How would a Jan. trip to DL be?? Weather? Crowds?

[edk35]

We have been to WDW 4 times in mid to late Jan. We just returned from our 4th trip. We arrived on Friday the 21st and returned home to MD on the 27th. I started thinking today about another trip to Disney next Jan. when I realized that maybe Jan. in DL might be fun. I know what the weather/crowds are like in Jan. at WDW, how are it is at DL??

 

[skiingfast]

Crowds are similar to WDW. It's the slowest time of the year except for around the 1st and the hiccup for MLK day.

Keep in mind that early in the month HM closes to remove holiday decorations. Like WDW rehabs ramp up.

Weather is very close, slightly cooler in Anaheim.

 

[DahliaRW]

We were there for 6 days spanning the MLK holiday. It was fabulous. Th, F, Tu, W were pretty much walk on to 5 minute wait. Over the weekend lines were longer, but not bad. And we used FPs and did shows so that worked really well. It was nice weather, low 70s to low 80s for highs (SUN!) and low 50s for lows (at night).

 

[DSNY4ever]

I have worn t-shirts and jeans in January, and other years I have worn a fleece, a hat and gloves...you never know. Either way the evenings almost always cool down significantly.

 

[edk35]

We would go on Friday Jan. 20th for for probably 5 nights and ONLY do the two Disney parks. We would arrive on the 20th and not start parks until Sat. Would that gives us enough time to do what we want? What rides usually Rehab in Jan. I know at WDW it is always Splash Mt. for sure. THANKS

 

[DahliaRW]

In January for sure IASW and HM are down to remove the holiday overlays. They seem to want to have both of them open over MLK weekend, so around that time frame you should be able to hit both. We did that this year. HM opened the 2nd day of the trip, IASW was closed for the last two days of our trip. But we got to go on both of them.

Splash is down now (started Jan 18th) for a MAJOR refurb, so I don't know if it'll be down next January or not. I don't recall that being a normal one down.

The good thing is, with HM and IASW closing, it seems that DL doens't want to have too many major rides down at one time (because they need them for crowd control) and seem to not close other rides much when one or another is down (especially HM). Most things this January didn't close until the 18th.

 

[skiingfast]

We would go on Friday Jan. 20th for for probably 5 nights and ONLY do the two Disney parks. We would arrive on the 20th and not start parks until Sat. Would that gives us enough time to do what we want? What rides usually Rehab in Jan. I know at WDW it is always Splash Mt. for sure. THANKS

Splash is on a couple year maintnance cycle. It was coincidence that it went down this year in MK that was just to implement a ride change which is why is was a short closure this year. It's long at DL this year due to a major ride change.

Still because this is the longest slow period in the parks it's when major rehabs get scheduled.

5 night is plenty long. Just know that the fireworks and F! and possibly WoC may only be on the weekend nights.

 

[JH87]

Was just at DLR Jan 9-12. The weather was perfect & so were the crowds!

I had on jeans and a light sweater all day, went back and changed into a warmer sweatshirt around 5pm. It was sunny and low 60s.

The crowd level was very low. This was my first time going during off-season and I absoultely loved it! Longest line was maybe 30 mins, and that was TSMM. The only downside is lack of entertainment and shorter park hours, but I feel like it was a fair tradeoff. We rode Splash with no wait, and the CM sent us through twice without getting out of the log. Loved it.

I will say that the weather can be iffy. The week before we went it was raining A LOT.

 

[happydisneyfamily]

I agree that January is a really nice time to go. As others mentioned, the crowds were low, the weather was nice, warm enough during the day, cooler at nights, and no rain when we went. All of the rides were walk on to 5 minutes max, except for TSMM which was a quick 20 minutes for us. Also like the pp mentioned, we got to ride Splash Mountain twice in a row without getting off of our log because there were no lines. It's one of our favorite times to go.

