Advice re: Disney World in January

[sahm2020]

Thinking about taking the family mid Jan. Any recommendations, suggestions, comments......... Looks like its high of 70 degrees on average and low crowds.

 

[goofy-4-ever]

Yes, that is the average, but could be colder. Just be prepared for it and you will do fine. Low crowds which mean short wait times, but really no pool time during that time of year. It will still be fun because it's Disney.

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

This will be our 2nd January trip. We love it in January--aside from the first 2 weeks it is very low crowds!

ADRs are very easy to get and the lines are short for major attractions. The weather is very fickle though--on our last trip one day it was sunny and 85 and we were at the pool..the next it was a low of 40 and we were buying hats and gloves at the emporium. My suggestion is to take hats/gloves/ponchos and vacumn seal them in a bag to toss in the luggage. That way if it gets a little strange you will be prepared. Otherwise you can expect it to be sunny and in the 70s during day and 50s at night. If you aren't worried about pools and waterparks then January is a really nice time to go, especially if traveling with small kids.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done a couple of trips in January......and low and behold have another one scheduled for 2012......we personally always go during value season but when it hot or there abouts.....we enjoy the resort and the pool.....

Trips we had in January were down right cold, no pool or lounging what so ever......crowds never enter into our commitment for a vacation....we're not in the parks long enough, we go early morning, out by noon and maybe back for a couple hours before closing......that said, we scheduled this trip for after MLK weekend....why...well we were just in WDW this past September and knew we're heading back the middle of July and wanted to get another use out of our AP's so to split the difference, and stay away from the Christmas hoopla, and stay during value season, January arrived....so we'll make do with the cooler temps and do other things to fill our time....but we really enjoy the heat and sun of Florida late summer and early fall....

 

[Metro West]

Thinking about taking the family mid Jan. Any recommendations, suggestions, comments......... Looks like its high of 70 degrees on average and low crowds.

January is a wacky month for temps. They can be really warm or really cold...no one knows. I've lived here for almost nine years and having to deal with the Orlando weather every day of the year, I can tell you...it's nuts. Wait until about a week out before you make any clothes packing plans.

Oh....and

 

[dmbcanada]

The weather anywhere is hard to predict, but I guess if you have the room in your luggage you can bring clothes for the 4 seasons.

 

[PlutoBaby]

Thinking about taking the family mid Jan. Any recommendations, suggestions, comments......... Looks like its high of 70 degrees on average and low crowds.

We're planning on a weekend in mid January also and have visited before at that time. Wacky weather is right - we live in south Florida and the weather can change on a dime during the winter. Old advice is the best - layers and lockers. It can be cool in the early morning, 80's at noon, cool again in late afternoon and straight out cold by 7. Layer the clothes and get a locker for the coats. It's the best thing we do on every trip.

 

[DisneyPups]

We usually go marathon weekend... one year it was mid 80s, the following year it was 40s/50s (unusually frigid!) I agree with a PP... definitely just check the week before. Either way, it is SOOOO much fun in January.

 

[magicaldisney]

We are from Minnesota and we are obviously used to cold weather. We were in WDW in January 2010 and we wore winter coats, hats and gloves for the first half of our trip. We said we would never go in January again, but we are planning a January 2013 trip. NEVER say NEVER!!!

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Our 2010 January trip was the third week and we had great weather. We wore short sleeves and jeans most days. We may have worn shorts or capri's one day. We started out with a jacket on in the mornings and then in the afternoons we carried them. Had to put them back on for the evenings.

Swimming was a challenge. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge. The hot tub was fine, but the swimming pool was a bit on the chilly side.

Great time of the year for low crowds. We didn't have much trouble at all with crowded buses, and we didn't have much of a wait for any ride (except Toy Story Mania). We had to get a fast pass for that one.

The 2010 trip report below has a few photos of the crowds & what we wore, etc.

Have fun planning your trip!!