Advice for those of you with Nov/Dec trips booked

[SaintsManiac]

Where are the lockers located in the parks? At the front?

ETA: Stopped being lazy and answered my own question

http://www.wdwinfo.com/tips_for_touring/lockers.htm

 

[hsmamato2]

this is why I can't avoid the bag check line..... I keep my thin wool gloves,an extra sweater,my thin gauzy scarf and extra pair of socks in my (small) backpack....when the sun sets i always use this stuff! if it gets darn cold at night 2 pair of socks keeps my feet warm. (this stuff actually packs up fairly small, but I have to have that bag)

 

[DaisyLou2]

Great topic. We lucked out in early February this year and only had one super chilly night....50's. But being from Massachusetts and having left six feet of snow behind that week, a sixty degree evening was like summer for us! Most days were 70 degrees. The lifeguards at the pool were all bundled up and said 'you must be from the northeast'.
I am still mad at my husband for guilting me into bringing a winter coat on our trip. Lugging that thing on and off both plane rides was a pain. I like the idea of packing an extra suitcase with just everyone's coats. May have to do that next February! Layering is the key but for my ten year old she wore leggings in the morning and I kept a pair of shorts in our back pack for later in the day. She tends to run hot anyway so this worked out great.

 

[disney world dreamer]

as you can see in my signature i've ben many times in november and a few in december.
most of the times that i went in november we drover down from western new york and threrefore brought coats, hats, and gloves.
we only needed them in the parks one year.
although 2012 i certainly could have used it just at night at epcot.

my opinion is that if you go during that time of year you should pack a little bit of everything since it can be down right cold, down right hot, or somewhere in between.

 

[DisMom829]

It's up to whomever is managing the attractions at that time.

Look at it this way, if they have Kali closed due to cold... your DD does NOT want to be riding it.

We take our Frogg Togg DriDucks pants & jackets to wear on the "wet" rides. The fold up pretty small and each come in their own case. Then we have rain gear if it rains, dual use

 

[subtchr]

I am going to be there Nov 11th-17th. It shows high 70's to low 80's as the high. I was planning on shorts and Tshirts and packing hoodies for at night. Is that a bad plan?????

What is "it"? A general "average" forecast? You certainly can't plan on that. Check a good forecast RIGHT before you leave for a better idea, and even with that, be prepared for anything from 30s (rare, but it can happen at night or early in the morning) to 80s. Read Robo's post above for some suggestions.

 

[bmalonef45]

We are going this November for Thanksgiving week and were there a few years back for the same week. The day we arrived it was really warm and we spent the afternoon at the pool. Overnight a cold front came through and the next morning it was upper 30's. We had breakfast reservations at Chef Mickeys and were staying at WL. I still remember freezing our butts off waiting for our boat to arrive that morning and seeing the fog on the lake. It was cool a lot that week and for some reason we decided to ride Kali in the morning one day. It was open, we got wet and most of us had to change. Still remember DD had to go commando the rest of the day as we didn't bring an extra pair of underwear to the park. Two years ago we went in February and it was warmer but cool at night. Layers is the best way to dress for this time of year in our opinion. It is a nice change over the brutal heat during the summer though!

 

[SaraJR]

Im bringing tights like nylons and sweaters to go with each of my outfits (im Disneybounding so they need to be specific colors)

 

[KateP85]

This is great advice. Every year we're in the parks in the winter with people in shorts who are freezing their butts off because they thought it was always hot in Florida. Buying cold weather gear at Disney is a quick way to eat through your budget! Bring a little of everything and check the weather every morning before leaving for the parks.

Florida weather forecasters are also very often wrong more than a few days out. I honestly sometimes wonder if they just get up in the morning and make the whole forecast up. It is usually fairly accurate about 2-3 days out, so don't trust anything for November right now! Check back right before you leave. At the moment it's warm and sunny, sometimes a little chilly at night. I wouldn't expect it it deviate too far from that in a few weeks time, although we may start getting some odd cold days.

 

[mouselovinmamatoo]

We were there for New Year's 2014 and by the end of our trip it was cold! We are from Canada and thought that we were tough enough to handle winter in Florida but apparently not! Remember the "Polar Vortex" winter....

This year we are going for Christmas (Dec.21-28 , very excited!!!!) and will bring our packable down jackets. They are super light and quite "squishable" for travel. Hopefully they will not be necessary but not taking the chance!

 

[Dr.Mickey]

One thing to remember: 42 degrees might be fine for zipping in and out of a car at work or school. But a windy 42 degree day almost killed us around the Epcot lake in December about a decade ago. Of course, we were there at the end of January this year and it was highs of 72. So you never know.

