Winter jackets end of December

[trudycanada]

This is our first trip in for the end of December, I did travel once before during the end of January and never needed them, I don't even think I brought a jacket with me. Do you really think we'll need winter jackets at night? We are from Canada, where we are use to the cold, I was hoping shorts & sweatshirts (for early morning & evening)

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

There's really no telling what you will need in late December. You might be able to get away with shorts, or you might need heavier clothes.

Just check the forecast a few days before you leave (below is a link to a reliable short-term forecast) and pack accordingly...but still, be prepared for almost anything!

http://www.wftv.com/weather/index.html

 

[Robo]

This is our first trip in for the end of December, I did travel once before during the end of January and never needed them, I don't even think I brought a jacket with me. Do you really think we'll need winter jackets at night? We are from Canada, where we are use to the cold, I was hoping shorts & sweatshirts (for early morning & evening)

Consider the difference in what you will be doing at
WDW compared to the way you are outside back home.

You might be used to walking from a car, up a
sidewalk a certain distance and then into a building
back home...
but do you usually simply stand still, waiting in the
same spot for 45-60 minutes at a time.

You will if you want to hold a spot a bit early and
then watch IllumiNations or Spectromagic and/or
Wishes.

My wife and I are naturally "warm-blooded" and hardly
ever wear a coat at home in the winter until the
temperature gets to be constantly below 30 degress...
but STANDING outside at night at WDW for the evening
events, if the temp is in the 40's or lower (plus it
can be damp and windy,) can chill you to the bone
after about 15 minutes.

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."

 

[NotAmused]

Since you are used to the cold, I would say you should probably be fine with a sweatshirt but sometimes it does get down into the 30s/40s at night here. Half of your trip it might be in the 80s, while they next day you wake and it's 40 degrees outside....Florida weather is weird.

 

[Diznut84]

We go annually during the winter. I pack a light sweater and/or fleece pullover to wear with either shorts (more common) or jeans. The biggest factor for me is not to bring a heavy coat, but to make sure we have gloves and hats. I've always been okay with either shorts or jeans, a short sleeved shirt, a light fleece pullover, and hats and gloves. When it warms up in the late morning, I shed the hat, gloves, and pullover. Some days you won't even need them.

That's my view, and I'm sticking to it!

 

[GinnyFavers]

Once I went in December with mostly light stuff and froze to death... it rained for two days on and off and was in the 40's for a high. Yuck!

Then another year, I took warmer things, and it was in the mid 80's and muggy muggy muggy and I sweat to death.

Now I bring everything, from winter gear to bathing suits and sunscreen.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Simple answer, as Bob said, be prepared, bring a coat.

 

[rk5798]

We have been there when it has been really cold and we bundled up in turtlenecks and coats and then I have also been there with very mild weather at night(last year I think we only put on our heavy clothes one evening). We always go the week between Christmas and New Year's and we are from Northeast Ohio, so we are also used to cold weather here. I am actually bringing out 8 mos. old fleece bunting to put on him at night. I figure I would rather be prepared and not use it than to not have warm clothes and then have to spend money to buy stuff to keep warm.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

The secret is to layer. I usually bring coats and put them in a locker during the day, and then when the sun goes down, we go retrieve our jackets for the evening.

 

[akalittleeva]

I'm from the Maritimes, too... We drove down last November, so I took our winter coats for the drive. Really glad we did - we wore them the last 2 nights we were there (just before US Th'giving). Like a PP said - standing and waiting gets really cold by times. My family made fun of me when I packed the hats and mitts, but they were so grateful when I pulled them out of the suitcase to wear to the parks. Disney also very quickly stocked their stores with winter wear, but I wouldn't want to have to be stuck paying the price if I didn't have to. I say be prepared...

 

[tomandrobin]

Just check your weather before you go and pack accordingly. We all take our Disney Hoodies for wear at night in the parks. During the day the temperature has usually been very temperate, but the early morning and evening can get cool.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

December 27, 2000 to January 4, 2001 Record setting cold weather for the Orlando area. It was in the 20s at least three of the nights.

