January in the Parks Temp?

[CathrynRose]

Morning!

I recently got back (October 4th) from a wonderful 10 days at WDW.

My only complaint.... I felt like I was going to die, I WAS SO HOT!!!! BLAH!

So, because of this - Im planning a mini-trip for this coming January...SIMPLY TO CHECK OUT THE SITUATION for January of 2008... to make sure it's good time to go, I swear!!!

My question - anyone who has been there in january....and is a "hot" person. Like.... September is brutal, in your opinion... LIKE YUCK! I need to know what January is like....Lets put it this way: It's ALMOST 40º outside today, and I have a thin sweater on as my "coat"

Tell me hot people - what's January like?

 

[Robo]

We're from the midwest and have learned to EXPECT ANYTHING as the weather goes in off-season Orlando.
We always pack winter and summer-wear.
In Dec/Jan/Feb we have even worn LONG THERMAL UNDERWEAR (after sundown)... we now pack it for any off-season trip.

Typical day:

Cool outside at 7am.
Wear shorts and Tee's.
Over that add a thin nylon wind-breaker
We put our "chilly-wear" and RAIN ponchos in a back-pack.
(Rain ponchos are REALLY cheap in hunting section of discount retailers.
You can buy BIG THICK ones to allow covering large jackets... more later.)

"Chilly-wear" is a nylon cotton-lined warm-up suit with zipper legs and a cotton-lined windbreaker.
We buy OVER-sized in these so they can easily be put on OVER other clothing.
After standing in the sometimes chilly "early-entry" lines we can usually take off the wind-breakers.
We always rent a locker at the park(s) and leave our "chilly-wear" in the locker 'til sun-down.
If it looks like rain (in Florida? Who'da thunk?) we take the Ponchos.

Much later, if its a warm night, we're just fine in the shorts.
If it turns windy/cool... we can visit the locker and choose which level of "chilly" OVER-WEAR to add to our clothing.

If it turns really COLD (windy 30's-40's not unheard-of at certain times of the year) we can make a restroom trip and slide-on the long underwear... OR... we can even add the final outer-layer of the RAIN ponchos (with their HOODS)... OVER everything else.
That trick (along with ear-muffs and gloves) has allowed us to "comfortably" stay and enjoy Fantasmic! or IllumiNations when others (less-prepared) have been "frozen-out."

 

[Blondie]

The weather in January can be so fickle. One year (2003) the temps dropped to a low of 28 degrees and all over the news was worry of the orange crops freezing. It was the first time we ever had to put the heat on in our room at a Disney resort!

The next morning we went to board the bus for MK and the CM's were saying it was still only 34 degrees out! It was windy too that day, it never felt like it got above 45 degrees, but I'm sure it did. That was TOO cold for my liking.

Normally though, it's very tolerable. You just have to be prepared for anything.

 

[kimnkel]

I live in Texas, at about the same longitude as Orlando. So. yeah. Hot. I know hot. What I can not stand is being cold. "Cold" being defined by me as anything below 72 degrees.

Having said that, I think you will find the park temp perfect for you in January. You will be the one in shorts and a tee-shirt. I will be the one wearing blue jeans, a tee shirt, a sweater, a wind-breaker, and hugging a cup of coffee. I will be wishing I had a heavier jacket and gloves (which I don't actually own) and we will be looking at each other in .

FYI, we had a 25 degree temp drop overnight Staurday night, and Florida is having one today. (High of 73 today---perfect!!)

Probably no more brutal heat for us, or for Orlando, until late Spring.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity. The humidity drops in the winter, and so even 85 degrees feels great (even for a "hot" person!)

We went to the lake this summer and observed a fair amount of alcohol fueled obnoxious behavior. This prompted my DF to remark that it is "not the heat, it's the stupidity." I understand that the parks sometimes could be ascribed such. (I reference: For Gosh Sakes, People! Act like you got some sense!) We are going in December; I hope the cooler temps raise the collective IQ.