Disney in December weather and crowds

[Abigail Broughton]

I have availability to stay at the Floridian and the Poly December 14th to the 23rd. My concerns are the weather and crowds. Our daughter will be 8 when we visit and her main objective other than meet and greets, a little shopping is to swim and play in the pools every day! We are from the coast of northern New England Massachusetts so our high 60's low 70's is a beach day for us. Could someone give me their advice please. Will she be able to swim everyday? Will the crowds be wall to wall? We are not parks all day family. We like to resort hop, shows, shopping and relax. I welcome your opinions.

Thank you

 

[OneinThree]

I am also from the Mass Coast, but have lived in Florida for almost 20 years now. *Most* days in December would OK to swim, but occasionally there are spells where it might be too cold. The crowds? Not good; not good at all. Last December was my "last" December in Disney due to the crowds, which now seem to dominate from Thanksgiving through New Years. Given your touring style, you might be able to avoid some of this by retreating back to the resort when it gets bad.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We always go around the first week of December, and the weather is typically highs in the low to mid 70s, tho it can be hotter or cooler, and evenings are usually cool. That being said, the pools are all heated and my kids and many others swim in them. As for crowds, it’s busy when I go but not totally packed, but I never go that late in December so I can’t testify to those exact dates.

 

[portcityw]

That's the time we go every year. Weather is hit or miss. Sometimes its warm, and some years it's been too cool for swimming. It is a magical time at Disney though. Crowds are awful, but I wold put up with them just for the atmosphere.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

If you want lower crowds and a little warmer weather, mid to late November (avoiding TG) is great

 

[brave321]

It can really fluctuate in December. We were there this past year when that huge cold front covered Florida. One day it was in the 60's-70's and the next it was in the 40s. That was definitely an extreme case, but it's not uncommon for it to dip into the 50's at night and it can still fluctuate from week to week

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I have availability to stay at the Floridian and the Poly December 14th to the 23rd. My concerns are the weather and crowds. Our daughter will be 8 when we visit and her main objective other than meet and greets, a little shopping is to swim and play in the pools every day! We are from the coast of northern New England Massachusetts so our high 60's low 70's is a beach day for us. Could someone give me their advice please. Will she be able to swim everyday? Will the crowds be wall to wall? We are not parks all day family. We like to resort hop, shows, shopping and relax. I welcome your opinions.

Thank you

After going Christmas week in 2015 (never again!) we have gone the week before Christmas the last two years and those trips have been fantastic!! We are very much like you. We are not park commando types and like to do resort activities and schedule a lot of downtime and lots of non-park things to do. The weather the last two years we have gone has been gorgeous. Not a drop and of rain, and, yes, we could have swam every day (though, I have to say, we have been lucky. The weather can be variable. Here is a record of the temps last December: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/o...er-weather/32835us?monyr=12/1/2017&view=table You will see the week we went, it was in the 80's!)

The parks were a bit crowded, but completely manageable. If you plan on going to MK (and not going to MVMCP), I would suggest going to MK on a party day and getting out by 4 pm at the latest when the party guests show up. We did a lot of non-park stuff like HDDR, DS (we did The Void Star Wars experience there). We visited other resorts to see the decorations (we stayed at CCV and visited GF, CR and BWI), went to the Boardwalk one night, etc. We also did everything we wanted to do in each park.

We will be going back that same week this year. Especially if you aren't parks all day people. You can go to the parks, get in your must-do's and then go enjoy what your resort and other areas of WDW have to offer. I LOVE the week before Christmas!

 

[focusondisney]

I was there this past December too. There was a day that the high was in the 50s & the low was upper 30s. We were at the Christmas party Dec 10th. I was in Cuddle duds, a heavy sweatshirt, medium weight jacket & gloves. I was still cold. I’m from Buffalo, so it’s not like I’m not used to cold weather either. Even the 50s felt colder to us. I guess it is the moisture in the air that makes the cold seems worse.

A few says after we left, the temps were back in the 70s. We have been several years at that time & it was never that cold for us before. We were back again the last week in January & it was high 50s, to mid 60s. Then a few days later, in the 80s. So you really can’t predict what the weather will be until a few days before.

The parks are pretty much always moderately busy. No slow times any more.

 

[Abigail Broughton]

After going Christmas week in 2015 (never again!) we have gone the week before Christmas the last two years and those trips have been fantastic!! We are very much like you. We are not park commando types and like to do resort activities and schedule a lot of downtime and lots of non-park things to do. The weather the last two years we have gone has been gorgeous. Not a drop and of rain, and, yes, we could have swam every day (though, I have to say, we have been lucky. The weather can be variable. Here is a record of the temps last December: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/o...er-weather/32835us?monyr=12/1/2017&view=table You will see the week we went, it was in the 80's!)

