January Trips - Which Resort

[BWV Dreamin]

Planning for trips from fall 2009 thru spring 2010 are proving very difficult trying to work around jobs and DS's marriage (no date yet!), and DS's college, I am thinking about trying a Jan 2010 trip. I figure no-one will be getting married then, college has a month break. Can anyone comment about their January trips? Weather, best resorts, easiest to book at 7 mos? Probably would go the very last week of January.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We went to WDW for a few long MLKjr weekends, and chilly would be my overall inpression of Florida in January! DDiL wants to run the 1/2 marathon in 2010, so we'll be there then, but it is not my favorite time to go to Florida. We've been to Marco Island a few times then as well, and locals would say "It's not usually so cold this time of year." However, we've done it enough to know better! Yes, it's warmer than Ohio, by a lot, but one year it was so windy that the Friendship boats doing the MGM/Epcot route were stopped, and it took a long time for WDW to convey that information to guests.

Bobbi

 

[bobbiwoz]

You asked about resorts, I don't think you will have any problems booking any of them at 7 months. I would go for VWL which is my favorite, or BWV, or whichever resort you enjoy the most.

Bobbi

 

[dianeschlicht]

We LOVE going to WDW in January! It's cool, but always warmer than home. The weather can be pretty variable, but there are usually some very warm days mixed in with some chilly ones. It hardly ever rains in January!! crowds are VERY light, and we rarely stand in line for anything during the week. Weekends are a bit different, since Disney usually gives the locals some good deals during that time period.

As for resort....I would think it would be a good time to try some of the smaller DVC resorts that are difficult to get into other times of the year. This year we are doing an AKV savanna view 2 bedroom for a week and then switching to an OKW 1 bedroom after that.

 

[adminjedi]

We LOVE going to WDW in January! It's cool, but always warmer than home. The weather can be pretty variable, but there are usually some very warm days mixed in with some chilly ones. It hardly ever rains in January!! crowds are VERY light, and we rarely stand in line for anything during the week. Weekends are a bit different, since Disney usually gives the locals some good deals during that time period.

Just what I wanted to hear! We are taking our first January trip "just the two of us" and really looking forward to it. As long as it doesn't rain, I think we will be happy! We live in Oregon and are leaving the Rain Festival which runs January 1st through December 31st!

 

[LisaS]

We've made a couple of late January trips. The weather over the week varied from quite chilly (30s/40s) and windy to sunny and mid to high 70s so some days we were wearing warm jackets, gloves and hats and a few days later we were enjoying the pool!

We enjoy the break from the cold New England winters and like to stay somewhere where we will enjoy the resort atmosphere (AKV, VWL) and the room itself (OKW 1BR) in case the weather is so chilly that we want to just hang out instead of heading to the parks.

 

[Anal Annie]

We went for a quick 4 n trip this past January over MLK weekend - one of our most favorite trips ever!! We stayed at VWL and fell in love with the place! The weather was very unpredictable tho - we even had thunderstorms one night! We were of course hoping for 70's during the daytime but it was mostly 50's-60's and much cooler at night. We had 1 afternoon where it hit low 70's for a bit so we went to the pool for an hour or so. Even tho it wasn't as warm as we'd HOPED it was OK 'cuz it was a high of like 20 degrees here in Maryland while we were gone! You just have to pack for a variety of weather & plan for layers. Meanwhile, VWL was the perfect spot on a cold, rainy evening with the fireplaces & warm earth tones. We cannot wait to have another chance to go again in January! Now if only DS's school calendar would give us another 4 day weekend! It was a great mid-winter break!

 

[jenstall]

I went January last year and had been prepared for it to be "cool" most of the time, but it turned out much warmer than expected and I ended up shopping at Walmart for summer type clothes

So it make sense to plan for anything. Expect it to be cool, but bring a pair of shorts and a few sleeveless shirts just in case

As for January in the parks, I really enjoyed it. The crowds were very reasonable and I found most of the time rides were very short waits. It's a great time to go and I'm going again this coming January.

 

[MustangMom]

We have always gone in Jan and will be staying at SSR this Jan. Like others have said, the weather can vary. If we were into the waterparks and use of the resort pools I might consider another time of the year. DH and I also think Disney is a cool way to start out the new year

 

[pixie08]

We love Jan! One year it was so warm we were wearing shorts and tees. the others have been cooler but still not cool to my Ny standards. i wore jeans and tees with a light sweatshirt in the evening. The crowds were so light it was great. We are staing at AKV this Jan but have also stayed at BWV for a Jan trip and loved that as well.

 

[DVC Mike]

Since it will probably bit a bit chilly, consider booking VWL. It's cozy and the lodge decor fits right in with the weather.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Since it will probably bit a bit chilly, consider booking VWL. It's cozy and the lodge decor fits right in with the weather.

Excellent.......

 

[simzac]

We love going in January, but are you sure college will still be on break the last week of the month?