US / IoA in January...crowds? weather (water rides)?

[Liberator]

we (3 adults) will spend some non-Disney days in Florida before going on a cruise ship in Miami...just for shopping and some sight-seeing in general.
We have one day for an amusement park and we tend to go for US/IoA, 1 day park to park.

We are going to visit on January 11 (Monday) or 12 (Tuesday). I guess crowds will be low to very low on both days, am I right? Mid-week in January does not sound like a busy period to me

Will we be able to do the water rides or is it just too cold in Orlando in January? I think with a second set of clothing for everyone we will be fine...

Anything special in January? Is there a list of ride closures anywhere? I think Hulk might be closed..
Would be great if someone could share their experciences

Thank you

 

[schumigirl]

2nd week of January will still have the tour groups.........saw posts on here last year people said they couldn't move for them at that time. I'm sure if you do a search on her you'll find threads telling you about them.

Hulk will definitely be closed.

Here's a thread discussing January.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wh...like-are-large-tour-groups-a-problem.3411202/

 

[macraven]

i went on those dates jan 2014.
it seemed to be lighter with the exception of the tour groups.

that didn't effect my line ride waits as i had the ep.

 

[RMulieri]

It is lighter crowds.Not dead and there is ALOT Of tour groups..I mean a lot .They arrive after New Years and are pretty much there till after MLK weekend ( actually last year they were there thru that week ).For onsite people it is no big deal since we use express pass to avoid them in lines.But we couldn't avoid in restaurants and shows .I have done Jan a few times and wont go back then, but that is me.
Weather is all over the place. 2 years ago it was very warm and we were swimming , in shorts and on the water rides..This past year it was high 60's low 70's and too cold ( you get drenched on 2 of the water rides, and possibly very wet on Jurassic park).In addition to Hulk, it is likely one of the water rides will be down ( they take turns going down annually in the colder months)

 

[Liberator]

Too bad, no Universal visit for us if there are a lot of tour groups...thank you for the hint!

 

[johde]

I was there the week before that this year. I really didn't notice the tour groups in the parks. LA Via was taping and the young contestants were staying at Cabana Bay. The food court got busy at times bit they were well behaved. Being so close to new years the crowds were a little heavy the beginning of the trip.

I rode the water rides but changed clothes right afterwards. On one of the days it was cold enough the lines were very short.

 

[RMulieri]

Too bad, no Universal visit for us if there are a lot of tour groups...thank you for the hint!

It isn't just Universal..They also do Disney, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens .Hit or miss when they are where and when they are at the heaviest .This past year we were there starting MLK weekend and there were ALOT of them and I am used to them , but even for me it was too much.We are done in jan

 

[Liberator]

It isn't just Universal..They also do Disney, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens .Hit or miss when they are where and when they are at the heaviest .This past year we were there starting MLK weekend and there were ALOT of them and I am used to them , but even for me it was too much.We are done in jan

We were debating about going to EPCOT or Sea World instead of US/IoA...but we do not sit 10 hours on a plane and spend hundreds of € to be surrounded by these groups. Maybe we will decide to visit one of the parks spontaneously and try to ignore the groups as good as we can..

 

[Donna3271]

OP... I am planning on being there those days as well. We are coming in for the Marathon at Disney. Disney allows the Marathon runners free entry into the parks that Monday, so Universal may be slightly lighter (I think Tues is your best bet). We are purchasing EP in case... It seems there is no longer any really slow season.

 

[johde]

OP... I am planning on being there those days as well. We are coming in for the Marathon at Disney. Disney allows the Marathon runners free entry into the parks that Monday, so Universal may be slightly lighter (I think Tues is your best bet). We are purchasing EP in case... It seems there is no longer any really slow season.

I would wait until you get to the park before buying express passes. If you decide the lines are too bad, there are plenty of places around the parks that sell Express Passes. You can then also decide if you want the 1 trip per ride Express Passes or the Unlimited trips. Right now, those days are about as cheap as Express Passes get (which is still $65 a piece for 1 trip per ride at both parks). So, Universal is expecting light crowds.

 

[Donna3271]

Thanks!!!! But is it more beneficial to buy online beforehand?

 

[macraven]

its a gamble.
if you buy the ep in advance, you might get it at a lower price.
the ep can change in costs if UO predicts more crowds on the day you will be there.
if the ep increases for your date, you come out ahead by buying it cheaper in advance.


but, there are no guarantees of the crowd level until the day you are in the park.
if a storm comes through and it pours most of the day, the ep would be a waste.
many leave the park in bad weather which makes line waits non exsistant.