Crowds first week of January

[PattiPB]

Planned a quick trip Jan 1 to 5, 2018. I'm shocked at the very short park hours starting Jan 1. For anyone who has been there....do the crowds drop off that suddenly?

Another question...will all the Christmas decorations already be down?

TIA~

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend is January 3-7, so thousands and thousands of people will be there for that. The expo begins on the 3rd and there are races every day beginning with the 5K on the 4th.

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend is January 3-7, so thousands and thousands of people will be there for that. The expo begins on the 3rd and there are races every day beginning with the 5K on the 4th.

Ah crap, I'm going down January 1-6....now I'm nervous it's going to be mental.

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

Although, it's saying 5:30am start times for the races. So maybe we won't be forced to watch all these people run through the parks during normal hours? This is really going to be a bummer if the parks are flooded with spectators just standing there like a 4 hour parade.

 

[sharonabe]

Planned a quick trip Jan 1 to 5, 2018. I'm shocked at the very short park hours starting Jan 1. For anyone who has been there....do the crowds drop off that suddenly?

Another question...will all the Christmas decorations already be down?

TIA~

Park hours are not final for January yet. Expect them to change, especially for that first week. With New Years Day on Monday, many schools won't go back until Wed or maybe the next week. That coupled with the Marathon means the park will still be crowded. They won't be Christmas week crowded, but they won't drop off suddenly either.

Although, it's saying 5:30am start times for the races. So maybe we won't be forced to watch all these people run through the parks during normal hours? This is really going to be a bummer if the parks are flooded with spectators just standing there like a 4 hour parade.

The race is before opening time, but all the racers and their families will then be in the parks along with you.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Many schools do not go back to week until the following week, so the crowds will be moderate-heavy. We will be there for the races and are prepared for heavy crowds.

 

[GovieMom]

One of the top crowd predictor sites (Kenny the Pirate) is predicting "insane level" crowds that week. This is due to the reasons noted above. Expect Christmas decorations to remain in place throughout. Forewarned is forearmed!

 

[FelisLachesis]

Although, it's saying 5:30am start times for the races. So maybe we won't be forced to watch all these people run through the parks during normal hours? This is really going to be a bummer if the parks are flooded with spectators just standing there like a 4 hour parade.

The Expo, where the runners get their race bibs and get race gear, is at ESPNWWOS, so that's way out of the way of all the parks.

The 5k race on Thursday starts at 6:00 am, and runs around and through Epcot. It should be done by 7:00 am, at the latest. Epcot is scheduled to open at 9 for WS and 11 for FW

The 10k race is on Friday and starts at 5:30, and also runs around Epcot. It runs a little more around the area, including the Epcot resorts. It should also be done by 7:00 am. Like Thursday, WS opens at 9, FW a 11.

The 1/2 marathon also starts at 5:30 in the morning, and starts at Epcot, runs through MK, and then runs back to Epcot, into FW for a little and then out the Epcot parking lot. It should end by like 9:30-10. MK will be closed when the runners run through it, and all the runners should be gone by the time it opens at 9 am. Epcot is also following the 9 and 11 strategy. There might be a few of the slowest runners running into Epcot while the park is open, but it's not many.

The Full marathon starts at, unsurprisingly, 5:30 am on Sunday the 7th. It runs from The Epcot parking lot to MK down to AK due east to ESPNWWOS, through HS and then through IG into Epcot, and out the FW exit to the parking lot. As for dealing with runners, MK, again, everyone will be long past MK before it opens. AK, you might get the last of the runners going through before park open, but the vast majority will be gone. HS, the last of the runners should be out by noon. Epcot, they are out by 1:00 pm. Even so, most of the runners should be gone well before those times.

Most of the spectators are going to be on the roads and at the Epcot parking lot. The only place with organized crowds in the parks is in MK, and they'll be gone by 8:30, and the park opens at 9.

The biggest thing you have to worry about is everyone clanging as they walk around with multiple medals around their neck.

 

[Thing 1]

We w ent that week one year thinking most people had gone back to work....omg crazy busy. This was years ago before FP+ and we knew what we were doing and how to stack FP so we survived but swore to never do that again.

 

[HopperFan]

We used to go that week every year.
No more, the crowds were more than we wanted.
Schools here (and not far) are out that week.
Once kids got on college schedule we started going mid-Dec.
Still doable, but be prepared.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We used to go that week every year.
No more, the crowds were more than we wanted.
Schools here (and not far) are out that week.
Once kids got on college schedule we started going mid-Dec.
Still doable, but be prepared.

Yep - When NYE lands on Wednesday - Saturday, the following week tends to have low crowds. When NYE lands early in the week, the crowds that entire week tends to be very high (8-10) because schools wait to open so families extend their Christmas vacations.

 

[PattiPB]

Thanks, all! I'm a runDisney person, so I'm well aware of the crowds for the marathon. Between that and New Year's, I was shocked the park hours are so short.

So....it sounds like the park hours will be extended, but I must be prepared for insane crowds.

OK...I can manage that. Any day at Disney is better than work, plus I had DVC points burning a hole in my pocket!

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

So....it sounds like the park hours will be extended, but I must be prepared for insane crowds.
!

When do you think they will announce that the hours are extended/the new hours?

I'm trying to organize all my ADRs and was planning certain restaurants based on certain park hour closings. But now if they are going to be extended this could switch things up for me....