 

[HydroGuy]

We would go on Friday Jan. 20th for for probably 5 nights and ONLY do the two Disney parks. We would arrive on the 20th and not start parks until Sat. Would that gives us enough time to do what we want? What rides usually Rehab in Jan. I know at WDW it is always Splash Mt. for sure. THANKS

See

"Detailed Weather Data for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

Winter weather is a crap shoot. The weather tends to be decent in January - except when it is not. If you were active on this forum over the October-December period you could have seen all the threads on rain and the people complaining about how their trip was "ruined". Hey, if rain is going to ruin someones trip they should strongly consider planning it for the least rainy months (see weather thread above).

Many people who understand what they are getting into for January and other off-season months have a great trip. People who do not understand can end up with a negative experience and unmet expectations...

 

[nunzia]

We were also just here this January, the 19th to 22nd. The weather was fabulous! Warm with just a little chill at night..they had been having lots of rain so we lucked out. Crowds were super low except on Saturday..you get so spoiled when the crowds are low. We really like to go this time of year. Next year we will be there from the 23-26 (already got out tickets for the Michael Jackson Cirque show so may as well do DLR at the same time right? )

 

[edk35]

See

"Detailed Weather Data for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

Winter weather is a crap shoot. The weather tends to be decent in January - except when it is not. If you were active on this forum over the October-December period you could have seen all the threads on rain and the people complaining about how their trip was "ruined". Hey, if rain is going to ruin someones trip they should strongly consider planning it for the least rainy months (see weather thread above).

Many people who understand what they are getting into for January and other off-season months have a great trip. People who do not understand can end up with a negative experience and unmet expectations...

We don't let rain ruin our trips at WDW so I am sure it would not ruin a trip to DL. Sure it would be better with a mix of rain and sun if we had to have rain. I need to figure out just when we will go. Looks like the summer in that area have less rain according to the charts.

 

[HydroGuy]

We don't let rain ruin our trips at WDW so I am sure it would not ruin a trip to DL. Sure it would be better with a mix of rain and sun if we had to have rain. I need to figure out just when we will go. Looks like the summer in that area have less rain according to the charts.

I have done WDW in the rain (during our first trip in 2006 a tropical storm came though - wow!). I have never done DLR in the rain. But having lived so many years in SoCal (almost 30) I can guess what it would be like.

Rain at WDW often goes hand-in-hand with warmer weather. Rain at DLR/SoCal often goes hand-in-hand with colder weather. Rain at WDW often comes in quickly and leaves quickly. Rain at DLR/SoCal often comes and stays all day. Even if the rain stops the cold, dreary day stays.

I am not trying to convince you to change anything. Just trying to educate you on some things.

It rains a lot less in Anaheim than in Orlando - so most winter trips do not have to deal with rain. But the chances of rain in January are much higher than May or September and infintiely higher than June-August which very rarely has rainy day.

 

[Maddie2]

We LOVE going to Disney in January - either one, they are both great!

We've been to WDW 3x - April (2x) and January (1x) and 1x to DL just a couple of weeks ago - January! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the weather of January.

Yes, there are drawbacks in that some things are being refurbished. So, there will likely be a few things you won't see or ride. But the crowd levels are MUCH better and you'll have the time to do everything else - AT LEAST once or twice (if not more).

I compare that to a busier time when you wouldn't get to do everything anyway - due to higher crowds and more than likely hot, sweaty temps.

So, if you can swing it, January is a great time to go. Our kids are getting older and we've decided that this was our last time to take them out of school. So, if there is to be Disney in our future, it'll have to be in the summer, which, to us, is not all that appealing. So, we'll see.

 

[Dreaming of Main St]

We've been to DL the past 3 years during the last 2 weeks in January. Our stays have been 3-4 nights. 4 nights has been perfect, 5 would be even better! Our first Jan. trip, the weather was in the high 60s to low 70s with rain on only one day. Our second Jan. trip, it rained the entire time and was colder, but it was great fun. We wore our raincoats and had no lines. This year, the weather was perfect. Low to mid 70s and sunny.

So, I guess the weather can't really be predicted, but you're sure to find low crowds. The exception is Friday and Saturday nights when lots of AP locals come to enjoy the park. Definitely take advantage of early entry if you have it.

This year was the only year Splash was down for us. But, IASW has always been down. There are usually a few others that are being rehabed as well.

Have fun planning!