So confused..when is the "rainy season"?

[Sandy Feet]

Lots of questions! I'm still hoping to take the family and am now thinking of when since I am finding better airfares by taking alternate routes. (Has anyone else flown Delta's Song out of Puerto Rico?)
(1) The end of summer, last week of August/first few days of Sept. when hopefully most people will be getting ready for school. But..will the park hours be shorter?
(2) Early December before the US schools break for the holidays. But will it be too cold for the wetter rides?
We will probably stay off-site since we're a large family and would need two rooms to accomodate us all. Or is it better to stay on-site to get the fast-passes and character meals? I know this debate has been done to death and it really depends on each person's budget but bear with me.
Next question: All the packing lists and tips have been sooo helpful. However I'm worried I'll need a rolling bag to carry everything to the parks! (water, ponchos, bathing suits......) What is the bare minimum you've carried and been comfortable?

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay now.....take a deep breath. Planning is supposed to be fun!!! We were in WDW in mid-August last year and then again the 2nd week in Dec. It rained buckets in August. I have never seen such thunder storms and rain in all my days. Quite beautiful but wet. I do understand the amount of rain was not the norm tho. It does rain every day, but usually only a shower for a short time every afternoon. Coming from Puerto Rico I'm sure you're used to the heat/humidity. The park hours are shorter. They start decreasing the third week in August. But, so do the crowds.

As far as Dec goes....if you go early in Dec. it shouldn't be a huge problem. We were there from the 12-17th. It was chilly!! I still think that wearing gloves in WDW shouldn't happen. I've been first week in Nov and the weather was perfect, but the hours were much shorter.

I'm a strong proponant of staying on-site. You can get decent rates at the AllStars and then get a couple rooms. It just is so much nicer being on-site and not dealing with the whole deal of getting to the parks, parking etc.

Have fun planning. And remember....this is fun!!

 

[goofy4tink]

Oops, forgot to tell you how we handle all that carrying stuff. Every one has their own fanny pack or back-pack. If we think it's going to get chilly, we take warmer clothes and put them in a locker in the parks. We carry in the fanny packs....ponchos, passes, camera, tissue, chap-stick, tissues, ibu, snacks. If each person carrys what they will need, it's much easier for mom!!!

 

[Jaime]

Here's a link to the Average temps and rainfall in Orlando. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=150227&refer=

The park hours are usually shorter both of those times but the crowds are usually smaller too. I would go in December over August. The parks will be ready for Christmas and the crowds are low. The weather can be cooler early in the morning and in the evenings but is usually nice in the afternoon.

We are travelling with 6 adults and 3 children on our trip next week and decided to rent points from the Rent/Trade Board for a Villa. Still a little more than off site but a good deal for the location and perks. You do not need to stay onsite for Fast passes or Character Meals. The main perks to staying onsite is location, charging to your room, delivering purchases to your room, early entry, and the ease of afternoon breaks.

The time of the year makes a difference what you bring to the parks. When we went without children sometimes we just bought bottle water and got along fine. If we got to wet we would change when we return to our room for break. We however usually enter the park with a back pack and if we got tired of carrying it we put it in a locker.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Sandy Feet]

Hello again, thanks for the very helpful replies. Now I'm wondering if we should stay off-site with shuttles to Disney, Universal etc. OR stay at Disney for 3 nights using their Springtime Dream Maker package plus Silver add-on at a value resort. (Pop Star Movies?) BUT are we crazy to go in spring? When is busier, before or after the Easter weekend? Seems to me the cost of the afore mentioned package is about $1619 for 5 people which would include room, tickets, lunch or dinner. Park Hopper tickets alone cost about $1008. I have requested a quote from Dreams Unlimited. AK! I know I should start a spreadsheet to figure it all out! I don't care about the free posters etc, but do care about saving $. Has anyone split their stay between Universal and Disney? Was moving worth it? If you don't have a car, how would you get from one resort to the other? Or for that matter from Disney to the other parks?

 

[Sandy Feet]

Hello again, thanks for the very helpful replies. Now I'm wondering if we should stay off-site with shuttles to Disney, Universal etc. OR stay at Disney for 3 nights using their Springtime Dream Maker package plus Silver add-on at a value resort. (Pop Star Movies?) BUT are we crazy to go in spring? When is busier, before or after the Easter weekend? Seems to me the cost of the afore mentioned package is about $1619 for 5 people which would include room, tickets, lunch or dinner. Park Hopper tickets alone cost about $1008. I have requested a quote from Dreams Unlimited. AK! I know I should start a spreadsheet to figure it all out! I don't care about the free posters etc, but do care about saving $. Has anyone split their stay between Universal and Disney? Was moving worth it? If you don't have a car, how would you get from one resort to the other? Or for that matter from Disney to the other parks?
Almost forgot..where can I find info on fast pass? I tried the link in the trip planning/parks section but it didn't work.