Best Time to Visit Orlando (2025 Guide): Weather, Crowds, Events & Tips!

Best time to visit Orlando in 2025?

We break down Orlando weather, crowd levels, events and Disney World 2025 planning tips to help you choose the perfect month for your holiday.

This guide is perfect for anyone planning Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, or simply a sunshine break in Central Florida.

💬 Tell us in the comments — When’s your favourite time to visit Orlando?

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📅 New podcast episodes: 1st & 15th of every month

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Great British Mickey Waffle and whilst the
season to be jolly awaits us, join us as we tackle a question
everyone asks when you're thinking about booking their
trip to Disney. When is the best time to visit
Orlando? I'll avoid the obvious answer
that any time is the best time, but we're going to try and share

(00:20):
what's worked best for us over the years and maybe to help you
plan your perfect trip. Hold tight as we quite possibly
take you to the Boxing Day salesand get you your next holiday to
Orlando, all in Great British Mickey Waffle style.
Now my wheels in motion and my windows open with the wind

(00:44):
blowing in my hair, I'm driving down the highway.
Gonna do this my way. I can feel in the air.
Here I go. Welcome to the 1st of December,

(01:04):
Great British Mickey Waffle. I'm joined by Claire, I'm joined
by Simon, and I'm joined by Robin as we actually try to
delve into what makes one time of the year better than another
for an Orlando holiday. And actually it's your first
trip or you plan your next return.
Timing can sometimes some peoplemake a big difference.

(01:28):
Welcome guys. It's good to see you.
I'm going to ask you. I'm just going to Chuck it out
there. Very first question of this
show, what is your favorite timeto visit Orlando?
Just tell us a month. Oh, you can't start like that.
That's important. I'm I'm, I'm actually, I'm in a
privileged position because I'm the one who generally only goes

(01:49):
once a year. You guys are, you guys are there
every two minutes. That's it.
Don't know what? It means I have no idea what
he's talking about. Well, I've got I've got an
answer. December, December's my favorite
time because I love the Christmas stuff in Disney.
I think Disney and just Orlando in general, There's so many

(02:12):
things going on for the holidays.
That's my favorite time. Would I recommend it to other
people? Yes.
If it's your first trip, do you need to go in?
If you love the heat, it can be a bit changeable.
So it's not always like my go totell everyone to go at
Christmas, but if you love Christmas festivities, it is

(02:34):
very magical. That's, that's, that's very
fitting since this is the December show and I think
that's, that's probably a good place to start, isn't?
It I wonder where I'm going to be on the December.
Yeah, well. That's that's a problem, isn't
it? Yeah, I'm, I'm stuck in this
country. You guys, you guys are you guys
are using your air miles and I'll listen.

(02:56):
You know. First name terms are with the
guy at his immigration at MCO. Like no.
Getting hauled off to the side for questioning.
Why are you coming so often? Yeah, but it's first name terms.
Oh, Simon, that's that's the issue.
What? About you Simon, What's your
favorite time? I I actually like April to May,

(03:19):
I like the weather around that time of year.
I like the Flower and Garden Festival, but I just like that
kind of little spring feel that the Flower and Garden Festival
has for me. So.
And if you time it right, you'rejust after Easter.
Usually low crowds then, yeah. Crowds.
So yeah, we'll dive a little bitmore into that as well, Simon,

(03:40):
as this show progresses because I, I think, I think you guys are
actually earmarked sometimes of the year.
And I know certainly over the, the years of doing this podcast,
we've become very aware that there's, there's certain times
of the year where you get not just low crowds in the theme
parks, but also times where flight prices seem to drop

(04:01):
massively and you can pick up some real bargains.
And, you know, it again, dependson whether you've got kids,
depending on whether you've got work that will allow you to
debit it. It actually becomes quite a, it
adds a little bit more to that planning vibe, doesn't it is the
fact that I can actually get to Orlando really cheaply and
actually there's not going to bea whole lot of people there when

(04:22):
I get there, which I, yeah, it generally is not on my radar.
However, I've only, I've only got a few years before I retire
and, and once I retire, that's it.
That's it. I'm, I'm done.
I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm on that flight at the time.
You'll be picking up those TUI bargains, won't you?
I yeah, maybe, maybe not TUI ones, but I'll be going for the

(04:43):
other bargains from other airlines.
I don't I don't do TUI. You know what, John?
If you're getting return flightsfor less than £200 per person, I
reckon you'd do it. I think I might I think that
might be that definitely might be something might net, you
know, and I think that's that's maybe something that's maybe
something to bear in mind, isn'tit?

(05:04):
You know, Claire, go on, out of all the many months in the whole
year that you visit Orlando, oh,12 on an annual basis, which one
do you? Prepare.
I'm conflicted. I agree with Simon that like May
is the best weather. Definitely.
I think for me it's and it's beautiful.

(05:24):
If you say to me I can only go once a year, when would it be?
It's going to be the last week of August, 1st week of
September. Just cause the heat does not
bother me. I quite like it sweaty.
There's no answer to that. Claire, that did not come out
the way I meant, You know what Imean?

(05:46):
It's going to be one of those this.
Better make the. Edit It's it's all right Robin,
if I put this, this little disclaimer if Claire's, if
Claire's comment cause you to lose control of your vehicle
whilst you're advising the greatBritish Mickey waffle, except no
responsibility for any accidentswhatsoever caused.

(06:09):
Doesn't bother me if the weatheris humid and hot.
That's what I mean. Just behave yourselves people.
So. You're OK with the weather and
you like it. Sweats okay.
Well, you, you need you need Booker, Bella, Where come That's
it. That's.

(06:29):
I've got myself in trouble, the first thing that I say, but I
do. I do like that time of year
because the, you know, the the parks are sort of clad for
autumn and there's pumpkins and yeah, I like it the.
The crowds are low around that sort of time.
Isn't it? They're super low because
everyone's gone back to school. So, you know, next year

(06:50):
actually, that's the the period of time we're going.
You were going last week, what was the first week of September
because Minnie's got an extra week off.
So yeah, it's perfect time. I've got to say, Claire, I would
agree with you. I actually feel that.
Yeah, I love, I love going over Christmas.
I actually, we were very fortunate when the Christmases
that we actually did, the crowd levels were very low for

(07:14):
different reasons and things like that.
I'm not going to go back in history, however, I'd always
been told that August would be too hot and it'd be absolutely
you know, and I I don't do unbearable yes, but I don't do I
hate I hate Spain and Greece. I forgot about Spain and Greece.
I absolutely boil and I just basically I sit in the shade and
I go indoors and it's just like I just because otherwise I just

(07:37):
fry. In all the years of going to
Orlando in August, one, I've never got a neat touch wood
somewhere. I've never got sunburn.
I've never felt as if it's too hot.
Actually. It actually is a really
brilliant time to be there because actually a lot of, and
again, it is the heat and it youhave to be able to deal with the

(07:59):
heat. But if you like the heat and
you're capable of just dealing with the fact that you are going
to sweat an awful lot. But Claire doesn't mind it
sweaty, so it's. OK, it just there's a bit of a
glow. Is that is that the way you
describe it if you're being polite?
It gives you a hug, I. Say it's air you can wear.

