need packing tips for Dec

[dkbnyc]

hi- our first trip to WDW will be for 3 days the first week of Dec. I am looking for packing tips.
I was thinking that we would be ok to wear the same pair of jeans each day and take an extra pair of pants just in case.
Will tshirts be ok in december? I guess i will have to wait to decide based on the weather forecast.
Will a fleece sweatshirt be ok as a jacket?
Do we need to bring a rain poncho?
I think we can wear the same pair of sneakers every day
we dont plan on swimming

thanks

 

[VBAndrea]

We are going in early Dec as well so I've researched this a bit and also know a bit from past December trips. As a child I remember wearing shorts in Dec without issue. As an adult I recall one day standing in line around noon wearing jackets and gloves b/c the temp was below freezing.

Basically, you can expect early morning and late evening to be cool. Even if it's shorts weather in the daytime you may want pants and long sleeves for the evening, plus a fleece jacket. I have also heard to bring gloves.

Since you're going for just three days you'll have it easier in the packing dept, but look at a ten day weather forecast so you can get a better idea.

For myself I bought pants that roll up into capris. For ds I have pants that unzip to shorts (thin material so I am also packing thermal underwear for him to wear under just in case) and for dd I'm bringing leggings that can be worn under dresses.

Edited to add, yes bring rain ponchos. While it doesn't always rain in December it most certainly can, and likewise you can wear a poncho on Kali River.

And I would bring two pairs of shoes just incase you have comfort issues with one pair. I have heard that even well broken in pairs of shoes can cause problems when you've been walking in them all day.

 

[jamescorey]

My wife and I went last year during the week of Christmas, and did not plan well at all!!! If not for us both having North Face fleece jackets in the car, we would have froze. I recall one night last year (Dec. 21) wearing a tee shirt, sweat shirt over tee, and NF jacket on top of shorts!!! I almost froze to death!!

 

[debmom]

The weather can vary that time of year. We're going the first weekend in Decmeber and will be packing jeans/shirts/sweatshirts etc.

I'll be checking the weather forcast.

It *could* still rain...so yes, ponchos!

 

[aprilp]

I went last year Dec 3-8 and we wore very light jackets in the morning over tshirts the first day. By the second day it was in the lower 70s so we just did the tshirt (oh yeah and wore jeans the entire time, was never warm enough for shorts). The day we were going to leave it was cooler again so we had to break out the very light jackets again for that morning. But it varies from year to year....when I lived about an hour away from Orlando (east, towards Tampa), we had some years that we were in shorts for xmas and some years that we were in sweatshirts. One particular year my mom thought it was going to be cooler so she had gotten us these cute lightweight sweatsuits to wear that day....this was back in the eighties so they had these built in socks/short legwarmers and the pants had an elastic piece that went around the bottom of your feet (think stirrup pants!). Long story short, we were hot in those things but by golly we wore them outside while playing with our remote controlled pink barbie cars!

That all being said, I would definitely pack a little of both (long and short sleeves) just to be safe. And a jacket...

 

[BradyBz12]

We've gone during the first 2-3 weeks of December the past 3 years and the weather is all over the map. Last year the first week of Dec was unseasonably cold - highs in the low 70s and some nights in the 40s and below!

It warmed up after that first week to more of what we're used to - days ranging from 70 to low 80s, evenings from upper 50s-60s.

On the plus side - it's usually pretty dry this time of year. We only had one real day of rain in 3 weeks last year, and the sun was back out by 3pm.

 

[Pirate1+Princess4]

December will be our first trip. Friends went 2 years ago and I just saw their pics yesterday. They mostly wore shorts and tshirts, but the evening pictures they had on jackets. It must have rained at least one day, as there was a pick of four 6 year olds hunkering under Grandma's poncho. Mostly for fun.

I'll check the forecast before we go, but my plan (each person) for our 9 day trip Dec 12 - 20 is as follows:

-pack for 1/2 the trip and have a laundry afternoon mid-trip.
-arrive in jeans and depart in jeans- we are in the midwest and it will likely be 40 or below at our home.
-take fleece jackets like Lands End Thermacheck. It will provide moderate drizzle protection
-solid long-sleeve shirt for layering under cutesy/matching short-sleeve shirts
-extra 1 or 2 jeans depending on weather
-3 or so shorts depending on weather (we can wear more than once before laundering)
-swim suit
-cheap ponchos
-on the hunt for lightweight, packable waterproof jackets, or may Scotchguard some nylon windbreakers we already own
-fleece gloves (just in case) and may come in handy on traveling days



Will fine-tune as we get closer