Torn between two potential dates, any help?

TarotFox

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
275
Hello all! I am planning my Disneymoon but am so early in the planning that I'm unsure of when we want to go... I haven't been to WDW in a good 15 years, and as a little girl barely remember it, and my fiance hasn't been since he was a toddler. We got engaged during our first ever trip to DL and are in love with everything. :)

Anyway, we are planning to be married on October 19th. We are torn between leaving almost immediately and coming late October, or postponing the whole thing until January or February.

The main concern we both have is that I have a heat condition and do very poorly in heat. My two trips to WDW were both in the middle of summer, but I remember little of it and was frequently pulled out of lines due to heat exhaustion. I prefer to keep it to 75 degrees and under when I'm out and about, which seems to be nearly impossible at WDW, but as long as we play it smart and spend a lot of time in air conditioning I should be all right. But, as it is our honeymoon and we both want to have a good time, we don't want to run the risk of me passing out or having migraines and ending up in medical all the time, which is something that has definitely happened to us before.

January or February would bring more temperate weather, which makes this less of a risk. On the other hand, it seems like the parks close much earlier during these months? We are both night people and would happily stay at the park as late as possible, so an 8pm ending is a little early. Heat wise, I tend to do better once the sun is down regardless.

On the other hand, we are both BIG Halloween people, and would probably really enjoy the Halloween Party. Though, it might be nice to see the park sans decoration for essential first-timers? Going to the Halloween Party is a bucket list thing for us eventually, as we also want to do Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, but maybe not on the honeymoon. We love Halloween and would definitely get a ticket to the Halloween party, but the flipside of that is that Magic Kingdom would be closed early on so many days... We want to take a long time at the parks, so we should have lots of time to get things done, but still.

Basically, I go back and forth on this on the daily and would love some advice from people who are significantly more versed in WDW than we are! Any comments would be appreciated, thank you.
 
Late October and erly November are great times to go because the weather is wonderful.
October with lower humidity:
  • Average high temperature: 84°F
  • Average low temperature: 66°F
  • Average daily temperature: 75°F

  • November low humidity:
    • Average high temperature: 78°F
    • Average low temperature: 58°F
    • Mean temperature: 68°F
The crowds at the parks are not too crazy.

With Star Wars due to open late Fall of 2019, January and February could be crazy.
 
Our first trip was summer, it was horrible in the weather. 2nd trip was October and we loved it. I was able to wear a full length heavy weight costume to our party and was a little warm at 4 but it cooled off and I was a little cold that night. I think the weather is just perfect! If you're into Halloween I'd say go with that because the nights for HHN and MNSSHP should be great.
 
The big question here is - are you getting married THIS October or NEXT October?

If it's THIS year - definitely go in October. 1) you will get all the Halloween fun, 2) Food and Wine Fest will be going on at Epcot, and 3) you will (very likely) avoid the madness that will be Star Wars:Galaxy's Edge. I am pretty confident that the crowds are going to be unprecedented for at least the first few months, and it won't be enough to just stay out of Hollywood Studios.

If it is NEXT year - Either October 2020 or Jan/Feb 2021 should be fine. October - you get Halloween and Food and Wine. Mid/Late January - you get the International Festival of the arts in Epcot. Temperatures in October are pretty amazing. January you can run into colder days/nights.
 

My opinion late October or early November. While it may get hot it only last for 3-4 hours (unlike the summer time). Those 3-4 hours you can find other other things to do.

Welcome to the Disboards!!! :welcome:
 
Hm, I didn't really think about Galaxy's Edge. I am indeed getting married THIS October, so January or February might still fall in the danger zone of craziness. I'm fine to spend a few hours around midday doing something else if it's going to cool down again. We're from Colorado and we aren't too afraid of colder temperatures, but it would be best to find a sort of happy medium.

Thank you for the replies!! I have a lot to think about.
 
Hm, I didn't really think about Galaxy's Edge. I am indeed getting married THIS October, so January or February might still fall in the danger zone of craziness. I'm fine to spend a few hours around midday doing something else if it's going to cool down again. We're from Colorado and we aren't too afraid of colder temperatures, but it would be best to find a sort of happy medium.

Thank you for the replies!! I have a lot to think about.

If you can handle a Colorado summer (former Northglenn resident here!) you'll be fine in WDW in October. The heat is nothing like it is in September, and the humidity is tapering off a lot by then.
 
I'd recommend the 1st or 2nd week of November. The weather will be warm but unless it's an uncommonly warm November it should be highs around 80s. The evenings should be pleasant as well. Humidity will also be getting lower as well.
 
I guess you have to write your pro/con list for each of those time frames.

Oct - you get the MNSSHP and Food and Wine at Epcot. If you are foodies then i would pick this time. You could get a warm spell even in Oct, so with that i would plan for rope drop in the morning and take an afternoon break. This way you can avoid the height of the heat. I don't think the humidity is that bad in Oct and really it is the humidity that gets to people more than the heat. We did Las Vegas in August and even though it was in the high 90's it was much more bearable than home in MA when it is 80 with 70% humidity.

You love Halloween so maybe check out some of the youtube reviews of MNSSHP and see if it is really for you. I know Tim Tracker has a review. The parade for that party does seem amazing and I am not a parade person.

Jan/Feb - you would get festival of the arts at Epcot - some food but not as much as F&W.

I don't think you could go wrong with either choice, Jan/Feb will be much cooler so probably no opportunity for pool time, but you could hit the pool in the afternoon in Oct most likely.
 
Is SWGE something your or your fiance would want to be there for? If it's not a must do, then definitely go in October/November (if that's an option).
 
Hm, I didn't really think about Galaxy's Edge. I am indeed getting married THIS October, so January or February might still fall in the danger zone of craziness. I'm fine to spend a few hours around midday doing something else if it's going to cool down again. We're from Colorado and we aren't too afraid of colder temperatures, but it would be best to find a sort of happy medium.

Thank you for the replies!! I have a lot to think about.

Of course weather can be hit or miss, but I have gone several times in October and have found it to still be awfully hot & humid at that time. I'm from CO as well, and 85' in CO and 85' in FL feel VERY different. I put up with the heat because the Food & Wine Festival is one of our very favorite things, but if you're sensitive to heat, you could definitely run into some very uncomfortable days. I have also gone in Dec/Jan the last two years, and found the weather to be wonderful (most days in the 70's)! Tshirts during the day.. but not sweating through your shorts. And light jackets at night.

And I guess only time will tell.. but Disney is always busy anymore. Maybe you'll notice a difference with Galaxy's Edge.. maybe you won't. But you'll definitely notice a temperature difference from Oct to Jan/Feb. At least in my opinion.

And as far as hours, when we were just there in Dec, AK and HS closed at 8:00, but Epcot and MK were open until at least 9:00/9:30 - later on EMH hour days. And then Disney Springs was open until midnight every night! So you can always hop over there!

Either way, I hope you have a wonderful time! We kicked off our Honeymoon at Disney as well, and now it's even more special for us :)
 
Last edited:












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top