(08:25):
Oh, I like. That, yeah, that's it.
That's quite, that's quite a nice one.
Yeah. It does become a thing though,
when you wait for the parade andyou realise that you, you kind
of, you kind of become weather like your kneecap, it's got a
spectral under it and you're, you're actually sweat out out
your knee. And that for some people might

(08:47):
become a bit of a thing. So I can totally understand
that. I think during the course of the
show, what we're going to try and do is we're going to try and
explore probably the whole calendar and just say, you know,
and try and find out. You know, I think we've talked
upon certain things already, which I think it's probably a
good starting point as to where we can go next, because school

(09:09):
holidays and American and British school holidays kind of
do present a little bit of an issue.
Now I'm going to start with the US school holidays because
actually the kids from if, if, if they live in like Boston, NY,
they, they tend to break up really early.
And so the first influx of of families from the US can start

(09:34):
sort of pretty early in July. So.
Earlier than that, it's like, isit?
Is it? No, yeah, it's almost the.
Same old. Day weekend, Yeah.
I was covering. I was covering myself a bit
there, yeah. The same as Scottish school
holidays. So if you were to look at
Scottish holidays, which is likethe third week of June through
to the beginning or the second week of all middle of August,

(09:55):
that's similar to the US school holidays.
Apologies to our Scottish friends that means you don't get
any respite from the American school holidays.
But yeah, it. Doesn't mean they get cheaper
airfare well. Not if they fly from Scotland.
If you fly from England, then you do.
Yeah, definitely. And and and go go before the the

(10:16):
English schools break up as well.
Travel down to Newcastle or Manchester, or even fly to
London and I. Think, I think yeah, get trained
out of London, then fly out of Heathrow or Gatwick is it's
definitely a cheaper route. And that that thing.
And that for me is, is one thingthat is a lot of people kind of

(10:37):
negate in the the whole planningbit because actually in America
there's a lot, there is a lot ofbank holidays.
They don't call it whatever theycall.
It public holidays. Public holidays, there we go.
But people tend to forget. And then you get to like
President's Day and everyone's like, why is the park so busy?
And it's just like, it's becauseit's public holiday and because

(10:59):
actually people from miles and miles around will actually plan.
A weekend. Less, yeah, but less of their
actual annual leave and run it into a longer weekend sort of
based on that. So it is, it is worth thinking
about because it it does become an issue obviously over
Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring break in particular.

(11:23):
Spring break isn't consistent every year though.
It changes on an annual basis. So you check the dates and it's
all available online. You can just Google all your
other search engines are available when it's spring break
2026, when it's spring break 2027 and it will tell you and
just avoid those weeks and that might mean you need to shift
your holiday from the Easter holidays to another time.

(11:45):
It is, I would say it is not worth going during spring break
because you will be overrun by, particularly in Epcot, it
becomes an issue because it's sobusy and it is so and the parks
are full with people drinking obscene amounts of alcohol and
being what I would consider to be relatively unpleasant guests,

(12:08):
not how I choose to spend my time.
So I would avoid spring break because spring break applies
particularly to the universities.
So those are the people that come flying down en masse.
That's just my experience. And it's one of those things
because we don't have these the same holidays, we don't have
Thanksgiving, we don't celebratethat Thanksgiving, spring break,

(12:28):
we don't have them here. It's, it's always good to look
up when you're planning. Look up American holidays,
public holidays and look at the dates.
And then just then you'll find out if there are anything,
because there is, yeah, there's Memorial Day, there's Presence
Day is all the things that we don't, we don't Labour Day, we
don't, we don't know of them. So it's something to bear in

(12:49):
mind when you are planning your trip.
Yes. So just have a quick look.
As I say, equally we get, we getpublic holidays that they don't.
So actually, if you're looking at travelling over Easter
weekend in in America, they get Good Friday, but they don't get
back holiday, they don't get Easter Monday.
So actually if you were thinkingabout that might be a busy
weekend, well, it's from the Monday.
It's not because they're back atwork.
So you know, they don't get Boxing Day, They don't, you

(13:11):
know, if you're in Scotland, they don't get the 2nd of
January. So I think it's a case of, you
know, looking at where the differences are and capitalizing
on those perhaps. And obviously the the half term
weeks, if you are stuck to school holiday times and you can
only take your children out or choose take them out during
school holidays half term, although it can be more
expensive because obviously everyone's trying to make the

(13:33):
most of flying during the weeks that they can.
It doesn't necessarily mean it'sgoing to be busy in Florida
because exactly so it can be a good time to go.
Yeah, we've definitely done that.
October particularly. Yeah, I think that's a really
good sort of flip of the whole conversation, isn't it?

(13:53):
Because actually, and again, depending on where in the UK you
live, I do understand that some schools have actually gone for a
two week October half term, which actually makes a trip
during a little bit quieter time, but also cheaper time, a
little bit more doable, which you.
Can fly midweek and then save some, yeah.

(14:18):
And also it depends on your skill.
And I think this is another thing as well.
And and this has become this is becoming less and less.
And I must admit, when I was a head teacher, it was one of the
things that I would never find. And it's probably the reason why
I'm not a head teacher now. But I would never, I would never
find people for going on holidaybecause actually, if you know,

(14:39):
if you're a farmer, if you're a seasonal worker who's in AI come
from a a whole day destination in the UK, they can't take time
off in the middle of summer. No.
And why? Busiest time?
Exactly. So why penalize them for taking
them out of school? Really Again, it's probably the
reason I'm not head teacher because actually, yeah, I don't

(15:02):
go. I go against the flow on things
like I don't think it's fun. I think people that as a family
deserve to go away. But going back to the school
holidays, part of it, I think you know your skill, you know
what you can get away with. And you know if you can actually
have a have the conversation with hopefully somebody in the
school that actually understandsand actually go for the times

(15:24):
where you actually know that youcan, you can actually pick up
some bargains as well. I think that's the other side.
Another one just was just while we're talking about crowd
levers, the other one again, putit in, put it in as a search run
Disney Weekends, which. Oh yeah, January.
Yeah, end of. January all through the year.

(15:44):
The one. Run Disney.
Run Disney. That is one.
Yeah, just like, just just. Avoid this.
Unless unless you want to do thethe runs, which obviously is
great, but if you don't if you're.
Interested. Unless you want to go to
Universal. Well, unless you want to go to
Universal that weekend, you never know.
Or other other parts of Florida.There's always a possibility,

(16:07):
but it's that those weekends, not only do the parks get very
busy, they close off lots of theroads for the marathons and half
marathons and things. So it's unless you're into it,
stay away is my my opinion. So I'm, I'm just going to go on
your, on your experiences. And I think we've, we've found
this certainly last month after we, there was a little window

(16:31):
where a lot of people were posting on social media and show
it basically showing off that they've gone on a whole day in
there in in November. But after there was, there was
like this little window of afterthe Christmas decorations went
up, a lot of Americans were no longer in the parks.
There was no British people there, people, people on a plane

(16:53):
with 67 people I saw. That photos of people there's
like two people in economy and you're.
Just like, Oh my word, ridiculous.
When they get to the parks, the parks are relatively quieter
because everyone at the moment is, is waiting for that big
Christmas and the the whole day season to pick up and, and and

(17:13):
there's little windows throughout the year where you
can do that. And I'm I'm I'm, I'm, I'm going
to set as a challenge. That's when is the quietest
times a year. I know, I know our our long,
long time listener Anna did manage a time where where she
was out was it a couple of yearsago, Claire and 2nd.

