First January trip any advice?

[dreamerbaby98]

Me and my husband had our first trip to the world in Sept 08. We have not been able to go back since due to various reasons but have just booked a 14 day trip in January of next year. I am able to take time off then from work and it will be both our birthdays that month. I have no idea what to expect and have not planned a trip in so long I have no idea where to start since my last place I went to for advice no longer exists so I was hoping I could get some advice on what it is like in January and any help is much appreciated!! We will be stay at All Star sports this time and have 10 day park tickets and hoppers.

 

[CAL2]

hi, not long to go,


New things since you last went, (that i can think of)

Planning

Pre-booking fast pass + at 60 days out. there is a good post on here my mesaboy, explaining all the in and outs of the new system, well worth a read,

we used josh's easywdw for crowd levels and best parks to visit on what days, found it helped to plan our fp+


New Fantasyland,

7 dwarfs mine train, would strongly suggest a pf+ for this.

Peter pan has a new interactive standby line, looks good

BOG, (Be Our Guest restaurant) a reservation here is like gold dust if you are on the dining plan breakfast and lunch are counter service diner is table service as it turns into a character meal in the evening.

Under the sea Arial ride, bit like the Nemo ride

Dumbo's circus, big top children's interactive waiting area, also has a snack shop inside.

Gaston's tavern, a themed eating area, by all accounts sells large portions of food

Story time with Bell, aimed at young children but i plan on doing it


Other

Memory maker, this replaces photopass. memory maker now includes ride pictures and some ride video.

Disney Quest,closing sometime soon to make way for NBA basketball experience.

have a great time
cal

 

[dreamerbaby98]

Oh thank you soo much!! There is so much new stuff since we were there last!! I read something awhile ago about the new fastpass+ not sure how I like that but I will have to read up more in it.

I am also bummed about Disney quest. We are both from the old video generation so really did like all the old games and had a blast when we went for the day last time and wanted to check it out again.

I did love the old photopass so I will have to check out the new memory maker.

Jean

 

[CAL2]

Oh thank you soo much!! There is so much new stuff since we were there last!! I read something awhile ago about the new fastpass+ not sure how I like that but I will have to read up more in it.

I am also bummed about Disney quest. We are both from the old video generation so really did like all the old games and had a blast when we went for the day last time and wanted to check it out again.

I did love the old photopass so I will have to check out the new memory maker.

Jean

you may be lucky with DQ as they have given no official closing date, just some time in 2016.

there's a lot to take in with FP+ and i found youtube helped, i also forgot to mention that you need to link everything to your My Disney Experience,(MDE) and again youtube helped me understand a lot of the ins outs of it all.

cal

 

[BalooFan]

My advice, especially if you like touring in the early morning, is to bring a wide variety of clothing from t-shirts and shorts to heavier jackets (like polartec fleece) and light gloves. I haven't been there in January, but have in February and the temperatures varied widely while we were there. It was a great time to go, though because the crowds were lighter. I also recommend that you buy a tour book for a high level overview of what's going on at WDW these days. Then you can do a deeper dive here and elsewhere online.

 

[SM101]

It's January, so the weather is iffy. It can be hot, and it can be cold and drizzly. Layering will do the trick for you.

My daughter hates parks on cold/drizzly days....I always stuff for us to do for a "down" day like crafts and kindles, and have a few things on tap, like a movie in Downtown Disney or a trip over to AKL to browse around with a Hidden Mickey book.

We usually do the 2 week trip/10 day pass thing as well. We love having pool/resort days, some time to just sleep in and be lazy. WIth that length of a trip, I plan on doing laundry twice. I also won't book ADR's every day on a trip that long - I'll book our "A" list restaurants but generally speaking, the restaurants are slower that time of year so I can always snag our "B" list restaurants a day or two out, or even that morning.

 

[jormom1030]

We went in January 2014. It was so cold. I had left our gloves back in our rooms. I had to put extra socks on my girls' hands.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I just wanted to correct something someone else posted. Dinner at BoG restaurant is not a character meal in the traditional sense. Sometimes Beast is there and you can get a photo. But it is not guaranteed.

 

[RedheadRinger]

Hi. I just started a Face Book group, "Disney January 2016 Planning Group". Come join us if you're on FaceBook. Its just starting out but hopefully we can get others to join.

 

[yooperfan]

Make sure you make meal ADR's as soon as you able, especially for musts on your to do list. You can always tweek your plans as you go, but with dining plans and sometimes free dining it's not always easy to get the restaurant you want. They require a charge card to make ADR's for most table service dining now. They do not actually charge your card at booking except for Hoop Dee doo and Spirit of Aloha ( dinner shows). If you don't cancel in advance and are a no show for a table service ADR you will be charged a per person fee to your charge card on file.

