Calling on All Veteran Winter Travellers!

[livingthedream]

Hello fellow Canadians!

We will be travelling to Orlando in late November and returning mid-December. I am new at travelling south in the winter, , so what is obvious to many of you has me a bit worried. I know it is still over three months away, but I am trying to figure out what to pack, and what to pack it in!

We here in Saskatchewan are already wearing boots, winter jackets, toques, mitts, neck warmers (well, you all know the drill) by the time we will be travelling. We will need to wear these things to the airport (well....maybe we can get away with runners, not boots, going to the airport), but what do you do with all the other "winter" stuff that we hopefully won't need to use down there at that time of year. I really don't want to take a separate suitcase to put all this "stuff" in, , but with the possibility of it being minus 30 the morning we leave, I don't exactly want the family heading out to the airport in T-shirts, either!

Any advice would be much appreciated!! Thanks.

 

[NancyK]

We went early last January. We wore runners, light wind jackets and comfortable clothes for the plane. I left my winter coat, mitts, boots etc in the van. My DH wore his winter jacket on the plane. Boy did he look silly when we landed in Florida and it was 80 degrees. On the other hand, he was quite warm when we got back to the airport in Buffalo, while I had to wait for the heater in the van to warm up my jacket.

 

[eleanor]

I usually wear a turtleneck,sweater and a jacket to the airport. You can take them off and carry them when you get there. You might just need anyone of those some nights at WDW.You can soon change when you get to your hotel.I also were sneakers that I wear there anyway.

 

[alohamom]

I usually do the same as NancyK, leave the stuff in the car then my husband will brave the extremes to warm up the vehicle and the frozen coats too. If you are taking a cab, they are ususally warm when they p/u and they drop you off curbside so it is only a few minutes of being outside to grab your bags etc. It always seems so free in the winter to not be encumbered by all the winter gear, it really makes you feel like you are taking a holiday! If you don't want to leave it behind, it is amazing what you can fit into a duffle bag which can be put under the plane and just shoved in a closet in the hotel and ignored till you leave.I used to to do that with the kids stuff when they were tiny. Have a great time!

 

[SaraMc]

This is what we do. We go in Feb every year and live in Ontario so by then its freeeeeeexing. Dh goes out and warms the car and cranks the heat to max. We wear our denim jackets with a sweatshirt and shoes that we would wear in Disneyworld. Sandals we pack. Then we make a mad dash for the car, drive to Pearson and park the car and make a mad dash into the airport.

When we get the the airport in Orlando we usually have put our jackets in our carry ons and by the time we hit the hotels we are pealing off the sweatshirts too.



We call it ( we have done it lots) the mad dash to the warmth of florida. Now coming home.. Its the same but we usually grab a coffee before leaving the airport while we wait for the car to warm up and its the saddest quietest car ride home because.. well who really wants to come home after a week or two in Disneyworld

 

[bavaria]

November can still be very warm - plan on high 70's, low 80's, and bring sweater/sweatshirt and long pants. You probably won't need them, as the really cold weather usually comes in January.

Having said that, two years ago I FROZE at the Very Merry Xmas Party, and last year it was HOT - in fact, we remarked at the extremes in temperature. Two years ago I was wearing a tshirt, wool turtleneck, and light jacket, and still froze. Last year I was sweating in a tshirt.....

 

[yxe dad]

Hey where in Saskatchewan are you from, I'm in Saskatoon. Layer your clothing and you will be fine. I took my 2 boys to Disneyland in Jan 03 and it was -30 when we went to airport. The boys had their t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and light jackets on and were starting to over heat on the way to the airport. You will need all of the above for the cooler mornings and nights at DW but you won't have to lug all the bulky jackets around.
For my upcoming Jan 06 trip with the kids to DW, grandpa will drop us off and pick us up from the airport dealing with all of the winter wear.
Have fun

 

[cromwell43]

We too are going the week on Dec 1 - Dec 10th and we are from Saskatchewan as well.We fly out of Regina and we too leave our clothes in the car and run to airport in sweater or light jacket and no boots. Nothing worse than getting to a hot climate and looking like we are nuts lol Email me "livingthedream" and we can compare notes

 

[CharlesTD]

Light spring jacket runners and jeans and t shirt. We don't pack anything for winter otehr than a fleece sweater. My DW will usually wear her sweater when we leave.

 

[pxlbarrel]

When we went in the first week of December in 2000, the weather was beautiful. Warm and sunny...no need for any jackets.

When we went in the second week of December in 2003, the weather was freezing cold. They kept saying on the news that there as a cold snap...the coldest ever. Grrrrrrr. We were wearing our winter coats (not heavy ones but still...winter). Lineups for coffee and hot chocolate were very long. LOL I think we had 2 warm days in our 7 day trip.

Our photographs are hilarious. One day we have just short sleeve shirts. The next day we're so bundled up. We actually got sweatshirts there so that we could wear more layers of clothes!!!

 

[CharlesTD]

When we went in the first week of December in 2000, the weather was beautiful. Warm and sunny...no need for any jackets.

When we went in the second week of December in 2003, the weather was freezing cold. They kept saying on the news that there as a cold snap...the coldest ever. Grrrrrrr. We were wearing our winter coats (not heavy ones but still...winter). Lineups for coffee and hot chocolate were very long. LOL I think we had 2 warm days in our 7 day trip.

Our photographs are hilarious. One day we have just short sleeve shirts. The next day we're so bundled up. We actually got sweatshirts there so that we could wear more layers of clothes!!!

We were there the first 2 weeks of Dec in 03 and only had cool weatehr on the weekend that we went to Cocoa Beach it was funny to see the cast members wearing toques and gloves though. We had shorts on the entire time.

 

[jonestavern]

Yes, layers!
I have an all-weather raincoat w/hood & w/zip in lining. Leaving New Hampshire I wear with an ivory color turtleneck(used under blouses or sweatshirts if it gets chilly in WDW & it can get nippy), a pale yellow v-neck cotton sweater--can be worn alone in Fla, thermals & light weight corduroy slacks, & sneakers. The guys wear T-shirts, occassionally thermals, pale turtle necks--can be worn in nicer restaurants-- & sweatshirts. We take only carry on, so it becomes a challenge. Since we seem to be pretty thick-skinned & are never out in the cold more than 30 min--& that in a protective shelter--this works for us. On the plane we put all the extras in our carry on. DH & DS arrive in jeans & tshirts I in the light cotton sweater & pale corduroys. When back at Manchester, DH warms up the car & brings it around for us
Have a great trip!

Jean