Best time to visit?

[gaylee]

We are still trying to decide if to go back to Orlando this year. We went with our 2 kids last June and it was far too humid and hot - the kids didn't seem overly bothered by it but mum was!! This year if we go back we would like it to be cooler (if at all possible!) and not overly busy. When would be the best time to go. My kids are 2 and 5 but we don't mind going during term time. Also looking for somewhere to stay - we would prefer to stay somewhere that has 2 bedrooms or at least a seperate lounge area. We visited Celebration last year and loved how old world it was. Does anyone know if there are any villas or apartments there to rent? When I do a search for them it seems like they are not in the Celebration that we went to!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi Gaylee



I can't help you with accommodation as I am an onsite gal, but perhaps with time of the year.

Term time will definitely keep costs down, as well as not throwing you into heavy crowds.

Weather is lovely in April, but it depends when Easter falls as to what sort of crowds you are going to hit when there. The US has Spring BreakFai which often runs right up to Easter if the Easter weekend falls early. This year will be interesting to see what happens with it right at the end of the month.

You would want to avoid Easter itself if you would like to completely avoid the crowds. With little children you are unlikely to be able to make use of the extended, late park hours anyway so there would be little gain for you there. If you check when Easter falls the year you want to go (I wasn't sure if it was 2011 or later) and you time it that you arrive right after Easter you should have pretty good weather that allows you plenty pool time without the humidity.

If you start overlapping into May, keeping it to as early as possible in the month will help you avoid the worst of the heat.

Another Option is September/early October. Also lower crowds. Sept is quieter than October, but you would want to stick to the later part of the month as it will still be fairly humid.

We did October last year and it was beautiful (first two weeks). Similar to the lovely April weather we have enjoyed before.

Any questions or comments, please feel free to ask.

 

[gaylee]

Thanks for your advice. We had thought October would be a good time to visit but had been put off by the school holidays. Have you ever been in November or December? We would like to see it decorated for Christmas but also avoid Thanksgiving which I think is 24th November this year. Also presume it would be less humid then!

 

[2Tiggies]

The first part of October is not bad. I took my DD out of school for a week. Most of the UK schools take the last two weeks (or one of them, depending on the term timetable) during October. We noticed on the 16th which was the Saturday we left that it suddenly got a lot busier. This year we are going the last week of September and the first week of October.

November can be a good idea if you want to see it all decked out for Christmas. Beware of December with the last 2 years unseasonally bad weather though. A few folk on here were stranded or had to cancel so the earlier in December the better. It is going to be cold though and you are unlikely to be using the pool if that is a factor for the kiddies. November can get pretty chilly too as you head deeper into the month but the earlier part is said to be better. I have never done November before.

By the way, we had no humidity in October last year - and my DD is NOT a fan of the heat, although she loves to swim.

 

[TCO]

We loved it in September as it was free dining and quite quiet but it was hot.

If you are staying offsite November may be good, not too hot shouldn't be too busy early in the month.

 

[2Tiggies]

I have used this site for a few years now for weather. It gives a historical overview of weather for recent years by the day, including humidity, rainfall, etc.

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORL/1972/4/11/PlannerHistory.html?dayend=25&monthend=4&yearend=1972&req_city=Executive&req_state=FL&req_statename=Florida


I just noticed a thread on the Theme Parks board about weather/swimming (the dates questioned are 30th October to 7th November). Here is the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2639892

 

[gaylee]

Thanks everyone

Any recommendations on where to stay (we are open to staying in Disney). Any tips would be great - so many places to stay and not really sure where to start! Last year as we were there with family we stayed in a villa. My husband would be gladly stay at Disney (depending on cost) as that way it would mean less driving!

 

[Chilly]

If you want 2 bedrooms and a louge area onsite try SSR or OKW.

And here's a thread about the pro's and con's of each month:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2495350

 

[Funky_dino]

If you go the end of oct beginning on Nov you get to see alot of the xmas stuff at the parks.
When i Went 2 years ago the weather was lovely, really warm still but no humidity, which for someone who has been going in august for 25 was very very strange hehe

 

[UKDEB]

A very warm welcome to the forums, gaylee. We've been in most months and, for the best combination of good weather and low crowds, I'd suggest May and October as your best bets. The weather in Orlando can be as unpredictable as anywhere else - we've been incredibly lucky in November, December and January, but you are taking a risk with those months and frosts aren't unheard of. In the winter months, even when we've experienced some unseasonably hot weather, we've also had some colder snaps thrown into the mix and you don't get those balmy Florida evenings. At the moment, our favourite time to go is probably the first two weeks of November - the flight prices are cheaper than October half-term fares, the crowds are just about as low as they're going to get, the weather should be just about perfect (warm, but not stiflingly hot and little rain), the Christmas decorations start to go up, and you catch the end of the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

In Florida, homes have to be licensed for short term rental and that's not permitted in Celebration, so you won't find any vacation homes there. I don't have time to post about accommodation at the moment, but I'll try to pop back to this thread later.