How is BWV in January???

[tss2]

Just got back from a great vacation at BWV and am thinking about timing for our next trip. We usually go in November and have no trouble with ressies and like that it isn't crowded. My 4th grader is getting more homework every year so thinking about switching the times of year we go....

My kids have several days off in January 2004 around the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday...so now for my questions:

1. How is it getting ressies in January? (probably BWV 1br standard view if I can)

2. How is the weather? (cooler than Nov, but swimmable???)

3. How are the crowds? Do other people take advantage of the King holiday?

Thanks for your advice. I'm trying to avoid going during winter, spring break and Summer holiday because of the crowds and points, but want my kids to miss as little school as possible.

 

[jcodespoti]

2. How is the weather? (cooler than Nov, but swimmable???)


It all depends on the weather pattern for the time you are there. And if you are wimp or not(can you swim at 75 Degrees? I can't).
Sometimes its warm and sometimes its very cold.

Joe in CT

 

[Candace]

I enjoy going around the MLK holiday weekend. I teach, and we get the Monday off. This year I am taking 3 more vacation days to make it worth my while to fly down there. I have been several times during January, and honestly, I have never found it warm enough to swim. The nights get really chilly if you are walking around outside on the Boardwalk. I am from the South, and I like it warm when I swim. You may be braver than I am since you live in Michigan. The crowds are really low, but you should remember that the parks close earlier in January. MK and MGM are only open til like 7pm, if I remember. I am not a park commando type, at all, so this doesn't bother me. However, it bothered my boys when they were smaller. But there are plenty of other things to do at night even for the kids. Mine always wanted to visit the Contemporary arcade, and when DTD opened, they enjoyed just going over there to walk around or see a movie. (We live in a very small town with no theater!) This year it will just be my mom and me going down for the 5 night trip at the Beach Club Villas. She is 82 and we can't wait! Just remember that even though it is a less crowded time, you should still book 11 months ahead if you want a standard view.

 

[POLLY ANN]

We are going in January, 2003 and we were there Jan, 2001. Coming from the North I was THRILLED with the weather being in the 70's!! The weather was perfect for shorts and tshirt during the day and we even swam a few of the days. At night, it was chillier, meaning I wore a sweater or jacket and pants.


I have my fingers crossed that we will have the same type of weather. I can't imagine going there for 10 nights/11 days and it being in the 50's!

 

[tss2]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. I think I was mostly worried about crowds and availablitiy....being from Michigan I can stand the cold. And if we can't swim, that's ok, too. Looks like January is another good time for us to try a trip!

 

[Lesley]

If you book at 11mo. you shouldn't have a problem at all. At 7mo, I think it would be likely you wouldn't be able to get a standard view.....but it would be worth a try.

We were at BWV last January. The crowds were nonexistant.....fastpass wasn't running in a lot of places because there wasn't a standby wait of more than a few minutes (I'm talking RnRC, BTMRR, and Space Mt here!) This wasn't MLK week though....or maybe it was? We arrived on the 20th, which as I recall was a Monday. At any rate, crowds will not be huge at any time in January. We did notice that the parks were much busier on weekends then...but still not at all unmanageable.

The weather....from 1/20 to 2/2 of this year it was beautiful. We had temps in the upper 70's to low 80's. The week before we arrived had a bit of a chilly streak from what I recall. I even accidentally forgot to bring shorts for my 7yo, which turned out to be a problem since it was so warm! We did swim a few days. When I was a kid, my grandmother had a rule about the pool....it had to be 70 before we could swim. That's kind of the guideline we use...if its above 70 we can handle swimming! I only hope I get weather over the next few weeks that are as nice as January was....wish me luck!

Have fun planning!

 

[wordzylady]

This will be the 5th year in a row for us to go the last of january/first of february time period. This year it is january 26 to Feb 1st. The crowds are always low but you do take a chance on the weather. We've had some great warm weeks and also some cold rainy weeks where we didn't swim -- which doesn't bother us because we swim all summer at home. If you don't mind rolling the dice on the weather it is a great time to go.

 

[bwvmary]

I think January is tough to predict. You'll need to pack winter coats and bathing suits. If you're staying for a while, and you are not a wimp, you may get to use both!