When to go
December at the Disney parks
Holiday weeks carry the month: the warm parks run their busiest stretch of the winter while the northern parks run their rare, decorated weekend calendars — with real cold as the price.
December at these parks: a good window with known trade-offs. Holiday weeks carry the month: the warm parks run their busiest stretch of the winter while the northern parks run their rare, decorated weekend calendars.
Expected — not yet announced · Checked July 2026
Crowd and cost shapes describe multi-year patterns across the ten parks rather than a forecast for any single year. Weather figures are climate normals for each region and do not decay; the Texas figures blend the DFW and San Antonio areas, and the Southern California figures blend the coastal and inland valleys.
The verdict
Good month for
- SoCal and Florida holiday weeks
- Great America's December weekends
Bad month for
- Northern weekday chasers
- Christmas-week crowd-avoiders
Crowds
High crowds
Busiest windows
- The Christmas-to-New Year week
Quietest windows
- The first two weeks of the month
Weather
Climate normals for each resort. These are averages over a long reference period, not a forecast — the only figures on this site that do not decay.
| Resort | Avg high | Avg low | Rain days | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California (LA basin to San Diego) | 68°F | 48°F | 4 | Climate normals, not a forecast. |
| Orlando (and Winter Haven) | 73°F | 50°F | 6 | Climate normals, not a forecast. |
| Texas (DFW and San Antonio) | 60°F | 38°F | 5 | Climate normals, not a forecast. |
| New Jersey (Jackson) | 46°F | 29°F | 9 | Climate normals, not a forecast. |
| Chicago (Gurnee) | 37°F | 22°F | 10 | Climate normals, not a forecast. |
Cost
High cost
What is on in December
Planning notes
The month in one decision
The Christmas-to-New Year week is the winter's peak everywhere on this site — the same crowd math as July Fourth with colder weather at the northern parks.
The detail that matters
The first two December weeks are a quiet, decorated secret at the warm parks: full holiday programming at shoulder crowds.
The permanent version of all this
Height requirements, ride mechanics, accessibility detail, and permanent dining live on our evergreen guide, our year-round sister site. They do not change with the season, so we do not repeat them here.