When to Disney....Late January vs August

[Tanya Geary]

hi all,
I could really use your advice! My husband and I are going back and forth between two times of the year to plan our 2017 Disney trip. We're not sure if we should go late January/early February to take advantage of the Play, Stay and Dine or mid/Late August to take advantage of the Free dining.

We normally go in the summer and swelter in the heat...but we're not sure January would be warm enough for us. Any advice on the pros and cons of each time of year would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help!
Tanya

 

[A Mickeyfan]

August is Hurricane Season. ..just remember it can happen. January isn't

 

[Klayfish]

I really think it's going to come down to a personal decision on the weather. I think the crowds, relatively speaking, are about the same. Since you've been there in the summer, you know what to expect in the weather. Winter can be more variable. I know it can be in the 50's for a high on cool days, maybe even a bit cooler on a real cold snap. Or it can be really warm. It was about 85 on Christmas Day last year and in the low/mid 80s when we went in February too. So you could luck out and have it be warm, or it could be really cool. Personally, I prefer summer as I don't want to do Disney in cold weather (we lucked out in our winter trips).

 

[tanyaandallie]

I've been in Feb. and August. Our last 3 trips have been in August. It's just so darn hot. Totally doable and with no other option we would go again. But if I had a choice I'd go early Feb. instead. Our trip in February was awesome! The weather is just so much better! We are going in March next year and I cannot tell you how excited I am to have more moderate weather!! I am really not a fan of extreme cold but I am kind of done with August heat for now.

 

[Accident]

Florida does get down to 30s overnight around that time so you really need to come prepared for what could be anywhere from 40s to 70s in the day and freezing overnight in Jan. I think it was 2010-2011 when it did 6 snow storms over dec and jan so it's not always hot and sunny here if that might be an issue with what you want to do when here.

The opposite of that is your august time when it's probably surface of the sun hot and just as miserable.

 

[Klinger13]

This past year we went the last week of January and the last week of August and found pros and cons to both.

Both were low crowd times so that was awesome! And we had very reasonable resort rates both times (military discount at POR in Jan & magical deal in Aug.)

Weather - for January we had a blizzard here in NJ delay our trip by 2 or 3 days so that was no fun. Weather in FL was nice some days, like sunny and low to mid 70s, 1 day drizzled all day, 1 day it poured all day. We wore layers every day because mornings started off chilly but then became comfortable for touring as the day went on. We didn't swim at all in January because it was either too chilly or rainy when we'd get back to the resort at night. This also made it harder to pack as we needed everything from shorts to jeans to jackets, etc. My DH preferred the January weather though. DD and I preferred August - we loved the pools and took advantage of an afternoon break every day to swim and cool off in the rooms before heading back out. August was MUCH easier to pack for too.

In January, park hours are much shorter so we didn't take afternoon breaks. I preferred the longer hours in August so we could take swim breaks and still have plenty of time to go out to dinner and then hit a park in the evening.

In the end we really enjoyed both times!

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

We went in January and were surprised by the chilly weather, BUT knowing that, I would choose January over August because I found the heat overwhelming even in October. Lower crowds and lower prices in January make this an easy choice for me.

 

[sharonabe]

We're not sure if we should go late January/early February to take advantage of the Play, Stay and Dine or mid/Late August to take advantage of the Free dining.

Well, PSD is a definite discount. Free dining isn't.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

My last several trips have been spring/summer, so I'm really looking forward to my January trip. No matter how cold Florida might get in the winter, it will always be warmer than Michigan.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We go in January and late August/early September almost every year. We prefer summer because it is hotter. We like WDW in the heat far more than WDW on a cold, windy day. Also, you can take advantage of everything that WDW has to offer in the heat while anything water related can be miserable in January.

As I said, we do both but we prefer the heat. We have friends that prefer WDW in the cold. That, IMO, is the biggest difference so should probably drive your decision.

 

[kellia]

My last several trips have been spring/summer, so I'm really looking forward to my January trip. No matter how cold Florida might get in the winter, it will always be warmer than Michigan.

We are going Jan. 26! Our last 3 trips have been at that time of the year and been great. We are from Michigan, too, and even 50 feels warm that time of year! We snicker at people in winter coats, hats and gloves when it's in the 70's. Once saw a girl with moon boots at that temp!

 

[anniemae]

January. So much nicer weather wise. I love cooler weather for park touring. Aug is so unbelievably, blisteringly, melt your face off hot. So much time is wasted seeking out AC, going back to the room to rest etc. It sucks the life out of you. No problems in January.

 

[CAS239]

January is so much better. Imo Disney is 100x better and more magical in cool weather rather than walking around melting