DH had forgotten to bring gloves. The stores had sold out of gloves. And then they had sold out of socks as people bought them to wear as mittens. We saw people wrapped in blankets (from the resorts? who knows?) with WDW small merchadise bags on their hands.

It probably won't be that cold, but Florida winter isn't always warm at night.

Bring the coat/jacket and gloves.

 

[goofy4tink]

For some reason, 50 degrees in Orlando sure does feel colder/damper than 50 here in Mass. When I fly to WDW anytime from November to March, I fly in jeans, heavy socks, a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, and a flannel lined windbreaker. Then, I have lighter socks, shorts, tee shirt in my carron, so I can change when I get to Florida. I also have a few extra heavy socks in my bags, another sweatshirt and possibly an extra pair of jeans. But, also shorts, long sleeved (or 3/4 length) tee shirts. I even bring mittens with me...just to be on the safe side.
When we were there in mid-Jan last year, it was amazingly cold first thing in the morning. As the day went on, and the sun got higher in the sky, it did warm up nicely. I always started my day with a longsleeved shirt and the windbreaker and shorts. As it got warmer, I just tied the windbreaker around my waist.
Better to be prepared, then to have to run around buying heavier clothes..been there, done that!!!

 

[HGD24]

We're from Maine and have been to Disney World twice in Jan and once in Dec. One Jan trip the daytime temps were in the 40's - low 50's with windchills in the 20's in the morning and night. I had a fleece jacket with me and wore it over t-shirts and a sweatshirt everyday. I even wore gloves at night! The next Jan trip, temps were in the 80's the entire time. During our Dec trip, there were a few very chilly nights where I wore t-shirts, heavy sweaters and again, my fleece jacket, oh yeah...and the gloves. We had some warmer nights during that trip too, so you really never know. You'd be amazed at how chilly the air can get down there when the sun goes down and the winds kick up. Even my husband, who is normally a very warm person, had to wear jeans, sweatshirts and windbreakers during the cold trips.

 

[GinnyFavers]

Better to be prepared, then to have to run around buying heavier clothes..been there, done that!!!

I have a lightweight Tinkerbell hoodie and big thick Winnie the Pooh & Friends pullover with kangaroo pockets in our Owner's Locker, that I had to buy on two trips where I didn't bring enough! Now they await me when we visit, so I can save room in my luggage.

 

[dyna]

Packing half cool weather clothing an half warm weather clothing worked for us. You might have to do laundry midway thru your visit but you prepared for most anything then.

Yes we have worn our winter coats, hats, gloves waitin for the nighttime shows in Dec and Jan.

 

[princessesrule4]

We always bring jackets,gloves,scarves and hats for our December trip. We always seem to be there when they have record lows! Its happened twice now!

 

[goofy4tink]

I have a lightweight Tinkerbell hoodie and big thick Winnie the Pooh & Friends pullover with kangaroo pockets in our Owner's Locker, that I had to buy on two trips where I didn't bring enough! Now they await me when we visit, so I can save room in my luggage.

Don't you just love the whole Owner's Locker concept? I have my MVMCP sweatshirt in mine, as well as my Tinkerbell fleece pullover, my Christmas Mickey ears, a ton of Disney teeshirts that I don't wear at home. So much easier than lugging it all with me each time. But, I sure do wish I had made a list of the toiletries I left there....I can't remember now. Shampoo/conditioner, toothepaste are there but did I leave deoderant??

 

[DVC-Don]

I'd bring a heavy coat. We went for Christmas 2006 and did not need it, but Christmas 2004 we froze and of course we did not have heavy things that time. It was a good excuse though to buy a heavy leather WDW coat I'd been looking at down at WoD.

 

[disney1990]

I have been to Disney in December when it was so cold that you couldn't "buy" a warm hat or gloves on property. It's always better to bring warm clothes just in case.

That said, you can always check the weather right before your leave for Florida.