Florida's Timezones

Eastern Standard Time/Eastern Daylight Time

Most of Florida, including Orlando and Disney World lies in the Eastern timezone. During the winter months this timezone is known as Eastern Standard Time (EST) and is 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT); during the summer months, this timezone is known as Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and is 4 hours behind GMT.

Daylight Saving Time

Prior to 2007, daylight saving time in the United States began on the last Sunday in March and ended on the last Sunday in October. However, in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time was extended by a month, with effect from 2007: daylight saving time now begins on the first Sunday in March and runs until the first Sunday in November.

The dates on which daylight saving time begins and ends for the next few years is shown in the following table:

Other countries throughout the world may observe daylight saving time between different start and end dates or may simply not observe daylight saving time at all. Therefore the time difference between Orlando and other countries may change by an hour or two throughout the year.

For example, there is usually a 5 hour time difference between London and Orlando. Orlando switches to EDT on the first Sunday in March, whereas London does not switch to British Summer Time (BST) until the last Sunday in March: between these two dates there is only a 4 hour time difference between London and Orlando; similarly between the last Sunday in October (when London switches back to GMT) and the first Sunday in November (when Orlando switches back to EST) there is a 4 hour time difference between the two cities.