November or December?

[DJBounce]

We won’t be going to WDW until 2020. I’m looking at the second or third week in November or the second week in December. Which one would you choose and why?

 

[Delirium]

First, I'll preface by saying I have never been in December. But, the weather in November is hard to beat. If you go late enough in November, you can get most of the Christmas decorations. One advantage December would have over the November weeks you listed is the Festival of Holidays, which normally does not begin until Thanksgiving week.

Bottom line is that I would choose November for the weather.

 

[Selket]

We won’t be going to WDW until 2020. I’m looking at the second or third week in November or the second week in December. Which one would you choose and why?

I think more of the Christmas things will be available in December if that's of interest to you. Seems like Candelight Processional doesn't start until after Thanksgiving. I think the tree in the MK wouldn't be up in November that early and some of the decorations. Also the gingerbread houses in the GF and Beach Club resorts - if you want to see those. I can't remember what all the differences are and when exactly. I was trying to decide the same thing once and picked December just to see the additional Christmas stuff. I agree the crowds and weather could be better if you go ahead of Thanksgiving. I have been twice in December and the weather was good both times - t-shirt and shorts weather. You simply cannot count on the weather in December though! I love the MVMCP - take a look at doing that if you're interested - and I think it starts early November so would work for either time frame.

 

[bdiddy]

We went the second week of December before (the 7th-14th I think) and the weather was amazing! Out of our 7 trips it is actually my favorite because of crowds and weather. Plus all the Christmas decorations and activities. I’m guessing late Nov is probably pretty similar but I think the crowds might be a little higher with the Thanksgiving break runoff. I thought our week was perfect because those crowds were gone and the Christmas crowds hadn’t arrived yet.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We won’t be going to WDW until 2020. I’m looking at the second or third week in November or the second week in December. Which one would you choose and why?

We went this past year Nov 14th and we got great weather (which is always a toss up as far as Orlando winters go). I feel like the sweet spot is after jersey week but before thanksgiving. If you avoid those windows, that will help some on crowds. As you get closer to christmas the crowds increase. We were able to see Christmas decorations, the tree and all the lights were up in MK, the castle was adorned in lights and we did MVMCP. I have heard that the first two weeks in December are good for crowds too so that could be a safe bet also but we've not done those dates. I think there the only difference would be if there were some things you wanted to do that were not available yet in November but for us, we were able to see resort decorations, the gingerbread house at the GF, our resort decor, I think Nov 6-8 is when MK is done for decor, DHS is right after too. I don't feel like we missed anything going the second week in November, but just avoid jersey week, I think it's the first week of Nov.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I think more of the Christmas things will be available in December if that's of interest to you. Seems like Candelight Processional doesn't start until after Thanksgiving. I think the tree in the MK wouldn't be up in November that early and some of the decorations. Also the gingerbread houses in the GF and Beach Club resorts - if you want to see those. I can't remember what all the differences are and when exactly. I was trying to decide the same thing once and picked December just to see the additional Christmas stuff. I agree the crowds and weather could be better if you go ahead of Thanksgiving. I have been twice in December and the weather was good both times - t-shirt and shorts weather. You simply cannot count on the weather in December though! I love the MVMCP - take a look at doing that if you're interested - and I think it starts early November so would work for either time frame.

FYI-MK tree was up for our visit second week of Nov last year and we also saw the gingerbread house and our resort POR/FQ were all decorated. Tree is usually up before the first taping of the christmas special so in 2018 it was up I think Nov 7 or so. DHS was decorated early this year too. AK had their christmas tree up but for the most part I felt their holiday decorations are pretty light. We did not hit epcot on that trip.

 

[CynBeth]

December to be able to experience the holiday stuff.

 

[cruisin5]

December will be more crowded.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Week after Thanksgiving is a good time to go. Weather is usually pretty nice and you'll miss the crazy Thanksgiving crowds and the crowds that pile in the sooner it gets towards Christmas.

 

[DJBounce]

Thank you all for your responses! It’s a tough choice. I will certainly weigh the pros and cons of each timeframe. And thanks for reminding me of Jersey Week. I will avoid that!!

 

[Nancyg56]

My preference is Decemebr for the holiday events, however I do not think you can go wrong either way. I would choose the week that works best for your family becuase in terns of crowds and weather, both are kind of unpredictable that time of year.