Packing for the weather..help please!

[MakinMagicforBunky]

I'm only a second time Dis'er and I've never traveled during a 'cold' season and am stressing a bit over packing.

We'll be there 1/26-2/2 and from what I'm reading, the weather could be anywhere from the low 60's to the 80's and we'll more than likely need a jacket/sweatshirt for the late evenings, maybe even jeans.

It's only myself and my 8yo, and I'd be fine in jeans in just about any weather, but he's looking forward to wearing shorts as we live in MD and it's COLD here this time of year.

Right now my plan is to pack a couple pairs of jeans for each of us, capris for me and shorts for him, our Crocs for footwear, and we'll be wearing a hoodie, jeans, and tennis shoes when we fly in. I figure we can wash clothes if we end up needing more of one season than the other.

My concern is that we're limited on suitcase weight going down (one each going down, two each coming back due to different airlines) so I don't want to overpack cold weather stuff, but I obviously don't want to get down there and be cold if we aren't prepared.

So if you're used to a daily high of the 30's, how are you dressing in Dis this time of year? I don't want to ruin a trip by being too cold.

Will a hoodie sweatshirt be enough at night, or are we going to need jackets or coats?

And is it humid/breezy down there compared to mid/upper east coast?

Our last trip was at the end of April a couple years ago, and it was unseasonably cool to the point where we didn't want to swim at night, too cool for us. Should we expect to be able to swim on this trip, I know the pools are heated, but the air was too cool for us last time.

HELP! Pack me please!!

 

[Nie0214]

I'm wondering too. I'll be there 2/1-2/3, and the high for tomorrow is 9!

 

[Uno Mas]

You're really going to need to just keep checking the 15-day extended forecast and see what happens. It's been lovely down there and now the week I"m going (today) there's a cold front moving in, so my packing plans were all messed up. We are wearing layers - capris, short sleeves, hoodies, and then a light jacket. Anything below 60 is cold for us because we live in the south, so we are preparing to be chilly at night. You can be fine at 64 degrees in the sunshine during the day, but once the sun goes down, it really does get cold in Florida. I cannot imagine that we will be hitting the pool on this trip. Even heated, it's not warm enough when the air temps are in the
40s or lower. Once you get out, you freeze to death. But it's all relative based on what you are used to. I'm guessing by your trip it will be more likely in the 70s and that will be wonderful!

 

[ZoZo]

A few days before your trip, I'd suggest going to a weather web site that provides hour-by-hour forecasts. (I think weather.com has that feature.)

By using an hour-by-hour forecast, you can tell what the temperature is likely to be at, say, 8:00 or 9:00 at night - that should help you figure out what to pack.

(But from what I hear, January can be quite chilly in the evening and early morning, so it would be a good idea to pack a jacket, gloves, etc., just in case. It would be a shame to have to buy warm stuff after you get there!)

 

[redrosesix]

We were there around that same time last year, and the weather was about the same. We actually had to change into shorts and sandals before leaving the airport lol It was such a drastic change.

During the days it was warm enough to wear tank tops and shorts, and we spent an afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon wearing only our bathing suits. Once the sun went down, we wore long pants with at least 2 layers on top (usually t-shirt, sweatshirt, windbreaker) but with sandals

We're going to be there just after you and we've also decided to take our down vests for the evenings. It can feel quite cool when it is windy, especially on rides like the TTA, which is one of our favourites.

The way I save packing space is to leave our winter coats at home -- we dress in layers: tank top, shirt, sweater, vest - all things that can be worn again in Florida.

 

[sherry7]

We're leaving for Disney World in 2 days, and according to the Accuweather 15 day forecast, it's going to be chilly....low 60's during the day, and 40's at night. It's supposed to warm up at the end of the week. Of course, you can't take too much stock in weather forecasts, considering they're wrong most of the time.

I packed a couple of pair of jeans for each of us, along with a couple of hoodies. We also have medium weight fleece jackets. We have a washer/dryer at the condo we're renting, so I can always wash our jeans during the week. Along with that, I packed the "normal" stuff...2 or 3 pair of shorts, capris, short-sleeve t-shirts, sandals, tennis shoes, crocs, swim suit, etc. I tossed in gloves and a scarf for myself. DH and DS don't wear gloves and scarfs even during our Pennsylvania winters, so I didn't bother packing any for them.

If you're careful with how you pack, you should definitely be able to do it with 1 suitcase apiece, even with the various clothes.

We're flying out on Friday, and here in Pittsburgh, it's supposed to be a high of 5 degrees, and a wind chill factor of 22 below. So, with that comparison, I'm expecting Florida to be rather balmy.