will be a Pool Day, and we’ll enjoy several of the food locations and explore the Resort. Saturday is the saddest day of all, departure day.
We’ll most likely utilize a car service to bring us to the Airport, but that hasn’t been booked yet. I tend to get to the airport about 2 hours prior to our departure time. However, when you take Mears Connect they get you there closer to 3 hours prior to departure. MCO security lines can be absolutely insane. However, we travel out of Terminal C which is generally less wild and we have TSA Precheck. We also won’t be traveling with checked bags this trip.
Well, that concludes my pre-trip report and Summer Time Strategies. Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram page around June 20th to follow along on the adventure.
Happy Planning,
Jody
Links to Summer 2026 Promotions and Offerings Mentioned in this Post
Disney+ Perks Members: Special Summer Room Offer
Starting May 26th at Walt Disney World