January.....best time

[nyyankees5]

I just found out that we have to change our trip from Nov/Dec till sometime in January 2005. I have never been at that time of year. Can anyone shed some light on when is the best time to go. I am not worried about the swiming as I am with the crowds. DH hates them. We usually Sept after labor day or end of the month. I know that the schools have some kind of winter break and would hate to be down there at this time.

We would even pushing it till Feb if we had to.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?


Thanks
Erin

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We've gone several times the end of January and it's wonderful. Sometimes a bit cool, but little rain and more often than not it's been warm, at least it feels that way to us. The crowds are low. The key is to go after the holiday crowds and return before the Feb President's Day crowds begin. Be prepared for all kinds of weather and you'll be ok.

T&B

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

We're thinking about taking our grandson for his birthday around January 11. Will it be too cool for him to swim?

 

[debster812]

We have been the past 2 Januarys, here are my experiences:

January of '03--crowds? What crowds? There were literally NO crowds, no waits for rides, we did not ever even see a Fastpass machine uncovered. Ever. We were there from January 26 to February 5th.

January of '04--crowds? Crowds were a little bit up, but still HIGHLY manageable. We were there from January 18 to January 26th. The crowds were up a bit over the Martin Luther King holiday long weekend, but by Tuesday of that week, it was getting more and more manageable. We had a few very short waits (<20mins) and did use Fastpass a couple of times.

Both times the temps ranged from cool to quite warm with the evenings during '04 dropping down to the 40s.

DS swam both times, as Disney keeps their pools nice and toasty warm!!!!!

Hope this helps, if you have any more questions, fire away!!!

 

[Daisie]

We go every january....just be sure to find out when the marathon is and also it is much more crowded over martin luther king holiday. Other than that, its perfect! February can be busy with all the cheerleading events. If you can work around the two events in Janaury, you'll be fine.

 

[Madi100]

We went in January. I don't know if it was this year or it's always like it was then. We have gone in September and February also. This trip was the busiest. It was manageable, but we did have lines. It was cool for our trip. DH and I swam, but that was the dumbest thing we did. It was freezing. The heated pool didn't even help. We did swim late at night, so not the smartest choice.

I think the only time to avoid is the marathon and MLK weekend.

 

[BAST]

We went in Jan 03. There are two times to avoid in January - MLK weekend and the WDW marathon weekend. Check these dates and plan around them if possible.

That said, we were there 1/21 to 1/31 and had a great time. Lines were minimal and the hours were more than enough to see everything. Weather was cold (record cold temps on a few days) but we are from Wisconsin so that did not matter that much. We did have a few days where we swam (the pools are all heated).

All in all, I wish we could go at this time every year - but now that the kids are starting school we cannot.

 

[shelly3girls]

How bad are the crowds during the marathon weekend? We are planning a trip from 1/1 - 1/10 b/c my husband and BIL plan to run the marathon. I don't really care what the crowds will be like during the weekend as we will be busy with the marathon, but I really care about the crowds the week preceeding. I was hoping they would be ok once everyone left from Christmas break on 1/2.

 

[Mush]

Great minds think alike, Shelly! I posted basically the same question on another board and heard that the first week of January is very crowded, so we're looking at switching to the second week of January (arriving on the 8th and staying til the 14th). I'm guessing by then that most of the young'ns are back in school by that time, but then there are the crowds from the marathon.

Also, are the parks open when the marathon is being run (considering the route goes through some of the parks)?

Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

[Ursula]

My daughter & I went Jan. 26-31 and I think this has to be one of the best times to go crowd-wise. We didn't wait more than 10 mins for anything, found the parades much more enjoyable because you didn't have to fight for a spot & we always got a seat on the bus. I cannot stand being in crowds either and found late January to be ideal.