Trying to decide on the best time to travel is the probably the first decision you’re going to need to make and most families will be limited to travelling around school holidays. However, Florida has lots to offer tourists and visitors all year round.

Mid January to April are usually quiet times in Florida theme parks. February half term can be a good time to visit if you’re not keen on crowds but it may be a bit cold especially at night so wrap up if you’re staying out for fireworks. The weather improves vastly by Easter and the crowds are still relatively low but avoid the USA College and University Spring Break as crowds at the theme parks can be very high and second only to Christmas in terms of people visiting Florida. Spring Break times can vary each year and differ from college to college but it’s generally in March with a few students having theirs in early April.

Also worth a mention is Universal Studios Mardi Gras which takes place from the first week of February to the end of March on selected dates. The Universal Resort can get busy around this time despite it being in the ‘quieter’ time of year.

Although you’ll experience lower crowd levels at the quieter times a downside to this is that you may find a couple of the major attractions in some theme parks closed as the park operators will use the reduced crowds to carry out essential maintenance.

The high season in Florida is from the middle of June to the beginning of August but also late December especially around Christmas and New Year as the festive period is when most Americans travel to Orlando. You’ll find ccommodation prices are the highest at these times. Early November and early December you might experience fairly low numbers in the parks but don’t forget about Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November as numbers will increase around then too. Also watch out for the weekends around public holidays like Labor Day and Presidents Day as there are often surges in crowds then too.

From 2022 Walt Disney World have begun seasonally adjusting ticket prices and Universal are likely to follow when Epic Universe opens in 2025. This means that a 14 day theme park ticket for December (peak season) will cost more than if you’re planning on visiting in February which is considered low or value season. This is certainly a factor worth considering as the theme park tickets are a big part of your initial purchases. However, luckily for us Brits is that nearly all of August is considered mid-season so prices are a bit cheaper for us. This means a 14 day ticket costs about £40 per person per day.

All of the major theme park resorts are open every day of the year including Christmas Day. They’ll only close due to very, very bad weather. Sometimes the occasional hurricane likes to make landfall in Florida!

Summer in Florida

Summer holidays are when most of us Brits will consider visiting Florida. It is called the ‘sunshine state’ but it does rain – a lot! It has a sub-tropical climate so the showers are generally heavy but short and the temperature remains high during the storm so it can be refreshing (sort of). However, be aware that in the event of a very heavy storm – in particular if lightning is forecast, many of the outdoor attractions will temporarily close down.

Late August can be a great time for Brit tourists as the Florida schools will start their new term sometime in early August so crowd levels drop quite a bit once the local kids go back to school. The weather is generally very good with temperatures in August reaching 35 to 40 degrees Celsius but humidity is also very high which can make walking around a theme park all day uncomfortable. Keep cool with spray fans, plenty of water from the drinks dispensers and drinking fountains around the park and try doing some indoor attractions in the middle of the day to make use of the air condition. Also, with any destination with a sub-tropical climate the rain and hurricane season begins in May and continues through to October so always be prepared. Also at these times the bugs including mosquitos and cockroaches are more active. On a positive note and as mentioned in the section above the theme park ticket prices can be slightly lower than the peak price so it’s worth taking advantage of that.

Christmas and Halloween

Autumn and Winter in Florida is a great time to visit and is when we often have our holiday. The weather remains generally good over the winter with temperatures around 20 to 25 degrees C (we’ve experienced 30 deg C around Christmas!) so summer clothing for the day and a hoodie or cardie if you plan to stay out until after nightfall as the temperature can drop to below 10 degrees. It rains much less in these months and the humidity is much lower making the heat far more bearable when compared to the summer months.

October is a great time to go as well (temperatures around 23 to 28 degrees C) and you’ll find the theme parks do a great job of decorating everything in Halloween paraphernalia (actually Halloween in WDW starts the last week of August!). And, if you’re there from late October to early November the Christmas decorations are rolled straight out on 1st November! It’s literally Halloween one day and Christmas the next! Most of our visits have occurred over Christmas or New Year as it’s a great departure from sitting at home in the cold with only the usual TV repeats for entertainment. Although Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve some parks (we’re looking at you Magic Kingdom!) can reach capacity so will stop any further guests from entering.

Unlike in the UK, Florida theme parks (and California ones) remain open 365 days a year from 8 or 9am to around 9 or 10pm (and sometimes much later!). In fact, it’s well known that Disney Cast Members (theme park staff) will never ask anyone to leave at closing time.

7 days, 14 days or 3 weeks

As with any holiday abroad you’re going to want to spend at least two weeks away. If you’re intending on visiting Walt Disney World then 2 weeks might be just enough to get through almost everything! (It’s virtually impossible to do it all in one holiday – even more so if you include the water parks). But if you are planning on adding another theme park resort like Universal or Sea World then you’re likely to be very, very busy! We definately would not recommend trying to cram 3 or 4 resorts in a two week period. You’ll probably come away feeling like you missed a lot attractions. Perhaps you’ll also want to have a day or two just around the hotel/villa pool or a trip to the beach. Have a look at our web pages – Itinerary and Apps and Away From The Parks to help you plan every day.

From 2022 a 14 day Walt Disney World ticket has an 18 day validity. This means that you can visit any of the theme parks and water parks at WDW up to 14 times within an 18 day window. This allows you a bit of space for chill days or a trip to the beach if you plan on spending more than 2 weeks in Florida. e.g. if your first day in the parks is Monday 7th August then your ticket will remain valid until Thursday 24th August as long as you’ve had a couple of days here and there away from the parks in that time.

3 weeks would be ideal to take in the theme parks at a slower pace and allow for a few days to visit the beaches but of course, the additional cost of car hire and accommodation will need to be budgeted and it requires extra time off work which isn’t always feasible. You can purchase a 21 day ticket for Walt Disney World but again, it’s an additional cost.

On our first trip we only spent 10 days in Orlando and this wasn’t nearly enough. 2 weeks is really good length of time but you can still feel a bit rushed. If you can spare the time off work and school then 18 days is a nice fit especially if you’re looking to visit Walt Disney World and Universal (the most popular park resorts). We always try to stay for 18 or 19 days now.