Is this really going to be the worst week of 2017???

[Disneyhayes]

According to yourfirstvist the week of 1/8 is going to be one of the worse weeks. Is this legit? I understand that its marathon weekend but it's the week when most people go back to school from winter break. Our friends are getting married on the 6th in Ft Lauderdale and we were planning on Disney the week after.

 

[AngiTN]

No. I like Dave's site well enough but never agree with his calendar.

 

[Disneyhayes]

Thanks! I just didn't know if we should just go the week before if crowds are gonna be the same

 

[chs27]

I would think the week prior would be busier with New Year's and school being on holiday.

 

[Anal Annie]

We were at Disney this past January during the first week of the month and while it was busier than I expected it was by far not even close to the worst week we've ever seen. We'll likely go again the same week next year.

 

[Disneyhayes]

Our kids go back on Wednesday 1/4

 

[DavidNYC]

Where are you seeing this? I just checked the site because I couldn't believe anyone would say that week is one of the worst and he doesn't. At least on his week by week chart that week is listed as one of the lowest in terms of crowds.

EDIT: I saw he listed January as bottom because of possibility of refurbishments. To me this is kind of ridiculous as refurbishments happen at many different times (with the exception that you're not likely to see many during the absolute highest crowd periods). I think it's actually a horrible suggestions to avoid this period for fear of 1-2 rides being closed more than usual. The crowds are among the lowest of the year and you'll do far more than other times in a shorter period of time. He makes it sound like you're going to hit 5-10 major rides closed which doesn't happen.

 

[Disneyhayes]

It says it's ranked number 49

 

[Keyser]

It's been some time since we were there, but we went that week on a few occasions, and it was never close to crowded. The weekend before and after was a little bit heavier, but even the marathon days were not crowded (there were some traffic issues if I remember, though, if you're driving around WDW that morning). One year MLK day fell on the weekend right after, and things did pick up noticeably on that Saturday.

On the other hand, places do close earlier, and some rides will be in refurbishment. Still, we'd go then regularly if our schedule still allowed it.

 

[showers2flowers]

I think if you read the explanation, he ranks weeks like that so low because he is figuring on a first and likely one-time visiting family that will want to see and do nearly everything and the thought is that the abbreviated park hours and refurbs will get in the way of their accomplishing that. So the ranking isn't based on crowd level really.

We've gone during marathon week twice and never experienced anything other than minor traffic issues. And of course, we've never ridden Splash on those trips, since that's the traditional time frame for its refurb.

Agree with DavidNYC above though, that this shouldn't deter you. Our first visit was during this time frame and at that time, we had no plans to go back (obviously that changed, lol!). Even so, we didn't feel like we were missing anything. It's impossible to see and do everything anyway, and I feel like one's enjoyment would be diminished by attempting to do it all in one visit, no matter what time of year it was.

 

[DavidNYC]

The abbreviated park hours is a short sighted criticism. The difference between 9am - 6pm in a slow period and 9am - 10pm during a busy period is that during the busy period you're waiting in line an extra 4 hours! I've done far more rides and attractions during the less crowded but short days as compared to more crowded and longer days. Plus - when the parks close earlier that gives you more time to actually go out to dinner, or go to Disney Springs, or do other things that you may not have time to do when you're in a park until midnight.

The only two rides I recall with regular January refurbishments (but not so sure how regular they are anymore and I don't think every year) were splash and space mountain. Since the big refurbishment - Splash only went down 4 days this year. Can't guarantee it won't go back to the 2-3 week ones but promising that they might not be as long every year.

 

[larissawbb]

No. I like Dave's site well enough but never agree with his calendar.

Out of curiosity , who's calendar do you use?

 

[AngiTN]

Out of curiosity , who's calendar do you use?

Oddly enough, the person who co-wrote a book with Dave.
EasyWDW

 

[larissawbb]

Oddly enough, the person who co-wrote a book with Dave.
EasyWDW

Thanks! That's actually kind of funny.

 

[kangamangus]

This exactly-

I think if you read the explanation, he ranks weeks like that so low because he is figuring on a first and likely one-time visiting family that will want to see and do nearly everything and the thought is that the abbreviated park hours and refurbs will get in the way of their accomplishing that. So the ranking isn't based on crowd level really.

We've gone during marathon week twice and never experienced anything other than minor traffic issues. And of course, we've never ridden Splash on those trips, since that's the traditional time frame for its refurb.

Agree with DavidNYC above though, that this shouldn't deter you. Our first visit was during this time frame and at that time, we had no plans to go back (obviously that changed, lol!). Even so, we didn't feel like we were missing anything. It's impossible to see and do everything anyway, and I feel like one's enjoyment would be diminished by attempting to do it all in one visit, no matter what time of year it was.

 

[Mimifree]

I think Dave approaches it as providing the best possible experience for your first visit. Is it possible you would miss out on more attractions because of refurbishments in early January? Maybe he thinks it would not give you the best first impression of DW.

 

[Harambe]

Oh, yes - it is a terrible week to go!! Lots of people! No one should go them!! (Psssst . . . it is actually a great time to go, just don't let others know about that! We will see you there that week in 2017!).