The parks were a bit crowded, but completely manageable. If you plan on going to MK (and not going to MVMCP), I would suggest going to MK on a party day and getting out by 4 pm at the latest when the party guests show up. We did a lot of non-park stuff like HDDR, DS (we did The Void Star Wars experience there). We visited other resorts to see the decorations (we stayed at CCV and visited GF, CR and BWI), went to the Boardwalk one night, etc. We also did everything we wanted to do in each park.

We will be going back that same week this year. Especially if you aren't parks all day people. You can go to the parks, get in your must-do's and then go enjoy what your resort and other areas of WDW have to offer. I LOVE the week before Christmas!

Thank you! Im going. We had a not so magical Sept 2 through the 10th. Left 3 days early due to Irma, it was very hot and very busy! Disney has changed. I agree there is no "slow" time to visit.

 

[Abigail Broughton]

After going Christmas week in 2015 (never again!) we have gone the week before Christmas the and those trips have been fantastic!! We are very much like you. We are not park commando types and like to do resort activities and schedule a lot of downtime and lots of non-park things to do. The weather the last two years we have gone has been gorgeous. Not a drop and of rain, and, yes, we could have swam every day (though, I have to say, we have been lucky. The weather can be variable. Here is a record of the temps last December: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/o...er-weather/32835us?monyr=12/1/2017&view=table You will see the week we went, it was in the 80's!)

The parks were a bit crowded, but completely manageable. If you plan on going to MK (and not going to MVMCP), I would suggest going to MK on a party day and getting out by 4 pm at the latest when the party guests show up. We did a lot of non-park stuff like HDDR, DS (we did The Void Star Wars experience there). We visited other resorts to see the decorations (we stayed at CCV and visited GF, CR and BWI), went to the Boardwalk one night, etc. We also did everything we wanted to do in each park.

We will be going back that same week this year. Especially if you aren't parks all day people. You can go to the parks, get in your must-do's and then go enjoy what your resort and other areas of WDW have to offer. I LOVE the week before Christmas!

Do you think we should attend the VMCP?

 

[Shanti]

I have availability to stay at the Floridian and the Poly December 14th to the 23rd. My concerns are the weather and crowds. Our daughter will be 8 when we visit and her main objective other than meet and greets, a little shopping is to swim and play in the pools every day! We are from the coast of northern New England Massachusetts so our high 60's low 70's is a beach day for us. Could someone give me their advice please. Will she be able to swim everyday? Will the crowds be wall to wall? We are not parks all day family. We like to resort hop, shows, shopping and relax. I welcome your opinions.

Thank you

We spent a post-cruise day at WDW on December 26, 2017, and it was cold: in the 40's despite being sunny and the wind made it feel colder. We spent a weekend there in late January 2016 and it was even colder than that.

We went in February 2014 and had mild weather, occasionally rainy but never really cold. We went in January 2009 and the weather was similar, mostly in the high 50's and 60's.

Winter weather at WDW is a crapshoot. You might get nice days in the 60's, or it could be almost freezing with the wind chill factored in. We've experienced both over the years.

Expecting to be able to swim every day in mid-December is not realistic, if you require 60+ degree temps to swim.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thank you! Im going. We had a not so magical Sept 2 through the 10th. Left 3 days early due to Irma, it was very hot and very busy! Disney has changed. I agree there is no "slow" time to visit.

Oh no! I'm so sorry your September trip ended so badly Honestly, especially for people who aren't "park-commandos", I think December is a great time to go because there is so much to see and do outside of the parks during that time. We had one day where we simply hung out at WL, played basketball, swam and then went to Ft. W to see the horses, go to HDDR and did a holiday sleigh ride. It was fantastic! There will also be extra stuff going on at DS and the resorts themselves are absolutely gorgeous!

Do you think we should attend the VMCP?

Honestly, it depends on your budget and what you'd like to get out of the party. We enjoyed it. We went on Dec. 17 and that particular evening wasn't really crowded. The parade is cute, but the new Happily Ever After show (during regular park evenings) is much better than Holiday Wishes, IMHO. It was fun, but we won't be going back (I liked MNSSHP much more!). I honestly felt that the regular holiday offerings at EP were better than the MK party and the decorations at DHS blew MK out of the water last year!

 

[DebbieB]

She will likely be able to swim everyday, the pools are heated. But temps can vary widely. One time it was 48 on our arrival day in early December. Other times it was 80's the whole week. If it's sunny, the days are good. But after dark, generally if the high is below 70, it gets cold. I've had trips where I brought my winter coat for night and was glad to have it.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

For this time of year you def have to pack for all weather extremes. Dress in layers, and bring a jacket for cool evenings. And I’ve been to DW almost every dec or every other Dec for a lot of years, and there are always people swimming. And as to MVMCP, unless you really wanna see the parade or unless there’s a character there that you really wanna meet, I’d skip it. It’s expensive, crowded, and IMO overhyped. It’s cute and fun and all, but the holiday wishes FW aren’t as great as HEA and you spend a lot of time waiting in lines to meet characters. I just don’t think it’s worth the money, but that’s just my family, many people love it. Just beware, it seems to get more crowded each year.

