Help with January Vacation

[TinkerbellinNY6]

I have been to WDW 5 times but not in January. I have went in February over president's week, may, Christmas and New Years, August right at the start of free dining and the week before Christmas.

So the problem is we are planning to go the 10-14 of January and I am trying to make our schedule. What I want to know is do I avoid morning magic hours or go to them since I know it is suggested that you avoid them during busy times. I was also wondering how busy this time of year will be? Anyone that has went at this time I would like advice about how this time of year is.

Thanks

 

[Sandi]

My best guess is that January 10-13 will be very low crowds, but on January 14, it might be busier because of Martin Luther King Day coming up on the Monday. I would definitely go to Extra Magic Hours in the morning. You'll walk on to everything that is open for EMH.

Are you getting Park Hoppers? That makes it an even easier question for me. As I understand it, the reason the EMH parks are not recommended is because that is where everyone without park hoppers presumably goes and then it gets crowded. If you have PHs, you can do EMH at one park and, if it feels like it is getting crowded, you can go to another park.

Even if you don't have PHs, I'd still do EMH mornings at my favorite park. I'd do the park with EMH evening if that was my favorite. January is a much slower time at WDW, but the parks are not open as late as they are during the busier times. I would guess the crowd levels will be in the 2-3 range for the beginning of your trip and may 5-6 for the 14th.

 

[Pakey]

I've been the week leading up to MKL many times (we have done 10 January vacations in the past 11 years).

During the week, the crowds will be low to moderate. January isn't as empty as it used to be but it's still good. Last year, January and May crowds were similar IMO but January park hours are much shorter.

You should start to see crowds pick up on the Friday, the 13th. We found the Friday afternoon to be about twice as crowded as Thursday had been, Friday morning was fine. Saturday, the 14th, depending on what park you go to, could be very crowded. We did DHS on the Saturday of our last MLK weekend and Tower of Terror had a 2 hour standby time. We left and decided to make that a pool day, lol.

 

[TinkerbellinNY6]

Thanks for the opinions! Would love to hear more opinions on planning a January trip.

 

[harleys mom]

We will be there the same week. We are flying in on Saturday the 7th and leaving on the 14th. We have been able to get Dining reservation any where we wanted at great times even thou it is free dining that week.

Something you might take in to consideration is that it is Marathon weekend the week of the 7th for there may a little heavier crowd of people that are coming down for the race and staying like we are.

The weather is variable that week. We went that week several years ago and had shorts on most of the week and jeans the day we went home. We also were able to walk on and off almost every thing we wanted...

 

[loveshak22]

Someone introduced me to this site today: http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/01-january-2012-crowd-calendar/

I can't verify accuracy or anything but I thought it was interesting! It gives you a breakdown of crowds for the time you are at WDW (1 - being low, 5 - being average, anything above 5 = above average). It also gives you a strategy for which park to visit on which day as well as an explanation of why.

I started a thread earlier about Sept crowds and someone posted this site and when I looked I found out that all my plans and ADRs are exactly the opposite of what is recommended to avoid crowds - figures

I went at the end of January a few years ago and it was perfect! My DH and I loved it. We barely had any lines except for Thunder Mountain, Expedition Everest, Test Ride, Mission to Mars, and that ride in the Norweign Pavilion. My DH and I laughed because that was probably the longest line we stood in and we're not really sure why because it's not much of a ride.

We were there during some cold spell (cold for Florida but my DH and I loved it). The workers were all in gloves and big jackets and we had jeans and light sweaters on. It definitely made it more enjoyable to tour the parks.

I've heard Sept is the slowest month and then January. I'm going at the end of Sept this year so I'll be interested to compare the crowds.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Our last time was a January trip and we loved it!

The only day we felt it was very crowded was the morning that Magic Kingdom opened one hour early. Other than that, hardly any lines except the major ones. For those (Toy Story Mania, Soarin, etc), we got fastpasses.

As far as weather, we wore jeans and a t-shirt every day but one (capris that day). We needed a light jacket in the morning and in the evening.

Swimming was not exactly fun though. We were at the WL and we thought the pools were chilly. The hot tub was nice though.

There are pictures from our 2010 January trip below.