Tell me about the second week of December...

[kbmartin]

With the Bounceback promo for free dining, I'm trying to decide when to go. My DH and I will be taking our third end of August trip this year. We can certainly do it again next year with the promo, but I just hate the heat. Just hate it.

Then there's December included in the promo. I checked out crowd calendars, and Dec. 8 - Dec. 12 didn't seem too bad. It's also the exact same price as a potential August trip.

Is the weather really, really cold, though? I hate the idea of trading the unbearable heat for the super cold. I'm from WI and would like weather at LEAST in the 60s if possible.

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. I'm a teacher, so if we did August, we'd have more flexibility of when to go. If we do December, I'd have to use my only two personal days for the year and at least an unpaid half day to make the trip worth it. And then what if we have bad weather here in WI on departure day and get delayed?

We could go later: Dec. 15-19, but I just don't think I could deal with the Christmas crowds. That's about when the crowd calendars are saying things get crazy. I have no patience, and seeing as we go every year, I'd see lines and be like, "Nope!" It's not like we have to do everything, but I don't want to wait in 40+ min. lines for every attraction.

One thing I could say about December: I'm guessing the need for breaks during the day is non-existent at this time, so we'd be able to do and see more than we might in August with the same amount of days. At least it seems like it?

Can anyone help me figure out what to do? I really could use some input from people who have gone at that time!

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Two words. Pop Warner. Avoid at all cost the hotels they will be staying at. If I were to go during the same time frame that they will be there, I would have to stay deluxe.

 

[kbmartin]

We'd be at Coronado Springs, so I think it wouldn't be so bad. They'd be at the values, right? I teach 9th graders, so I'm kind of used to that crowd. Anyway, isn't December 8th pretty much when they'd be leaving? (We'd be getting there the evening of the 8th. At the most we'd do MVMCP that day.)

 

[hallen4]

We love December. Coming from CT the weather down there to us is wonderful. Warm during the day (usually 70s) and cool at night. It reminds me of fall up here. Sweatshirt weather to us. We went in 2014 from the 14th-19th and the crowds were definitely manageable. This year we are going the 6th-13th but staying deluxe so we don't run into anything Pop Warner (rented DVC points). I find the crowds to be fairly light compared to last year's October trip, and the seasonal decorations are wonderful. Happy planning!

 

[CAS239]

Highly unlikely the weather will be remotely cold. It very well could be, but it'll probably be around mid 70's at night and 80's during the day. Humidity will be down so it won't feel too bad. Usually doesn't get cold until Jan. This past Christmas it was in the 80's.

Although 2 years ago the cold fronts in December were amazing. Around mid December we were playing winter summer land golf at night while it was in the 40's. My fingers are crossed this December will be freezing again, but it'll more than likely be warm

 

[DebbieB]

We'd be at Coronado Springs, so I think it wouldn't be so bad. They'd be at the values, right? I teach 9th graders, so I'm kind of used to that crowd. Anyway, isn't December 8th pretty much when they'd be leaving? (We'd be getting there the evening of the 8th. At the most we'd do MVMCP that day.)

Yes, Pop Warner is likely Dec 2 to 8 next year. Last year they did stay at CSR, CBR and values.

 

[CaterFamily]

We're going from the 10th of Dec to the 22nd of Dec. All of the stuff we have read suggests it will be warmer than WA and crowds will be 4-6/10s.

 

[kbmartin]

How crowded does MVMCP get at that point in December?

Also, if we are staying at Coronado, what do you think I would need to request to stay away from Pop Warner kids? (Again, I'm a 9th grade teacher, and I'm around that age group constantly. I can deal with them in the parks, but I'm not sure I want to be in a room next to them.)

 

[Barbara76]

We went Dec 17 -22 last year and it wasn't that crowded (except for the 22nd) or cold (except one day we had to do jeans and holdies). This year we are going Dec 10 - 16.

 

[Belle5]

We will be there Dec. 10-20. We have been many times in December and love the weather! Two Decembers ago (I think we were there the 14-24 or something) and we swam almost every day and played sand volleyball at the CSR. There were times we were a teensy bit chilled walking back to our room from the pool but NOTHING like January or February! With smart planning the crowds shouldn't be that much of an issue and it is a very festive time to be at WDW!

 

[Sammie]

The weather can be iffy. It can be very cold, or not. No way to know until closer. I mean cold, with coats, hats and gloves.

