What to wear: highs in the 50-60s/lows in the 30s-40s

deannaf87

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 9, 2012
Next weekend is looking colder than I think we've ever experienced. I am HORRIBLE at dressing appropriately at Disney when its not the typical 80-90 degree day. It starts getting in the 70s/60s and I'm telling my kids to wear pants. Then they are mad because they're too hot 🤣. If I'm antipcating the weather below, what would you recommend? I'm thinking jeans/leggings, tshirt, sweatshirts, and then hats/gloves as needed. Anything I should change/add?


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Also consider some Merino wool baselayers (I like the zippered mocknecks). Thin, but warm, and can be worn more than once without needing to wash. These were great for the mid-60's rainy days during my last trip! I live in these during the winter at home underneath whatever is my top.

Neck gaiters too. For temps like these, lighter weight should be fine as well, just something to block the breeze, and they are very portable and easy to take on and off as needed.

We also like lined water-resistant softshell jackets in this weather. These are nice winter temps for home and these are perfect for days out in the city, and easy to carry if the sun warms us and we need to shed layers.
 
For me, I would wear a fleece, long sleeves, and pants. Would also bring a hat if walking outside at night. I'm from a cold winter area, so that's how I would dress. I would rather pack my hat and gloves, than have to buy at the resort. We were there in December 2022 and we had a serious cold snap. Like 30s the whole week. People were rushing into shops to buy clothes and even fleeces to wrap around them. We had our winter coats and hats since we already were wearing them from our home airport.

I also run on the colder side. Other people in my family might just wear a sweatshirt as long as we were moving around.
 
For me, I'm wearing pants, long sleeve shirt, non-bulky sweatshirt and then a fleece jacket. The jacket can come off as needed, but then I still have 2 layers. I always keep the thin little gloves in my fleece jacket.

My husband is wearing shorts, long sleeve shirt and pullover/windbreaker/ 1/4 zip of some sort.

Our rain coats are in our park bag.

We are from Ohio, that looks warm to us!
 


I'm from Georgia so that is cold for me. I would take jeans, heavy leggings, long sleeve shirts and hoodies to throw over them for the day time/early mornings. For night, I would take a coat, a hat, gloves and maybe even a scarf. And something for the rain. I have heavier rain jackets but even if you don't have that, throw in a poncho that would fit over the hoodies/coats.
 
We will be experiencing our first real cold snap this winter here in SE PA later this week. For WDW I would probably be layering - maybe a sweatshirt or heavier sweater with a thin turtleneck/cowlneck or waffle-knit shirt underneath. I would also pack jeans. It can be tough to find cold-weather essentials at WDW, so plan to bring a hat and gloves/mittens and heavier socks. I’d take a fleece-type jacket or maybe layer a fleece vest under a thinner jacket with a long-sleeve tee. I would also wear ankle boots/booties (an easy slip-on style) with some warmth in the footbed because standing in place in colder weather makes my feet cold! :worried: But I’d wear them on the plane if flying because they’re bulky to pack.

We have encountered colder weather on a few trips. I would rather be a little chilly than too warm or sweltering, but you want to be as comfortable as you can be given the circumstances. I remember once being at Epcot on an early December trip watching Illuminations on a very cold evening and fervently wishing I was back at my resort with the heat on. If you are dressed appropriately, you won’t have that issue. Good luck!
 


Interest, as you have grabbed my attention now. We'll be there the dates you have shown above, and I honestly had not realized how low the overnight temps were going to get. I know there's a major cold snap coming across the country, and it is mid-January - but after reading your post, I'm likely going to add some warmer layers to the suitcase.... Fortunately, it seems to warm up a bit after that weekend - but it's looking a bit cold for a few days and nights! Thanks.
 
Remember the “evening” temps will be about 10 degrees above the overnight low, so not quite as cold as the overnight temp at daybreak.
 
I am in the same situation as you! We are going 1/28-2/3 and I’m more concerned about the rain it’s showing! Ugh!

If it’s any help, I’m a bigger girl (6’ 245 lbs linebacker 🤣🤣), so I’m hot all the time - big girl problems. My plan of attack is leggings, about 3 short sleeved athletic wear shirts & 3 long sleeved athletic wear shirts, 1 fleece zip-up, 1 fleece vest, 1 down alternative vest (in case it gets wet - down doesn’t retain warmth when wet even though it is lighter), currently have cotton socks, but with the rain may bring a couple of wool socks too (like darn toughs or something) since wearing waterproof shoes are blisters in waiting for me, regular sneakers, fleece earwarmers, a pair of gloves, a rain jacket, and a windbreaker. I think that will give me enough to mix and match for whatever is thrown my way.

My Mom stays cold, but I imagine she will bring the same, but sub pants for leggings, possibly an extra pair of gloves, an extra pair of earwarmers, and a pair of “southern” winter boots (aka not snow boots or waterproof, but fur lined).

As I am the pack mule 😆, I’ll be bringing a daypack to stow layers as needed.
 
I always think it makes sense to dress in layers since you can always take off a jacket or sweater if you get too hot. If you find it too cold for how you are dressed, your time at Disney will be less enjoyable. What temp is comfortable for you may not be what everyone else enjoys. I often see some people in shorts while others are wearing long sleeves and a jacket, so just depends on what you temp is in the range you enjoy.

We were there in May a few years ago and found most of the indoor restaurants to be too COLD, so even if it was pleasant outdoors, you had to plan for what the indoor areas were like as well.

Similar to travel in an airplane, the temp will often swing from too hot to too cold/drafty, so it is best to plan accordingly.
 
We usually take tees and a heavy fleece sweatshirt. Lightweight capris and a very lightweight cardigan to wear in the early morning and late night. These can easily be thrown into my backpack as it gets warmer. A thin cardigan is a bonus as I can throw it over a dress for a less park casual look.
 
Also consider some Merino wool baselayers (I like the zippered mocknecks). Thin, but warm, and can be worn more than once without needing to wash. These were great for the mid-60's rainy days during my last trip! I live in these during the winter at home underneath whatever is my top.

Neck gaiters too. For temps like these, lighter weight should be fine as well, just something to block the breeze, and they are very portable and easy to take on and off as needed.

We also like lined water-resistant softshell jackets in this weather. These are nice winter temps for home and these are perfect for days out in the city, and easy to carry if the sun warms us and we need to shed layers.
Thanks for the wool suggestion! It was a game changer for us.

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Layers are definitely the way to go.
Convertible cargo pants are also helpful. You can zip off the bottom and have shorts or some allow for rolling them up and either snap or tie to create capris. The only trouble we ever had with this is my son has ADHD and some how managed to lose a single pant leg in a park!
Those little stretchy gloves are great at night .
It’s also the perfect excuse to get a new sweatshirt.
 
We had the same temps for a week-long trip in Dec 2017. It was warm for day 1 (80 for the high), but the rest of week was in the 50s for highs, low 40s at night. With the amount of time you spend outside, you'll want warm items. The key is layers, so you can take items off when you go indoors and put back on when you go outside.

My personal way to dress as a guy was: t-shirt for base, thin long-sleeve pullover, medium-thickness jacket (and a hoodie under the jacket if it was even colder), hat, thin gloves (I have some nike running gloves that are perfect for this). For pants, I just wore jeans (obviously not as good if it is rainy, but we didn't have to deal with rain that week).

Don't underestimate how cold it gets at night. If there is ANY breeze, it will make it feel even colder. If you are the person that commonly says that is "50?! That's not cold!"-type, be aware that you spend a lot of time outdoors while at Disney and eventually you will really feel the cold.

Also, bring some chapstick/lip balm. Spending a lot of time outdoors in the cold has made me realize how much this is needed.
 
Layers are definitely the way to go.
Convertible cargo pants are also helpful. You can zip off the bottom and have shorts or some allow for rolling them up and either snap or tie to create capris. The only trouble we ever had with this is my son has ADHD and some how managed to lose a single pant leg in a park!
Those little stretchy gloves are great at night .
It’s also the perfect excuse to get a new sweatshirt.
I can absolutely see my son loosing a single pant leg. That is hilarious.
 

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