Is January good time to visit?

[ElsasFan]

We made our first family trip to WDW the week prior to Thanksgiving last year, and while it was more crowded and colder than we expected, it was a great time to visit. We are planning our next trip and realized that one of our children may have a school conflict during that time in 2015, so we are considering visiting in January 2016, instead. According to the crowd calendars, the crowds shrink significantly the weekend after New Years, the first week of January is slow, then crowds pick up again for Marathon weekend. We are looking at that first full week in January. Has anyone been there during that time? Would love to hear your experiences and thoughts about this week.

 

[Sam1Cohen]

We went in Jan and had a great trip, the crowds were overall pretty low except for 1 day that had several tour groups but even then it wasn't too crowded. We also had great weather, the only downside is that they do close down different parts for refurb during that time.

 

[jmkjr72]

Having always gone in Jan and Feb we have noticed the parks are slowing getting fuller during that time of year

 

[DisLee]

agree with above poster. it seems to get busier each year.

 

[CounselorX]

Late January 2014 was pretty good. The downside was consistent temperatures in the 40s with really strong wind and rain. I expected it to be chilly but it was much colder than I expected. However, that's just the luck of the draw. You may go and find it is much warmer than you expected.

 

[Belle61513]

We had a cold trip in Jan/Feb last year. Brrrr!
We're going in early May this year to avoid crowds and have it still be warm enough to enjoy water rides and pools.

 

[L&Lfan]

I would think the only downside would be the unpredictability of air travel (flight delays or cancellations due to weather) depending upon, of course, where you live. For me in New Jersey, for example, it's an "iffy" time for flying to Florida.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We go for 2 weeks around the marathon events. It is a great time to go with low/moderate crowds and decent weather. When it is really cold you do not want to be in WDW, but it generally only gets that cold for a day or two at a time. 40 degrees and windy at WDW is pretty miserable, even if you just left 10 degree weather. On cold days, we do non-ride activities or indoor and still have a blast.

 

[bookgirl]

I've been twice in Jan. Once in the beginning and once at the end. Both times were nice. Crowds were very manageable and both times it was cool in morning and night but nice in the middle of the day. (this last one was on the colder side but better than hot). I like a vacation where I don't have to wear extreme weather clothes.

I had a Feb trip snowed out so I moved it to Sept. Way to hot and I'd rather take a chance on snow then ever go in Sept again.

 

[Cando86]

We were there last month (January) for a couple weeks. We had an absolute blast. We arrived on Jan 5, so the Monday after NYE. We were also able to use the Stay, Play and Dine promotion during this time period. Crowds were low (we also followed suggested park days on EasyWDW) and we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything. Weather was ok...we had a couple pretty chilly days but we also had some days in the 80s. It's definitely a time where you need to layer up but we were never freezing or too hot. Also, most of the Christmas decorations were still up (they took them down a little later this year - I don't know if this is something they will continue doing but it was an unexpected surprise!). ADRs had a lot of availability - everything was easy to get and switch around except Be Our Guest and 'Ohana but with some ADR system stalking I was able to get everything I wanted. It was a great time to go!

 

[soar2014]

I've been in January and here's what I learned: you may or may not be able to swim due to the cold, and you will definitely have South American groups there. Other than that it is my favorite time to go after October.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We've been a couple times in January. The first was a number of years ago and it was great -- low crowds and good weather. Last time we went end of January/beginning of February the crowds were noticeably larger (though still much better than the summer) and there were several days where it was cold, windy and rainy. Not fun. We may try our next trip in September so we don't have to worry about the cold (though there is the potential for hurricanes).

 

[shalom]

We went January 2015 for almost two weeks; it was in the eighties nearly the whole time! However, once it got cold, it got COLD, and the change was in the middle of the day. Fortunately we'd planned heading back to the resort early, because a couple of my teenagers had ignored our warnings and definitely hadn't dressed for the weather! If you go in January, pay attention to the forecast and take pants and/or jackets if they say the temp is going to drop.