(17:35):
Couple of September. Yeah.
And that was particularly quiet and it's just like it's trying
to pick little opportunity windows of opportunity when the
crowd levels are are reduced. There is, I think there is one
end of January, but again you'reweather dependent and things
like that. Yeah, Simon, you've, you've been

(17:55):
a few times at different times. Give us your give us your
opinion, but do you have to be statistically backed up?
I hate to say that. Always.
For me, I'm going to put that disclaimer in again, aren't I?
We have no responsibility for you booking a holiday when it's
too busy. So I think there was like there
was a couple I but but the one II definitely remember from some

(18:19):
of our earlier trips was that period that used to be post food
and wine before the the decorations went up.
It was that it is that November period where is before you get
to Thanksgiving. Halloween's been and gone and
it's that transition state of it's not quite Christmas time.
They've started decorating. But you definitely see like a

(18:41):
little downturn then and that I think even one of our first
trips there together was a November trip and it was like I
remember back then Epcot being absolutely dead.
We were shocked, weren't we? There was not a person insight,
it was really quiet. The other thing is anytime
there's really terrible cold weather, because I think I was

(19:04):
there in January or February andthere was a cold snap.
And I mean, I had my pick aroundthe showcase of where I wanted
to watch the fireworks from. So I think that was last year.
I was there on a work trip and I, I went to Epcot over the
weekend and the park was absolutely empty after 4:00.
There must have been 10 people sat in in the smokehouse eating

(19:28):
dinner and then, yeah, come the fireworks show at nine.
It was absolutely dead. So yeah, absolutely had my
think. But I did have to change.
I had to take a pair of trousersto change into because it was
that cold and I'm not. I always think the period just
after Easter as well and before Memorial Day is another quiet
time. And if you that's, that's a

(19:51):
perfect two week last minute deal time as well.
You can pick up last minute holidays and flights after
Easter, but before sort of half term week from the UK.
You can pick those flights up ifyou can wait, if you can wait it
out, if you've got the power in you.
I don't always have that, but sometimes I can.
You can get some amazing deals around that sort of time because

(20:15):
I think people, less people taketheir kids out of school because
lots of exams going. On it's time, it's exactly yeah.
Yeah, first weekend. So, so it's quiet and it can be
cheap, but obviously you can't really plan too much in advance
in that case because you're. Not 100% sure I'm not going in
in early mid-May next year at all.

(20:37):
I think that is that is an actual prime time from the UK
because you're actually, you really take out an awful lot of
of numbers of people who simply can't travel at that particular
time of year. It also depends where Easter
falls as well, because a lot of,a lot of airlines will tend to
tend to start their summer schedule based on Easter.

(20:59):
And if Easter falls really early, they've got, they've got
a lot of seats available right the way through until the actual
summer, summer begins. If, if Easter's late, they they
won't have that extra aircraft, though, they won't have that.
So you can find that. Yeah, that's something to just
just bear in mind, something keep an eye on and something

(21:20):
that can work in in your your. Face I'm just looking at, I'm
just actually looking at my flights for next May and seeing
when and actually by so I'm flying out on the 18th of May
and actually BA have started their summer schedule by then.
There's two flights a day already in place by that,
whereas when I go when I'm therenow and in February, there's

(21:41):
only one thing I do so. Have you got a February trip
but? Might have I told you not?
Close it. close her. Close her every month of the
year. I've never been in February, so
I'm really, I'm really interested in this conversation
because I've never been in February and Millie and I are
doing a girls trip just the two of us.

(22:01):
Oh cool. February half term.
So I'm actually really excited about it because it's just the
two of us going. We're going to have lots of fun.
I think we're going to try and meet up with Katie and Epcot,
but I've never done February andI I'm a bit concerned it might
be cold based on what Cyrus justsaid, but it.
Can it? Can be.
It's not. Sunday, that was it.

(22:21):
And do you know, honestly, it's,it's layers because in the
morning and evenings it can be chilly.
That makes me think it's a trick.
Like a Just think of yourself like an onion.
But yeah, layers will be your friends.
So sweatshirt maybe for the morning and the evening that you
can remove during the day. Some days you might find that

(22:43):
you're really hot some days. I mean, I'm not going to lie.
Exactly. Or a backpack, shove it in your
backpack if you wear a backpack.But I, I definitely have hat,
scarf and gloves for like with me when I go in February because
if I want to and I, I like the fireworks and I feel cold so I,
I need them personally. I don't wear them all day.

(23:04):
It's literally like it's you satthere between like half seven
and nine waiting for the fireworks to come and it gets
chilly after a while. So I do, I take them with me
but. Yeah, just to be sure.
Yeah, Yeah. Is it, John, do we need to go
month by month? Is that the easiest way to do
this? I don't know, because I think
we're jumping about a bit and then.
I actually think that's a reallygreat idea.

(23:26):
Let's look at this month by month.
So if people are planning, they can actually blame us for
booking their trip because it doesn't matter if you're sat
down and you see that BA or Virgin Boxing Day sale
opportunity go and you're thinking, well, look at the
price. Can we afford to go at this time

(23:46):
or that time? Let's let's spin people through
exactly what's on. And, and also, yeah, we'll
probably include one or two of the things that just to bear in
mind that things do happen in certain parts of the year.
So let's start with January and February because actually with
it being a bit cooler like Robinwas describing and just like

(24:06):
make sure you get wrapped up andthings like that.
But actually Ben and. Becca are going in January,
aren't they? Yeah.
Have they got their coats ready?They're going to need them in
January. Have we?
I'm interested to know whether between us we've been every
month of the year. I think we probably.
Have I've been every month of the year?
Oh, OK. I'm interested if Robin has been

(24:30):
every month of the year. If anyone missed the mid month
show where we last mid month show when we got Katie, Katie
Wetzel received a badge. I think Robin, you deserve a
great British make it make you awful.
I've I've been every month of the year award.

(24:51):
Not all in the same year. Disney, Disney I give legacy.
So far off, so far off. I'll tell you what though, this
mid month show, the one for mid-december, just you wait and
see we've got someone on the show who's going to blow that
out the water out the out the water.
So let's, yeah, I'll, I'll leavethat hanging just just to make

(25:14):
sure that they're, yeah, people come back for the mid-december
show and don't get too wrapped up in Christmas shopping.
So going back to January and February, when So Festival of
the Arts doesn't start until February, does it?
So I. Think it starts in January,
doesn't it? Yeah.
Yeah, starts in January late. January into February.
Yeah. Because that's one of the
reasons mid usually that's one of the.

