January 2 - 6.....tips, strategies, holiday fun!!!

[Clare]

For many years our family has visited WDW during late Jan. or early Feb. We've also had a couple trips thrown in over Spring Break or random fall weekends. Our next trip will be a 5-day visit just after New Years. We are WDW veterans, but we've never been during this time of year. We are staying on-site, expecting high crowds and variable weather......but I would really love to hear your tips for this time of year.

What holiday fun will still be available?
What are your favorite things at this time of year?
Any tips or strategies that will make the most of a relatively short trip at a busy time?

Thanks!!

 

[sharonabe]

The only place that will still have anything going is HS. Their schedule runs through Jan 6.

I would hold off on park hoppers until hours are more set. You don't have the MVMCP to work around, so you should be able to stay in one park all day.
You won't have the heat and humidity of summer, so it's easier to go all day long, but I would probably make lunch time ADRs for a break or plan some sit down shows before/after QS lunches for a breather.

 

[DWillowBay]

As far as holiday fun, most decorations stay up. I was there during the 2nd week of Jan last year and the park decorations were still up at MK, HS and EP. (Didn't go to AK). The castle lights stay up/ on through the 2nd weekend in January usually because of the Marathon. There's enough for it to still feel Holiday - y .

 

[Gehrig1B]

We stay at Wilderness Lodge and the decorations come down just after January 1st. The gingerbread houses at the resorts will already be gone. All the holiday events will be gone by December 30th. Holiday decorations come down in stages but some will still be apparent.

We like having park hoppers. Our day usually begins early (rope drop) with FP+ at first park starting around 10:00 and back to back. We will avoid the parks in the afternoon as that is when it is most crowded or may have an afternoon lunch outside the parks. We return usually around 5:00. We will most often return to a park if it has evening EMH.

 

[J and R's mom]

We went Jan 2nd - Jan 7th this year (2018). It was our first time to visit in early January as well and we had the same questions. I was hoping to still see some of the holiday decorations and we lucked out in some places...not in others.

Resort Decorations:

• We arrived at Wilderness Lodge on Jan 2nd at 10:30am. The Christmas tree was already down, and they were working on taking down the remaining wreaths and garland as we were walking in. So the WL had their decorations down rather quickly.
  
• We had afternoon tea at GF on Jan 4th and their decorations were down by then as well.
• HOWEVER, we ate at Cape May at the Beach Club the night of Jan 5th and the Gingerbread Carousel and beachy Christmas tree were STILL UP.

The Parks:

• I cannot remember much about what DHS and AK had up.
• EPCOT and MK still had decorations up, though...

Crowds and Weather:

• It was crowded, but not as bad as we anticipated and not as bad as the Christmastime crowds. As expected, it tapered off as the week went on. It rained our first park day (Jan 3rd). That made the crowds almost non-existent at the parks. It was our best park day and we park-hopped to three parks that day. So glad we did, because the crowds were out in full force on Jan 4th.
• We had our FPs and ADRs planned ahead of time and considered any extras that we picked up along the way a bonus (and we were able to pick up some nice ones the day of...Soarin' and FEA...by refreshing and overlapping times one person at a time).
• The rain on Jan 3rd ushered in a brisk COLD snap...especially for Florida (temps in the 30s). So we never used the pool and dressed in layers, but came prepared for that. It did not hamper our time there, though. We had rain ponchos, rain boots, coats, and gloves ready.

Here is our rain day attire and very SLIM crowds in the background....Also, the EPCOT pic above was later on in the rain day...notice how few folks were around in the background in the France section where that shot was taken. The next day that area was PACKED most of the day.

 

[Clare]

Those pics are great!! Thank you so much for the very helpful info.!

 

[sharonabe]

Those pics are great!! Thank you so much for the very helpful info.!

One HUGE difference from this year and next year is the marathon. This year the marathon was at the end of the week you are going next year. Next year, they've moved it to the following weekend. Decorations were left up for the marathon runners this year. No way of knowing if they will leave them up this year or not, but my guess is not.

