What to pack for December trip?

[Mousemom]

Now that the kids are back in school I feel like I can start to think and plan for our December 11 - 20 trip. Hoping that the parks will be less crowded than our end of June trip. We gave it our best shot but the heat, humidity, and crowds were intolerable for us Pacific Northwesterners. We are planning two more upcoming trips; our next in December. This will be the first winter trip we have taken to WDW and wondering if we should take our ski jackets when we go or is it warm enough in Florida for just hooded sweat shirts? I plan to have everyone pack a few pants/shorts/t-shirts, basically a variety for hopefully a few warm days. I know that one never knows what the weather is going to do but normal temps in December would be what? Would appreciat any advice, I hate packing too much!!

 

[soccer mom]

Unpredictable is the best way to describe the weather in December. It is one of our favorite times to go and we have had all kinds of extremes and everything in between. According to historical records the average high is 73 and the average low is 51.

We will be there December 15-23 and I will probably not pack until the weekend before we leave. I check the extended forcast and then go for it. We are from Michigan so even 70 would seem like a heat wave to us in December! For us, shorts are still the clothes of choice most of the time. I will add a light weight jacket or sweatshirt for the evening, sometimes we change into long pants, but not usually. But it is truly hard to say for sure. Once we went to the luau at the Poly and they had heaters going and we FROZE waiting for the bus ride back to our resort (I think the low that night was in the 30's!) We have always had at least one day to spend at a water park (with temp in 70's). We have never brought winter jackets (they are back in our car at the airport in Detroit...I refuse to bring them!) Being that you too are use to cooler temps I would think that layers would be the way to go. I think if you try to pack too soon, you will end up taking more than you need. Usually everyone ends up with a new sweatshirt on some evening when we under estimated the temp. Hope this helps!

 

[MICKEY_MOUSE]

I agree with the above poster. we ahve gone in Dec many times. I always bring one pair of jeans. but never have worn them. I always wear shorts, and at night add a sweatshirt or a fleece. this is when I buy all my new disney fleece pullovers!!!!

the only time I really frozed in disney was in Jan o1 when we landed it was 33 degree's!!

 

[jwfla422]

We go in Dec. a lot and it can be very different year to year. Some years we've had warm weather the whole trip only needing a lightweight jacket at night but more recently it has gotten rather cold. Now that being said all depends on what you think "cold" is.

Coming from a South Floridian, cold to us is anything below 60. You all may laugh but even the 60's are chilly when you're used to 80's and 90's most of the year as you may have experienced when you were in WDW in late June. That time of year is even intolerable to us, more because of the crowds than the heat. I can deal with heat as long as the crowds are at a minimum.

We just got back on Wed. and it was rather hot in WDW but crowdwise it was great! We met up with friends from Boston and they just kept complaining about how hot it was. This was their first trip so they had no idea what WDW is like when it is crowded. We also welcomed the rainshowers to cool off a bit. I honestly didnt mind since most attractions were "walk ons" or minimal waits.

You will need to wait until a week or so prior to your trip to determine what to bring. You will probably have to pack both fall and summer clothing. If there is a cold front approaching it could be quite warm and sticky beforehand (even rainy), but once they pass through it can drop 20-30 degrees in a few hours. So be prepared for that. Short sleeved shirts with a long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt is a good way to start. It can be 50 in the morning and go up to the 70s during the day (with the FL sun it can feel rather warm). You shouldn't need a ski jacket. But, a fall jacket with a hood wouldn't be a bad idea. One year when we were there they had wind chills in the 30s and that was during the day. But, a sweatsuit with a fall type jacket (scarf & gloves too) worked fine.

 

[keishashadow]

True, coming from the cold northern part of the country, even 60's seem tropical We too leave our winter coats in the car @ airport and hope that the shuttle driver hurries up! We're planning on packing a little bit of everything this year, especially since we'll be on a short cruise and will (hopefully) need warmer clothing for it. In Feb, lots of times it was a little cool in the early a.m. but by noon in high 70's/low 80's; then dropped to mid-60's in late evening. I'm hoping for the same weather pattern.

