January 9-13 vs 23-27. Help!

[QueenofScott]

Edited: We went ahead and switched our dates to the week of the 9th for CR and added 1/7-1/9 at All Star Movies. That gives us all day Sunday for Disney Springs and a little resort hopping. I've changed our ticker!


We had previously called to book a room only reservation for CR, January 23-27th. I was thinking this looked like a time when nothing special was going on, other than Festival of the Arts, but from what I understood, that shouldn't be a big deal, especially during the week. I know the marathon is on the 8th, so I thought maybe the extra crowds would go into that week, so we chose the 23-27th, rather than the 9-13th.

I was going to go ahead and get our tickets today, since they are available now, and I noticed they are cheaper on the 9th than they are on the 23rd. Also, our room category was still available on the 9th, but not the 23rd. Now I'm wondering what is going on the week of the 23rd? Does anybody know? I'm trying to decide if we should switch to the 9th-13th. Any thoughts?

 

[vicarrieous]

We had previously called to book a room only reservation for CR, January 23-27th. I was thinking this looked like a time when nothing special was going on, other than Festival of the Arts, but from what I understood, that shouldn't be a big deal, especially during the week. I know the marathon is on the 8th, so I thought maybe the extra crowds would go into that week, so we chose the 23-27th, rather than the 9-13th.

I was going to go ahead and get our tickets today, since they are available now, and I noticed they are cheaper on the 9th than they are on the 23rd. Also, our room category was still available on the 9th, but not the 23rd. Now I'm wondering what is going on the week of the 23rd? Does anybody know? I'm trying to decide if we should switch to the 9th-13th. Any thoughts?

Nothing in particular that I can think of but Jan has grown in crowds the last year. We typically go in Jan and we had the busiest one ever last year.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

That's interesting. Don't underestimate the FOA. It's grown in popularity quickly. I know it's our favorite of the EPCOT festivals. The week of Jan 9th will be one of the few weeks during the year there actually isn't a festival at EPCOT - its pretty much year-round at this point. But post-Christmas/NY holiday and post marathon seems like it might offer the slightest of lulls for crowds. We often go the end of January, and it's been busier each year (not including Covid issues, of course).

 

[Wood Nymph]

I was going to go ahead and get our tickets today, since they are available now, and I noticed they are cheaper on the 9th than they are on the 23rd. Also, our room category was still available on the 9th, but not the 23rd. Now I'm wondering what is going on the week of the 23rd? Does anybody know? I'm trying to decide if we should switch to the 9th-13th. Any thoughts?

The week after the marathon is usually less crowded than later in January. You start to get tour groups from other countries later in January. We prefer that week rather than later in January for both the crowds and the weather. It seems like it is always really cold in late January.

The Festival of the Arts is okay but not a "must do" in my opinion.

 

[QueenofScott]

Thanks, ya'll!