With the weather forecast being all-over-the-place for our upcoming visit with my 15 yo dd this week, I am at a loss for what to pack/wear. We are coming from NY where the weather has been around 30-40 degrees. I know we will need layers, but I have some specific questions:
Are women/teen girls wearing shorts during the day? Or is it mostly jeans/leggings? Is anybody hanging by the resort pools? I’m seeing 55 degree lows in the evenings are people wearing ski jackets? Or just hoodies etc? Sweaters?
Hoping to hear from Moms who travel with teenage girls and know how complicated this can get.
I’m the Dad here, but my DW and DD just packed for this over the weekend. We leave from Canada next week, so in a similar situation. DW prefers leggings or capris during the day, with cami/t-shirt/sweatshirt layering. Athletic DD is set on wearing shorts through the day, but the compromise is that she brings track pants for colder and/or wetter times. She wears tank tops or lace back tops with thin sweatshirts when necessary, and a thicker waterproof jacket to use when wet or cold.
Neither will wear jeans in Florida humidity, and are expecting it to be too cold to just hang out at the pool - they’ll swim or be shopping.
Totally depends on what you’re most comfortable in. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I wore jeans the days the high was below 75 and shorts for our 80+ days and was happy with that. It can be pretty chilly in the morning, so I preferred pants over shorts and also brought a light jacket that I took off later in the day, which was enough for me. I’m from Charleston, SC, so more used to the heat than the cold. That being said, there were people in the parks in every level of dress. I saw lots of women in shorts on the “chillier” days with a high in the low 70s.
For me, I wanted to wear pants, and so was happy with the low 70s days to be able to wear them. But if you are hoping to wear shorts, you should definitely be able to do that and be comfortable, although possibly a little chilly in the mornings. One thing I found helpful was looking at the hourly projections of temperature each day on dark sky (Dark Sky and Apple Weather) to get an idea of what the temp would be in the mornings vs how long it was really going to hit the high for the day.
I completely relate to your situation. We arrive Friday. I am packing for two teen girls-one who is always hot (wears flip flops when it is 40°) and the other who is often chilly when it is 70°! I have just given up on packing light this trip. I am packing long sleeve shirts that can be layered under tshirts with leggings, jeans, and a couple of pairs of basic shorts so they have options. (I am not packing one of each for each day though!) We are from the Houston area, so temps have been pretty similar to the Orlando forecast. I am not packing thick ski jackets, but I may pack light gloves and hats/bands for our ears to go with fleece jackets for cooler mornings and evenings. I am planning to wear jeans or shorts most of the time (not much of a leggings girl). I hope that helps!
All of your feedback is extremely helpful thank you so much…Just another silly question: Do folks wear white pants/shorts this time of year down there?
The predicted weather for this week was also all over the place, so I packed full length leggings, capris leggings, 1 pair of shorts, 1 dress, and the jeans I wore down here. For tops I brought tees, tanks, a long-sleeved tee, and 2 hoodies of different weights. I wore almost all of the different types.
We were there from 1/16-1/21 and are from NY as well. The first part of the trip was nice - 70 to 80 degrees as a high (so from 12-1pm). I wore jeans and a t-shirt. By the time we left on Tuesday I was wearing a tight tank top/undershirt, coldgear, a long sleeve t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, LLR leggings and jeans. My 15 yr old DD thinks coats are stupid. She wasn’t with us, but today at home it’s 40-ish and she’s wearing jeans and a light sweatshirt. The thing is, normal days don’t actually include standing outside all day long. So even though it’s “warm” at 40, that’s based on going in and out of the car to the house or school. People’s clothing choices were all over the map. Prepare for everything, carry extra layers in a backpack and you’ll be fine.
Definitely bring gloves, scarf or neck gaiter, possibly hats. Warm neck and hands can sometimes make a world of difference. Especially if you’re on Disney water transport.
This time of year in Florida stopping the wind is key to keeping warm on those cooler days.
My 15 yo grand niece does not own a jacket. We compromise with a folded windbreaker in her gear bag and her computer bag. We both know she’ll never wear either windbreaker but it’s there if she gets hit by a fit of sartorial thermal sensibility.
Wet white shorts are probably going to show off your underwear. If you’re planning splash M, KRR or even PoTC you may want to not go down the white way…
100% this. Even if you’re not really a messy person, there are times when you might have to sit on a wet seat in a ride like pirates or frozen, and kids spill stuff and people drop cheetos (yes, there were crushed cheetos in the crack of the seat on a ride) and stuff, plus the seatbelts don’t get cleaned. After a day of buckling in you might find a dingy horizontal stripe!
Good to know…I only wear leggings when I exercise but my daughter and her friends wear them to school every day with a pullover hoodie (usually with some college on it that she’ll never attend). I shouldn’t complain. Very low maintenance. LOL
I don’t know if you have any hiking gear, but that’s what we start with in terms of pants/shorts/jackets/sweaters, etc. The layers are all lightweight so you can carry it around with you. My daughter has learned that comfort is important at WDW so she does relax her fashion standards at that time. but she’ll still round it out with her own tops, etc. If the weather is really nice and we’re not doing a long park day, she might wear her usual clothing.
We take very little cotton, though. I can’t think of anything worse in cold, humid weather. If it gets wet, it will stay that way. Ugh.
Yes hiking gear, or technical fabrics. I’m a firm believer in them. High loft layer to trap warmth and a wind stopper layer = more comfort.
Somebody who would offer such things - especially pants in not-leggings styles - would have my gratitude. Certain styles just don’t work when a person gets older and wider.
