Weather in December

TandT

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 2, 2007
Hi! We are going to be taking our 6 year old little girl fo Disney World for the first time the first week of December. Does anybody have any tips on what type of clothing to bring. I remember wayyy back when it was just my hubby and I , we were very cold on some days. AND this is when we lived in the Midwest. We now live in Louisiana and I think we probably are even more sensitive to the cold weather. I’m debating on whether we need to buy my daughter an actual coat ? I was thinking something along the lines of just a fleece jacket ? Anyone ? 🤷🏻‍♀️ TIA!!!
 
On some days we were bone numbingly cold and we are from the U.K. We are visiting again this December and have been chatting about what to pack. It is chilly in the morning, so wear layers that you can strip off. The evenings seemed very cold, so we wore bobble hats, gloves and jumpers with gilets. During the day the temperature was t shirt comfortable.
 
I’m a native Floridian and can safely say you should prepare for just about any kind of weather as it can change leading up to your trip. I’ve celebrated many Christmases in shorts and just as many in coats. A fleece jacket should suffice, along with a blanket for added coverage just in case.
My best advice is to bring all your layers to the park with you if you plan to be there morning till night. Very often the weather will start off cold, get blistering hot midday and then cool right back off when the sun goes down.
 


I’m a native Floridian and can safely say you should prepare for just about any kind of weather as it can change leading up to your trip. I’ve celebrated many Christmases in shorts and just as many in coats. A fleece jacket should suffice, along with a blanket for added coverage just in case.
My best advice is to bring all your layers to the park with you if you plan to be there morning till night. Very often the weather will start off cold, get blistering hot midday and then cool right back off when the sun goes down.

Totally agree. I remember spending one Christmas in Orlando sitting by the pool in a swim suit and another bundled up in four layers of clothes. There was one winter (2010 or 2011 I think) where we hit record lows for several days and had frost and sleet (which is pretty much like a blizzard to Floridians!) Even day to day it can change. If you have a thiner coat that can pack well it might be work bringing, especially if you can squeeze it into a ziploc plastic bag and really push out the air. But a fleece jacket should be fine, maybe with some other layers. I've actually worn knit gloves before on very cold nights as well. Like others said, bring layers to the park. If you are driving maybe stash in the car if you don't mind going back out for it, or rent a locker at the front of the park.
 
As the PP's have said, the weather in Central FL (we are local) is highly variable then. I recall one year (before moving to Central FL 7+ years ago) where we were in shorts/t-shirts on Friday and on Monday we were wearing our winter jackets .
 
Layers is best. We were ok in jeans with a t-shirt and a jacket that we could take off on our trip a couple years ago. Meanwhile, all the residents were in heavy coats with the outdoor heaters going. It kinda depends on where you're from and what you're used to. We're from Ohio and get winter weather. It was warm compared to home where it was snowing. ;-)
 


We bring everything including some hand warmers for night time outside shows. When you aren't moving, the chill sets in. We don't use them everyday, but if the day is about 70, once the sun sets, we get cold
 
T shirt under a long sleeve t-shirt under a sweater. Comfy long pants.

I've lived here all my life and this is my winter wear. I don't own anything heavier than a pull over sweater.

If it's chilly in the morning, by noon you likely be down to the t-shirt.

One thing to remember, for the same reasons humidity makes it feel hotter in summer, it also makes the air feel colder so if it rains the day before or the day of, it may be a little cooler feeling than you anticipate. A sweater will get you through just fine though.
 
Definitely double check the latest forecast right before you leave. As others have said, it is so unpredictable and could even vary across your trip. We go in December every year and live in north FL where the weather is similar to Orlando, and we pretty much pack for any season. Last Christmas it was in the 30s in the morning for rope drop and only in the 50s as a high almost out whole trip. The year before I have pictures wearing a tank top.

Also I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but you should bring rain gear, too. It’s not like the summer where it rains almost every day, but it definitely happens. In Christmas 2019, it poured just about half our trip. Thank goodness that wasn’t also the year it was in the 30s or I probably would’ve given up and stayed in the hotel room lol. But of course, it was still pretty cold once the rain came and we started getting damp.
 
I would bring coats. We are from the Midwest and ended up wearing our coats in the mornings while we were there in 2019. We just made sure to do layers.
 
Christmas 2019,
Christmas Eve 2019 was so cold and wet. My daughter chose to leave the resort wearing shorts and when we arrived at MK the shops on Main Street were packed with people buying hoodies, fleeces etc. Daughter had to buy some Mickey Christmas pyjama leggings and put them on under her shorts.
 
My 7 yr old daughter and I will be there the week of 11/29 and I'm in the same boat. We live in central IN and will be in the low 40s/high 30s by that time of year at home, and current forecasting plus history makes me think it'll feel like early fall does here when we're in Orlando. I'm planning on capris and tee-shirts for me with a fleece jacket or a hoodie, but the kid is a mystery. I'm thinking she'll probably be in leggings most of the time with a short-sleeve shirt and a hoodie or her packable down coat for mornings/evenings, but I'm basically packing everything. I do need to add some stretchy gloves and handwarmers to the packing list - I hadn't thought about that, but we're doing DVMAH one night and I'm guessing it'll be chilly.
 
I remember one December I slide and fell on a patch of ice. I wondered why they had not put down salt, and then remembered I was in Florida. Ice is so unusual, they don‘t plan to salt for ice… but, I’ve been swimming other times in December.
 
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Another vote for layers! Remember, you can always take something off if you're hot, but if you're cold and don't have something extra....there are plenty of shops to buy something!
We've been in December when we've sweat out the day and swam at night, and other times where we wore long pants and jackets the whole time.
 
I was there the first week of December 2019. Went from high 80's to low 50's in a 36 hour span. After 5 days in the 80's, that last day in the 50's felt really cold. Then I flew home to four inches of snow.
 
We did hoodies which were enough for my fiancé and teenage son, but I'm cold-natured and needed extra layers on some very chilly evenings. I brought a thin, packable down jacket to wear over the hoodie and that really helped to keep the wind out, along with a hat and gloves. One evening we did the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam dessert party and it was so cold that I was grateful I also brought Hot Hands to keep in my pockets!
 

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