When you head to Disney World in the summer, you likely want something to keep you cool.
There are tons of different options — cooling towels, cooling tubes, handheld fans, and more. So how do you decide which one works best for you? I personally always go with a cooling towel, but seeing all the different options has me curious to see if something else would work better. We just tried two different ones in the park to compare them, and we were surprised by our findings!
On a hot day in the park, we tried both a Cooling Tube and a Sukeen Cooling Towel. Starting with the Cooling Towel, which most people are more familiar with, it kept cool for about 21 minutes.
Now, what’s easy with this is that you can head into a Disney World bathroom and run it under the sink to get it wet again, but you do have to hope the water is cold. That will refuel it and give you more time, but we didn’t love how it got our shirt all wet. We also were sweating decently with it on since it’s basically a layer of fabric over your neck.
We didn’t dislike it, per se, but we do feel it’s on the cheaper end of cooling towels. Will it get the job done? Yes, but you have to not mind getting wet, and you’ll want to stop every hour or so to cool it back down again.
As for the Cooling Tube, this only stayed cold for about 43 minutes, but WOW was it genuinely cold! We put it in our freezer the night before to get it as cold as possible. Now, you can also put it in the fridge or in a cup of ice water to renew it. However, when it’s frozen from a freezer, it’s important to note that it can’t be bent. If you want to be able to maneuver it, we suggest the fridge, ice water, or putting it in front of an AC vent.
We didn’t sweat at all with this on, and we felt it was a little bit of a better design. It didn’t get us wet at all, as it doesn’t condensate as it warms up (since what’s inside isn’t water, it’s gel). Overall, we preferred this one to keep us cool, but it’s FAR from convenient in Disney World. You’ve got to keep it cold somehow while you’re in the park, and there’s no fridge or freezer to put it in while you’re in the parks.
We feel this one is maybe better suited for working outside when you’re at home, so you can place it in the fridge or freezer in between stints of working. We brought a lunchbox with ice packs into the park with us in attempt to keep it frozen, but carrying that around all day won’t be ideal for the parks.
If you’re looking for something to REALLY keep you cold and you don’t mind carrying around something to help out with that (or stopping to get ice water and dip it in there for a few minutes), we think the Cooling Tube is the way to go. However, if you want something less cumbersome and easier to deal with, the Cooling Towel is a good fit, especially if you match it with a handheld fan to blow on it.
We’re always trying out new products in the park to see if they’ll genuinely make your trip easier, so stay tuned to AllEars!
Love the cooling towel except for wet shirt…so I modified it. I’ve shortened the length and sewn ends together. It now resembles a cowl scarf. It no longer falls off or makes my shirt wet due to shortened length…will use on Sept Disney World trip!!!!