 

[vanyel]

I've been several times in December and January and can vouch for unpredictability. I always feel like I'm overpacking but I'm flying southwest so why not one thing I learned is go swimming when you have a warm day - don't say it I'll go tomorrow because tomorrow might be in the 30s.

 

[velouria]

We will be in WDW in 2 weeks! Considering renting a locker for our cold weather gear, but wondering how far away the lockers are? Would we be better off to use our rental car as our 'locker' and make a quick trip back to the car? I've heard conflicting info on how long it would take to make a run back to the car vs. renting a locker.

 

[hoosll]

My best tip: If they say the wind is coming from the north ... then even if it is sunny ... it will feel colder than the temperature. And when the sun sets, it gets a lot cooler. For me, it is worth it to wear jeans and socks all day, I carry a fleece pullover in my backpack with a fleece ear band and one-size-fits-all knit gloves. The clothes weigh next to nothing and we can stay in the park all day and night.

Just check out the price of sweatshirts, hats and gloves ... and you will see that they count on people get cold after dark.

 

[chelynnah]

the last two times we've gone mid-end January, so have always brought layers and rented a locker at the park to put our jackets, longer pants, etc in for the day till we need them. We are heading off in two weeks and planned to do the same, figuring the weather would probably be similar as far as the nights being colder even if the days were warm.

 

[kiford]

We usually go early December. One year we did WDW for a few days in early December, then a 7 day DCL cruise, then 2 days back at WDW. The first leg of our WDW was reasonably seasonable - mid- to low-70's in the daytime and 50-60's after dark. Then after returning from the cruise, the first day was in the low 80's. Then the next day was mid-60's. Two years ago it was in the 80's every day. Most of the times, it's mid- to low-70's during the day and cooler at night. Only had rain a couple of days in total over all of our December visits.

We usually wear long sleeved shirts and fall jackets to travel to Orlando with the intent of picking up a fleece sweater or jacket there which we will wear if it gets cold and to wear under our fall jackets when travelling back home. It also serves as our souvenir from WDW and doesn't take up room in our suitcases. We also take very lightweight rain jackets which can roll up into almost nothing as our fall jackets are only water resistant, not waterproof, and are generally too heavy for Orlando. However, if it gets really cold, we do have them as backup.

We also take a variety of long and short sleeved shirts of differing weights.

 

[subtchr]

We will be in WDW in 2 weeks! Considering renting a locker for our cold weather gear, but wondering how far away the lockers are? Would we be better off to use our rental car as our 'locker' and make a quick trip back to the car? I've heard conflicting info on how long it would take to make a run back to the car vs. renting a locker.

Not sure I'm understanding this -- you do realize your car will never be closer than a locker, right? In fact to get to a car, you would walk right by the lockers for every park.

 

[famy27]

What we do for winter trips is wear our heavier (and sometimes heaviest) coats on the plane. We generally need them when we leave and when we return to Chicago, so we don't regret having them. We can also use them as extra blankets/pillows/cushions on the plane. We look at the forecast each day to determine if we need to bring the heavy coats to the parks. In January 2009, it was 28 when we arrived at WDW, and the grounds crew was breaking out the tarps to protect the plants from the freezing temps. We were very glad we had our warm coats with us. It was in the 20s at night and the 50s during the day for the first few days of the trip. Luckily, it got into the 70s a few days later, so we were able to break out the shorts we packed. We just left the big coats in the room for those days.

On a side note, I was entertained by how quickly Disney can rotate their merchandise based on need. There was one kiosk at Epcot that was scarves, hats, gloves, and warm blankets on the first day of the trip. When we walked by a few days later, it was sunscreen and towels. They have merchandising down to a science.

 

[chelynnah]

We will be in WDW in 2 weeks! Considering renting a locker for our cold weather gear, but wondering how far away the lockers are? Would we be better off to use our rental car as our 'locker' and make a quick trip back to the car? I've heard conflicting info on how long it would take to make a run back to the car vs. renting a locker.

Lockers are right at the entrance of the park. At MK you'd have to go past them, wait for transportation to the TTC, wait for shuttle to your car, wait for shuttle back, wait for transportation back to MK. Took DH the better part of an hour when we did that (not realising there were lockers). For the other parks you wouldn't have the additional transportation step, but still a long way. We rented lockers every day after that first day. It was well worth it. Also remember if you're park hopping you only need to pay for the first rental. Keep your receipt and you can get a locker in the other park with just your key deposit.

 

[LoverDisney]

We are going during Thanksgiving week. I will consider renting a locker.