What will the weather be like.......

[WDWCPAlumni]

..........in late January? We have heard last year it was 32 degrees at night. Is that typical??? or maybe just a cold spell. What should we expect?
What about the crowds????

 

[DKM]

Bump...

We are going for the first time and its going to be Mid-Jan. I sure would like to know too. Thanks!

 

[Robo]

We're from the midwest and have learned to EXPECT ANYTHING as the weather goes in off-season Orlando.
We always pack winter and summer-wear.
In Dec/Jan/Feb we have even worn LONG THERMAL UNDERWEAR (after sundown)... we now pack it for any off-season trip.

Typical day:

Cool outside at 7am.
Wear shorts and Tee's.
Over that add a thin nylon wind-breaker
We put our "chilly-wear" and RAIN ponchos in a back-pack.
(Rain ponchos are REALLY cheap in hunting section of discount retailers.
You can buy BIG THICK ones to allow covering large jackets... more later.)

"Chilly-wear" is a nylon cotton-lined warm-up suit with zipper legs and a cotton-lined windbreaker.
We buy OVER-sized in these so they can easily be put on OVER other clothing.
After standing in the sometimes chilly "early-entry" lines we can usually take off the wind-breakers.
We always rent a locker at the park(s) and leave our "chilly-wear" in the locker 'til sun-down.
If it looks like rain (in Florida? Who'da thunk?) we take the Ponchos.

Much later, if its a warm night, we're just fine in the shorts.
If it turns windy/cool... we can visit the locker and choose which level of "chilly" OVER-WEAR to add to our clothing.

If it turns really COLD (windy 30's-40's not unheard-of at certain times of the year) we can make a restroom trip and slide-on the long underwear... OR... we can even add the final outer-layer of the RAIN ponchos (with their HOODS)... OVER everything else.
That trick (along with ear-muffs and gloves) has allowed us to "comfortably" stay and enjoy Fantasmic! or IllumiNations when others (less-prepared) have been "frozen-out."

 

[alicenwonder99]

We were there the first week of Jan 2005. It was beautiful weather!! Sunny and very warm. We were in shorts all day, and I think only one night I had to put a hoodie on the kids. Otherwise, we just wore our shorts and tanks in the evenings, too. It was cold and rainy the week before we were there, and the week after we were there. I remember everyone complaining about how cold and rainy it was for xmas day.

We were there in Dec 2005 and it was COLD! One night for MVMCP, we all had on our winter coats and mittens. We were there in December another year, and it was HOT. I had packed all the wrong clothes (figures) and we had to make a trip to a store in Orlando to buy shorts for the kids because they were too hot in their jeans.

You can't predict the weather in winter!

Mary

 

[travelin' tigger]

You can't predict the weather in winter!

This is so true, especially in Jan. We were there one year and the state of FL was bracing for below freezing temps at night. The next morning, the lifeguards were bundled up in what looked like 1 piece snowsuits, huddled by the pool. But I've also seen 70-80 degree day temps in January, so bring some warm clothes and prepare to layer!!!

HTH!!!

 

[rkujay]

You should expect all weather. Be prepared for cold, warm, hot and OMG it's Florida in January. After all, it IS winter here too. You can expect anything, and don't be surprised if you see 40s followed by 80s...in the same day.

However, as we say in Tampa, you don't have to shovel heat!@

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Crowds (lack of) should be fine. Just watch weather.com 10 day forecast when the time comes and pack accordingly.

 

[WDWCPAlumni]

Thanks for all the input! Just as I had expected......so much for packing light!!! LOL
Are the crowds really slow? I figured they would be but when I went to the crowd index on the unofficial guide, they show like 6 and 7 out of 10, I got a bit nervous! Not what I expected.

 

[yearbook50]

..........in late January? We have heard last year it was 32 degrees at night. Is that typical??? or maybe just a cold spell. What should we expect?
What about the crowds????

It will be much warmer than NH or MA and less snow

When I visited home (FL) last year during the winter it may have only been 30/40 degrees but it felt so warm in comparision to Worcester that I just wore pants and a long sleeve shirt.

 

[Addicted2TheMouse]

We were there in late January 2005 and we experienced FL's coldest day in 2 years. A couple of the nights went below freezing. I have a pic of my DS in his stroller with a sweater, pants, hat, and bundled in a blanket at EPCOT. We did have a few nice days though, like low 70s. And no matter how cold it was there it was a whole heck of a lot colder at home. That same week my DH was home and suffered through -30 degrees Celsius!

To answer the 2nd half of your question, the crowds were non-existent. We literally walked right on every ride. Very nice!!