Swimming in December

[WDW or Bust]

We are going on our first DWD trip in December. Im trying to decide if we should stay at CBR for the better pool or Port Orleans for the Royal Suite (better room). With it being low 70’s for the ave high temp, do people really do much swimming that time of year?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It really depends. We were there Christmas week 2015 and then the week before Christmas in 2016 and 2017 and it was warm enough to swim each of those weeks. Reports last year stated it was really cold in the beginning of the month. You really won't know until about a few days before your trip when forecasts solidify a little bit.

 

[bumbershoot]

With it being low 70’s for the ave high temp, do people really do much swimming that time of year?

Yes.

An 80 degree pool when it’s colder than 80 degrees is lovely.

 

[dansdad]

We are going on our first DWD trip in December. Im trying to decide if we should stay at CBR for the better pool or Port Orleans for the Royal Suite (better room). With it being low 70’s for the ave high temp, do people really do much swimming that time of year?

As long as it's above 45 my son and I are swimming.

 

[Disneylover99]

I enjoy swimming more in December then in the summer months at DW. Fewer people in the water.

 

[SamFaniam]

We are going on our first DWD trip in December. Im trying to decide if we should stay at CBR for the better pool or Port Orleans for the Royal Suite (better room). With it being low 70’s for the ave high temp, do people really do much swimming that time of year?

Where are you coming from? We live in the south, and so don’t enjoy swimming in weather under 80° really. But I know people who live in the north often seem to be able to tolerate cooler temperatures and still enjoy swimming.

I guess I would think about it this way. You know that you’ll use your room, but you might not use the pool.

 

[MamaJessie]

In December I wouldn't pick a property for the pool. Sure we might swim a little but we wouldn't swim as much as we would in a warmer month.

 

[GoofyCoaster]

The pools are heated and when the air temp is in the 70s and sunny, there will be a good number of people in the pool Dec-Feb.

 

[SG131]

I went the beginning of Dec this past year for 10 days of Disney plus 3 universal. I had one decent pool day and a bunch of days wearing a coat hat and gloves. Even if the pools are heated when you get out and it’s not even 50 and you have to get back to your room that’s too much for me. December is totally hit and miss. The forecast was all over the place before I left. Last year there were very few people swimming, so I wouldn’t pick based on a pool.

 

[pixiedustedme]

We are going on our first DWD trip in December. Im trying to decide if we should stay at CBR for the better pool or Port Orleans for the Royal Suite (better room). With it being low 70’s for the ave high temp, do people really do much swimming that time of year?

Take "average high temperature in the low 70's" with a grain of salt. You might be lucky and have that kind of weather in winter, as we did during two winter trips. You might also be unlucky and have daytime temps in the 30's-40's with the wind chill factored in, as we did during two winter trips.

Central Florida isn't tropical, so it can get genuinely cold in winter. Its winter temperatures are unpredictable far in advance, so it's best to pack layers to accommodate both warm and cold days. Bring your bathing suit just in case you get lucky, sure. But I don't recommend choosing a resort for a winter trip based on that resort's pool.

 

[MaryKM]

We were there this past December and lucked out with warm sunny days in the 80s. The week after we left it was much much cooler. We’re from New Hampshire so my kiddo was in the water, but my water loving husband didn’t stay in as long as usual. I didn’t go in- I need it to be scorching out to swim.

I think you received great advice so far with: hope for the best weather prepare for the “worst”. You may get some swimable days, but you may not. I don’t know if I would choose my resort based on the pool in December, but you’ll definitely enjoy resort amenities and a nice room- and if you luck out with a nice day, any pool will feel good!

 

[Wood Nymph]

There is no way that you are going to know if it will be warm enough to swim in December. Florida weather is tricky. We have been on December trips when it was in the 50's and trips when it got up to the 80's. The last time we stayed at POR it was too cold to swim the last week of October. We had hit a cold snap. So you just never know what you'll get.

 

[shocker]

Dec 2018, water parks closed multiple days in a row, the order of business was hats, gloves & hoodies. I saw people in the parks wearing rain ponchos, not for rain but for plastic layer of heat retention. I overestimated warmth & took home shorts never worn & underestimated the cold & although I had layers & hoodies, I had to wear them over & over.

 

[westie55]

Last time I went in early December, it was a bit too cold for swimming. We did see some people at the pools though. Highs in the 60s/70s is too cold for me... And the pool water itself is a lot warmer in the summer.

 

[OKW Lover]

There is no way to answer this question right now. If you look at averages for December you'll easily be mislead. Over the course of 25+ years of visiting WDW in December, and now living near by, the weather then is highly variable. Sometimes its heavy jacket, hats and glove weather. Sometimes its shorts & t-shirt weather. Some years that occurs over the same weekend.

 

[kiford]

You don't say when you're going during December but were there over the holidays (23rd to 30th). The first few days, especially early in the morning we were wearing gloves. But the latter part of the week we were in the pool and it was quite warm. Usually we go in early December and it's been over 80 some days and low 60's other days. And the temperature swing can happen within a day.

 

[Disneypro1]

In December I wouldn't pick a property for the pool. Sure we might swim a little but we wouldn't swim as much as we would in a warmer month.

110% correct. It isn’t the best in December. Not fun like summer. Too cold for slides. Just not a good time to swim for very long.

 

[Miffy]

My experience with swimming in December was that being in the pool was fine--the pool was heated and almost completely empty. But . . . getting out of the pool?!?!? Ack! Being in a bathing suit and soaking wet with only a towel or two for warmth was not a happy experience. The pool water is heated, but the air isn't. However, this doesn't seem to bother some people. This past December, I saw many people in the pool at AKL, even on pretty cold days. And these people were definitely enjoying themselves.