Dec. 31-Jan 5

[April Mayfield]

How are the crowds during this time? We won't be in a park New Year's Eve but will be doing parks January 1-4. We were there right before July 4th and it was pretty busy (by my standards) but it was also our first trip, so idk if it was busy or I just thought it was.

 

[pitpat]

very busy. most kids are still off and people will be coming in for the marathon.

http://**************.net/2016/10/30/disney-world-crowds-in-2018/

 

[gillep]

Very busy, especially MK.

 

[April Mayfield]

For some reason I thought the crowds thinned out after New Year's Eve and that the marathon didn't really effect the parks much (more at the resorts). Well, crap!!

 

[gillep]

We do the marathon every year, and there is a distinct uptick in crowds from the Wednesday before the marathon (especially since they added The Dopey Challenge) through the Sunday of the marathon, the day after the marathon (Monday) is distinctly less crowded. Most years I would still recommend those days because it is still very manageable and enjoyable. Unfortunately, with how New Years and the marathon fell for 2017, and will for 2018, it really is the perfect storm, as a lot of people seemed to stay past New Years, and then the marathon crowds were added.

 

[cvjw]

For some reason I thought the crowds thinned out after New Year's Eve and that the marathon didn't really effect the parks much (more at the resorts). Well, crap!!

That is not the way it works the first week of January, unfortunately. We found out the hard way a few years back - we thought the crowds would be low that week also. Only to get to the mk on either 1/2 or 1/3 and have the park close to capacity. Have never seen that many people in a theme park in my life and hope to never again!

That said, you can still have fun that week, but you need to tamp down your expectations and pack your patience. It is still a nice time to be in the parks. They are still decorated for Christmas and still play holiday music!

 

[HopperFan]

For some reason I thought the crowds thinned out after New Year's Eve and that the marathon didn't really effect the parks much (more at the resorts). Well, crap!!

We used to go that week every year ......... but the crowds just became too much to deal with so we shifted to before Xmas once kids were in college and they got out earlier.

MANY schools do not return until the 8th, like us. We are a 7+ hour drive, major city, hundreds of thousands of kids in schools AND Disney is very popular here. Then when the marathon falls at the end of the school holiday you don't just have the runners coming but the entire runners family (that's been us too in past).

This year is a double whammy. The calendar fell for many schools to have that week off and marathon is attached to that week. It's gonna be crowded!

 

[Lynne M]

Since the question pertains to the parks, I'll move this to the Theme Parks board.

 

[KimBean]

Used to be but I've heard it's like Christmas week now.

 

[revdon64]

What about the following week? We'll be at All Star Sports pre-cruise on the 3rd and 4th, cruising on the Dream 5-7, and back at POFQ the 8th through the 14th. Everything I've read has the crowds thinning out on the 8th. Anybody have any experience with this from last year?

 

[MickeyWaffles]

For some reason I thought the crowds thinned out after New Year's Eve and that the marathon didn't really effect the parks much (more at the resorts). Well, crap!!

It sometimes does depending on how the days fall! In 2012, parks were empty from 1/1 on (we were there until the 6th). In 2016, parks were busy until the 6th then relatively empty (we were there til the 9th.)

It all just depends on when kids go back to school.

 

[supersnoop]

For some reason I thought the crowds thinned out after New Year's Eve and that the marathon didn't really effect the parks much (more at the resorts). Well, crap!!

We found that the crowds dropped dramatically on the Monday after New Years.