Florida Cold Front First Week of March - Strategies?

[huckabear]

Of course my visit next week looks like it's going to coincide with the strong cold front coming in from the north. High of 60 on Wednesday with a low Thursday morning of 41!

Anyone with experience doing the parks in "cold" weather...at least cold for Florida. I'm from the mid-Atlantic so that's typical April weather here but I'm hoping maybe it will keep crowds down.

I'll certainly be wearing a jacket and gloves at rope drop on Thursday morning! Any "cold" tips?

 

[SaintsManiac]

It was 40 degrees when we went MLK weekend last year. We were the only people on the teacups the first hour MK was open. It definitely kept crowds away for the first couple of hours. Just make sure to wear layers and bring a bag that you can store them in when it warms up. If there's wind it will feel so much colder.

I hate the cold, but we soldiered on. It was still a great trip!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Not much you can do besides bundle up. And try to hit the outdoor thrill rides during the afternoon when it warms up, if possible.

 

[DCLPrincess]

If you need a coat but don't want to carry it all day, get a locker to stash it.

 

[StarSeven7]

We were just there for 10 days in January when the rest of the country was in sub-freezing temperatures - and it was "cold" in Florida too! Pretty much the entire time we were there! We were lucky if it got up to 60 some days. We had soft-shell jackets along and thin gloves that we wore in the mornings and evenings (and sometimes all day!) Unfortunately, it really did not thin the crowd out at all. I think most people are there for vacation so they're not going to just sit in their hotel room when they've paid all that money to go to Disney World! The only thing that thinned crowds out was an entire day of non-stop rain!

 

[Klayfish]

Not much you can do besides bundle up. And try to hit the outdoor thrill rides during the afternoon when it warms up, if possible.

This. Not really sure there's a strategy or tip. 60 and 40 are definitely cool, but not dangerously cold. Don't overthink it. Just bundle up appropriately.

No, it probably won't keep crowds away.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I agree with the previous posters that the cold weather won't reduce the crowds too much. At least during the week when most park visitors are vacationers.

Besides a light pair of gloves I wear a hoodie with a knit hat underneath to ward off the breeze that usually accompanies the strong cold fronts.

We'll be visiting Epcot on Wednesday for the first day of Flower and Garden. Of course we are just there to wander around so we'll be arriving late morning. Out of the last few years quite a few of the F&G opening days have been "cold". Certainly slows down the butterflies.

 

[Disneylvr1971]

We were there in Dec and had same type of temps. One thing to keep in mind, is that it can feel comfortable when the sun is out, but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cold fast. Agree that layers are going to be your best bet.

 

[richmo]

I'm in the 2nd week of March and it looks like it'll break. Didn't notice what you'll be getting...

It looks like just Wednesday and Thursday though, so that's not too bad. I'd say just bring along another layer...maybe a sweatshirt. I've been there in similar weather...you'll need it mainly early in the morning and in the evening. If its sunny, even 60's feels pretty warm, especially if you're coming from a colder environment.

 

[billlaurie]

All trips in the past have been during Feb and only one where we did not get hit with the coldfront. Wear layers. Gloves are really important, the thin stretchy kind. If you have kids, they still may want to swim, which mine did when they are younger, so don't forget to pack the swimsuits!

 

[b5sgqueen]

I will also be there at that time, but it's -3 here so 60 sounds amazing!
In all seriousness, I plan on wearing a hoodie and carrying my rain jacket. I will be going to the airport in a fleece jacket(did I mention it's cold here) so that will be an option as well. I will also make sure to have some light gloves and a hat. All of these things are easy to carry and light so I will just bring a back pack with me.

40-60 degrees can be a little chilly, but shouldn't be terribly uncomfortable at all if you just layer up.

 

[Silvermist999]

I’ll be arriving there on the Saturday. What location are you searching on for the forecast? I find Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista to show a much cooler forecast with more rain than searching up Orlando.

 

[Silvermist999]

I'm in the 2nd week of March and it looks like it'll break. Didn't notice what you'll be getting...

It looks like just Wednesday and Thursday though, so that's not too bad. I'd say just bring along another layer...maybe a sweatshirt. I've been there in similar weather...you'll need it mainly early in the morning and in the evening. If its sunny, even 60's feels pretty warm, especially if you're coming from a colder environment.

I’ll be there that same week. But mid week is showing all day rain...if I search on Bay Lake/Lake Buena Vista vs. Orlando.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Of course my visit next week looks like it's going to coincide with the strong cold front coming in from the north. High of 60 on Wednesday with a low Thursday morning of 41!

Anyone with experience doing the parks in "cold" weather...at least cold for Florida. I'm from the mid-Atlantic so that's typical April weather here but I'm hoping maybe it will keep crowds down.

I'll certainly be wearing a jacket and gloves at rope drop on Thursday morning! Any "cold" tips?

I'm not sure where your information came from, but when I go to the Weather Channel website....I don't see this "coldfront" you are talking about. Yeah....Wednesday is a bit cooler than the rest of the week, but I'm seeing temps in the high 80's and mid to low 70s.

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USFL0372:1:US this is Orlando which technically Disney World's address in in Lake Buena Vista....so I did that forecast too. I don't see much difference at all

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USFL0610:1:US

 

[Someluck]

Last time I visited in February it was cold and we learned to wear our rain ponchos as wind breakers over our coats and bring a blanket to watch the night time shows in comfort.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Uh this a wonderful thing. Be glad it's not a strong "warm" front coming through. I was sweating at 9am this last Wednesday at MK.

We did TSL EMM on a 44/60 day last November. It really wasn't even that cold with a decent jacket on. It was comfortably warm by mid day. It looks like your cold days are at least sunny days, so expect really wonderful temps mid-day. As long as you don't want to swim this is the ideal temps. Just layer up so you can peel off as the temperatures rise.

DarkSky, which IMO is usually 1000X more accurate than Weather Channel, shows it 46/66 and 43/72 respectively.

 

[huckabear]

It ended up being wonderful! We were at rope drop in AK on Thursday at 45 degrees. Standing in those Pandora crowds was actually good...it kept out the cold. By 10am it was warm enough for t-shirts.

Wednesday night was a little odd at MK in gloves, hats and fleece - but didn't stop the magic!