October in Orlando is all about Fall festivals and Halloween. There are events here for young and old alike – everyone can join in the hauntingly good fun! Temperatures are turning cooler, but this is Florida after all – so most Brits will be happy soaking up the Winter sun.
Here’s the Ellis Exclusive Villas guide to getting the most out of your Orlando vacation when you stay with us in October.
The Theme Parks
Epcot’s fantastic annual event, its International Food and Wine festival, continues throughout the month and crowds at Epcot may be busier on some days during the festival.
The various Halloween events are now in full swing. Legoland’s Brick or Treat starts running on weekends throughout October. Disney’s Halloween celebrations are also perfect for young children. Its kid-friendly Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party runs on various dates throughout October – check the website for full details.
Both Legoland’s Brick or Treat and Disney’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party are a great opportunity for the kids to dress up – and there are themed activities and treats throughout the parks.
If you haven’t packed a costume for the kids, you’ll find them on sale pretty much everywhere. You can pick them up very cheaply at Walmart or Target.
You can book Orlando theme park tickets through Ellis Exclusive Villas. We guarantee you won’t get a better price.
If you prefer your Halloween parties to be less cute and fun and more ghoulish and terrifying, you need to get tickets for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. This event is a real spectacle and well worth making an effort for. Busch Gardens’ Halloween event, Howl-O-Scream is another adult-only affair, and sits next to Universal’s Halloween Horror nights on the seriously-scary end of the scale. If you can make it out to Altamonte Springs (around a forty-minute drive north of Kissimmee), we’ve also heard good things about the pop-up petrified forest Halloween event.
If you want help making sense of your theme park and attraction tickets options, we recommend speaking with our attraction tickets partner. The team at Kissimmee Guest Services will offer great advice based on your family preferences.
The Weather
The weather in Orlando during October is cooling a little from the highs of summer.
It is still warm and pleasant.
You can expect high temperatures of 85°, with lows reaching 65° – still plenty warm enough to enjoy the pool, the water parks and the beaches.
However, you should be prepared for the occasional storm – pack a lightweight poncho or raincoat into your daypack just in case. These will come in handy on rides like Splash Mountain anyway, so are well worth packing whatever the time of year!
Wider Central Florida
There are plenty of park offers and shopping and dining offers to be had in October – it is still very much considered a “low season” in Orlando, despite all the special events at the parks.
Orlando is well blessed for shopping malls, and whether you are into bargain hunting or designer labels, a visit to one of Orlando’s numerous shopping malls can make a really diverting excursion. Bag yourself a post-summer bargain, stock up your wardrobe for the new season or start your Christmas shopping a bit early before the pre-Christmas price hike in late November.
With the warm but slightly lower temperatures, October is also a great time to explore a bit of the wider Central Florida area – if you can schedule a few days of your vacation to experience “wild Florida”, the natural parks and waterways are well worth exploring.
Our ticket partner, Kissimmee Guest Services, can help you with tickets for airboat rides, hot air ballooning, or off-roading trips – for slightly more unusual ways to see the State.
Your vacation home
By October we recommend that – if you plan on using the pool in your vacation home – it is going to be worth paying for pool heat. Pool heat won’t heat the swimming pool (or the integrated spa pool, if you have one) up to the temperature of a warm bath. However, what it will do is take the chill off the water.
If you do want pool heat, make sure you book it in advance (otherwise it can take a few days to warm up and you will be charged for those days). We also strongly recommend you use the pool blanket if your vacation home has one. The standard pool heaters that are fitted in most of our vacation homes are only designed to run eight hours a day – so the pool blanket really does help overnight to retain some of the heat you’ve paid for.
By October, it should be really pleasant, with fewer afternoon storms than September. However, you may experience the occasional downpour. If this happens, it can sometimes affect the Wi-Fi and cable services to your vacation home. If your vacation home’s internet service is disrupted following a storm, please refer to the house manual where you will find instructions for resetting the Wi-Fi router.
Finally, if you have any questions then please contact us on the usual numbers. And, most of all, enjoy your vacation!
In USA: 321 710 8779
In UK: 0333 332 1411
