Tip Tuesday: "Freezing" in Florida

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Hopefully it's nice and warm where you are. It's not here along the East Coast. It's down right freezing this week - even at Walt Disney World where some orange groves north of Orlando are worried about overnight temperatures threatening to dip below 32-degrees.

So this week, I wanted to talk about a few additional notes when it comes to cold weather at Walt Disney World. Shortly after the 2010 half-marathon, I posted a tip about cold weather at WDW.

In that tip, I talked about some of the attractions to avoid when Jack Frost decides to visit WDW.

This week, I want to talk about a few ways you can be prepared to deal with the cold weather, especially for those evening activities like Wishes!, Illuminations, Fantasmic! or the Main Street Electrical Parade.

First and foremost, don't get caught unprepared. Even if the forecast isn't calling for especially cold weather, you may want to bring a heavy sweater, a hat and gloves just in case. During the winter months, the forecast can change quickly. Also keep in mind that it can get windy at WDW and when the temperatures plummet, wind chill can become a significant factor, especially with exposed fingers and facial area.

Speaking of cold hands -- I can't stress enough the importance of bringing gloves. Your hands get cold quick. Now you photographers out there will immediately notice a big problem. It's hard to manipulate a camera with gloves on. So what do you do?

I happened to find a pair of gloves with pull-over mittens. The fingertip portion of the gloves was cut off to allow fingers to do things unencumbered. The pullover mitten part helped keep the fingers warm when not working. These are pretty neat gloves and I highly recommend them for photographers/videographers.

One place some people forget to think about are your feet. Cold feet mean a cold person. If the weather's going to chill out, you may want to have some proper socks to help keep your feet warm. Just keep in mind you will still be doing a lot of walking, so avoid socks that can rub blisters. A great idea to to put on a pair of moisture-wiking socks and then a warmer pair of socks over the wiking socks. During last year's half marathon (where it was so cold it was snowing for a while), I actually wore two pairs of wiking socks. My feet never really got all that cold.

Finally, if it's really, really cold outside, try to limit your exposure. Hop into a store or attraction to warm up. I know that seems obvious, but some people try to tough it out and end up with problems.

Fortunately it doesn't get really cold all that often at Walt Disney World, but if it happens, you want to be sure you're prepared. Enjoy the weather!