(25:36):
Reasons. Mills and I agreed that we would
go in February because she was like the Broadway stuff in
Festival Theatre and like the painting mural and everything.
She's so excited about that because it's something.
That's. My favorite.
It's my favorite festival without question.
Only when I have done. And it's it's on from the middle
of January. It starts the middle of January.

(25:56):
So yeah, you've only really got a couple of weeks for Disney to
get all the Christmas decorations down pack.
Them away, put them in the loft.Yeah, put them in that
warehouse. Change the signs on the the the
so-called temporary stir or. The old blankety blank, you

(26:18):
know, super batch flapped out, isn't it?
Dig up all the Christmas plants,take all the poetia and put some
yeah. Yeah, some colorful ones in RT
ones, yeah. Composting, but that time of
year must. Be.
Yeah. Right, but January is a bit

(26:43):
colder. February.
I'm hoping a little bit warmer. Yeah.
And also worth bearing in mind there are the usual seasonal
ride refurbs that kind of alwaysget announced and it really it
would really annoy me if you were going and but given the
fact that half a Magic Kingdom shut this year, I honestly don't

(27:05):
think they'll get away with shutting anything there.
But I don't think I'd want to doa water ride in January or
February, I don't think. I don't.
I don't think so either. I think that's doesn't.
Sound like fun? No, I don't think you're doing a
water park in those two. I'll watch other people.
Doing those water rides, gettingcold and.
Wet but you. Know that's half the fun, isn't

(27:25):
it? Yeah.
Yeah, you get, you get, I think.Is there a holiday in February?
Like is it Presidents Day or something?
One of the most parts always shut at that point, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually.
If it's if you. If you're very brave and

(27:47):
actually very British about it, even though even when you get
into that Christmas sort of timewhen, when you're there, but in
the January and February, if theday is that, you know, it's that
sort of mid 20s centigrade and you actually think this is this
like this is like a British, a British holiday day.
You will find nobody in the water parks.

(28:09):
No. This is true.
This is true, But the reason they're not there is because
it's freezing. You go on a water ride and you
the water's poles. Stay in the water, that way it's
nice and warm you. Can't do any of the rides
because you need to be in the water or you're frozen to death.
Oh, you, oh you get, oh, you getflu for you get flu for the next
10 days of your holiday. I'll just check the public

(28:31):
holidays 2026 and 19th of January is Martin Luther King
Junior Day, and the 16th of February, which is the day that
Millie and I arrive, is Washington's Birthday.
Presidents Day. Is that Presidents Day?
No, it's just Washington's Birthday, isn't it?
No, it's President's Day. I think it's. 16th is yeah, 16th
that's. The day we arrive.

(28:51):
So it might. Might.
Be busier so. But yeah, the the art the art
festival's on, you'll think is, well, I think I'll really enjoy
it. I think.
It'll be amazing, enjoy it and and although the weather can be
a bit hitless. I've just realized I'm doing
more festivals in a year. Get you this.

(29:11):
Is This is why it's really good doing this live and you're just
like. Because I did Christmas now then
farts are doing food, fire and garden in May and then Food and
wine in August. Yeah, nice.
Oh. So that means you'll probably.
Still do the get? A badge for you.
Holiday. Yeah, right.
Wait a SEC, Claire deserves a badge.

(29:34):
She does indeed. But yeah, the weather can be a
bit changeable, but other than that, the crowds are usually
pretty low until you get to spring break.
And as you say, it depends when.I've been there in late March,
late February into March, and ithas been spring break when I've
been there. I didn't know about it
beforehand. It was OK, but it just got very

(29:55):
busy. And I've been on trips in
February where it's been cold every day and I was a bit like
praying because it was cold and wet, which is not really that
much fun. But most of the time it's been,
it's been pretty lovely. So yeah, you'll have a lovely
time, I think. Claire I.
Hope so and. Actually, I'm actually moving

(30:17):
that on a little bit because as we get into March and April when
the with the start of Flower andGarden Festival as well, which
follows on from festival, the art, the weather kind of picks
up a little bit. It does you get a little bit of
warmth in the air, but you also get that whole bit of of
actually trying to play off the the gap between Easter spring

(30:38):
break and actually looking for certainly looking for a slot
where you could actually find low low crowds, but also quite a
a pleasant time to actually visit.
Yeah. So I've not been in March and
April. Oh.
Have you not? No May, yes, very end of April,

(30:59):
but like the last year. The I think the weather, if
you're going to ask me which haswhich month has the best weather
in Florida all year. I'd probably go with April
because it's dry. It's a little.
No, I think May can. In the last few years I've
really felt the humidity in May,whereas the humidity is that

(31:19):
much lower in April. Like if you're talking weather
Easter, it's kind of the best time to go.
If you're stuck to school holidays you have to do.
Christmas can be chilly. Summer is hotter than Satan's
undergarments. October.
I mean, we haven't talked about hurricane season yet.

(31:39):
I'm sure we get to it. May half term is May into June,
which is quite warm. I think Easter is the sweet spot
for weather. If weather is your top priority,
you want really good weather, you don't want to be too hot,
you don't be too cold and you care.
If you care more about the weather and less about the
crowds, Easter is your winner. So I think one of the challenges

(32:01):
with that is that UK flights to Orlando, the price at Easter in
the school Easter holidays, theyare ridiculously busy and
possibly more expensive than thesummer because of exactly that
point that people don't want to go in the summer because it's
hot and sweaty and they are worried about hurricane season.

(32:23):
And you know, there there's quite a long period of time.
So, but with Easter holidays youmost schools have got 2 1/2
weeks. So everyone is condensed into
that period anyway. It tends to be Saturday to
Saturday flights because of the the way in which the holiday is
full doesn't give a lot of flexibility in terms of flying
on a Monday and Tuesday, which could give you some discounted

(32:46):
prices in terms of flights. So I think that those that
period of time if you're planning to go, it's it's really
expensive and and that's possibly the reason I haven't
been at that time because I've looked at and I say I haven't
been at that time. I have been in end of March
because Millie tends to finish aweek earlier and we went for a
few days to our Key West and they went on Disney Cruise at

(33:07):
the end at the beginning of April, but haven't been in all
in Walt Disney World during sortof mid-april because of the cost
to be honest with you. And I think it it tends.
That little that little trip fornext may actually should be.
I think that could be a real keyone.
So I've seen it in May before twice.
And Morgan and I went at the endof April, beginning of May last

(33:30):
year. And actually, if you, if you can
push into the beginning of May, I think that actually you can or
the very end of April after the Easter holidays, depending on
what you're, if you've got kids or not, you know, everyone has A
and I'm not, I'm not expressing an opinion either way.
I'm really lucky that Minnie gets quite long school holidays
that sometimes sit outside of normal school holidays.