I'm assumming the WDW hotels are heated if it gets really cold- never noticed???

 

[sakana]

In 2000 we went in early December and it was pretty cold! My mom accidentally left her stack of jeans and pants on a chair in my house and we spent a lot of time searching the shops for some pants for her (and pullover fleece/sweatshirts for both of us) - she only had the pair of jeans she was wearing on the plane and lots of shorts. We were fine with sweaters/sweat shirts...I had a leather jacket I didn't wear and don't think it was cold enough for a ski parka.

Last year we went in November and I checked the forecast online every day beginning a few days before we left and the forecast was for mild, PNW type fall temps...mid to high 60's and some low 70's. I packed mostly pants and jeans. When we arrived,a fluke heatwave hit, reached record highs a couple days we were there, high 80's, low 90's! So I spent a bit of time trying to buy some pairs of shorts at WDW!

This year, I am gonna buy a space bag and hedge my bets by packing some of everything LOL

 

[lovesdumbo]

I've been in Dec 2 times, Early Jan once and Nov 2 times. It can be very HOT (90's one Dec trip) and very COLD (30's in Jan & 1 Dec trip). I wear jeans on the plane and take another pair along with long & short sleeve shirts and shorts. I also bring a denim shirt, fleece and rain jacket which can be layered.

On my Jan trip I was with DH who doesn't travel especially since he was nervous as this was our first family trip flying, my DD(4 1/2), DS(turned 3 on the trip) and DD(11 months). We had a double stroller and 3 car seats. I had just 2 checked bags and 2 carryones (plus stroller & car seat). To keep the luggage down I mailed a box of diapers, wipes, and EXTRA clothes to the resort.

December is a great time to visit the World-I really love the Santas around the world at Epcot. I'm sure you'll have a great trip!

jwfla422-I just got home late Wednesday night too and I'm from Boston and I didn't think it was too bad. I was only there for 3 nights but I pretty much thought the heat was more bearable than I anticipated. And the parks were empty! We ate at CP one morning at 8:10 and hit Fantasy Land just after 9 and were able to do Peter Pan, Small World, Carosel, Dumbo, Pooh, Snow White, Tomorrow Land Speedway (I HATE that thing but I'm such a good Mom I had to let my DS ride it when he asked for the car ride. This was a trip for just him I left his sisters at home. After we got off I asked him if he liked and he said "Yeh, but I want to go on the cars that drive themselves" [Test Track-which I love]), all in less than 1 1/2 hours. We only waited at the speedway-even on Dumbo we were on the next "flight". The only thing I got a fast pass for the whole trip was Buzz once (rode it at least 4 times with little wait the other times) and Soarin (which was so COOL!!!). I honestly didn't think it was that much hotter than it has been in October and the crowds were much smaller. I would absolutely go the last week in August again but December does have a real magic to it.

 

[Delilah Bleu]

We are going 12/19 to 12/27 coming from CA so I plan to pack a variety of clothes but especially clothes you can layer. I can't wait!

 

[ASFCurly]

It really depends, I have been in December twice, and there would be days I was really warm in my shorts and t-shirt, and then there were days I was wearing a sweatshirt, jeans, and a jacket I was so cold, and I am from Ohio, not exactly a warm state.

 

[cstraub]

Bring hats and gloves just in case.

We used them last December. We were able to stay late in the parks while everyone else ran to thier warm hotel rooms!

 

[SHAMIL10]

We were there last year, and for the most part the kids wore pants, and t shirts, I have some pix with the sweatshirts (early in the morning & late at night) I think DH & myself even wore shorts w/ our sweatshirts a couple of times. The kids did swim one afternoon, but we did not make it to a water park. Otherwise it was really "nice" since we too are used to to the cold Illinois winters.