When is the best time to go to Florida (Disney)

[anonymous-user]

We are looking to book our family holiday to Florida but are having real problems finding the best time to go. We were thinking Easter but were then told to steer clear because of Spring Break...we then thought May time but were told there would be a love-bug issue (not the 4-wheeled Disney type either!) February is too cold and June, July and August are too wet!!

Can anyone help us as we'd really like to get something arranged sooner rather than later.

Many thanks

[chopper602]

It's not really wet in the summer, you often get a brief 15-20 min thunderstorm in the late afternoon (weather fronts from Atlantic/Gulf meet in the middle of the land mass, which is just about where Orlando is!), which goes as soon as it comes. All dries up again double quick.

We're off there again, second half of August and it *should* be a bit quieter then, as some of the Yanks will have gone back to school/work and there shouldn't be too many massive groups of Brazilian teenagers around the theme parks.

Love bugs are not really an issue either - they're harmless . . .

[anonymous-user]

we were considering late February/early March initially (mainly as it is so much cheaper), what is the weather like at this time of year and is it going to be too cold to go to the water parks?

We have been told that May is a nice time to go but looking at video's of Lovebugs on Youtube has put us off a bit. Just how annoying are they, are they going to be flying around us the whole time or do they just tend to settle on things?

I have also read that October is a good time to go, has anybody got any experience of going then?

Sorry for all the questions but I have been given the resposibility for booking this holiday for 8 people so there is a lot of pressure on me to get it right!

[LuS1fer]

We went in 2005 and 2008 - firstly the last two weeks in May and secondly the first two weeks in May. Both were absolutely perfect - not too busy. It does tend to coincide with the may bug season as they splat all over your hire car but it's a minor thing.

So May is ideal. Never rained once.

[SwanJack]

We've been in Feb, July, September and October. Feb was cold in the mornings (even frost) and we needed that heated pool. A lot of Americans with 'pre-schoolers' seemed to be holidaying then as well. July is very hot, humid and very busy in the parks. The best time we found was late Sept early Oct. The weather is like a 'good' summer we have here, the parks are not busy with minimal queing, but there's still enough going on not to make it feel out of season.

[Composite Guru]

Joey Deacon said:

I have also read that October is a good time to go, has anybody got any experience of going then?

I have been 3 times now and always gone at the end of Sept into October.
The weather is a great temp, the parks are a lot more user friendly as you don't have massive queues to stand in but still and atmostphere about them.
The only problem is the Hurricane season is around that time but none of my hols have ever been ruined by them even though i have seen the aftermath of one.

I will be doing it next year too hopefully.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

may is best imho its cheap and empty dont go at easter aa everybody is there because its easter.

[chopper602]

If we weren't dictated by school holidays we'd go May or start of September (but that is beginning of hurricane season).

[Trustmeimadoctor]

its bad enough when its not easter buy when the entire of the uk turns up at easter its even worse

[LuS1fer]

Time to introduce flexi-time schooling methinks, instead of holidays.

[grumpyscot]

We found the love bugs were a right PITA in September last year. And doesn't matter when you go, the place will still be full of Brazilian school kids! But at least you rarely have to wait for more than 5 to 10 minutes for a table at the busiest restaurants.

Watch out in September/October for the Disney "Con" - they still charge for a full day, but regularly close the parks at 6pm weekdays but don't tell you in advance until you get to the car park.

[Matt Harper]

In simple terms, FL weather is either cool and dry (Oct-May) or warm and wet (June-Sept) - cool being defined as mid 60's through mid 80's F and warm being 80 through 100F.

As already stated, it rains almost daily throughout the summer, usually mid-late afternoon when the gulf and Atlantic sea breezes collide over central FL and balloon up into spectacular, but short storms. More lightning hits the ground in FL than in all of the rest of the US combined, annually.

The Atlantic hurricane season is between June 1st and Nov 31st, with most named storms being a potential threat in late August and all of September.

Having lived close to Orlando for a number of years, the most agreeable time of year weather-wise is right now.



March, through end of May is just perfect, with very little wind and rain, cloudless skies and very comfortable day/evening temps. As we move into the summer, humidity, rather than air temperature becomes the issue.

There are two March Fly (love-bug) hatches per year, one in the late spring and another toward the end of the summer. Aside from fouling the front of your car, they are a bit of a non-issue. I get more concerned about Mosquitos than March Flies, due to West Nile and Lyme's disease threats of parasites - March Flies are not attracted to humans - there's just a lot of them about.

US school system's summer recess is a lot earlier than in the UK, so you can mitigate US crowds by coming in Aug/Sept - but then you have to deal with the heat/humidity - the reality is that it is busy here with tourists all year round - just some months are more busy than others.

If I was coming here for a vacation, I'd do so in May, though as a resident, my favorite months are March and April.
(Edited to add gratuitous pic)

Edited by Matt Harper on Wednesday 25th April 18:17

[anonymous-user]

Thank you all so much for the incredibly useful comments. I think we'll go for early May...i'd rather take my chances with the bugs than the masses of other tourists that will decend at other times of the year

Next question (nothing like pushing your luck is there?!) can anyone recommend a villa or villa location?

Thanks again.

[ChrisBMW]

Been in May and October several times and are favourite time to go is October, this is a personal choice due to all the Halloween activities that go on at this time of year.

Weather at both times is pretty similar, if you or anyone in your party is all a fan of Halloween I would highly recommend October.

[LHRFlightman]

We've been 3 times in the last 5 years. 1st time was May/June, last two July/August. We prefer July/August. No love bugs, crowds about the same. Never. We have never been rained off anything, in fact the parks empty when it rains and you can zip on and off everything for hours. Oh and think about a couple of days on the Gulf coast. Naples or such. You won't regret it.

[LuS1fer]

Joey Deacon said:

Thank you all so much for the incredibly useful comments. I think we'll go for early May...i'd rather take my chances with the bugs than the masses of other tourists that will decend at other times of the year

Next question (nothing like pushing your luck is there?!) can anyone recommend a villa or villa location?

Thanks again.

I can thoroughly recommend Indian Point if you have a hire car. It's conveneient for all the parks and also for the fanboats and has a bonus of being very near a large Walmart for food etc. It's also handy for International drive and everywhere really. It's a nice quiet residential estate.

This was the very cheap villa we booked (half the price everyone else wanted) and it was great but booked very quickly.
http://www.keyholidayvillas.com/search/details.asp...

[daveparry]

Anyone been at Xmas? what weather and are the theme parks open?

[Matt Harper]

December and January can be a bit hit and miss. It was 82F on Christmas day last year - but around 50F the year before. Cold at night. Parks are open all year round - never close unless there is a significant weather event.

[98elise]

Another vote for september or october. we've been 4 or 5 times around that time, the park queues are minimal and the weather is mostly good.

[Simon Brooks]

Try this chap

http://www.michaelhunter.com/about.html