Do not expect empty parks, and do expect it to "feel crowded" sometimes, but wait time is still lower in January than the summer, with the possible exception of some January weekends or holidays. The Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend gets pretty slammed, for instance. You also need to be aware of park events -- we had to work around a big race one weekend, first to avoid traffic, and second because access to parts of some parks (mostly the AK, I think) was restricted for part of a day.

I think January's a great time to go, probably the best for us, and we'll totally be returning then once hubby's schedule allows it. Good luck!

 

[kaetra]

January weather is hit and miss, prepare for cold evenings and no swimming. It seems the polar vortex is reaching farther and farther south these days. Also when we went in January the Castle was still covered with Christmas light strands and had the removal crane up next to it the entire time, which was a bit of an eyesore. (I don't know if they still do this.)

That being said I think January is a very good time to go as long as you don't mind taking jackets with you to the park for evenings. I would also suggest taking those stretchy gloves to keep fingers warm in the evenings.

 

[kaetra]

We may try our next trip in September so we don't have to worry about the cold (though there is the potential for hurricanes).

September brings swarms and swarms of LOVEBUGS. Seriously, like the plague. And oppressive heat and humidity. It was really awful. I vowed no more September trips for us. Wait until mid-October to get away from those horrid bugs!

 

[sharadoc]

We always loved January, we liked getting there on MLK Sunday and stay about 10 days. Crowds were always great, weather was cool usually. Jeans, sweats, occasional shorts. January 2012 was absolutely perfect weather the whole week, high 70's to low 80's. Our issue now is the weather to get from home to WDW. We drive, and we've hit snow a few times so we've decided to give up on January for now. We tried the week before Thanksgiving, through Thanksgiving day. Beautiful time of year because we get the Christmas decorations and Osborne Lights. Plus our kids are off the whole Thanksgiving week so they only miss 2-3 days of school. So we're planning on that time going forward. We shall see how that holds up.

 

[LSUfan4444]

January is great. Good specials, great weather usually. Tour groups are about the only down spot in my opinion. Very heavy in January. They aren't a deal breaker but they can turn a 10 minute wait into a 30 minute wait in no time.

 

[John_RN]

Just went to WDW for the first time since 1994! Stayed onsite from 1/25/15 - 1-31-15 and had a blast! The crowds were more than I expected but very manageable. Weather was BEAUTIFUL! Highs in the 70's and lows in the 40's but since I am from South Texas, I am used to the changing weather. Wasn't overwhelmed with the dreaded tour groups but they were present. At times I did feel like I was the only American in line! WDW is just such a popular tourist destination.

 

[MIGrandma]

It used to be a good time to visit WDW in January. Now? I'm thinking not so much. We were there 1/21 - 1/29 this year and I thought it was extremely busy for the month of January. DH and I have been there several times in previous Januarys and it was always low, low to non-existant crowds and very little wait times (5 - 10 minutes) to get on rides, and walk ons happened often. This past trip was much, much more crowded than ever before. We had a few walk ons but generally at least 15-20 minute wait times, 30-40 minutes was most common, and even 1-2 hours for some things. I think with so many Disney hotels and the packages they offer for people to fill them doesn't help with the crowd situation in January.

 

[Thing 1]

We have been many times in January and agree it USED to be very low crowds most of the month, but not so much any more. We went the first week in January (arriving on January 1 but staying off site that first night to escape the really high rates and checking in on January 2) two years ago and it was VERY crowded. It really depends on how Christmas falls but we will not choose that week again. Temps were COLD that week. Not cool, but below freezing many mornings cold. We have been many times the week of MLK and until last year, it was pretty to very low crowds. Last year we were there and it was quite crowded, but the weather was nice. We had friends there MLK week this year and they said it stayed crowed the entire trip, where it used to be only the MLK week-end its self. Another friend (see a pattern ) went the week after MLK this year and found crowds to be very low. SOOOOO......January is not as low as it used to be, weather is a toss up, but the last week of January still seems to be a pretty good bet. We will choose cold over hot , and swimming is not an issue for us, so we are good with January.