5 Ways to Cool Off in the Parks

5 Little Known ways to Cool off at the Theme Parks

#5 Morocco Pavilion (EPCOT)

The Morocco pavilion is one of my favorite in all of Epcot. The reason being how its laid out. From the moment you walk in you are truly transported to another land all together, more so than I think in other pavilion. The rooms are always empty, quite with plenty of area to sit down, cool off, and relax with the family. Its location of almost directly halfway through EPCOT (no matter which way you walk) makes this all cool spot all the more appealing!

#4 The Key West underwater Dolphin viewing area (SeaWorld)

It seems as though dolphins are everywhere in Orlando, but in the far back side of the Key West dolphin lagoon is a small trellis with 4 doors under it, open those doors (they are usually propped open anyways) and you’ll discover a new way to watch the dolphins. This underwater viewing area is rarely crowded and is air conditioned. On the top of the water people fight (sometimes physically) to get a sight of the dolphins, under the water and with floor to ceiling glass windows the view is much better. The dolphins swim, play, and even interact with you. The fake coral reef with its vibrant colors makes the pictures turn out (make sure to turn off the flash though, due to the large amount of glass) and the benches that are sometimes in here are a perfect place to sit down and relax and the children watch the dolphins swim around.

#3 The Main Street Bakery (Magic Kingdom)

When the afternoon heat hits, the drowsiness of spending half a day at a theme park hits me, I always head straight to this little known Main Street shop. It’s a perfect place to relax as the rest of the family watches the parade outside or just grab a drink and go save your spot outside for the parade. The menu includes all sorts of baked goods, all of which are prepared fresh every day. My favorite items are the frozen lattes and frozen strawberry drinks. That and one the bakery’s large fresh fruit cups and I am ready to conquer the other side of the park. The location on Main Street is perfect since its close to any part of the park. There is a nice dining area inside and the selection includes both hot and cold drinks, snacks, and baked goods. The best part though is the semi-reasonable prices.


#2 The King Tut exhibit (Busch Gardens)

If you happen to find yourself in the Egypt land come mid afternoon there is a small little known attraction that’s perfect for sitting down and cooling off before heading back into the rest of the park. The King Tut exhibit is almost directly across from the kiddie sand box area, directly beside the missing head statue photo op. Inside the exhibit the AC is always on full blast. The exhibit used to have a rotating design where a group would walk into one room, sit down and hear a presentation, the travel to the next room for a similar presentation. Nowadays Busch Gardens just keeps all the doors open and lets you explore at your own pace, they have though kept all the original benches. That means plenty of seating, plenty peace and quite, and most of all plenty of ice cool AC!

#1 The Universe of Energy (EPCOT)

Continually rated the worst attraction in all of Orlando (unofficially of course!) this 30 mins long ride is by far one of the best places to cool off and even take a nap. Once you sit down in the pew like seats your in for a mind boring ride through a poorly written ride. The first room where you wait is dark and cool, preparing you for your nap inside the ride. Once your able to go in you will have plenty of room due the low popularity of this ride. The rides takes 30 mins to finish, though it only moves for less than 10 of it. The rest of the time it sits still, turning twice, while playing a outdated movie staring Ellen, Bill Nye, and Alex Tribeck. Kids love the life size robotic dinosaurs and the Ellen jokes, adults love the naps! This is by far the best places in all of the theme parks to cool off because its one of the few places you can get a real power nap and not be disturbed.