Favorite tips for January/ February

[MinnieJay]

Florida does get COLD! Even if feels "okay" during the day, as soon as that sun goes down it gets sooo cold. Most guests forget their gloves,hats,scarfs so of course good ol Mickey is there to sell it to you. I think we sold them for $10.50 for a hat, and 9 dollars for gloves...Mickey ain't smilin for nothing....lol also, those hand warmers come in handy!! stick them in your gloves. And Jan/Feb is a great time to visit...not too many guests in the park around that time

 

[jbcl]

The hotel pools are heated (I assume the water park is the same?) and are nice even in the winter unless it is really cold out.

I must admit it's not so much the water temp as the air temp as they are running around wet that concerns me! Not to mention them dragging me with them!!

Will the wet suits be a problem on the slides?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Here is the water park refurb closures.

Water Parks
•Blizzard Beach- 10/30/2011-12/3/2011
•Typhoon Lagoon- 12/4/2011-3/17/2012

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Good info Shelly.
OK 2 pages of telling me what to wear.
Does anybody have any non weather/clothing tips.

Another fellow Canuck here. I win the cold competition I have seen minus 60 on the thermometer here. Also a place called Snag, Yukon has a recorded temperature of minus 81!
It is kind of an interesting story if you want to look it up.

My Jan/Feb tip is go at this time. Lines are short and you can get multiple rides in not that much time. More ride time less line time.

 

[wildelady]

When I went last Jan/Feb I was looked at like a freak from the locals, they were all complaining about the cold and I was wearing a strapless top

Take thin layers, I didnt have anything thicker than my Uni hoodie and I was fine

Queues for rides are small during the week, a bit busier at weekends. The only big (30 mins) queue I had was for splash mountain.

cant advise on water parks as I didnt go in them, but they did look quiet when I passed thru them on the bus

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Good info Shelly.
OK 2 pages of telling me what to wear.
Does anybody have any non weather/clothing tips.

Another fellow Canuck here. I win the cold competition I have seen minus 60 on the thermometer here. Also a place called Snag, Yukon has a recorded temperature of minus 81!
It is kind of an interesting story if you want to look it up.

My Jan/Feb tip is go at this time. Lines are short and you can get multiple rides in not that much time. More ride time less line time.

OK, non-clothing tip: You will still need fastpasses for Soarin and Toy Story Mania by 2pm or they will be all gone!

 

[jbcl]

Here is the water park refurb closures.

Water Parks
•Blizzard Beach- 10/30/2011-12/3/2011
•Typhoon Lagoon- 12/4/2011-3/17/2012

Thanks Shelly.
The boys will be disappointed to miss our on TL but at least one is open.
It really nice to have the dates confirmed so they don't get their hopes up.

J

 

[mouseaider]

We were there last January 19th - 26th and the weather was excellent. Being from Western NY and living on the North Coast helps us be more tolerant. The highs were in the 80's and the lows were in the 50's. .

We are going again this January 11th - 18th to get the most out of our AP, but we are planning to take lite jackets and sweat shirts as well as shorts and tee's.

January planning is easier than July or August because the crowd levels are smaller and the wait times are less. But there are also a lot of refurbs going on too, so your favorite attraction might be closed. Be sure to check.

Above all..... enjoy your trip. We will.

 

[murcor]

We go every year early January and its true about about taking a sweater or light jacket.....amd were from Canada (North Atlantic)
but
we still will swim everyday and wear shorts etc.

****Last year one night the fountain pipe burst due to freezing at Saratoga Springs Resort

 

[Grandmouse]

Don't stay at the same resort as the cheerleaders (usually early February).

 

[wish*i*was*in*the*vi]

Be prepared for any kind of weather!!!
We left our winter coats in the car at the airport in St Louis last January when we left on January 7th this year. Big mistake! All we had were light jackets (I had a Juicy Couture zip up terry cloth jacket) and we were miserable! I hate nothing more than to be cold. The first few days were great, the kids had on shorts and capris but then that huge ice storm rolled through Atlanta and other parts of the country and it got COLD. It was in the low 30's one day. My kids were scheduled for the Pirate Cruise at the GF that day. We told them that we didn't care we'd already paid for it, there was no way we were going to make them go, but they wanted to go anyway. They had a great time, the crew had them wrapped up in blankets. We met them after the cruise with hot cocoa.
The weather is really unpredictable. We are going back again in January and will definitely have clothes for all weather this time.

 

[njmom47]

The weather is unpredictable as everyone has said...gloves and hats would be a great idea. And when we went in January, we couldn't fly home either as there was a snowstorm at home, so I might build in a extra day as well.

 

[Enchanted88]

Feb. is a great time to go! I went this Feb. on my honeymoon to DW and it was awesome! A little cold, but it wasn't bad. The lines were SO short, we almost walked on to every ride and show! There are a few refurbs. that go on, so we didn't get to do everything we wanted to do, but there is SO much to do at WDW that it wasn't that huge of a deal! Fast Passes are crucial, especially on the weekends during Feb. I thought. As long as you have some sort of plan of what you want to do before you go, you'll have an amazing trip and will probably get to see most everything you want to see! Have a great time! We are going back in Oct. 2012 and we can't wait!

 

[sharonabe]

Park hours are shorter than other times of the year (AK closes at 5:00), so you may want park hoppers so you can go from a park that closes early to one that is open a little later.

OR plan some night time activities like a dinner show, walking around the Boardwalk, shopping at Downtown Disney or even seeing a movie in the new movie theater at DTD.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Lots of great tips now! I just thought of another one.
If it is cool at AK then they wont let the komodo dragon out. When I was there last Jan, it was too cold both days we went to AK.

 

[andylcq]

To pack my gloves and hat. You will need them especially if you watch fireworks..trust me.

that great advice! Did really need them

 

[brewhome]

My family was there late Jan-early Feb this year, and all of the advice above is great. One tip I would add, in reference to the Brazilian tour groups, is if you see them coming, head the other way if you've got sensitive kids because they do get noisy with their chanting. They also seem to take up A LOT of room - as in, they don't move over into a single file line when people are coming at them. My other piece of advice regarding those groups is to avoid the parks with extra magic hours, as the tour groups definitely go to those parks on EMH days.

It really is a wonderful time of year to go, as long as you're prepared with the layers of clothes and know a few things will be closed for re-furb.

In 2010, we only wore shorts 2 of 7 days and were bundled up the rest of the time, but in 2011, we wore shorts and t-shirts the whole trip, and only had one little bit of rain one afternoon. The weather was PERFECT!!!