Dec weather and crowds???

[forever a child]

This is our first December trip.
We will be taking advantage of the 40% off room discount, so I assume this is a slower time as far as crowds in the park.

Just wondering what should we expect with Florida December weather and park crowd levels? Our dates are Dec 12-18th.

We were just there May 19-26th and I was really surprised at the level of crowds (but is was SWW, so I guess I should not have been). But we managed our time well will Fastpasses. Hoping for less crowds this trip though if possible!?:blush:

What has been your experience? Thanks!!!

[faline]

December is becoming an increasingly popular time to visit. I would expect the early part of your trip will be less crowded than the end of your trip. By time, you leave on the 18th, the holiday crowds will be beginning to come in.

Weather is very variable at this time of year. You might find warm, pleasant, sunny days. You might also find it to be on the cool side with day time temps in the 60s. At this time of year, you can also get occasional cold snaps which might even bring in some overnight below freezing temperatures. As far as weather is concerned, be prepared for all eventualities!

[forever a child]

December is becoming an increasingly popular time to visit. I would expect the early part of your trip will be less crowded than the end of your trip. By time, you leave on the 18th, the holiday crowds will be beginning to come in.

Weather is very variable at this time of year. You might find warm, pleasant, sunny days. You might also find it to be on the cool side with day time temps in the 60s. At this time of year, you can also get occasional cold snaps which might even bring in some overnight below freezing temperatures. As far as weather is concerned, be prepared for all eventualities!

thanks Faline. Do you think I should expect more or less crowds than our May trip?
Weather, I think will not be a problem. We are heading further south for one, and two...I am originally from MI where practically everyone's weather is warmer than ours!

[acts]

My birthday is Dec. 8th, so I always go to Disney in early Dec. The weather is perfect (not 90 degrees like summer)...I being a native floridian find it cold sometimes. It could be 80 hot or 40 cold - depends. Just check before coming.

Like mentioned above, the crowds are getting more these days...but it is WAY less then summertime and holidays. I only go to disney from end of Jan to begin of March. And then from mid sep through end of oct. Then begin of Nov to before thanksgiving. Then begin of Dec to before holidays.

Don't miss the Mickeys' Very Merry Christmas party - the fireworks are FABULOUS and i love my disney fireworks.

Hope that helps!

[Strmchsr]

Check the historic weather conditions page in Info Central and you can see the exact conditions for your dates over the last few years. That will give you a better idea of what to expect as exact data tells you more than generalities. But, in general, there is no way to know what to expect in December with the weather. It could be warm, cold, rainy all week, dry, etc. You name it and it's possible and I've experienced it during that time.

As for crowds...I definitely agree with Linda (faline). December has become much more popular over the last few years. I've noticed a definite trend upwards in crowds. Having been recently in both December and May I'd say crowds will be about the same, and possibly even a little heavier in December.

[eeyorepoohfan]

:mickey:We went around your dates last year! Dec 10-15th. We felt the crowds were low and very manageable! Low wait times! :cloud9:Most rides were around 5-10 minutes waits. Of course, the bigger attractions could have 20-30 minutes waits. But with getting Fast Passes, that really helped cut our wait time down! We also found this to be a great time to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. We utilized every single EMH offered during our trip! We were able to see and do so much that way!! It worked for us!:thumbsup:

Our first two days were chilly (in the 60s I think) and had some drizzly rain. But then we had a heat wave come through and were in the high 80s with humidity! So plan for anything and everything! We took some light layers with us, which really helped on those first two days. I forgot to pack shorts and could have really used them for the end of the trip!

It's a great time of year to go! Enjoy all of the Christmas decorations and festivities!! I'm trying to see if we can book a trip again for early/mid December this year!

[faline]

We were there in December and again in May. Based on this most recent May trip, I'd say the crowds were more consistent but lighter than some of the heavier days we exprerienced in May. For this last trip, crowds were erratic. At times, crowds were non-existent and, at other times, it was very crowded.

[forever a child]

:mickey:We went around your dates last year! Dec 10-15th. We felt the crowds were low and very manageable! Low wait times! :cloud9:Most rides were around 5-10 minutes waits. Of course, the bigger attractions could have 20-30 minutes waits. But with getting Fast Passes, that really helped cut our wait time down! We also found this to be a great time to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. We utilized every single EMH offered during our trip! We were able to see and do so much that way!! It worked for us!:thumbsup:

Our first two days were chilly (in the 60s I think) and had some drizzly rain. But then we had a heat wave come through and were in the high 80s with humidity! So plan for anything and everything! We took some light layers with us, which really helped on those first two days. I forgot to pack shorts and could have really used them for the end of the trip!

It's a great time of year to go! Enjoy all of the Christmas decorations and festivities!! I'm trying to see if we can book a trip again for early/mid December this year!

I was wondering about EMH. Often it seems like that is the park you want to avoid if you want lesser crowds. But we really wanted to take advantage of Parks with EMH's since the parks in general will have shorter hours for the off season. Glad to hear they are manageable. If the wait times are like you mentioned then we will be very happy.


We were there in December and again in May. Based on this most recent May trip, I'd say the crowds were more consistent but lighter than some of the heavier days we exprerienced in May. For this last trip, crowds were erratic. At times, crowds were non-existent and, at other times, it was very crowded.
This sounds reasonable but good. I did notice very erratic crowd levels during our May trip too. It made it sort of hard to plan and with the exception of DHS during SWW, it didn't seem to make any sense, LOL! Thanks!:mickey:

[forever a child]

Any updates on how the crowds have been and predictions for this Christmas season? Can't wait!:tree:

[Nut4DW]

We went during that same time frame in December 2008 and the weather ranged from 80s to 40s. There were a couple of evenings where it was quite chilly. We are going back this year (12/11--12/19) and I plan to check the weather before we go and pack a little of everything. Of course, if you don't bring a jacket and need one, Disney will be happy to sell you one. :mickey: