Florida…April or August?

[IndieRocknRoll]

We’re planning a family trip to Florida next year but can’t decide when to visit. It would be me DH plus kids aged 11 and 14. We will be spending roughly a week in Orlando then a bit of time with friends who live near the keys. We’d like to fit in the Everglades too.

We are limited to school hols (no flexibility here because of my job). Due to the time needed we would need at least 2 weeks which means we can only go at Easter or in August.

My preference would be at the very beginning of Aug as I would be able to finish work & have a few days to pack and get sorted, however I know it’s really humid & on the edge of storm season. It would be heartbreaking to have to cancel or cut short our trip.
If we went in April I’d have no time at all between the trip & being back at work, plus it’s over Easter and I’ve heard the parks can be crazy busy.
We are used to doing trips to the med in August in 40c + heat but not sure how this compares to the August humidity in Florida.

any advice from those of you that have travelled at these times is welcome!

April. The weather is gorgeous.

We’ve been many times in August, and can tolerate the weather pretty well. But it’s incredibly humid and you can pretty much guarantee torrential rain every afternoon, with many thunderstorms.

Agree, we went August & the weather ruined it.

If you go at the end of August, the theme parks are quieter as the Florida schools go back mid August.

August is hurricane season go in April

I’ve been in April many times and love it. Hot, no humidity, wall to wall sunshine. Glorious. Went in August once and hated it. Unbelievably humid - totally debilitating but worse was the rain. Endless, torrential rain and ongoing horrible humidity.

April rather than August. Weather is generally better than in August. It can be very hot and humid in August.

The parks aren’t a relaxing stroll so doing that in 40+ heat would be unbearable! I’d go for April

You couldn't pay me to go to Florida in August!
😂

Definitely April!

April absolutely. It would be stickier than sticky in August. It was really sticky in May last time I went.

Wow! Pretty unanimous! April it is then!

We went the last two weeks of August last year. It is roasting and humid but manageable mostly if you have plenty of water and are prepared. The worst part actually was probably the torrential rain for large parts of the holiday and constant storms (luckily no hurricanes). The pools and rides shut if there is lightning within about 5 miles I think - this happened every single day. If August was the only time you could go then it’s still worth going but I think April would be better!
the only good thing is the parks are a lot quieter in the last couple of weeks in August (apart from labor day weekend).

I’ve spent a lot of time in Florida. August is disgusting, you might be fine in Orlando, where there is plenty of air con, shade and fans, but the Everglades is exposed, and will be absolutely riddled with mosquitoes.

April is one of the nicest times to be in Florida. Easter will be busy in Orlando but if you can be there outwith the Easter weekend, it’s perfectly doable.

Just a bump for anyone who was there over Easter. How were the queues?!

There is website queue-times.com you can see what the queues were for various theme parks on a day by day basis and on a ride by ride basis. Not a Florida expert, but I am a bit obsessed with the queue data for planning purposes every time we go to Disney. Also to note we were in the Carribbean over Easter and it was unseasonably wet for March, not torrential all afternoon rain but it did rain at lunchtime every single day, certainly possible Florida would have had similar.

Florida is my dad’s favourite place to the extent that I genuinely can’t remember how many times I’ve been there. Month wise we’ve been in December and July but mostly in August as we had a share in an apartment and used to book the same two weeks. Never had an issue with the weather really. Always lovely and hot :) Yes it would rain torrentially in the afternoon (though not every day) but I can’t recall it affecting my enjoyment of the holidays.

I hope you have a brilliant time whenever you go!

April, but if you are planning on doing WDW it is the busiest time

You can see crowd calendars on Orlando informer. Weather wise April is better, warm and you’re out of hurricane season but queues will be better in August. If you only have a week in Orlando then you will need to be strategic with your park days and if I only had a week I would focus on either Disney or universal. If your kids like thrill rides I’d be inclined to do universal but it depends on their interests.

Florida resident here, definitely don’t come in August, if you’re not accustomed to the climate. Florida is not like the Mediterranean, it takes time to acclimate to the heat and humidity.

We went last two weeks of the (english) school summer holidays. I was worried about the heat / humidity but it was so much better than I was expecting. I am dreadful with heat but I was fine. If you want to do the theme parks, particularly if you want to do a week in Orlando, I would go then. US schools are largely back at that point and the crowds are lower (not low but lower), and certainly much more favourable compared to Easter which is one of the busiest times of the whole year.

If you go in April then you need to price in lightening lanes. There’s no way you’d want to be there at that time without them.

Just throwing this into the mix, i know youve only mentioned April and August but is October off the cards? By far the best time of year we've ever been.

I wouldn't go at all while that lunatic is in power but def not August / it rains constantly

Thanks all - the crowd calendars sound a good idea. I’ll definitely check them out.
Kids will be 11 and 14. One loves thrill rides, the other doesn’t (neither does DH) so going to try and balance rides either other stuff. Definitely want to do a waterpark or two as well. We could potentially go for 3 weeks instead of two if we did August and take things a bit slower, as part of our trip will be staying with friends in Tampa.

Unfortunately@ThereWeAreThensmileyfacewe’re stuck with school hols as I teach!