January Crowds

[CapeCodTenor]

Hey there everyone. I tried doing a search on this subject, but the search was going oh so slow, I figured it'd be quicker just to ask. I'm taking my wife and heading to WDW in January of next year and I was hoping to find out what the cowds are like then? How long after the turn of the New Year are crowds still large? Do the crowds start to thin out fairly quickly after New Years? Thanks everyone.

TTFN

 

[Geoff_M]

We've been a couple of times in January and like it. The crowds start to die fast after New Years. Look at the calendar to see when Jan 1 falls and that'll give you a clue as to when most people have to head home and get their kids back into school. The only other times that'll add people to WDW in January is the WDW Marathon and the weekend around MLK Day.

One other note, remember that temperatures often fluctuate wildly there in January. It might be 55 one day (and close to freezing at night) and then 85 the next day.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

We've been a couple of times in January and like it. The crowds start to die fast after New Years. Look at the calendar to see when Jan 1 falls and that'll give you a clue as to when most people have to head home and get their kids back into school. The only other times that'll add people to WDW in January is the WDW Marathon and the weekend around MLK Day.

One other note, remember that temperatures often fluctuate wildly there in January. It might be 55 one day (and close to freezing at night) and then 85 the next day.

Thanks Geoff, I'll have to find out when the marathon is and plan around it. And thanks for the heads up on the temperatures. Living in New England I think 55 can be very comfortable.

 

[MissMagnolia]

We have been to WDW twice in January. Both times were during the marathon (no, we are not runners... ) which was the second week in January and the crowds were NONEXISTANT! We walked on the rides with little or no waiting and the weather was great for us (from WI). We would start out in the a.m. with sweatshirts and shorts and by the afternoon we were in t-shirts and shorts. We even swam in the resort pools and were fine - not cold at all. It is a great time to go!

 

[ohboyx3]

January is a great time to visit! We went this past January, the 21-27th. I think I had it in my head that crowds would be non existent. It was still pretty busy, but we didn't really have to wait in line for much of anything. It looked a lot more crowded than it was and everyone sorta spread out once in the park. The weather was WONDERFUL! It was warm enough to swim at the beginning of our trip and was only cool enough for long sleeves on the day we left. I think you'll love going in January. Good choice!

 

[Harmony]

What are the crowds like the day after Jan 1st through Jan 9th?

 

[antmaril]

The crowds between January 1 - 9 could be significant because many kids don't go back to school until January 8th. We went this year in January. We arrived on January 9th and stayed five nights. It was perfect. Marathon was over and most, if not all, kids were back in school. Very lows crowds and temps in the 70's -- LOVED it.

I hope to do it again next year!

 

[simzac]

What are the crowds like the day after Jan 1st through Jan 9th?

That's when we are going. Crowds the first couple days will be fairly heavy, then start to then out each day thereafter.

 

[tink1978]

That's when we are going. Crowds the first couple days will be fairly heavy, then start to then out each day thereafter.

We go every year at this time....crowds are heavy the 1st and 2nd and then start to thin out.

 

[LVE_HBRDN]

My family and I have been to WDW twice during the third week in January. The first time we went was in 2001 when Disney was having one of it's attendance slumps so crowds where virtually non-existant most of the times. However I did see some of the lines back up for quite a while. Second time only real lines were at MK the other parks most of the rides were walk on's or had less than a 15 minute wait. The longest lines I saw were about 55 minutes for Winnie the Pooh and Space Mountain. Splash Mountain often had logs going down empty due to the cold weather. I also didn't know anything about which day's during the week were best for which parks or EMH's and went to MK on a Monday (have heard monday's are when many people start their vacation and pick MK) and Thursday (an EMH day).

Besides the risk of cooler weather (I'm from Minnesota so that dosen't bother me to much) I think the third week in Jan. is a great time to go.

 

[antmaril]

It all depends on when the kids go back to school. The first week of January can be busy.

 

[dixiedizfan]

The first week of January will be pretty crowded. Many schools don't start back til the second week of January, and tons of foreigners are there January first week as well. I'd wait til the second week of January for a much more noticeable drop in guests.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Thanks for the replies everyone. After reading these, I think I'm going to go after the first week. I thought about the second full week, but I'm going to find out when the marathon is ran and then plan from there.

 

[antmaril]

The second full week of January is the better choice.

 

[MissMagnolia]

I honestly wouldn't worry about the marathon crowds. Both times we have went in January was during the marathon and we walked on the rides - we also used Disney transportation so we didn't see any hassles due to the runners.

 

[reefnut]

thanks for the info everyone, im also going from jan 6th - jan 14th

 

[luvsTink]

More and more there is a "bump" in crowds during MLK holiday. In 2007 we are going after MLK to avoid that. We LOVE January with the mouse!

Anne

 

[TikiGoddess]

Speaking of MLK..do you think it more crowded the week leading up to MLK or the week following it? Or just the weekend and Monday? We're going the 20-28 which is during MLK I believe and I'm curious.