(33:51):
So I recognize that for some people, exactly like you're
saying, John, that actually going in term time is a
necessity because of roles and jobs and various things.
I don't have an opinion on whether should people should or
shouldn't take their children out of school.
If you're able to push into those times where it's not so
busy, you definitely get a better rate and actually you can

(34:15):
access some of those slightly shoulder times that are not as
busy and the weather's great. It's also worth noting that
Disney, like the free dining, doesn't cover Easter.
No, because it's so busy and they know they don't need to,
but you might get different hotel discounts at that time.
And that's when you start playing with the calculator and

(34:35):
going well, actually, is it cheaper to get the hotel
discount and buy the four days, get a couple of free or or get
the Disney Dining Plan? You know, it depends on the type
of hotel you wanna stay in. You know, actually, if you're
looking at renting DVC points over that period of time, can
you even get them? Because it's a busy time for
people to be there and there's so many different things at
play. And I think if you accept it's a

(34:56):
busy time, you accept it's a busy time, you just suck it up
and go to be honest with you, ifthat's when you want to go
because of the well. That's when you can go for
whatever reason, yeah. I think it's a good.
Where there's there's a global holiday that's observed, yes,
it's that in Christmas of globally observed.
Therefore like Christmas, the the summer holidays, they're

(35:18):
going to be families that have kids or or people that work in
education that can only get thatparticular time off or that
niche bit of people that they choose to holiday that year at
that time of year anyway. But Easter and Christmas, I
think are always, you're always going to get the families, the
couples, the singles, multiple countries around the world that

(35:40):
would be observing that same holiday period that you, you're
just going to have that bigger impact.
That's a really good point as well.
I think as well, Simon, I think it's also worth mentioning it.
I think we've mentioned throughout the show of when
there's low crowds and when there's when there's low crowds,
there's low prices and there's low, there's some discounts to

(36:00):
be had on the hotel rooms as well.
And I think that's another thingto just throw into the mix as
something is part of your planning.
You might not think this when you book, you book a cheap
flight and you think, Oh my, well, I've got a bit of a
bargain and the next thing you know, you got to book a hotel.
It's like, oh, that's, that's a bit cheaper as well.

(36:21):
And everything, everything kind of slots together like a jigsaw
puzzle. And you're actually in that bit
where because there is that low demand, unlike these global
holiday times, everything comes together perfectly.
And I think it is, it's a really, I don't know.
It's really it's, I get a buzz out of that planning bit.

(36:42):
You know, when, when everything just sort of moulds together and
you're just like this, this tripis 100% go and you're just like,
yeah. And then you book it all.
And then it's, it's that bit of there's no, there's, there is
literally no turning back now. Yeah.
I know I agree completely. I think that's equally with the

(37:02):
hotel rooms. That is reflected in how the DVC
options are structured as well. And you see that in terms of
the, those peak periods, the, the biggest peak periods are the
main holidays, it's Easter and and December.
And then you get fluctuations in, in points requirements
throughout the year. But it's definitely reflected in

(37:25):
the the point structure for DVC throughout the year as well.
Yeah, I think that's good because I actually this is, this
is somewhere I don't, I didn't expect us to even go into this
part of the part of it thinking about what we're talking about.
But I think I actually think that this is a really big part
because actually by the time youget to the Midsummer part and

(37:47):
you know, we get into basically get into that June to August and
and I'll include September, we're actually in that bit where
it can fluctuate on a weekly basis exactly which state is on
holiday at some point or which state is not.
When the Florida schools are on holiday, it tends to be a little

(38:09):
bit busier. And I think the biggest thing,
and I actually think this is probably I'll get the elephant
in the room out of the way, is the fact that I for years I was
told, oh, you can't. You don't want a you don't want
to be going to Florida in the summit.
They have hurricanes. You know, actually, yeah, we've
been more times than probably I wish to remember and equally

(38:34):
more times than probably the value of my home.
Let's not, let's not even delve into that part of it, but the
summer, the summer season is such that you know that you're
going to get wet because you know that it's going to be, it
will pop up. You know, we were there at the

(38:55):
very start of August last year and every single day for three
days in a row it, it got so hot and it never popped.
It was just like, it was just like you were waiting in a
pressure. Cooker.
Yeah, yeah. The only way I can describe it,
but it never popped. And you go, you wake up the
following day and you say, I know what's going to happen.

(39:17):
And when it goes, it goes big time and you're going to get so
much rain. And you just basically need to
understand, just take a little bit of time out.
Just go and find yourself somewhere safe, somewhere dry
and. Or just enjoy it.
There is something incredible and liberating, and I've been

(39:38):
there where we've been in Augustand we've been in the Magic
Kingdom and that exact thing hashappened.
You felt it build for this. It'd been three days of dry, but
it's been sweaty and building and you just like it's going to
rain today and it doesn't. And the next day it's going to
rain today it doesn't. And like day three, you can feel
like nine, 10:00 in the morning,it already feels humid.
So 2:00 in the afternoon, the skies erupt and it rains for

(40:03):
four or five hours. And we're talking, we have a
phrase in our house when I'm driving and Billy's like, Mum,
this is like Florida rain. And it's like, it's not just
like a few spots. It's like I can't see where I'm
driving rain. And it's like when you're on the
I4 and you'd have no idea who's in front of you.
You just keep going slowly and. Then can I also put a little

(40:23):
driving hint and tip in there that if you actually feel
uncomfortable driving, wait for there to be an overpass and just
stop whether it's not yeah whereit's not raining, pull into the
side and just just wait because actually because I've done I've
done it before and I've actuallyI've actually even when you put
the the wipers on the the fastest they're.

(40:46):
Quite distracting when they're going very fast actually.
But when you can't still can't see anything because it's
raining that heavy and you say, oh, my word, all right, OK, I'm
not even going to guess. Just pull in aside, get yourself
off the eye, even go a big. Might find that the the sheriff
comes and sits next to you and said checks you're OK.
That's it. Yeah, yeah, that's OK.

