When would be the best time to go for someone who hates the extreme hot and loves low crowds.

December or January - except the couple of weeks around Christmas/New Years when the kids are out of school.

There are other times when it GENERALLY isn't what I'd call extreme hot/humid, but some times those weeks CAN be unseasonably warm, just like December and January can be. A couple years back in mid October it was unseasonably (record setting) hot over the weekend, and on Tuesday was unseasonably (record setting) cold. I had to buy more clothes because I was NOT prepared for it to turn quite so cold quite so quickly.

I'm with you on not liking the crowds and the hot! I try to visit sometime between the end of September and maybe mid-April. Any closer to summer is just way too hot for this Dallas boy! The first couple weeks of December are really good times to visit. All of the Christmas decorations and shows are up and running, but the crowds don't show up until closer to Christmas.

we just visited the last week of jan/first week of february and while there were lots of people around, by touring carefully (we used TGM) we never waited more than 5 minutes for anything the whole trip. however, heat-wise it was still warmer than I expected and muggy (it averaged about 22 celsius over the trip, with a couple of days when it got to 30, and a couple of cooler days when it was 17 (those cooler days were really muggy however). this was lovely for the afternoon breaks by the pool but also made those breaks necessary. if we ever get to go again, we are thinking about going earlier in January...

Like everyone else I would say you will be best off in December or January. February is often cool as well. I've been coming in January since I started college (3 years now) had done February all through high school and went in March for years before that. One thing to note - cold in Florida does get below freezing at night - there were several nights in January that were 26 degrees F. (Then again, I'm down here this week and Monday night got down to 40!) I've also seen it be 80 in January. The only thing I will definitely say is that January is colder than July!!! ;-)

Chris

I was in WDW this past January (the week starting with the Martin Luther King holiday), and I was shocked at how crowded it was. We arrived on the holiday, and assumed that people were there for the long weekend, and would be leaving. There weren't as many people as there were when we were there in August, but because the parks have a lot less staff, some of the waits were pretty substantial. For example, the wait for Test Track was consistently over 90 minutes, and Soaring was almost always 120 minutes. In lots of cases where an attraction has two queues, only one of them was open, which made the lines similar to what you'd see during peak season. I read somewhere that with Disney doing so much advertising, and the value of the dollar so low that it's cheap for international guests to attend, there really is no "off-season" anymore. We still had fun, once we got over our shock at the crowds.

We were there the weekend after MLK and it was pretty crowded as well. The EMH and P&PP were the way to go.

Thanks, everyone.

We have gone before in September, April, and December.

I found December to be the best, but I had heard it was even better in Jan/Feb.

September was nice in 2002, but in 2006, it was hot and crowded.

Perhaps we'll stick with that December time - first week or so. Will I run into a lot of Thanksgiving crowds in the first week in December?

In my experience, most of the Thanksgiving crowds have gone home by early December. It's always been a great time to visit!

Off topic--Dan, 4 days! You're so close! Have a great trip!!!!

On-topic--I'll be trying December for the first time this year (mousefest). October of 99 was terrific weather and crowds. However, October 05 and 07 was much hotter and so much more crowded! I guess it is still hit or miss for heat in October. However, F&W popularity is up and the place is getting busy!

Thanks, Tina. Sadly I have 4 days of mind-blowing busy time ahead of me, but then that'll just make vacation that much sweeter!

Perhaps we'll stick with that December time - first week or so. Will I run into a lot of Thanksgiving crowds in the first week in December?


We go every other year for Halloween and Christmas. When we do our Christmas trip we leave the day after Thanksgiving and stay until the following Saturday. This will be the first year we have been in a park the sat after T-day so I can't say anything about that day. We have never had any real problems with crowds that week, most lines are about 15-20 min and we have even walked right on to a few rides. If anything is over 20-30 min we skip it and come back later. The weather is not hot but comfortable in shorts/capris and and a tshirt. We usually wear a light jacket/sweatshirt in the early am and later pm and are comfortable.

We go every other year for Halloween and Christmas. When we do our Christmas trip we leave the day after Thanksgiving and stay until the following Saturday. This will be the first year we have been in a park the sat after T-day so I can't say anything about that day. We have never had any real problems with crowds that week, most lines are about 15-20 min and we have even walked right on to a few rides. If anything is over 20-30 min we skip it and come back later. The weather is not hot but comfortable in shorts/capris and and a tshirt. We usually wear a light jacket/sweatshirt in the early am and later pm and are comfortable.

Sounds perfect!

I come from San Francisco, where I have lived all my life. San Francisco has 2 weeks a year that get HOT - most times over 100. The rest of the year, we average 65. I walk around in shorts and t-shirts most of the year, even when its as cold as 35. Yes, I get cold, but I LOVE the feeling of cold. Plus, the air is moist and refreshing to me.

So, you can all imagine how I feel when its 95 in Florida. But I just love WDW, so I would walk through fire to get there.

We were there this January right after Marathon weekend was over (the week before the MLK holiday) and it was wonderful! It was chilly in the a.m., but no crowds at all! We never waited for rides until the weekend. We had Unofficial Tour guide plans, but didn't use them because there were no lines! I don't think we can ever go during peak season.

A question for HTanner: what are those two hot weeks. A number of years ago I was in Marin County for a week in September and almost fried. It was in the mid-90s every day and very warm at night. Luckily I was in an office with AC during the main part of the day, but the evenings were very toasty!

Our last visit was from December 12 to the 18th. On the night of the MVMCP...it went down to 32 degrees...we were freezing, but had a great time!

The next morning ice covered the puddles...eek!

It was a great time to go the decorations were unbelievable!