Mid November, Mid December 2024 or late January 2025

[Choirmom]

We are planning to take a family vacation with our 2 adult children. We have all experienced Halloween parties either at WDW or DL and have also experienced the Holidays at DL. DH really enjoyed Food & Wine at Epcot, but I have Celiac and lately the gluten free offerings at the festivals have been extremely limited (we went to F&W in 2015 and there were many more GF offerings than as of late).

Some background: DS has never been to WDW. DH and I have been a couple of times (2015 & 2020, in October both times). DD and I took a very last minute trip in June. We only had a week to plan. Had a great time, but it was HOT. So hot we couldn't enjoy Animal Kingdom at all. We are from the PNW, so our heat tolerance is not great (DH and DD are the worst for heat tolerance).

Our goals for this trip: Rent DVC points for a deluxe hotel. Maybe a split stay, but we will definitely try for Animal Kingdom Lodge (really loved it and would like the kids to experience it)
Cooler weather - we don't mind cold (as long as its not raining)...would rather put on a jacket than sweat to death!
Festivals and parties are not a must, but will consider. Maybe an After Hours if available.
Planning on 7 days, 6 being park days.
Lower-ish crowds.

What would you do? Do many attractions go down late January for refurb? This may be a one and done so want to experience as much as possible.

 

[Dina]

We always go with our adult children in January (they are both in college. One gets done very late december ,,,so not an option). We love it. Lower crowds. We try to go the sunday of marathon weekend, and leave that saturday (try to go between marathon weekend and MLK weekend). Its our favorite time That beign said we've never gone in December (Im a nurse, and very limited to vacation time in December--- January is always so easy to get). Our favorite time

 

[Choirmom]

We always go with our adult children in January (they are both in college. One gets done very late december ,,,so not an option). We love it. Lower crowds. We try to go the sunday of marathon weekend, and leave that saturday (try to go between marathon weekend and MLK weekend). Its our favorite time That beign said we've never gone in December (Im a nurse, and very limited to vacation time in December--- January is always so easy to get). Our favorite time

Thanks for the reply. Thinking of late January...for us, November and December are easier to get! DS and I are accountants and January is starting to creep into tax season. I think we can swing it, though, if we prepare our boss ahead of time (we work at the same place).

 

[tinkerjo]

We went this past January (3rd week) and weather was so nice. We did have to to wear hoodies in the morning some days but could quickly shed them by 9-10AM and mostly wore shorts. We are from Ohio so the weather felt wonderful to us. We don’t use the water parks but usually only 1 is open at a time. The only ride closed was Kali River Rapids which always closes that time of year and we were able to ride Splash Mountain. The resort pools are heated and we swam or were in the hot tubs several nights. Evenings were cool and we needed the hoodies again. One year we went late December (week after Christmas) and they had record heat and it was in the high 80s. If you can swing late January, I would. We also rented points and stayed at WL which was easy to get 11 months out and was a less expensive time

 

[beccasmom]

I think all 3 time periods have much to recommend them. We have visited in all three of them. December and January weather is a bit of a wildcard in our experience. Our December visits have been either lovely (70’s and sunny) or pretty cold (one year it was warmer here in PA!). So packing strategically for either scenario comes into play. But both may be more preferable to hazy, hot, and humid for many folks. The holiday decorations are wonderful and festive. Early November usually hits the right note for us weather-wise and crowd-wise (except around Veteran’s Day). We have found early to mid February to be a nice time to visit as well (before spring break time).