(41:06):
But there's something. Doable.
I I actually, I think people build up this real negativity
about the. Middle.
I love it. And I think there's something
really liberating about being stuck in a pot.
You haven't got ponchos and you,you know what, you're already
wet and you just go, do you knowwhat?
I am just going to get soaked and I don't care.
And we've had days where we haveliterally been skipping down

(41:29):
main streets. It's still the warm we are
skipping down Main St., splashing in the puddles.
It's all good fun until you go inside though.
It's soaked and it's. Right.
And then you go inside and it's but we've just spent an hour
absolutely drenched and you do you know what?
My underwear is soaked. My trainers are drenched.
Yeah, and. Look at how much fun I am

(41:50):
having. I'm looking at all these people
hiding under the awnings. Why not?
You're Claire. Claire.
Claire. Claire.
Be quiet. Don't tell people how good
August is. I'm not booking flights for next
year. Yeah.
I hang on, August is. Rubbish.
Don't go. Don't book for August.
Down the bottom of Main Street Iam knee deep in water and I

(42:11):
actually do not care. Welcome to the world of Crocs.
They are lifesavers. I love it.
And you know what? You dry out.
People dry. Funnily enough, you know, you
get clothes dry any resort if you get a moderate.
Yeah. If you go to a moderate, you go
to a Polynesian or the Grand Floridian, they will give you a
towel when you arrive. And you can dry yourself off and

(42:34):
get yourself a drink and chill. And it's just so much fun when
you laugh at everybody else who's trying to stay dry and
fatally, and you just go, I don't care.
I'm soaking wet. That's fun.
I'll dry my hair will dry my. You know, whatever it is, it's
all good. So embrace it.
Just just remind the the people as you leave the seat on the

(42:54):
monorail that and. Top tip, always have a zip lock
bag in your bag with your passports in it if you're
carrying them dry. That's my top tip, yeah.
Definitely. We we skipped to August.
We missed. We went from April to August.
I know and I. It's just.
We think it was a bit of May. We've got a bit of May in there

(43:15):
as well, I think as well. I think going back to going back
to that whole thing about and and Sam and I think this is what
you're about to go and and explain.
We are then into hurricane season and actually there's I
think it's one of those things that you just basically you
can't control doing controllable.

(43:36):
You basically just have to do asyou're told and have to just
accept that sometimes these things happen and they can
happen in no matter what part ofthe world you were at, but don't
throw your toys out the prime and the fact, oh, I won't be
able to get back to work on Monday because there's an
incoming hurricane and my flights, my flights been delayed
12 hours. It's just like suck it up.

(43:58):
You just have to accept these things happen and and actually
they will look after you won't be.
It's not like I was going to sayit's not like common right now
where you basically flights cancelled.
We're booking for booking for mid-october.
It's not like that isn't it? Everyone, everyone's got your
interests at heart and we've been in that position before

(44:21):
where we've actually been out there.
There's been something coming. And when you're trying to get
home, yeah, there is an acceptance, the fact that these
are not, these are days at whichthe Americans are much better at
this than the British are. You know, if you're on one of
the islands and certainly, certainly if you're on the West
Coast of Florida, when there's an incoming hurricane, because

(44:43):
it's low lying, there are evacuation routes.
There are lots and lots of warnings on the TV.
Put the TV on, watch what you'rebeing told and just.
Do what they tell you. Yeah, don't try and kick against
it. Don't try and be Oh, well, we'll
ride it out. Things like, you know, do do
what the Americans are doing because actually they're not

(45:03):
daft. They're getting out of town and
they're actually making sure they've got water and they've
got enough provisions to get andenough fuel to get them to
somewhere that's safe. And Florida, Florida in
particular, once you get to Orlando, Orlando, because it's
right in the middle. All those all those sort of
initial thoughts of, well, why do you think he put Walt Disney

(45:25):
World right in the very centre of a of a, of a state that over
time and over history is very susceptible to hurricanes?
It's you're probably in the safest possible place.
Yeah. So just accept it.
So and we've been in that we've.Been in that position as well,
though John and I actually, I'vecompletely forgotten that we had

(45:46):
that a few years ago where we were.
We were due to fly home and there was a problem.
There was a hurricane incoming and actually that flight was
cancelled. So we had the choice of a
diverted flight through about 3 different places to get us home
the same day or we stay. We actually chose to stay an
extra day. We booked, we booked, chose to

(46:07):
book a hotel, so we stayed at Saratoga Springs for a night and
then reclaimed all of that through British Airways who paid
the lot. So we stayed in a 2 bedroom at
Saratoga for a night, didn't have part tickets, but we went
to DC Springs, hung out by the pool, had a nice day and BA paid
all of that because of the the flight cancellation.
So, you know, don't panic. Yes, my daughter missed her

(46:30):
first day of school in year six.It wasn't the end of school, it
wasn't the end of the world. You know, I emailed the head
teacher and said she won't be there.
We're stuck in Florida, can't doanything about it.
So yeah, I think people worry somuch about the impact and
actually just stay safe. The the doubt, the other than
the worry of the actual hurricane, it does tend to bring

(46:54):
in a few days of heavy rain. And that can be this of the
suckier part because you know, that time of year, what you
normally expect in the summer periods is blisteringly hot
weather until the afternoon whenthe heavens break, it absolutely
chucks it down and then rinse and repeat the next day.

(47:15):
So the, the sad time is you get,it's usually still pretty damn
warm and a lot of rain and you don't really get let up from the
rain. And I think that you can choose
to whether to let that bother you or you can choose to make
the most of it. And I think sometimes your own
mental attitude can be what makes the difference.
To that. That's a great, that's a great

(47:36):
description, Robin. I love that.
That's exactly it is. If you've got a downer on it and
you've got that whole bit of, oh, it's raining again, I think
come on holiday, for it to be raining, that's going to, that's
going to ruin it not just for you but for other people as
well. Yeah.
A rainy day in Florida is still better than a day anywhere else.
Oh yes. Absolutely true.

(47:58):
And there's lots of things you can do.
We've, we've had shows about it before.
So there are things you can do. And if the, if the hurricane is
so bad that they closed the parks, there are things going on
in your hotel, there are ways tostay safe.
So it may not be the exact time you planned and hoped for, but
you know you'll have a story to.Tell yeah, I'll try to think

(48:18):
about all the, we've probably been there three or three or
four different hurricanes. We definitely had a time when we
had to stay in our villa and had, we were off site in a villa
and it was hurricane. My cousin and her husband were
staying with us. We had the hurricane cookie from
Publix. We had, you know, the one with
the Florida on it and it's like,yeah, a hurricane on it.

(48:40):
And we stayed in. We've played some board games,
we watched some TV, had some drinks.
It was all good. There were nothing happened that
was untoward other than it was really wet and windy.
It was it was fine. And as you say John, it's really
unusual for Orlando area to get anything significant.
I think last about two years agowas probably the most they've

(49:03):
had for a long time. But you know, it is a matter of
course and just follow the instructions, do what you're
told. Yeah, but the plus side of going
in in August is Halloween startsin August, right?
Yeah, mid August, yeah, right. Early August now.
It's even earlier now I think. Just like doesn't matter.

(49:24):
I did now. But you're right, you know,
you've got a Halloween party, which is.
Halloween parties. You've got Halloween Horror
Nights over at you. You can be.
Sweaty in a costume as well. You can put on extra layers and
be even. Sweatier.
We know costumes are always madeof really breathable.
Fabrics, wigs. They're brilliant to wear.
In August, yeah. Love it.

(49:44):
No, there's, there's plus points.
There's definitely plus points. And before long, you're into
September and food wine starting.
Yeah, end of August, early September, you've got food and
wine. Yeah.
And that I mean, that brings itsown breed of people.
But. Do you have, you do have some
amazing music with each of the big concerts you do And they,

(50:07):
you know, they can't be sniffed at actually, because where else
can you get free concerts with The Beach Boys and John Stamos
playing together and Hanson and.Starting men.
Right, all of those amazing, butactually these are headline
bands. Yes, they are.
Yeah. You know you can watch them
three times in an evening if youwant to, and it's free.

