Can anyone compare weather in March to October?

[pnelson]

I'm thinking of replanning our March 2006 trip to October 2005 because of fear of crowds. But is it really hot and humid in October...My mother will be going and really can't tolerate the heat well at all.

 

[MouseLover]

We went (approx.) 2nd week of October, 1996, and 3rd week of March, 2001.

We found the weather to be very similar, but our March trip was a bit more warm and humid than the October trip. It seems like the October trip had cooler evenings, too. And I do remember we landed in a thunderstorm, following some tropical storm. Of course, it rains daily in my experience.

I personally prefer October, based on my one Oct. experience. BUT our schedule allows only for March or summer.

 

[bailey405]

We recently returned from a trip covering 3/5 to 3/13. It was our first March trip and we had a great time. Previously we have taken trips in mid October 2000 and late October 2002. The weather during both the October trips was hot mid 80s and humid with a little rain. The weather during our March 2004 trip was 80s the first two days followed by 5 days of upper 60s and low 70s for high temps, no rain and beautiful sunshine. The last two days were in the upper 70s (still warm enough to swim, espcially being from Wisconsin). I love the heat, however on this trip we were traveling with both sets of grandparents and a 2 and a 7 year old. Touring the parks in the more temperate weather with no humidity was appreciated by both grandmothers and certainly allowed our little one to not get overheated. I actually enjoyed it as well. All past experience of park touring left us a bit drained by the end of the day.

Prior to our most recent trip we liked October as the crowds were manageable. We were nervous about going in March, however had read that early March may not be too bad. Overall the crowds during all of the trips were comparable at least through Thursday March 11 when we noticed quite an increase in activity earlier in the day at the parks.

Based on what we've experienced we are sold on early March for our next trip. Hope this helps!

 

[steveanddonna]

go to weather.com and look at March & October averages to get a better idea of the weather during your specific planned travel time. We usually go in October and the weather varies somewhat from the start of the month to the end. Some years you run into the tail-end of hurrican season at the beginning of Oct., so may have rainier weather. The end of the month is generally one of the drier times in Central FL. We just came back from an early March trip and we had 2 days of 80's, humid, scattered thundershowers, and 3 days of 60's, so weatherwise I'd say it's a crapshoot (just like Chicago!)
We prefer Oct. for the smaller crowds, but we love heat & humidity, so the Oct. weather doesn't bother us. We must have hit the parks a little differently than bailey405, as we thought the crowds on the 8-10 were pretty bad. We fast-passed a lot to avoid 40-60 minute waits for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Kilimanjaro Safaris, etc. It was manageable, but we didn't need to cover a lot of ground.
We did take my aunts, 84 & 81 at the time, in Oct. one year, and we lucked into great weather up until the last day. Temps were in the low 80's, but the humidity was relatively low.
Now that I've probably confused you more, definitely look at some weather averages/historical highs & lows at weather.com.

 

[3for Me]

The weather is VERY similar at these times, but as with any weather in the south - it is a crap shoot. You just never know what you are going to get. Generally, though, it is very mild.

 

[pnelson]

It seems from what I've looked at that October is hotter and more humid. Unfortunately, the dates that I would be tied into would either be the first two weeks of October or the last two weeks of March-Not great for either. I wish it could be the last two weeks of October or the first two weeks of March. Oh well, I'm stuck with school schedules.