I have been during the months of October,November,December,January,February and March.December was the best weatherwise and crowd wise.A bonus is everywhere is decorated for Christmas and prices are the cheapest.October had rainy days.November was as good as December weatherwise but Thanksgiving falls in Nov so can be busy.January and Febuary was cold in Orlando,OK further south.March was very mixed,rain in Orlando,red hot in Fort Lauderdale but lots of colledge students on their spring break.

Always found May the best time to go,weather is nice but not to hot,you get good deals for 2 Adults 2 children around,if you dont want to drive there are a Few I Drive hotels which offer transport to parks,parking now at the parks ranges from $9-11 dollars,Stopping at a disney site always a little more expensive but all the parks and transport on the doorstep.But after you booked you got to add on the price of tickets to the parks and what you buy when you get there with 2 kids that can be alot.With the dollar at nearly 1.90 now the best in years if you wish to go i would say the time is right.

Right now the weather is a balmly 80 degrees farenheit and perfect for a round of golf. It sort of depends on what kind of weather you prefer. July through September can be hot but if that is the kind of thing you like, then that is a good time to go.

In fact, many guests have returned home from the holidays so there is lighter traffic and fewer lines at the parks so I would certainly recommend January from the point of view of fewer people.

After one trip, you will be an "old hat" when it comes to Central Florida. It only appears intimidating on the surface. Many British friends now relish driving themselves around here and exploring different parts of the state and the many beautiful beaches. There is a large British expat community and you may be surprised at the number of Union Jacks you see flying from businesses and homes.

Although biased, I really do recommend that you consider booking a private villa for your stay. There is just no comparison between an International Drive hotel and the convenience, luxury and privacy of staying in a villa with a swimming pool restricted solely to your family. Once you find yourself grilling a few steaks on the barbeque out on a lawn under a brilliant Florida sky after a day at the parks, you will appreciate what a great decision you've made.

Hi
It is a mine field out there looking it took me 5 months before i booked everything
We went last week Sept 1st week Oct 06, the weather was lovely no rain, we walked on all rides not having to wait. Would go that time of year again.
You have to decide if you want to drive or not, then make a decision from there.
There are good prices out at the minute Virgin are good are as First choice.
Ali

May is my favourite time. Dry, warm and not too busy. From July till November you risk rain and thunderstorms. Avoid the Easter holidays if you can. The weather is great but the queues are awful.

Thanks so much for all your help so far. If anyone out there has any other tips or suggestions please let me know.

hi again

If you could go in term time i would ( i know i shouldnt say this) but we went September as i said above and it was quite and we did loads in the two weeks we were there, no queues at all so you do get to do everthing, its a lot cheaper too.
If your thinking of going in school holidays prepare your self for crowds and longer waiting time for rides, transport and at the restaurants etc...if you have to go in the summer holidays then they do say the last two weeks of August when the American kids go back its quietier, Easter is the worst time to go its very busy, its a tiring holiday so good shoes and high sunscreen no matter when you go.
It was the best holiday ever for us and would love to go back again, If you can afford it DO Discovery Cove its a brilliant day
Ali

I love Jan/feb, May and Sept/oct.

I definitely get withdrawal symptoms when I don't have a trip planned.

Alison, have you considered moving there?

I went to Disney in first week of school summer holidays (ie last week of July, 1st week of Aug) - the heat was bearable but due to the humidity a) you dont dry out if you get wet and b) the fireworks were affected by evening cloud and ended up being mainly smoke!

However that was in 2003 when they had the worst summer for 12yrs and at home we had the record summer heatwave! Just my luck.

Our 2nd week was in Napes on the Gulf coast and had no such problems apart from 1 massive storm but every evening it did rain and we didnt get one decent sunset - quite disappointing!

However I have to say that overall it didnt spoil the holiday - you will hav a great time regardless!

I have looked over lots of posts and have come to no conclusion in the best month to go to Florida.

I have 2 children (8 & 6) and obviously do not want extreme heat but would like to walk around in shorts & t-shirts.

Is Feb to early & is it to warm?

Also thinking of Mar/Apr

I am prepared to take the kids out of school a little but would prefer to overlap with any of their hoiidays

I am also not against going in Nov/Dec but again want warm weather as we like the water parks

I would like to also try and avoid the busy period where queues are long

Any advice would be great

Thanks

Hello and welcome

Personally i prefer April/May, if it is a holiday where the children break up then it will be busier. There shouldnt be any rain or just a little at that time. Summer months from June /July through to september will be rather wet, although it does dry fairly quickly. The humidity will be very high.

We have been in April and that time was in the 70s, certainly shorts weather, although chilly at night.

Should we go again in the future, May for us would be best, good temps, hardly any rain and less queues

I hope that helps

Michelle x

Have been the following times :

End Sept/Beginning Oct 1995 : Lovely, still pretty hot, not too busy, but still slight hurricane threat (one hit the panhandle while we were there )

June 1997 : Boiling hot and pretty busy.

May 1998 : Weather lovely, not too busy.

June 2000 : Boiling hot and very wet and busy. Rained a lot every day of our 2nd week, not just the odd shower either prolonged rain and thunder.

Beginning of March 2002 : Apart from one cold day pretty much perfect weather, sunny and not very humid, very quiet as well but probably due to post 9/11 backlash.

May 2004 : Weather lovely, not too busy at all, no rain either.

Last week in Feb and 1st 2 weeks March 2005 : Very busy due to Daytona Bike Week, not the theme parks but the restaurants etc in the evenings due to the cost of hotels in Daytona loads of bikers stayed in Orlando and Kissimmee. Weather absolutely awful, 4 lovely sunny and perfect days, loads of prolonged rain and some really cold days as well with temperatures as low as 11C .

Middle 2 weeks October 2007 : Perfect weather, no rain, reasonably quiet most days, odd busy day but overall favourite time for us now, with May a close second.

We have just returned after a trip during Easter, weather was good, temps in the mid 80s but the crowds were horrnedous.

The previous time we went was early December and I would definitely recommend it, there were much fewer crowds, weather was still good enough for shorts and tee shirts, added bonus was the Xmas parades etc had already started

February can be lovely weather, just avoid Presidents weekend, in fact avoid every U.S. bank holiday - the place is heaving!
March and April is good weather but you have the crowds for Spring break, this past month has been very busy according to the dis boards.
We go in 2 weeks time - Spring break will have ended, the cheerleading competition ends on the 27th (thank god!), it should be a lot quieter.
Touringplans.com is a good planning website, there is also the dibb site for asking questions.
The busiest times are xmas week, the 4th July weekend, memorial day weekend, presidents weekend and easter/spring break.
September is very quiet but the weather is unbearably hot and humid, plus it's hurricane season. Late October was nice but the parks close early and it's dark v.early , they have a lot of halloween themed stuff going on though and the weather is good.