(50:29):
Great. Yeah, I really, I really like
it. I feel I agree.
And you know, you can eat lots of nice food and drink lots of
nice drinks too. So, you know, it's never, never
a bad idea. It's what it's that time is that
particular time, though, once, once you actually get into into
the, the atmosphere within the park changes.
And this is what this is the bitthat really intrigues me is, is

(50:52):
it Epcot particularly does food and wine particularly well.
But if you watch different people's vlogs, you watch just
the whole atmosphere in the places.
It's just like it's so cool and it's just so it's one time I
would really love to go and justbe part of and just especially
once once darkness falls that little bit earlier as well.

(51:15):
You get that there's just there's a vibe and yeah, it's
it's something I'd really love to be able to go and just sort
of just experience it because you get that as in the summer
that, you know, it doesn't get down to like half 8.
So you it's quite good. Can I just check Robin and
Simon? Have you ever been to the the

(51:36):
Food and wine style festival that happens at the Swan and
Dolphin? No, I, I, no we haven't.
That's a little bit later. That tends to be sort of mid.
September onwards and I've nevermanaged to go there.
No, I, I've been there when it'sbeen on and never made the
journey to it, which is really not, not good.
I should have done it. I have, however, been well, we

(51:58):
both have been to the Sea World version where they have a wine
event and had mixed. So we've been on some years and
honestly some years we've said this is better than Disney.
This is actually better than Disney.
They've got headline acts. Same.
They've got better food and it'sa bit cheaper that the last time
we went, we were a little bit disappointed it didn't quite

(52:19):
live up to the previous years. So that similar but different.
And I think that's that's usually may time, isn't it, that
they do their food and wine festival.
And they have a Christmas one as.
Well, they do. They do also have a Christmas
festival where they have more food booths and things.
And I guess we've been concentrating on Disney through
all of this, but actually Universal have got an amazing
Mardi Gras period up in March. You know, that is a huge, great.

(52:42):
They have a massive parade and huge festival for Mardi Gras.
And also when you get to September, Halloween Horror
Nights start in Universal as well.
So if that's your thing and you want to be chased by someone
carrying a chainsaw, then that'sthe.
Universal got you. They've got you covered, right?

(53:06):
Can you tell it's not quite my love?
We have. We've been a couple of times.
We've been a couple of times, yeah.
It's just too horrifies me. I'm no use.
I'm useless in those types of environments.
I just squeal. They are quite good, but I
definitely am more of a Mickey'snot so scary kind of kind of
girl. And Mickey's very Merry

(53:27):
Christmas party too, as we get into the cooler months.
And November 1st, once October 31st happens, Halloween is over.
November 1st, or as it was November 2nd this year,
Christmas is there. Yeah, it's very weird.
It was a day late. It was very weird.
I I don't know if I like that. No, it needs to be November 1st,

(53:49):
doesn't it John? It kicked me OCD out a little
bit. Yeah, it was just like.
The the show that's on Disney Plus, narrated by Whippy
Goldberg. Shows happening on overnight on
to November 1st. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, we were having shirts one day.
We made it Christmas Day, you know?
Yeah, that's how it happens. I don't want it to change.

(54:10):
Thank you very much. But November usually marks the
the beginning of the, well, the end of hurricane season.
They say August to October, though obviously it can happen
outside of those times. But the.
Thing is technically even longer.
I think they call it like like May or June through to November.
Do they? It's the hurricane season.

(54:31):
But yeah, really, how many months of the year?
There is, yeah, there is no way that if you were going to, if
really if you were most people going to Orlando, you would
probably be there at a time whenit would be deemed in that
hurricane. Season so.
However, history tells us September and October is usually
the worst. It's usually confined to just a

(54:53):
couple of months, but I think itjust brings that, that
significant weather change that the increased heat, the level of
humidity, the, the daily rain and thunderstorms that are
elevated through that whole season.
But I, I don't think it's enoughfor people to necessarily
consider not to go at those times because every month

(55:13):
through that period, there's gotsomething good to offer.
And whether that's there's a cheaper period, a lower crowd, a
festival or seasonal event that's worth going to, or you
know, those myriads of reasons why that's still a good time to
to be there. I, I think that's a really
cracking thing to say because you know, my, my own personal

(55:38):
Disney journey started at Christmas and, and it actually,
I mean, you think you shouldn't go because it'd be too busy.
If you make it work for you and you make it, you just manage the
crowds or you manage anything else that's going on.
It just, it actually blows you away and you're actually, you're
completely in awe. No matter what park you were in,

(56:00):
you're totally in awe of everything that's around you.
And from there, it's going to cost you a hell of a lot of
money. That's all I'm going to say.
It's just beautiful. And, you know, I actually, even
as a family, it's the one time that we all, we all want to go
back and explore again. And, and it's again as life

(56:24):
moves on, you know, certainly for for my kids, they know that
becomes a little bit more difficult to do as they go to
try and find work. And the, you know, the real 1 is
actually some of these memories that we've built up over the
years are, you know, maybe not going to happen quite as easily
for them until maybe their families come around and, you
know, don't lap it up while you can because.

(56:49):
Yeah, because it's so good. It really is.
So it's a very long show to say when is the best time to go to
Disney? Anytime, anytime, always.
Yeah, is a. Good time to go.
To Disney, I think that is that is the the generalised oversee

(57:12):
the AI description overview. What what is the best time to
go? You know, if you're going to
Florida, you're going to Orlando, anytime is a good time.
Yeah, I agree with you and I think there are, there are
opportunities to save money and to capitalise on the weather,
depending on your availability to go.
You know, I know that May is a great time.

(57:32):
So I can I can talk about my, mytrip in May.
It's after school's gone back. It's like the middle of May.
The only reason I'm going there is because Anna and Callum are
there at the same time and I'm gate crashing and it's a it's a
cheap week. So I'm going middle of May.
I've got, I'm not paying for my flight because I've paid on
points and then I've paid, I looked at DVC rent, so I had Pop

(57:56):
Century booked and then I've changed it to renting DVC
points. So I'm actually staying at Old
Key West and it's costing me $850 for five nights at Old Key
West, which is, you know, super cheap.
And I've got an annual pass. So that didn't even include an
AP discount. That's just like, you know, off
the bat. So actually there are ways and

(58:19):
that room sleeps 5 people. So actually if I was looking at
going as a group of people, that's a really good time to go
and you can get bargains. And I think it's a case of
exploring when for me #1 is whencan I go, When do I want to go?
And where do those two things transect, you know, where do
they cross over? Where, where is that perfect
spot for me? Is it February, is it May, is it

(58:41):
August? What does that look like?
And then working out how the best way to book that looks like
afterwards. So is it a package?
Is it individual? You know what that you know,
where do you want to get your bargains from?
But yeah, when is it possible? And then when do I want to go?
What are the things that are important to me?
Is weather really important or is actually free dining more

(59:02):
important or is Halloween HorrorNights more important?
Or going and seeing Santa, What does that look like?
Yes, is the answer to all of that, obviously.
And I think I'd say, yeah, thereisn't.
There isn't a right or wrong time.
And I think it, it depends on what's right for you as either a
couple, an individual, as a group, as a family.