 

[GreatLakes]

I've been down a few times in January for marathon weekend. As others have said, prepare for all weather. There have been years with freezing rain and years where it was unseasonably hot.

When will you be there? I expect the New Years crowds to possibly stick around until the 3rd with Jan 1 being a Saturday. After that the only really busy time would be MLK weekend.

Marathon weekend is January 6 - 10th. There are races on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For Saturday and Sunday allow for extra travel time in the morning to any parks or resort ADRs you have scheduled. Roads will be closed for the races. Sunday is the only day where the runners will be anywhere near the All-Stars but if you have a breakfast ADR at the Poly Saturday or Sunday the buses will take a little longer to get anywhere. Beyond that marathon weekend doesn't pack the parks so other then seeing a lot of people limping around in the parks Saturday and Sunday don't worry about that.

If you are going to be there either the first weekend or MLK weekend I would suggest skipping the parks on at least Saturday. You seem to have 4 non-park days planned if you'll be there 14 days with park hoppers so make the non-park days the crowded days if you can. It is the perfect time of year to go over to AKL, enjoy the free savannas, and grab a meal at one of their three excellent restaurants.

 

[Lucius Best]

Me and my husband had our first trip to the world in Sept 08. We have not been able to go back since due to various reasons but have just booked a 14 day trip in January of next year. I am able to take time off then from work and it will be both our birthdays that month. I have no idea what to expect and have not planned a trip in so long I have no idea where to start since my last place I went to for advice no longer exists so I was hoping I could get some advice on what it is like in January and any help is much appreciated!! We will be stay at All Star sports this time and have 10 day park tickets and hoppers.

We've been to WDW many times in January. Like others mentioned, weather can be in the 30s or 80s on the same trip, so you have to pack for every kind of weather. Crowds are typically low, with the exception of New Year's and MLK weekends. Marathon can affect transportation in the mornings, but parks are not crowded the mornings that the half marathon and marathon are taking place. Also note that since it is a slow time, park hours can be short, and it is common for rides to be closed for rehab (historically Splash Mountain is closed, only one of the water parks Blizzard Beach will be open).

 

[bsblady01]

we have been in January twice, one year in was warm and the other year we froze. pack your winter jacket and leave the shorts home. the park hours are short as well.

 

[bsblady01]

hi, not long to go,


New things since you last went, (that i can think of)

Planning

Pre-booking fast pass + at 60 days out. there is a good post on here my mesaboy, explaining all the in and outs of the new system, well worth a read,

we used josh's easywdw for crowd levels and best parks to visit on what days, found it helped to plan our fp+


New Fantasyland,

7 dwarfs mine train, would strongly suggest a pf+ for this.

Peter pan has a new interactive standby line, looks good

BOG, (Be Our Guest restaurant) a reservation here is like gold dust if you are on the dining plan breakfast and lunch are counter service diner is table service as it turns into a character meal in the evening.

Under the sea Arial ride, bit like the Nemo ride

Dumbo's circus, big top children's interactive waiting area, also has a snack shop inside.

Gaston's tavern, a themed eating area, by all accounts sells large portions of food

Story time with Bell, aimed at young children but i plan on doing it


Other

Memory maker, this replaces photopass. memory maker now includes ride pictures and some ride video.

Disney Quest,closing sometime soon to make way for NBA basketball experience.

have a great time
cal

be our guest is not a character meal

 

[dekraut]

We are heading in Jan of 2016 as well. So far I have only heard of a few non-important (at least to us) closings. Another link had a report in the Orlando paper that Soarin' will be closed sometime in Jan for several months. That wouldn't be the end of the world, but I certainly will miss it if it is closed.

We are driving so we should have plenty of room for all types of clothes. Having said that, we like cooler weather, so I am hoping we will be good to go. It will no doubt beat the weather in the Mid-Atlantic that time of year.

We will be arriving on Sunday before MLK day and staying all week. I anticipate Monday being busier, but the rest of the week being better. It will certainly be very different from the late June crowds we saw in 2014. Really hoping to see a big difference, realizing of course, that Disney is never empty anymore.

 

[Lucius Best]

We will be arriving on Sunday before MLK day and staying all week. I anticipate Monday being busier, but the rest of the week being better. It will certainly be very different from the late June crowds we saw in 2014. Really hoping to see a big difference, realizing of course, that Disney is never empty anymore.

We went that exact same week two years ago. MLK weekend was crowded but not unbearable. Crowds definitely lightened up after Monday.