January holiday, anybody any tips

[henrys carpet skip]

My family (5 adults, 3 children) are taking a holiday to Orlando for 2 weeks from 17 Jan 07. We are staying in a villa on the Emerald Island Resort and plan a day each at MK, Epcot, AK, MGM, US, IOA, Seaworld and Kennedy with a few rest days between

Does anybody have any helpful hints and tips about visiting at this time of year. I am aware it won't be anywhere near as hot as summer but with the youngest child not quite being 2 yet I think this will work out quite well.

Many Thanks

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I have never been in January but certainly as far as the parks go I think they will be fairly quiet at this time of the year.

Weather, will probably be on the cool side especially in the mornings & evenings, so clothes-wise you probably will have to pack accordingly, sweaters/long trousers etc, I guess you may have to pack for all weather types really.

I would definitely advise you to get the pool at the villa heated, otherwise it will be a bit too cool I would have thought.

You are ideally located for restaurants and there is a Publix supermarket about a mile away from where you are staying - once you get to the junction of Formosa Gardens boulevard and the 192 turn left and it's half a mile or so up the road on the right hand side.

Outback restuarant, Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Denny's plus many more are all within easy driving distance.

This map shows where you are staying:

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa/map.htm

 

[henrys carpet skip]

Many thanks for that Johnny

The villa we have got (the emerald footprints) seemed to be the only one that had the pool heating included in the price so this is a bonus. The restaurants look good and glad to hear of the supermarket close by. This will help with the 1st night etc..

I do hope that the parks are nice and quiet, we went in Sep 03 and the parks were great, never queued more than 10-15 minutes for a ride.

 

[fizz13]

I've been twice in january and the crowds and weather are very comfortable, you should be able to do all you want. It should even be warm enough for a water park if you wish. You'll have a great time

 

[gilld]

You might be lucky with the weather but also be prepared for it to be cold - needing coats, scarves, hats, gloves etc. We saw a lot of frost when we went Dec/Jan. After about Jan 3rd it gets much quieter so there shouldn't be long queues but of course there are much shorter opening hours too.

Since you may be spending your relaxing time indoors - if it's cold - I would take lots of small games/toys to amuse your children

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Many thanks for that Johnny

The villa we have got (the emerald footprints) seemed to be the only one that had the pool heating included in the price so this is a bonus. The restaurants look good and glad to hear of the supermarket close by. This will help with the 1st night etc..

I do hope that the parks are nice and quiet, we went in Sep 03 and the parks were great, never queued more than 10-15 minutes for a ride.

No problem - the supermarket is a Publix and is open from 7am each morning.

 

[henrys carpet skip]

After about Jan 3rd it gets much quieter so there shouldn't be long queues but of course there are much shorter opening hours too.

I thought that the opening times would be quite a bit shorter than they are, but MK is open from 09.00-20.00 when we go and EPCOT is open till 21.00 still on the World Showcase so I am really happy with those times. I am slightly more concerned with AK as that closes at 17.00. Hopefully, as you say, the shorter queues will compensate for that

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I thought that the opening times would be quite a bit shorter than they are, but MK is open from 09.00-20.00 when we go and EPCOT is open till 21.00 still on the World Showcase so I am really happy with those times. I am slightly more concerned with AK as that closes at 17.00. Hopefully, as you say, the shorter queues will compensate for that

You will generally find the hours for AK are shorter than the other parks - I think it is because of the Animal's needs.

 

[carolfoy]

plan a day each at MK, Epcot, AK, MGM, US, IOA, Seaworld and Kennedy with a few rest days between

You'll almost certainly need more than one day in each of these parks, MK Epcot especially are at least 2 day parks

 

[ButterbearUK]

We went in late January/Early February 2005 and whilst the weather wasn't HOT it was pleasant (t-shirts and light trousers). The nights can be quite chilly when the sun goes in, so if you're doing a full day at the parks take coats/sweaters and leave them in the car during the day or in a locker in the parks.

The opening hours are shorter than in the peak season, but the low crowds more than make up for this. We made a point of getting to the parks before they opened (much easier when they only open at 9am!) and doing our "must-see" attractions first thing, then just pottered around for the rest of the day doing whatever seemed quiet. We spent 6 days in the parks, but hopped a fair bit. We saw pretty much everything we wanted to see in 4 days, and then spent two days seeing our favourite things again.

I guess biggies like Soarin', and EE will still have long lines, but fastpass and getting in early will mean you can avoid queueing. One thing that was useful was park hopping. Check out the opening times and showtimes for things like Illuminations. Epcot is usually open til 9pm, but AK shuts around 5pm. We did a full morning in AK and then hopped to Epcot for the late afternoon and watched Illuminations, so on our Epcot day we could ride during the fireworks when there were NO lines.

With regards pool heating, I would say that is definitely a bonus. I went swimming once in January and it was nice, but only cos the water was heated. It was hard getting out, into the breezy cold air!

Milia