(59:24):
It, it really, it has to tick the box.
And I actually, I actually, I was going to ask a question, if
you're going for the very first time, what would your
recommendation be? But actually, I don't feel that
you can give a recommendation because it, it is so
personalized to you as a, as what you want.
Yeah, and completely. And I think, and I think some of

(59:45):
the things that we've actually been through during this
podcast, actually we're struck upon.
And I hope people have been hopeyou've been there with your
pencil and bit of paper. Just noting down some of the
some of the hints and tips because actually as I've gone,
I'm thinking, well, I need to go.
I need to go at least. To do food and wine and go and
do flower garden and, and actually maybe I'll maybe just

(01:00:08):
get a season ticket for the next, next 2026 season ticket
for Walt Disney World. I think that'll be quite,
that'll be quite a good thing. It'll say more.
Than you go twice or more into our point period.
It's definitely worth it. Absolutely.
Yeah, Dodger maths. Yeah.
I think John, for there's alwaysgoing to be like a great reason

(01:00:28):
for people going to Orlando. Like you're not going to have a
disappointing time. Whatever period you pick.
The parks are going to be prettyconsistent in experience.
You might get those extra seasonal bits, but it's it's
kind of set your own expectations from your research
about what you may or may not have at that given time.
You know, if, if it's, if it's abusy period, if it's a, a hot

(01:00:53):
period, go expecting it to be hot.
And then when you're you might be surprised that oh, it's not
actually as hot as I thought or oh, it's going to be really
busy. Oh, it's not actually as busy as
I thought. Because you will definitely get
people that will say don't go Christmas because it's so busy
it's rammed to capacity. Yeah, we'll set your set your
level of expectation. Oh, it's going to be really
busy. But then actually it, it can, I

(01:01:16):
think it can only ever get better from that point because
it won't be quite as bad as you imagined it to be either.
And you'll, you'll just be engrossed in enjoying it when
you're there. I think we've always found when
we've been at times like Christmas, that people are like
they, they give you the, the worst possible outcome.
And then when you're there, you,you don't really even notice it.

(01:01:37):
You work around it and the. Atmosphere is amazing as well
and this actually when there's alot of people having a good time
together, the atmosphere is really joyous and buoyant.
Yeah. Yeah, don't ever quote me on
this. Sometimes when the parks are
empty. Yeah, there's not.
There's not that. There isn't that vibe there,
though. It's not clear.

(01:01:58):
Yeah, I think you're spot on. And Simon, I think you've hit
upon hit that nail firmly on thehead because actually, that's
exactly why we all keep going back.
I I flicked back to 1 experience.
That was Christmas Day and I can't remember what year it was,
but it was Christmas Day and I think we were there with
friends. Like Christmas, Magic Kingdom

(01:02:19):
that morning was unbelievably busy.
If it closed, it closed to capacity and we were sat on.
A very short time. But they closed it, popped up on
the app and we were sat on Main Street watching the Christmas
Day parade, no. It wasn't that it was the, IT
was the the move it Shake It parade.

(01:02:39):
Was it the move it shake it? Move it, shake it.
The hub, The hub was, it was oneof the earlier ones, I think
that we've we used to really enjoy, but we were there with
friends. There were friends forming in
it. The hub was absolutely packed
that morning, but the atmospherewas unmistakable.
It was. Yeah, everyone was having.
Everybody was having a great time and it it didn't that

(01:03:04):
surpassed all of the crowd levelcompletely because the
experience and the atmosphere was was amazing.
I still think back to those experiences of of the look on
everybody's face was just absolute enjoyment above all.
Yeah, I've been fortunate enoughand we did the Christmas Day
parade twice. And there's a bit of a video

(01:03:26):
without Josh, who was on my shoulders because obviously all
my years of criticizing people for watching fireworks, watching
fireworks with kids on shoulders.
But it came to the parade and and actually there's a beautiful
bit. And being Christmas Day, Josh
was on the shoulders and he was waving at Santa and it was just,

(01:03:47):
and it was just like, thank you,Santa and, and the words, I
mean, you know, as a, as a parent and you just like, and
I'm going back, I'm going back. He was, he wasn't the lad he is
now. He's not.
Getting wasn't wasn't three years ago.
I'd be on his shoulders now, I think.
But it was it was as a parent, it was one of those moments of
which it was just the most beautiful and most memorable

(01:04:10):
time that you actually you see in that absolute joy in the kids
faces of actually being the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.
And I'll, I'll never forget that.
And I know he he still doesn't because you've got video that
that he keeps getting reminded of every Christmas Day.
But it was it was amazing. It really was.
And I actually, yeah, I think this now within this sort of

(01:04:36):
festive season, I think it's possibly the bit where Disney
did it absolutely on point. And it makes it, it, it just
makes everything truly, truly magical.
And I think, I think, and I always said it a few times about
people heading to the Boxing Daysales, but I think I might be
there myself for a few, for a few tickets, etcetera.

(01:04:58):
And it's just been yeah, just yeah, yeah, there isn't a bad
time. I'm going to wrap this up
because I actually I need to go and book a Disney all day after
listening to you guys have been saying and and so much of what
you've said has been just so helpful.
And I hope anyone who's watchingor listening this, you actually
find it as a use it as a planning tool rather than rather

(01:05:22):
than just a podcast and use it as a a means of actually
deciding yourself of exactly what would you want out of your
next trip to trip to Orlando. But thank you, Claire, thank you
Robin, thank you Simon. That's been that's been fun
since he has and that. It's been great.
Yeah, yeah, I just need, I've got a booking fever now.

(01:05:44):
This is this is not good. This is not good.
Anyway, I'll wrap, I'll wrap us up.
I'll just say if you've enjoyed listening to this as much as
you've enjoyed making it, make sure you follow or subscribe
wherever you're listening. Leave us a rating or review.
It helps more people discover what we're actually on about.
Every every twice every month. You'd make sure you catch us on

(01:06:06):
the mid month show for December.If you missed the mid November
mid month, go back and just please go and listen to Katie
Wetzel who basically took over Claire and I.
She told me to go for it. I love.
It, yeah, it was just like, it was brilliant.
It was just the most amazing show and she is one of the most
amazing people I think you've ever met in my life.

(01:06:29):
But she's coming back for more. So 2026, I think we might be
renaming ourselves. You have the great British Katie
Wetzel for a show. Yeah, definitely.
That's definitely what's coming.We're also on YouTube.
And for people who miss us, we do a live show every Wednesday

(01:06:50):
night, 8:30 UK time on YouTube. We're also on social media.
And for even more Disney Universal Orlando fun, we talk
about it all the time. Tell your friends.
Thanks and we'll see you. Soon.