January crowds

[bethjones]

For those of you asking "when is the best time to go for low crowds" may I present January 25-31:

 

[MIGrandma]

Was that at rope drop? We had much bigger crowds the 21st through the 29th.

 

[anniemae]

Nice!

 

[TeamSy]

We used to LOVE to go in January because of the low crowds, but last year it was SO COLD we've changed our tune. There was something not right about seeing everyone walking around in winter coats and hats and the CM's serving hot chocolates instead of ice cream!

 

[bethjones]

These were taken from 10am-noon. And yes, it was pretty cold, but I actually liked it for some reason. It was sunny every day except Friday, and NO RAIN for 8 days. Another reason I like January. I absolutely hate walking around in the rain. I felt the crowds were very low compared with what I've been reading about lately-that there is no "uncrowded park" left anymore. I would say crowds compared favorably with my trip all the way back in November of 2006. Yes, there is hope.

 

[KathyNY76]

We were at Epcot on the 31 and MK on Feb 1. I don't have much frame of reference since I hadn't been to Disney in about 20 yrs, but Epcot was so easy on the 31. Though we weren't able to get a second FP+ for either Soarin or TT in the afternoon. I think MK on the 1st was decidedly easy, too. Out longest wait was about 25 minutes on Splash Mountain. And the longest wait I saw on Peter Pan or 7DMT was 70 minutes - and often closer to 45. Soarin did have a 1h45m wait at one point, if I recall. But another time it was only 60 minutes. The weather was perfect for us (NYers) - mid 70s and mostly sunny.

 

[kastoney]

We used to LOVE to go in January because of the low crowds, but last year it was SO COLD we've changed our tune. There was something not right about seeing everyone walking around in winter coats and hats and the CM's serving hot chocolates instead of ice cream!

I'm with you, we froze our butts of last year during the same week. Spent the whole week in rain gear and winter coats. Trying last week in feb this year instead

 

[Wood Nymph]

View attachment 1629 For those of you asking "when is the best time to go for low crowds" may I present January 25-31:

What day did you take that picture at MK? We were there Jan 24th to 29th and we never saw it that empty at MK. Monday, January 26th was mobbed with tour groups. They even ended up extending park hours for MK from 8pm to 9pm on Tuesday, Jan 27th. We never went in a park on Wed. Epcot was empty on Thursday morning - Jan 29th. We had the World Showcase almost to ourselves, but it was early, too. We left the park before 1pm that day.

 

[bethjones]

What day did you take that picture at MK? We were there Jan 24th to 29th and we never saw it that empty at MK. Monday, January 26th was mobbed with tour groups. They even ended up extending park hours for MK from 8pm to 9pm on Tuesday, Jan 27th. We never went in a park on Wed. Epcot was empty on Thursday morning - Jan 29th. We had the World Showcase almost to ourselves, but it was early, too. We left the park before 1pm that day.

Lets see...epcot was Monday and Thursday, animal kingdom Tuesday, and the MK on Wednesday. EasyWDW had weds crowd levels predicted as a 1, and MK was the most recommended park. I pretty much planned my week around that, knowing MK crowds are always the worst. And touring plans said actual crowds at MK that day were a 2. I felt like combining the overall low crowd week along with TP and EasyWDW made my trip a dream come true!

 

[smylie1]

We were there the 25th through the 31st and went to what parks the crowd calendars were projecting to be the lowest. I guess EVERYONE did that, or I used the wrong crowd calendar, because we didn't see crowds this low at any time of day all week long! That's awesome!!! I may ask to cheat off your plans next time we go!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We were in Epcot on Jan. 20 and MK on the 21st. Crowds were low, especially at MK, BUT the CM I spoke to at rope drop said the day before, a Tuesday, was as busy as it ever gets. So go figure...

 

[anniemae]

I would much rather deal with the cold weather than crowds. I hate the heat/crowds/rain of the summer. I'll take this any day.

 

[bethjones]

We were in Epcot on Jan. 20 and MK on the 21st. Crowds were low, especially at MK, BUT the CM I spoke to at rope drop said the day before, a Tuesday, was as busy as it ever gets. So go figure...

Just looking at easywdw Wednesdays are always the most recommended day to visit the MK, so the 21st was a good choice. That's the day I was there, except one week later. I think looking at crowd calendars from both TP and easy are essential now.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Was that at rope drop? We had much bigger crowds the 21st through the 29th.

I agree. We were there from 1/21-1/28 and we had huge crowds, there was hardly any walk on rides. I was floored by how crowded it was, wasn't expecting it at all, I was told by many people that this is the best time of year to come for low crowds. We still had fun and really utilized the FP+ but the only time we saw that low of crowds was either at park opening or when we had pre-park opening ADRs.

 

[bethjones]

Touring plans always has a "how we did yesterday" note on their crowd planner and their analysis of the crowds Mon-Friday were levels 2-3. I saw a lot of walk on rides even in the early afternoon at peak. Of course, you can't walk on to Soarin or Test Track. But Everest was a walk on, as was Dinosaur. The Safari wait at 1pm was 20 minutes. Mission Space was walk on. MK rides were 10-20 min waits at most except for Anna and Elsa.

 

[tlovesdis]

I was there Jan 23-26 and didn't find any of the parks that crowded. We never waited more than 20-30 minutes for rides we didn't have FP+ for. The mornings were especially nice and AK never got crowded! I would definitely go in Jan again!!

 

[MIGrandma]

I agree. We were there from 1/21-1/28 and we had huge crowds, there was hardly any walk on rides. I was floored by how crowded it was, wasn't expecting it at all, I was told by many people that this is the best time of year to come for low crowds. We still had fun and really utilized the FP+ but the only time we saw that low of crowds was either at park opening or when we had pre-park opening ADRs.

We've made several trips to WDW in January, and this one was the absolute most crowded ever. I was disappointed as we went with family members and I had told them many times how "uncrowded" it is in January. Not this time.

 

[mggeary]

We've made several trips to WDW in January, and this one was the absolute most crowded ever. I was disappointed as we went with family members and I had told them many times how "uncrowded" it is in January. Not this time.

Sadly, you are just going to have to reset your baseline. That last week of Jan will probably end up being the 3rd or 4th least busy week of the year, behind only a few in Sept or if there is major storm/hurricane. South American influx probably made up about 1/3 to 1/2 of attendance for that week or it would be much lower still. One big tip is to always avoid MK on the weekend even if it is Jan/Sept. If it fits your touring plan, try to do midweek MK, particularly on Wed. Save AK, Epcot (non F&W times), DHS for the weekend when not offering EMH.

 

[MIGrandma]

Sadly, you are just going to have to reset your baseline. That last week of Jan will probably end up being the 3rd or 4th least busy week of the year, behind only a few in Sept or if there is major storm/hurricane. South American influx probably made up about 1/3 to 1/2 of attendance for that week or it would be much lower still. One big tip is to always avoid MK on the weekend even if it is Jan/Sept. If it fits your touring plan, try to do midweek MK, particularly on Wed. Save AK, Epcot (non F&W times), DHS for the weekend when not offering EMH.

I actually think that may have been our last Disneyworld trip for a long, long time. The older I get the less I enjoy crowds. And owning our own vacation property in Northern Michigan where all we hear are the birds and the wind blowing through the trees has really spoiled me for peace and quiet. Loved going to Disney with our family, and seeing our young grandchildren's reaction to everything (priceless to see 6-year-old granddaughter's face when she saw the castle for the first time) but I think we're going to be doing different vacations in the future. Not saying we'll never go again, but probably not for at least 10 years or more. As I said "January just ain't what it used to be" and it was disappointing.