January, Two Questions

[lal32]

My wife and I are planing a trip to DW, it will either be the first two weeks of October ‘06 or any time in January ‘07. I have two questions regarding January at DW :

1) Which two weeks would you suggest for January in terms of crowds?

2) What’s the weather like in January?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer.

 

[mcgrawfan]

We were there at the end of January 04. I think you should avoind NYD and MLK Day. THe crowds were great. The weather was chilly. We mostly wore jeans and sweatshirts. And of course the day we left it was like 70 and beautiful! We were just there at the end of October and the crowds and weather were great. Remember too in October you can enjoy MNSSHP and F&W Festival at EPCOT.

 

[lal32]

Thanks for that. While it was chilly, did it rain much? We don't mind cold weather, but don't care much for rain.

October would be better I think, if for no other reason than the F&W Festival, but depends on if we can get the money together by then or not.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We were at Disney the week of 9-15 January this year. On weekdays, we got to the parks when they first opened and it was great, not crowded at all. Walked onto all the big rides multiple times with no waiting. The weather was in the mid 70's to 80 degrees, but not terribly humid. It rained once Friday afternoon, but quite late in the day, after 5 pm.

On Saturday the temps dropped to 50s and 60s with a freezing wind. Went to Sea World, but heard that the parks were pretty crowded. The temp on Sunday was in the mid 60s and cold enough to wear a jacket and long pants all day. Plus the parks were many times more crowded than they had been the previous weekdays.

 

[weluvthecastle]

My favorite times to go to Disney are the end of January or early February. You may get some cooler weather where you need to wear jeans and sweatshirts, but the lines for attractions are usually pretty short. You may get luck and get some warm weather in there as well! I've never been there in October, but the end of September has been very warm and humid when I've gone.

 

[Joanna71985]

I went January 1-5 this year. It was a perfect trip! The weather was perfect (it only rained once, and that was for about an hour while I was at the Epcot morning EMH. It stopped by the time I reached the MK for opening) and it was in the 70s all week. The crowds weren't too bad. They were a little busy on Sunday and Monday (the 1st and 2nd), but Tuesday and Wednesday were great! The best part is that the MK EMH on the 1st was perfect. It was almost empty for the last 2 hours. Now, I know I said the weather was good, but the truth is that January weather can be VERY iffy. It can be very warm one day, and the next be FREEZING!! I have pictures from my trip last year where one day I'm in shorts and the next day (literally) I was in sweats and a HEAVY winter coat. So you may want to bring both kinds, just in case!

 

[Hanover]

We were there January 12-17 and found the weather to be rather nice (though it was cold on Saturday with that wind) and the crowds a heck of a lot lower than when we went this past August 21-27. We went February 6-13, 2005 and April 2005 (after Spring Break) and thought the January crowds were comparable. I thought for sure that MLK Day would bring massive crowds after seeing several reviews warning of crowds, but didn't think it was bad whatsoever. Saturday 1/14 the crowds at MK were larger than they were on Thursday 1/12, but still not at all as crowded as past July, August, Christmas and Easter trips we've taken. We got on every ride we wanted to ride with minimal waits. The longest was Splash Mountain and that was 20 minutes if that. We were at MGM on MLK Day and thought it was not really that crowded. We got in each show and ride that we wanted to with 15 to 20 minute waits. I would much rather go in January again and not have the constant rolling sweat down our backs that we've had on summer trips.

 

[antmaril]

We were there last week. We arrived on Monday (1-9) and went home on Saturday (1-14). It was a perfect week for us. The weather was spectacular. We NEVER used our jackets, even in the morning or at night. We are from Michigan and the temps in Orlando were in the high 70's. Could not have been better for us.

We walked on to everything. We were at the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday and Epcot on Wednesday. (We went over to Universal for the next two days).

I know we got lucky with the weather. January can be iffy.

I highly recommend January. I would avoid MLK weekend. This year, the week after New Year's was a little tricky because many school districts did not go back to school on January 3rd - some schools went back as late as Jaunary 9th. Our arrival on January 9th was perfect timing. There was a huge builders' convention in town last week, but we didn't notice them too much.

 

[AJKMOM]

Unfortunately, you never know with Florida. I have been swmming at Daytona Beach in January, but I'm from PA. It could be as high as in the 70's in January, or in the 50's. It changes for year to year, so what is happening now will probably not be happening a year from now.

 

[lal32]

Thanks to everyone who replied. We are still pushing for October, but if we can't make it then at least I know Jan can still work. We'll have fun no matter what. Thanks!