1st week of Jan.

[tinknme]

How are the crowds the 1st week of Jan? I have a room booked for the 1st - 5th, taking ds to celebrate his 13th birthday Do the parks close early, what is the weather like? Thanks!

 

[Bob P]

January hours will be released within the next few days. Meanwhile, here is a link to historical hours:

http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/historical/archive/default.asp


January weather is completely unpredictable. You could have warm days with cool mornings, or you could have mornings near freezing with afternoons stuck near 50.

 

[DonnaL]

Crowds are pretty low during that week. Given that the 1st is on Monday next year you'll find by Tuesday afternoon things will clear out nicely. The WDW Marathon is the next weekend (Sat and Sun) so by Thursday evening you will find the resorts have a few more people, but, usually not the parks.
Weather can be really unpredictable during that timeframe. We've been there when it's low 80's daytime and low 60's nighttime.......perfect weather and then we've been there when we didn't take our sweatshirts off at all...more like low to mid 50's daytime and low to mid 40's nighttime, so, you really need to plan to dress in layers. However, we prefer the tradeoff for the low crowds that time of year so we take our chances with the weather. We're going to be there 1/13 thru 1/20 next year which is later than we usually go. In so far as park hours....yes they do close earlier, but, because of the low crowds you can get so much more done during the hours they are open. One word of caution....even though park hours for January will be released soon check them again only a day or so BEFORE you leave for WDW. In the past I've printed the hours a little too early and then been surprised when we get there that park hours had been changed since I printed them.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Crowds used to be low that week, but they're not anymore. We were there this past January 1st week, and it was VERY crowded. The first couple of nights MK was open late, because of the crowds. The rest of the parks closed at the normal time. Since January 1 falls on a Monday next year, I expect even more people will stay the whole week.

 

[tinknme]

Thanks for the replies! I am hoping for low crowds, but if not I know we will still have fun I will check the Disney site after the 1st & see what they have for park closings, thanks for the historical parks hours!

 

[antmaril]

Crowds used to be low that week, but they're not anymore. We were there this past January 1st week, and it was VERY crowded. The first couple of nights MK was open late, because of the crowds. The rest of the parks closed at the normal time. Since January 1 falls on a Monday next year, I expect even more people will stay the whole week.

Yes, the first week of January will be very crowded, because most kids don't go back to school until Monday, January 8th.

 

[Diznut84]

We have been to WDW many times during the first week in January, and I'll predict that crowds will be very low beginning on January 2nd (nothing compared to the previous week). Many schools return on January 2nd (virtually all here in the Midwest).

JMHO!

 

[Harambe]

We've been twice - both times had low crowds. HOWEVER, the parks do close early with the exception of one park on the weekends. So say they leave MK open until 9pm on Saturday night. All of WDW will be there! This slower time is a good time to use the early entry feature, as you can get a lot done first thing in the morning, with not a bazillion takers on the early hours!

Weather, as others have said, can be just about anything. We had a few 80 degree days, and a few 60 degree days, with one night getting so cold, they cancelled the Poly Luau!

 

[dixiedizfan]

The parks do NOT close early the first week of January. On the contrary, MK and MGM will close later the whole week. AK will close later the first two or three days. And Epcot will keep normal hours. Times have changed; the first week of January is extremely crowded!

 

[Bob P]

I think the terms "early" and "late" depend on what you are used to!

In 2006, the MK was open till 11 on Jan 2, till 10 on Jan 3, and till 9 on the 4th through the 6th.

The Studios were open till 8 from Jan 1-7.

AK was open till 6 on the 1st and 2nd, then closed at 5.

Dixiedisfan, you are right in that the parks have been more crowded the last 2 years in January...but they are still nowhere near as crowded as they are between Christmas and New Year's. While many schools are off, many do go back the day or two after New Year's. Parks are at their most crowded when ALL schools are closed.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Thanks Bob, and I'd sure hate to be there when it's really crowded! But so many people are assuming that January 1st week will be uncrowded, just because it's January, New Years is over, and it's the start of the value season. We thought the same thing ... hah! Most schools in the southeast don't start back until the second week of January, plus there are TONS of foreigners there at that time. As well as most of Florida, it seemed like. I wanted people to be aware that the parks do not close early that week (MK closing at 7 or 8 is early) and that it will be crowded.