 

[gmboy95]

Having done December many times...the weather is an absolute crap shoot...it can be anywhere from in the 80's to the 50's and in thd40's at night....we have Been about 7 or 8 times in December and most of our pictures are light sweaters and shorts during the day

 

[MaleficentRN]

If you are trying to predict the weather, you're going to be disappointed. You get what you get. We went early one December and it was chilly and rainy, two years later we were going to the pool and wore shorts. Good thing about Florida though, really, really cold is non existent.

 

[sunshinecruise]

The second week in December is one of my favorite times to go to WDW. All of the Christmas decorations are up and it is usually not very crowded. Weather is usually pretty good. It can be warm or cooler but not usually too extreme either way.

 

[Nancyg56]

We'd be at Coronado Springs, so I think it wouldn't be so bad. They'd be at the values, right? I teach 9th graders, so I'm kind of used to that crowd. Anyway, isn't December 8th pretty much when they'd be leaving? (We'd be getting there the evening of the 8th. At the most we'd do MVMCP that day.)

THey are at CSR as well. I was there last year and the cheers were still there when we left. Thye can be "enthusiastic" but we found that if we asked their coaches to tone them down they did.

The weather can be iffy. It can be very cold, or not. No way to know until closer. I mean cold, with coats, hats and gloves.

You said it! I am from CT and we froze one December visit. We got there Thanksgiving day, it got wicked cold, and on teh day we left, 12 days later....yep....pool weather.

 

[jerseygal]

We went Dec.10-15th,'14. This was our FIRST time at WDW to see the Holiday Decorations. Our first day, it was literally HOT 82 I believe. The rest of the days were BEAUTIFUL, last day of the trip we lounged by the pool, the sun felt SO GOOD and we were in the hot tub. I will caution you though that NIGHTS IN PARK were VERY COLD. We went to Candlelight Processional, which is BEAUTIFUL and not to be missed, but FROZE! It really drops in the evening during that time of year, its easy to forget because the days are so pleasant. The highlight of our trip was Candlelight Processional(we did the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package at Les Chefs de France, DELIC) and Osbourne Lights at HS, SO GORGEOUS! Didn't feel the parks were overly crowded at all! I was "kind of" concerned about Pop Warner week, but we were not affected at all as we stayed at the Poly and GF and I think we saw a small group of cheerleaders in the parks, that's it. Would go back again that time of year! ENJOY if you go and dress warmly in the evenings!

 

[Princesca]

YMMV, but I have been told by a couple of TAs that there is no such thing as a consistently 'low crowd' time at Disney anymore, and that the measures Disney has taken to even out revenue across the year, like price variations based on anticipated crowd levels, are really working, so those who could only go during high crowd times are going to get some relief at the expense of those who traditionally had the luxury of choosing low crowd times.

 

[NH-to-FL]

Over the years we enjoyed our early December trips the most. Holiday decorations and lower crowds. As others have noted, the weather can be variable. It can be pleasantly warm or a bit chilly. I recall one year waiting for rope drop just after dawn with the temperatures in the upper 30's. Which is not 'super cold' to us New Englanders. We were prepared with our fleece hoodies and lightweight gloves. Dressing in layers is key as the Florida sun can warm things up quickly.

Pack an outfit for each extreme. You can look at weather.com for the daily record high/lows. For instance for December 9th it is 84/31. With an average high/low of 73/52. That's pretty nice December weather.

We also worried a bit about travel disruption coming from NH but while we did drive to the airport in light snow one year the flight took off on time. Thankfully we have nonstop flights which minimize the possibility of weather related disruption.

I say give early December a try. And be prepared to be attracted to the Florida winter.

 

[rangerxenos]

It's probably my favorite time to go (except for the fact that there are no more Osborne Lights!). I've only gone once in December where the weather was wicked cold (and I will admit, it was not very enjoyable for those few days that trip -- we learned from that trip to pack gloves no matter what, you can't easily find them in Florida, LOL!), but my last two December trips the weather was actually in the 70s and 80s the whole time, with no humidity.

Don't let the talk about Pop Warner get to you, unless you're staying at their main resorts; we didn't think they were that bad at all, certainly no worse than the tour groups!

I do miss the low crowds of decades past, though! The first time DH and I went down in December was sometime in the early 2000's and it was heaven, lines were almost non existant. Those days are long gone, but crowds are a lot more manageable than at other times.

 

[cvjw]

If you are trying to predict the weather, you're going to be disappointed. You get what you get. We went early one December and it was chilly and rainy, two years later we were going to the pool and wore shorts. Good thing about Florida though, really, really cold is non existent.

We went one year and it was brutally cold the first week of January. So cold that the water features around the resorts and parks were frozen!

That was an isolated extreme cold snap though! We have been several years during December/first of January. Most years were warm enough for shorts with hoodies at night.