 

[dbb727]

The last time we went in first week of Jan(I think 2-6th) was...in 2013. So I’m not the most up to date for crowds and current decoration timelines. But my tip is to pay close attention to weather forecast the week before, and plan to dress in layers. Typically I think it’s quite comfortable during day, shorts/tee shirt weather with temps in 70s but can swing into the 40s at night. I remember being miserably cold sitting on the cement fantasmic seating one night bundled in blanket, hat and mittens...but then the rest of the trip I barely needed a light jacket at night.

 

[SaraSpringsIsHome]

Our next trip will be a 5-day visit just after New Years. We are WDW veterans, but we've never been during this time of year. We are staying on-site, expecting high crowds and variable weather......but I would really love to hear your tips for this time of year.

We are going the January 1-5, so this is a a very helpful thread!

 

[Disneymom1126]

We were there those exact dates this past year. I do think that not having the marathon at the end of that week will make a difference. I would say usually the crowds get a little less as the week goes on and you get further from New Years Day, but that wasn't the case with the marathon happening that weekend as well this past year. It was REALLY cold that week and rained more than usual for that time of year, but I think that was just bad luck - I'd pack layers, hats and gloves, and ponchos just in case! The only day that felt overly crowded for us was our Magic Kingdom day (it was the Thursday of that week). I think the weather contributed to that though - the day before (Wednesday) was a really rainy day so I think a bunch of people who planned MK for that day got rained out and decided to go to other parks and then do MK on Thursday - also, Thursday was when the marathon people really started to arrive. Even with that the only time that felt unbearably crowded was right after the Festival of Fantasy parade in the liberty square area...sea of humanity trying to go all different directions! We still had a great time and were still getting additional FP for our group of 5 late into the evening.

My best advice for when it's that crowded - rope drop and ride as much as you can in the morning. Plan your FP+ for late morning, early afternoon and then do shows and things that have no lines (things like Carousel of Progress, Tiki Room, Country Bears, World Showcase, shows at the other parks) in the afternoon/early evening. I don't like taking breaks when it's that crowded because it just feels like it takes longer to get out of the park, back to the resort, and then back into the park - but breaks in the afternoon and then back for shows at night may also work. Also, just plan on being there early to get a spot for things that lots of people want to do (parades, fireworks, etc.).

Have fun!

 

[czmom]

We are going the January 1-5, so this is a a very helpful thread!

Us too! First time not during a slower time, so I’m mostly worried about crowds. We have always been in early May, early December, or in November (not over thanksgiving).

 

[mom22boys]

We were there December 31-January 6. Decorations were up at AKL the whole time. We saw a ton of decorations at all of the parks and really enjoyed Sunset Greetings at HS. Jingle Cruise was still up and running at MK.

 

[yeahdisney]

We will be there same time as you and for us too First time January.

 

[czmom]

We were there December 31-January 6. Decorations were up at AKL the whole time. We saw a ton of decorations at all of the parks and really enjoyed Sunset Greetings at HS. Jingle Cruise was still up and running at MK.

What was your take on crowds after Jan 1?

 

[jworthy]

We will be there Jan 1-12 in 2019. Looking forward to it.

 

[mom22boys]

What was your take on crowds after Jan 1?

Honestly, overall the crowds were not as bad as I expected. I had feared the worst. But with careful planning, FPs, and rope dropping, we were able to see everything we wanted to. We got tons of same day FPs, even for headliners (EP was the most difficult), and ADRs were available. Mobile Ordering at QS was huge!

As for your original question, I wouldn't say we saw a noticeable dip in crowds after Jan. 1, but I think that was due to the Marathon Weekend being Jan 3-Jan 7. FYI, the Saturday of marathon weekend the traffic was horrible!!! We were stuck on our bus for over an hour waiting to get to the MK. Very poor planning on my part. Anyway, we are going back the same week this year and I am very curious to see if the crowd level dips at all since the marathon has been moved to the next weekend, January 9-13, 2019.