FLORIDA · ORLANDO · APRIL
April is the month Orlando’s afternoons climb into the low 80s while its mornings still start near 60. The March school-holiday rush in the theme parks is over. The Atlantic hurricane season is still weeks away, and the springs north of town hold their year-round temperature under a warmer sky. For a family that has already picked Orlando and is now choosing the week, that combination is the whole case.
April does ask two things of you. The first is a light layer for the morning. The second is room in the plan for an afternoon shower, and there are fewer of those than in May. The weather figures, the crowd picture, four named parks with their state-counted facilities, a two-day plan built on April’s sunrise and sunset, and a three-month comparison follow in that order.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · ORLANDO IN APRIL
April pairs 83.6°F afternoons with only 3.9 days of measurable rain, after the March school holidays have left the parks and well before hurricane season opens on June 1.
NOAA NORMALS 1991–2020 · OUTSIDE HURRICANE SEASON · LAYER FOR THE MORNINGS
Go for: warm park days without the heat of May, cool mornings for the lines at opening, and spring swims at water that holds near 75°F all year.
Think twice before: packing for summer only. The average low is 60.7°F, and a rope-drop queue at that temperature calls for sleeves.
Climate: NOAA NCEI, Orlando International Airport · Daylight: sunrise-sunset.org · Tax: Florida Dept. of Revenue · full sources at the end
On this page
- Orlando weather in April83.6°F highs, 60.7°F lows and 3.9 rain days
- How warm Orlando gets in AprilA 22.9°F swing between dawn and afternoon
- Crowds, prices and hotel tax in AprilAfter the March school holidays, with a 6.0% county room tax
- Things to do in Orlando in AprilWekiwa Springs, Rock Springs, Blue Spring and Lake Louisa
- A two-day Orlando itinerary for AprilSunrise at 6:57 a.m., sunset at 7:52 p.m., with a rain fallback
- Orlando in April vs March and MayMarch highs 4.7°F lower, May 1.44 inches wetter
- Is April a good time to visit Orlando?Who should book April, and who should pick another month
Two airports serve the city. MCO boarded 27,859,783 passengers in calendar year 2024, the busiest in Florida, while Sanford SFB boarded 1.4 million. SFB sits north of MCO, but we could not verify its distance to the parks because the airport’s own site blocked our connection, so we give no drive time. Routes and fares into both are in our Florida flights guide, the ways to move once you land are in getting around Florida, and the length of stay we suggest for Orlando sits in our Florida orientation.
Orlando weather in April: average highs, lows and rain days
| April normal | Value |
|---|---|
| Average high | 83.6°F |
| Average low | 60.7°F |
| Precipitation | 2.58 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 3.9 |
| Days with 1 in or more | 0.6 |
| Daylight on April 15 | 12 h 55 min |
| Sunrise / sunset, April 15 | 6:57 a.m. / 7:52 p.m. EDT |
Every figure here comes from one thermometer: NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 1991–2020 monthly normals for station USW00012815 at Orlando International Airport. That is an official station record, a sensor on the ground, and it can differ from the gridded reanalysis estimates many weather apps quote. By that record, an April day in Orlando averages a high of 83.6°F and a low of 60.7°F, with 2.58 inches of rain across the month.
Measurable rain, meaning 0.10 inch or more, falls on 3.9 days in an average April. That works out to roughly one day in eight. Heavier rain is rarer still: a day with an inch or more averages 0.6 per April, about three such days spread over five years. Build a two-day trip around outdoor plans, and keep one indoor option in your pocket for the afternoon it rains.
Between the average low and the average high sits a gap of 22.9°F. A single bag has to cover both ends of it. Pack a light fleece or long-sleeved shirt for the early hours, shorts and a hat for the afternoon, and a thin rain shell that folds into a daypack for the one day in eight that turns wet.
On April 15 Orlando gets about 12 hours 55 minutes of daylight. The sun rises at 6:57 a.m. and sets at 7:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, converted from the 10:57 and 23:52 UTC times published by sunrise-sunset.org. Outdoor plans can run until close to 8 p.m. before the light goes.
