Disneyland in mid January

[jhlmendez]

Hello. We will be in Disneyland in mid-January - arriving Thursday 1/12 and staying though Saturday 1/14 (check out 1/15) - and I was hoping for some insight into what we should expect during that time. I am assuming crowd levels will be pretty high due to the holiday wknd. (but hopefully not too bad) but really have no idea as we have not travelled much during this time. A few specific questions but please feel free to chime in w/ any other tips or recommendations to help us make the most of our limited time in the parks.

1) Can I assume all holiday decorations and theming will be gone by then?
2) Is there a list of expected ride closures due to refurbishment (I believe Haunted Mansion was closed during this time last year as it was being changed back from the holidays edition of the ride)?
3) Any special events during that time?
4) Any idea what park hours may be during our stay?
5) Any tips on how we can prepare for our trip? Good podcasts or youtubers to check out?
5) Anything else we should know in advance?

Thanks in advance. We did Disneyworld in October of last year and the incredible people of this community helped make it a truly memorable trip. In truth, I enjoy the planning aspect of these trips immensely and missed all the researching and prepping when our trip was over.

 

[monkeypat83]

Hello. We will be in Disneyland in mid-January - arriving Thursday 1/12 and staying though Saturday 1/14 (check out 1/15) - and I was hoping for some insight into what we should expect during that time. I am assuming crowd levels will be pretty high due to the holiday wknd. (but hopefully not too bad) but really have no idea as we have not travelled much during this time. A few specific questions but please feel free to chime in w/ any other tips or recommendations to help us make the most of our limited time in the parks.

1) Can I assume all holiday decorations and theming will be gone by then?
2) Is there a list of expected ride closures due to refurbishment (I believe Haunted Mansion was closed during this time last year as it was being changed back from the holidays edition of the ride)?
3) Any special events during that time?
4) Any idea what park hours may be during our stay?
5) Any tips on how we can prepare for our trip? Good podcasts or youtubers to check out?
5) Anything else we should know in advance?

Thanks in advance. We did Disneyworld in October of last year and the incredible people of this community helped make it a truly memorable trip. In truth, I enjoy the planning aspect of these trips immensely and missed all the researching and prepping when our trip was over.

I can answer some of the questions

1. Yes everything will come down about a week before you get there except Small World Holiday which will probably still be up while you are there
2. Not yet but Haunted Mansion should be down again at the same time as the previous year. One or both of the water rides might be closed as this is their normal time of year for maintenance. The official schedule will be up about 45 days before your trip
3. Possibly the Lunar New Year Festival in DCA. Dates for that have not been announced and vary from year to year based on when the new year is but since Lunar New Year is pretty early this year I would expect them to start as soon as the Christmas season is over
4. Friday and Saturday will probably be 8-midninght in Disneyland and 8-10 in DCA because of the holiday weekend. Not sure about Thursday
5. can't think of the names right now
6. Bring straws because the paper ones they give out are awful.

 

[limace]

I like the Mousetalgia Fastpass podcast-it’s Disneyland focused and they are in the parks a lot.

 

[jhlmendez]

I can answer some of the questions

1. Yes everything will come down about a week before you get there except Small World Holiday which will probably still be up while you are there
2. Not yet but Haunted Mansion should be down again at the same time as the previous year. One or both of the water rides might be closed as this is their normal time of year for maintenance. The official schedule will be up about 45 days before your trip
3. Possibly the Lunar New Year Festival in DCA. Dates for that have not been announced and vary from year to year based on when the new year is but since Lunar New Year is pretty early this year I would expect them to start as soon as the Christmas season is over
4. Friday and Saturday will probably be 8-midninght in Disneyland and 8-10 in DCA because of the holiday weekend. Not sure about Thursday
5. can't think of the names right now
6. Bring straws because the paper ones they give out are awful.

Thank you. I'll remember the straw tip. Nothing worse than a soggy straw.

 

[SoonerLaw]

As a previous poster noted, we will not know January hours until later this year. All we can do is look back at historical data to make an educated guess about park hours around MLK weekend. When looking at hours, it's also possible that weather (i.e. rain) impacted them slightly. It does look like Fantasmic!, WOC, and some kind of fireworks show (i.e. Mickey's Mix Magic) is likely on the weekend dates, but possibly not weeknights.

Below are some historical hours from MLK weekend (excluding 2021 when the parks were closed in January).

• MLK Weekend Thursday
  • 2018:
    • DL: 9:00 – 9:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 9:00
  • 2019:
    • DL: 9:00 – 8:00 (rain may have impacted park hours)
    • DCA: 9:00 – 8:00 (rain may have impacted park hours)
  • 2020:
    • DL: 9:00 – 9:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 8:00
  • 2022:
    • DL: 9:00 – 9:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 9:00
• MLK Weekend Friday
  • 2018:
    • DL: 9:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 11:00
  • 2019:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2020:
    • DL: 8:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2022:
    • DL: 9:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 9:00
• MLK Weekend Saturday
  • 2018:
    • DL: 8:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 11:00
  • 2019:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2020:
    • DL: 8:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2022:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 9:00
• MLK Weekend Sunday
  • 2018:
    • DL: 8:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 11:00
  • 2019:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2020:
    • DL: 8:00 – 12:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2022:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 9:00
• MLK Day Monday
  • 2018:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 10:00
  • 2019:
    • DL: 9:00 – 9:00
    • DCA: 9:00 – 9:00
  • 2020:
    • DL: 8:00 – 11:00
    • DCA: 8:00 – 10:00
  • 2022:
    • DL: 9:00 – 8:00 (rain may have impacted park hours)
    • DCA: 9:00 – 8:00 (rain may have impacted park hours)

 

[Brian Shepherd]

2. Not yet but Haunted Mansion should be down again at the same time as the previous year. One or both of the water rides might be closed as this is their normal time of year for maintenance. The official schedule will be up about 45 days before your trip

Is there a link, or information you can provide on historial ride closures so I can estimate. I'm looking at HM 90%, everything else 10%