I have been to Disney all different times of the year.

Twice we have been in early June. (Last summer for Star Wars Weekend, but that is another blog for another day!) Summer great, but it is HOT and crowded! Unless June-August is the only time of year for you to get the kids out of school, I would recommend going any other time of the year.

If summer is your only option then here are a few tips to make your trip go smoothly (as well as sweaty).

• Plan! Plan! Plan! The better you plan the better your vacation will go. I am not saying schedule every minute of every day, but have a game plan with some flexibility.
• Take an afternoon break back at the hotel to rest or swim. If you kids are older, you can go to some of the other hotels and check them out in the air conditioning. This works great for the resorts on the monorail line and the monorail has A/C too.
• Bring aluminum water bottles and fill them at the drinking fountains. I brought the single serve drink mixes and added them to make lemonade or punch. I have little water bottles for the kids and fill them from these. Saves money and when your drinks are warm, just dump them out and start fresh with cold water.
• Make your reservations for lunch or dinner instead of breakfast. Morning will be the coolest time of day, take advantage of rides then.
• Use Extra Magic Hours. I know…every other site tells you to avoid the parks on EMH days. If you can get up and moving to take advantage of morning EMH, you will be able to ride all the rides in Fantasyland in that first hour. If your kids are older and can handle the late nights, evening EMH will be less crowded and cooler than during the day. This works best when you park hop because you can just leave when it gets crowded and go somewhere else.
• Strollers: Even if you think your kids are too big for strollers, they will wear out quickly in the hot weather. Even 6 & 7 year olds struggle with the walking. I suggest thinking stroller even if you would never use one at home. The last thing you want in 95 degree heat is to carry your 6 year old out of the park.