How warm is Orlando in April?
Warm in the afternoon, mild at dawn. The average high of 83.6°F converts to about 28.7°C, and the average low of 60.7°F to about 15.9°C. The two ends of an average April day sit 22.9°F apart, a spread close to March’s 23.1°F. Both ends start from a higher base: the low alone is 4.9°F above March’s.
For a park day, dress in two layers at the gate. Long sleeves suit the queue at opening, when the air is closer to 60°F. By early afternoon the long layer goes in the bag and the day belongs to shorts, sunscreen and a refillable bottle. Evening fireworks crowds lose some of the day’s warmth after sunset, so the long layer comes back out after 7:52 p.m.
We found no count of freezing nights for April in the NOAA normals we used, so we give no frost odds. The figure we can stand behind is the average low of 60.7°F.
How busy is Orlando in April? Crowds and prices
March is when family school holidays fill the Orlando theme parks, while college spring break weighs on the beach towns instead. Spring break has no single week: university calendars spread it across the month. April comes after that peak. We found no occupancy series for Orlando, so we crown no month cheap or expensive, and the Orlando in March guide carries the school-holiday picture in full.
April sits outside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks on September 10. The storm clause that shapes fall bookings does not weigh on an April trip in the same way. We could not verify a typical booking lead time for Orlando hotels or parks, so we suggest no number of weeks. Book flexible where the rate allows it, and compare MCO and SFB before you commit to a flight.
Orange County, where Orlando and the parks sit, levies a 6.0% transient rental tax on a hotel or rental stay, filed and paid with the 6% Florida state sales tax, according to the Florida Department of Revenue. Check that both lines appear on the quote you book, and look for resort fees separately. Our full budget, tier by tier, lives in what a Florida trip costs.
The park ticket is where your date moves the price most. Disney and Universal price dynamically by date, and any ticket figure we printed would be out of date within weeks, so we give none. Pick the April date first, then read the operator’s own calendar for that day, and weigh a weekday against a Saturday there.
Things to do in Orlando in April
April lets a spring swim and a park day share one trip at comfortable temperatures. Air at 83.6°F makes water near 75°F feel refreshing without the chill of a March morning dip, and 3.9 rain days leave most afternoons open for being outside. Our full things to do in Florida guide covers the rest of the state.
Wekiwa Springs State Park is the nearest spring to Orlando. Florida’s 2024 facilities inventory counts 325 parking spaces, one designated swimming area, one canoe, kayak and tube launch, 15.9 miles of paddling trail, 13.7 miles of hiking trail and 1,435 feet of boardwalk. Rock Springs, the tubing run at Kelly Park north of town, read 75.0°F at its USGS gauge on September 11, 2026. Blue Spring State Park has 187 spaces, 3,050 feet of boardwalk, three observation platforms and six cabins. Lake Louisa State Park counts 278 spaces, a swimming area, five launches and 20 cabins.
Spring water does not follow the calendar. The USGS gauge at Wekiwa read 75.6°F on September 11, 2026, and Blue Spring read 74.3°F that day, with 168 cubic feet per second of flow. The air is what moves. In April the average high runs about 8°F above Wekiwa’s water, against about 13°F in May. Manatees gather at springs in the winter months because the aquifer water stays warm while the rivers around it cool, so April visits to Blue Spring are about the boardwalk and the water rather than the winter herd.
We could not verify any free entry at these parks for April, since the fee pages were unreadable to us, so we claim none. Parking is the limit we can count: 325 spaces at Wekiwa and 187 at Blue Spring. Once they fill, you wait for a car to leave, so arrive early on a weekend.
Orlando in April: a two-day itinerary
Day one, the park day. Leave the hotel after sunrise at 6:57 a.m., long sleeves on, to reach your park’s gate for opening. Ride the headline attractions in the cool first hours. By early afternoon, with the air heading toward the 83.6°F average high, switch to indoor shows and a long lunch. Head back out as the heat eases in late afternoon, and stay for the evening while the light lasts until 7:52 p.m. For car-free days, LYNX runs buses across Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. A single ride costs $2.00, and an All-Day Pass costs $4.50 if you ask the driver for it before paying.
