Who's been on a cold day?

[ekmom]

We're doing a quick trip next week, flying in tomorrow, park days Tuesday (MK), Wednesday (Epcot), Thursday (HS and AK). The forecasted high for Tuesday is 56. Brrr! If you've been on a chilly day, does it keep the crowds down?

 

[StarSeven7]

We're doing a quick trip next week, flying in tomorrow, park days Tuesday (MK), Wednesday (Epcot), Thursday (HS and AK). The forecasted high for Tuesday is 56. Brrr! If you've been on a chilly day, does it keep the crowds down?

Nope, not really. Most people are there already for vacations so they’re not going to stay out of the parks. We had a trip last year that was around that temp every day for a week and the parks were definitely not slow!!!

 

[ajay3]

We were there in Dec. 2017 when it got into the 30's and 40's all week! Coming from a Midwesterner - 40 in Florida is A LOT colder than 40 in the Midwest for some reason! It does keep the crowds down, which is really nice. But be prepared to bundle up even more than you think you will need to!

 

[SaintsManiac]

MLK weekend 2018 it was 35 degrees at the MK for RD. And yes it was way less people than normal. They showed up closer to noon when it warmed up.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The coldest I’ve ever been at WDW was 1/1/2018 - a miserably cold/grey day...one of those days where the hi temp was at 8am and only went down all day. By 6pm it was 47 with a 20 mph wind. Totally agree with the PP above that said Florida cold ‘feels’ colder than other places - the higher humidity and wind make a bone chilling cold, IMO.

Anyways, we put on pretty much every single piece of clothing we had packed and trucked on. I remember saying at the time that night at the MK was like our own personal Disney After Hours night. It was DEAD. It felt like there were only a few hundred people around us in the Hub that night for HEA. Such a fun time, but we were seriously cold.

Granted I’m sure 1/1 had something to do with it as well, but the weather definitely kept many away that day.

 

[GovieMom]

We were there during the freeze of 2010 and like us, everyone else had park tickets to use and were out and about, totally bundled up. The only place I noticed a drop in crowds was at Epcot World Showcase when it was time for Illuminations.....because it was downright frigid!

 

[disneygirlsng]

We were there in Dec. 2017 when it got into the 30's and 40's all week! Coming from a Midwesterner - 40 in Florida is A LOT colder than 40 in the Midwest for some reason! It does keep the crowds down, which is really nice. But be prepared to bundle up even more than you think you will need to!

The humidity level can make a difference. Though I think the difference for a lot of people (not everybody though) is that they don't typically spend hours and hours outside at home like they do while in the parks. If you're only going outside to get to your car, walk into work/a store, or whatever, it's a lot different than standing/walking outside in that same temperature all day.

 

[Brett Wyman]

45 degrees at 7:45 for EMM at HS November 2018. We just bundled up and had fun anyway. The thing about Orlando is it very rarely stays really cold as the day goes on.

 

[Mome Rath]

We were there in Dec. 2017 when it got into the 30's and 40's all week! Coming from a Midwesterner - 40 in Florida is A LOT colder than 40 in the Midwest for some reason! It does keep the crowds down, which is really nice. But be prepared to bundle up even more than you think you will need to!

It's definitely the humidity. I spend a lot of time outside at home, and when it is 40 at home (the midwest) in the winter, we don't consider that cold really (it doesn't feel cold as our winters tend to be dry), however, 40 at Disney is almost unbearable. The humidity makes the cold feel more intense on your skin even under layers. When we've been at Disney during a cold snap it seems the first day the temp drops it does clear out, but bounces back really quickly.

 

[StarSeven7]

The humidity level can make a difference. Though I think the difference for a lot of people (not everybody though) is that they don't typically spend hours and hours outside at home like they do while in the parks. If you're only going outside to get to your car, walk into work/a store, or whatever, it's a lot different than standing/walking outside in that same temperature all day.

I think this is totally what it is. I'm from MI and I currently live in Ontario but I spent 5 years in Calgary where it regularly gets to -40 - so we're definitely not cold weather wimps!!! When we went last year to WDW, it was chilly for most of our 10 day trip. I was wearing a tank top, short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, hoodie, and a softshell jacket most days, plus thin gloves, and I was just so cold some days that I had trouble warming up! But being outside for 12+ hours I think was what the issue was!

 

[NH-to-FL]

We're doing a quick trip next week, flying in tomorrow, park days Tuesday (MK), Wednesday (Epcot), Thursday (HS and AK). The forecasted high for Tuesday is 56. Brrr! If you've been on a chilly day, does it keep the crowds down?

I will echo the previous posters, the cooler weather lowers the rope drop crowds a bit but as @StarSeven7 said most folks, like you, are here on vacation and will head to the parks eventually.

And as @ajay3 says those cool mornings always seem to feel colder than expected. I have found that layers with a wind block hoodie is a must. I also keep a light pair of gloves in the pocket just in case.
Wishing you a visit!

 

[StarSeven7]

You guys had better rope drop luck than we had! We had one day on our trip (thankfully that day was a bit warmer - probably 60s) that was nonstop rain. Rope drop that morning was just as busy as any other morning but by afternoon the crowd did finally start thinning out - I think once people realized it was never going to stop raining that day they bailed and went back to their hotels to warm up! We braved the rain until 6pm and then not even the 20 minute standby wait for 7DMT could keep us going!

 

[Remy is Up]

Whoever goes the next 3 days will be able to answer that. We will be there.

 

[Micca]

I don't remember when it was, but it was a December trip in the early 2000s. It was so cold we all wore gloves. I'm remembering walking in & out of the shops on Main Street, it wasn't busy at all. But this was long ago when WDW wasn't slammed 365 days a year.

 

[Disnsyncey]

In college (I went to UCF #gkco!) we would go whenever......there was a 2 week period in like February that it WOULD NOT STOP RAINING.....we were sick of staying inside, and good thing it was warm-er (probably 60s or 70s) at the time, but we just put on shorts (cuz who wants wet pant legs on them all the time) and long sleeve shirts and said "to heck with this" and went to Studios.....the crowds were low and I remember being the phone a complete stranger at millionaire!

But, we did go one January when it was in the 30s....we bundled up, but the ride that was the ABSOLUTE COLDEST was the Tomorrowland Speedway....AWFUL...it was like 5x colder it felt like so stay away from that ride!

 

[epcotty]

not in our experience, it still depends on the time of year

 

[beccasmom]

We’ve visited a few times in colder weather (which beats high humidity in my book!). I pack keeping that in mind and I dress in layers. I haven’t seen cold weather cut down crowds appreciably. We will be there next week and I’m seeing temps in the 70s which is perfect IMHO. But I’ll be prepared just in case.

 

[Remy is Up]

We get our 3-4 days of winter this week and then back to the 70s-80s. Haha. The cold generally hits a couple of times in Jan and Feb for 3 or 4 days a pop and then it goes back to normal Florida winter weather

 

[mseyre]

Two years ago today I was rope drop of AK and it was -2 Celsius — so like 30 degrees F? Anyway it was actually warmer at my home on the west coast of Canada. We made it on Pandora quickly but there were still a lot of people out that day.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Pools are definitely less crowded though