Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Julie!
My family's favorite time to visit Walt Disney World is the end of January. The heat really bothers me being from Wisconsin. If I would visit during the Summer months, I would do what frozen things do in Summer! We needed sweatshirts in the morning and evening and peeled them off mid day and were comfortable in short sleeves. It was the perfect temperature for me to walk around. It was warm enough for my boys to swim, but a bit too cool for me to get into the pool. The crowds were at the lowest I have ever seen. The Theme Park hours are shorter, but it was so easy to get everything in with shorter wait times. The main drawback was that since it was the off-season, there were several rides down for refurbishment. There was still lots to do, though!
My second favorite time to visit is end of September to early October. It is warmer than January, but not so warm that I thought I would die. It was also warm enough for myself to get into the pool with the kids and brave the water rides. We wore shorts and T-Shirts and I was just a bit warm. The crowds were not terrible, but busier than the January crowds. The biggest plus for visiting this time a year is being able to see the Fall decorations, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Presented by Chase.
Both these times of year have minimal precipitation with January being the drier of the two. We did have a rained-out Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party one year that we were able to re-schedule the next night, thank goodness!
Julie, please come back and visit us if you have any more questions regarding your family's magical vacation!
~Rachel