Disney World in December

[Snickals]

Just wondering if anyone has been to DW in December before? I am going the first two weeks of this Dec and trying to decided that clothes to take/what weather will be like etc. I know it'll be Winter but is their Winter really freezing? I am from sout-east qld and our Winter is barely anything lol

 

[Kalice]

Hi,

We went in January, while not the same month it was FREEZING. We did keep hearing about record cold temps tho. Are you travelling anywhere else in the US? I was just looking at all our pics. We were wearing beanies, gloves, coats, as well as thermals. So even though you might not strike this extreme, you'd probably be best off to take some clothing that you can layer. I think the evenings would be cool. Or do what I'm doing next trip, take the bare minimum and shop til you drop.

 

[kyl]

I think December would be better than when we went. Sept/Oct. The heat the humidity, it really made it uncomfortable somedays. Our video camera at times foged up on the lens due to the moisture in the air. I think December would be great plus you would get all the christmas decorations.

 

[Luisa]

I was there first week of last December. The weather was quite mild during the day, cooling down a lot as it got dark. Only had one day of rain, it poured for hours, but even then wasn't really cold. Every day I wore jeans and a tshirt and took a sweatshirt with me for night.

 

[Willow25]

We have gone a few times in early December and will be there this year as well. We were just discussing the packing as early December can bring anything. The first time we went it was HOT the first half and it cooled considerably by the time we left. The last time we went it was warm during the day but cooled significantly in the evenings. My husband who never wears jumpers or jackets went out and bought trackie pants and a jumper to cope with the weather during the parades. So my advice is layers. We will bring a little of everything and our thinking is if we need anything hey we are in america I will just buy it there.

What are your dates and where are you staying??

 

[Snickals]

Thanks for the advice

This is my first ever international trip and I am super excited and it is approaching so fast! I had a plan of what on was doing on what days but some things (non disney) changed so have had to completely redo my planning which is a bugger. I am extra excited about going during the Christmas period because I absolutely love all things Christmas

I am only going to be in Orlando. I arrive late at night on Nov 30 and leave at night on 14 Dec and am staying at Pop.

 

[Travel Mum]

Wow, what a long way to go for your first international trip! What an adventure it will be for you and I hope you have heaps of fun

 

[platypus67]

Hi Snickles. We will be getting there same time as you. We fly out of Brissy around 1:30pm on the 30th and get to Orlando late in the evening the same day. I find the winters in Florida very similar to what we experience here in Brisbane, so I would say plan to take some warm clothes as you may want them especially in the evening, but have summer things as well. We went to WDW in 2007 at the same time and found the days to be pleasant and the evenings to be cool but not cold. I wore jeans and a t-shirt most of the time, adding layers to the top for the evenings.
Have a great trip

 

[Snickals]

platypus67 I'm going through Brisbane on my way there lol
I fly from my home town on 30 Nov to Brisbane then change planes and continue to Sydney then I go international to San Fran and then get on a domestic to Orlando and arrive at 9.43pm 30 Nov- an adventure in itself lol

Then on the way back instead of San Fran, I change over in LA but only have 35mins to get off the domestic and onto the international which I'm a bit worried about, my travel agent questioned the airline (united air) about it but they said it will all be okay...I hope so.

Thanks for the weather advice...by 'plesant' do you mean brisk or warm? I'm more of a shorts girl than a jeans girl but I'm guessing I need to become a jeans girl for this trip? lol

 

[cola]

Going the first 2 weeks of November, very similar to Brisbane early June, can be cold in the evening, should be OK during the day, but could get colder during the day too, but less likely.

Sounds like you're planning everything. Make sure you allow some time to go round the Disney resorts, all the lobbies get done up for Christmas. A must see is the gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney's Boardwalk Inn and Villas, I think the biggest tree is in Wilderness Lodge, but the one at Animal Kingdom Lodge is also HUGE, plus there you can go check out the animals in the 'Savanah'. Last year we spent a whole day just doing the lobbies at CHristmas and then wnet to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that evening (a must do for Christmas )

Re your change over in LA on the way back, you should be OK, unless the plane gets delayed in Orlando, and then it is their problem and they will look after you. You will check your baggage in at Orlando, they scan your passport there in Orlando and then it is just changing gates in LA, we had a 45min change over a couple of weeks ago and there was waiting time at the gate in LA.

 

[aml3679]

We went the week after Thanksgiving and found the weather to be very pleasant during the day and a bit cool at night. I would pack a sweater for the restaurants, a light jacket during the day and maybe a fleece or sweat shirt during the evening. We loved it so much in December, we are going back next year.

 

[Snickals]

cola, that puts my mind at ease I am very new to this 'flying' stuff lol When you changed over at LAX did you have to gets your bags and put them on the international flight or was it done for you? I know I'll need to check with the airlines, I am just very much a nervous nelly lol

 

[cola]

CHecked through the baggage from Orlando to Sydney. If it is all the one ticket,only different flight numbers, they only make you pick up your case at the transit port if your stop over is more than 12 hours, you don't have that problem

 

[Snickals]

That is good to know I was seriously worried about that one...especially after seeing on the news last week people that got stuck in LA after their flight was cancelled and took them days to get home...I was worried I was going to miss my flight lol I worry about things like this way too much lol
But I am feeling much better about it now, thank you

 

[platypus67]

platypus67 I'm going through Brisbane on my way there lol
I fly from my home town on 30 Nov to Brisbane then change planes and continue to Sydney then I go international to San Fran and then get on a domestic to Orlando and arrive at 9.43pm 30 Nov- an adventure in itself lol

Then on the way back instead of San Fran, I change over in LA but only have 35mins to get off the domestic and onto the international which I'm a bit worried about, my travel agent questioned the airline (united air) about it but they said it will all be okay...I hope so.

Thanks for the weather advice...by 'plesant' do you mean brisk or warm? I'm more of a shorts girl than a jeans girl but I'm guessing I need to become a jeans girl for this trip? lol

I guess I would have to say warm. We were actually living in Cairns back then so we would have probably found it colder in 2007 than we will now as we have gotten used to the colder winters. I definately wouldn't call it swimming weather, but my DH and DD wore shorts most days. ( I'm not a shorts girl) I know last year they got record lows but it certainly isn't what you would normally expect. I have a weather app on my home page and looking at the temp in Orlando it's 6:50pm and the temp is 24C. My final destination is a bit scarry though 6C

Bags should be checked straight through for you on your return no problem as you are leaving the US. I always just double check this when I check in to make sure it gets done properly.

We actually arrive in Orlando an hour before you do.
Have fun

 

[Snickals]

Thank you for the feedback
It's great to have people who have done this before to chat with