Orlando in December
December is a month to think twice about visiting Orlando. The first two weeks are decorated, festive, and manageable. Christmas week through New Year's is the most crowded stretch of the entire year.
Weather
Mild, highs near 73F (23C)
Crowds
Prices
What's on in December
Mid November through early January
Holiday season in the parks. Decorations, ticketed holiday parties, and nightly entertainment. Beautiful through mid December, then maximum-capacity crowds arrive for Christmas week.
Things to do in Orlando
- 1
Magic Kingdom. The signature castle park. Arrive before official opening; the first two hours deliver more rides than the next six. official site ↗
- 2
EPCOT. The festival park: flowers in spring, food and wine through the fall. Adults' favorite, and the best eating on Disney property. official site ↗
- 3
Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Home to the headline Star Wars and Avatar lands. Both are lighter half-day parks if you plan rides tightly. official site ↗
- 4
Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. The Wizarding World spans both parks via the Hogwarts Express, which requires a two-park ticket and is worth it. official site ↗
- 5
Epic Universe. Universal's newest park, opened in 2025. Demand runs hot, so book this one further ahead than the others. official site ↗
- 6
A water park day. Build one into any warm-month trip as the recovery day. Go at opening; wave pools hit capacity by late morning in summer.
- 7
A non-park day. Kennedy Space Center is about an hour east and genuinely world class. Gatorland and the springs north of town are the old-Florida antidote to the parks.
Beat the crowds
- →Pick the week before you pick anything else. The same budget buys triple the rides in late January or mid September versus March or late December.
- →Rope drop is the single biggest lever inside any week: arriving 45 minutes before park opening beats any paid line-skip product for the first two hours.
- →Ride the headliners first thing or in the final hour before close; use midday, when waits peak, for shows, meals, and the pool.
Know before you go
- !Orlando has no off season in the closure sense: the parks are open 365 days a year, including Christmas, which is actually their busiest day. What varies is hours, which shrink in slow season and stretch past midnight in peak weeks.
- !Parks can hit capacity and pause entry on the very biggest days, most famously between Christmas and New Year's. In peak weeks, arrive early and check whether park reservations are required for your ticket type.
- !Individual rides close for refurbishment on rotating schedules, most heavily in the slow winter and early-fall windows. If one attraction is the whole reason for your trip, check the official refurbishment calendar before booking.
Orlando in December: quick answers
Is December a good time to visit Orlando?
December is a month to think twice about visiting Orlando. The first two weeks are decorated, festive, and manageable. Christmas week through New Year's is the most crowded stretch of the entire year.
What is the weather like in Orlando in December?
Mild, highs near 73F (23C).
Is Orlando crowded in December?
December is peak crowd season in Orlando; expect lines at the headline sights.
What is happening in Orlando in December?
Holiday season in the parks (mid november through early january).
Also in their December window
Better windows for Orlando: January, February, September, November.