Day two, the spring day. Drive to Wekiwa Springs early, while its 325 spaces are open, swim in the designated area and walk the 1,435-foot boardwalk before the heat builds. Spend the afternoon on a paddle or a short hike, then return to town for dinner. If rain moves in, and it does on about one April day in eight, swap the days: take the indoor half of the park day during the shower, and save the spring for the next clear morning. More ideas for the young crew are in Florida with kids.
Orlando in April vs March and May
| NOAA normal, 1991–2020 | March | April | May |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 78.9°F | 83.6°F | 88.4°F |
| Average low | 55.8°F | 60.7°F | 66.3°F |
| Precipitation | 3.03 in | 2.58 in | 4.02 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 4.0 | 3.9 | 5.7 |
| Gap between low and high | 23.1°F | 22.9°F | 22.1°F |
| Hurricane season | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
Using the same NOAA station for all three months, April’s high of 83.6°F sits 4.7°F above March’s 78.9°F and 4.8°F below May’s 88.4°F. April is the driest of the three, at 2.58 inches against 3.03 in March and 4.02 in May, and May adds 1.8 more days of measurable rain. Orlando is inland, and we found no sea reading to set beside these. A coastal sea temperature you find elsewhere is usually an average of daily maxima, a little warmer than a 24-hour mean, so read it as a flattering figure.
Four weeks earlier, in March, you gain cooler afternoons and lose the calm, since family school holidays fill the parks. Four weeks later, in May, you gain lows of 66.3°F for warmer evenings and lose some dry weather, with 5.7 wet days and May highs of 88.4°F in the park queues. The statewide picture, month by month, is in the best time to visit Florida.
Is April a good time to visit Orlando?
Yes, for families who want warm park days without May’s heat, for travelers who can take a week after the March school holidays, and for anyone who wants a spring swim to feel good. April suits less well if the trip is fixed to a school calendar that forces a holiday week, or if you want warm evenings for pool time after dark, since the average low stays at 60.7°F.
If April does not fit, choose May for warmer nights and longer pool evenings, accepting 4.02 inches of rain and highs of 88.4°F. Choose March only if cooler afternoons matter more to you than park calm.
Of March, April and May, April is the one with the least rain, 2.58 inches, while its afternoons still reach the low 80s.
The last word
The decision that matters is the date of the park ticket, since April’s weather does most of the rest for you. Pick a weekday, pack the long sleeves for opening, and plan one spring morning in the calendar. And if the trip starts in Miami, Brightline covers the roughly 235 miles to Orlando in about three and a half hours, with departures about every two hours, so a beach week and an April park week can share one itinerary without a car.
Sources & data for this guide
- April, March and May normals, rain days · NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals, station USW00012815 (Orlando International Airport) · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Daylight, sunrise and sunset on April 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted from UTC to Eastern Daylight Time · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Hurricane season and September 10 peak · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Orange County 6.0% transient rental tax and 6% state sales tax · Florida Department of Revenue, form DR-15TDT · checked Sep 24, 2026
- MCO and SFB passenger counts, calendar year 2024 · Federal Aviation Administration · checked Sep 24, 2026 · SFB’s distance to the parks could not be verified: flysfb.com blocked our connection
- LYNX fares, All-Day Pass rules, three-county network · LYNX Fares & Passes · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Brightline route, distance and frequency · gobrightline.com · checked Sep 24, 2026 · fares move by date, none given
- Park facilities (Wekiwa, Blue Spring, Lake Louisa) · Florida DEP Recreational Facilities Inventory 2024 · checked Sep 11 and Sep 21, 2026
- Spring water temperatures and flow · USGS National Water Information System, instant readings from Sep 11, 2026, not April readings
- Manatee winter gathering · Southwest Florida Water Management District · checked Sep 24, 2026
- We could not read state park hours or fees (floridastateparks.org refused our reads), and we carry no theme-park prices by choice: Disney and Universal price by date · check operators when you book.