How busy is the first two weeks in January?

[DBurdette]

Thinking about going in January. How are the crowds? denise

 

[pepe of ohio]

We went this past January, 10 night just before MLK weekend. Weekdays are great, moderate crowds, weekends always seem to fill up more. We experienced very little guests in the morning, started MK in Adventureland and walked on everything and redid alot because of no lines. We even rode Aladdin since no one was in line. By the time we made it to Fantasyland, it got alittle more crowded but not bad. We always leave noonish and return in the evenings. EPCOT and DHS were bare also, but the evening crowds were there but not jammed. Weekends are a different story, seems people arrive and are at the parks but come Monday, it seemed to slack off.

We usually go to WDW in the fall, which we did, but want to use our AP's again so we tried January, first time for January. Do it again, I don't think so. Weather is too iffy then and we like the heat and sun, we lucked out when we arrived the temp was 60's, alittle chilly to be in the south but the next day the temps soared to the 80's and stayed there until the last night for us and dropped back down to the 60's when we left, too cold. We enjoy the resort pool for picnic and drinks and we're from northeast Ohio and have enough cold weather and Florida is supposed to be hot, like I said January is too iffy. We will stick with the warmer fall months.

 

[DBurdette]

THanks for the input. Think I'll take your advice!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

If you go between New Years and MLK Weekend...it is a dream time to go. Very low crowds, of course more people on the weekend, but that's to be expected for any time of year at Disney. Great weather too. I would definitely not hestitate to go during this time. The bonus is that the holiday decor is still up.

 

[Nibbles]

I think I'll always vote in favor of going in January. We went the 2nd week last year and I had a fantastic time. The crowds were perfect; plenty enough to make you feel like you were in a fun place sharing the magic with lots of others, but short and reasonable waits for almost all the attractions. Between the lighter loads and fastpasses, even for the most popular attractions we waited 15 minutes at most (the only exception was when we went on Soarin’ late in the day once, and had to wait about 25 minutes with fastpasses).

The weather was pretty close to perfect. No rain, pleasant temps the whole time around the low 70’s. It did get a little chilly at night, so I’d bring a sweatshirt, jacket, or hoodie! I think the unpredictable temps could definitely be an issue for some people, but it was steady for us. Plus, coming from frozen Illinois, we were happy with any sunshine!

The week we were there was, according to most guidebooks, statistically the lightest week of the year. This was great for us because the resort rates were low and affordable. We stayed at Pop Century and had no problem getting to the parks from there, usually waiting at most 5 minutes for the bus. Getting back from the parks at the end of the day took longer though, sometimes we’d have to wait 20 minutes or so if the bus filled up. At the end of the week things got a little heavier that Friday, both because of the long weekend and also because there were a couple youth programs/conventions that seemed to be visiting, but it was still very easy to get around.

There are a few downsides to keep in mind though, just so you’re prepared. Because of the cooler weather, Disney shut one of the two water parks down for refurbishment during our visit. The other was still open, but it was still too cool for us to take advantage anyway so if water parks are your thing, I'd wait until later. Also, a couple of premiere attractions were also closed for refurbishment as well, notably the Rock n’ Rollercoaster and Splash Mountain (we guessed that Disney liked to use the lighter crowded times to repair some of their more popular rides). Finally, the park hours were shorter but with how easy it was to go on the rides, this actually worked out great because we still saw everything we wanted and then got back early enough for a shower and good night’s sleep.

All in all, I’d definitely go again during that time if I could. It was the first Disney trip I planned and booked/bought for myself, and the light load in the park made it great because we didn’t have to stick to this super-rigid plan or timeframe to see all the stuff we wanted to. We had the freedom to do whatever we wanted as it occurred to us, and it let us just wander around the parks at a relaxed pace and still do more than we could have had we gone in the summer.

 

[annhjk]

We were there over new years in 2007. It was crazy on New Years Eve and Day (we expected that). The it wasn't too bad the next days, we still needed a fast pass, but we could get on other rides pretty quickly. The weekend after happened to be the weekend of the marathon so it got crazy again on Thursday because of the families there for running. It was also crazy trying to leave the day of the half marathon because of all the extra cars/shuttles around things were re routed a little bit.

 

[dsnyfan21]

HI, Just beware that the second weekend in January is the WDW marathon weekend. There is a 5K Friday morning at Animal Kingdom, the Half Marathon Saturday Morning and the Full Marathon on Sunday morning. Traffic flow in the mornings is a bit off especially on Sat and Sun because of road closures. Come over to the WISH (we are inspired to stay healthy) part of Disboards. Look in the Event/Races/Competitions area and meet people who train to do these races at disney. There are people of all levels over there and we are a great support group.

 

[lsutiggergirl]

TOO COLD! Don't do it! We went this past January and bought Mickey scarves, gloves AND hats. We are going again this September, when I KNOW weather is going to rock.