 

[buyerbrad]

It snowed in parts of Florida this year and 2 mornings when we got in the car to head to the park the temperature was -2.

 

[kdisser]

We went early December this past December and we were not sure what to pack because when you ask if it is "cold" during that time everyone pipes up with "well my cold is different then yours, blah blah blah". All I really wanted was stats on temps with humidity. We had a couple days that were nice like in the 70's and we could wear shorts. The rest of the time we were playing musical clothes with layering up and shedding. All we wanted to do was get in the pool, and we did but it definitely did not feel heated. We were in it for maybe 15 minutes just to say we did it. At night it will be chilly, as in 40's-50's but when all you have are shorts it feels cooler. We packed for mild weather so shorts and capri leggings. Basically we double packed not knowing what kind of weather we would be expecting. There were minimal crowds the first couple of days we were there. It was amazing, on the first day we rode all the rides at MK which left the shows (Enchanted Tiki Room, COP, Mickey's Philarmagic) for things to do on our other days. But we got nearly every ride done that first day to where the rest of our MK days were filled with rides we wanted to do again and more of the atmosphere watching. After those first 2 days the crowds started rolling in, and you could feel the change in crowds. So, yes expect crowds. And still expect rain, it is Florida. It did not rain everyday but we got it a few days out of our 8 day trip. I just felt like it was such a toss up for weather. I want to know if it's hot or cold and pack accordingly instead of packing how we did last year. Overall I am not thinking of another Dec trip anytime soon, we had fun and it was my birthday, but just trying other months in the future.

 

[puffkins]

I love Disney in early December. It is my favorite time to go. The weather is very pleasant (70s/50s with modest humidity) and the crowds are on the low side (3-6 on a scale of 1-10.) The decorations are all up and the hotel rates are not ultra peak. It's wonderful.

 

[Abigail Broughton]

I love Disney in early December. It is my favorite time to go. The weather is very pleasant (70s/50s with modest humidity) and the crowds are on the low side (3-6 on a scale of 1-10.) The decorations are all up and the hotel rates are not ultra peak. It's wonderful.

Thank you. As long as qe get a few afternoon dips in the pool we will be happy.

 

[Nancyg56]

That's the time we go every year. Weather is hit or miss. Sometimes its warm, and some years it's been too cool for swimming. It is a magical time at Disney though. Crowds are awful, but I wold put up with them just for the atmosphere.

We like December as well, and generally end up planning our trips for that month. We are from North Central CT and are used to the cold weather, but have found FL cold to be a different animal. We pack planning to swim, but are not always able to do so.

Crowds have changed in the past few years too, but I believe that has been the case for much of the previously "slow" seasons, so we just roll with it.

One of the most frustrating aspects of a December trip is the same as the October trips we used to enjoy. The MK has 4 evenings that are party nights, so the three remaining days that are open late are wicked crowded. Planning is more difficult, IMO but more important as well.

I still woudl never change our December trips. We love the atmosphere, the decorations and events, and prefer to be chilly over the excruciating heat in Summer months.

 

[Nancyg56]

We went early December this past December and we were not sure what to pack because when you ask if it is "cold" during that time everyone pipes up with "well my cold is different then yours, blah blah blah". All I really wanted was stats on temps with humidity. We had a couple days that were nice like in the 70's and we could wear shorts. The rest of the time we were playing musical clothes with layering up and shedding. All we wanted to do was get in the pool, and we did but it definitely did not feel heated. We were in it for maybe 15 minutes just to say we did it. At night it will be chilly, as in 40's-50's but when all you have are shorts it feels cooler. We packed for mild weather so shorts and capri leggings. Basically we double packed not knowing what kind of weather we would be expecting. There were minimal crowds the first couple of days we were there. It was amazing, on the first day we rode all the rides at MK which left the shows (Enchanted Tiki Room, COP, Mickey's Philarmagic) for things to do on our other days. But we got nearly every ride done that first day to where the rest of our MK days were filled with rides we wanted to do again and more of the atmosphere watching. After those first 2 days the crowds started rolling in, and you could feel the change in crowds. So, yes expect crowds. And still expect rain, it is Florida. It did not rain everyday but we got it a few days out of our 8 day trip. I just felt like it was such a toss up for weather. I want to know if it's hot or cold and pack accordingly instead of packing how we did last year. Overall I am not thinking of another Dec trip anytime soon, we had fun and it was my birthday, but just trying other months in the future.

There really is no way to plan ahead. We have traveled more in December than any other time of year, and while some trips have been warm and sunny, pool weather daily for us, others have been windy and cold, and even for my die hards, the pools were a bust. For my family it is still worth it to travel in December and play Russian roulette with the weather than to travel in August and have me wilt like an ice cream cone. I like to read why folks choose one season over others because each anecdote just shows how different we all readily are when it comes to vacation needs.