january visit

[DeeCee735]

Just wondering how it is in 2nd week of January - very cold? Do the parks close very early? Restaurants in DTD close any earlier than higher occupancy times? PI close early? Will there be anything for 18 year olds to do at night this time of year?

I am trying to plan my family's trip for next year. We are used to going during President's week or Easter week, but my kids start college in August. We put it to a family vote and they both said they'd like to go but not during spring break. They opted for one week out of the few they will be home during Dec/Jan. We don't want to go Christmas/NYE week, so we are looking at Jan 6 - 13th. Any info about being in the World during this time would be appreciated.

 

[drusba]

Parks, except Epcot (usual 9), do close early (about 7:30 or 8 for MK, MGM, and 5 to 5:30 for AK) but crowds are very manageable and they still do the extra magic hours at night where one park stays open later. DTD, its restaurants, and PI stay open till their usual times. The week you are looking at is when they have the Disney marathon (half marathon on the 12th, marathon the 13th).

Weather is unpredictable. It can be 70s for a high or 50 for a high. Just depends on weather pattern at the time -- watch Chicago weather before you go; if a few days before you go Chicago is getting one of those artic high pressure systems ploughing down from the north and sending temperatures to single digits (or lower) then two to three days later it will likely be quite cool in Orlando.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You've got the marathon weekend starting on Jan 10 (Expo starts) and winding up on Jan 13 (full marathon). I know a lot of the villas are getting booked for the weekend already.

 

[DeeCee735]

I'm calling today about availability. We check out about 4 a.m. Saturday morning, don't stay for the weekend, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your replies.

 

[disneybride96]

We love January - but we are happy in sweatshirts and no pool time. The "horrible" day when it rained was the best at AK! We walked right on the safari, and actully had to wait for them to fill the jeep. It was like having the place to ourself. In fact, we walked right on to many rides that week.

 

[The LaPrads]

That week was pretty good this year.
The weather ranged from the 50s to the 80s depending on the day.

The first weekend we had the crowds from the marathon, and the following weekend was the cheerleading competition.

All in all it was pretty good, the christmas decorations were still up when we arrived, which was nice.

I think DTD operated as usual, so there would be plenty for the 18yo.

 

[DVC Grammy]

We love to go in January. Yes, the Marathon brings some crowds, as does the MLK weekend, but nothing compared to an Easter/spring break or Xmas time!
The weather can be "iffy"; just bring layers. It may not always be pool weather, but the parks are great and DTD is open as usual.
Remember that with EMH, there'll be some park open early or late on some of the days you're there.
Glad to see that you're making reservations now.............it's a much more popular season than it used to be. Have a wonderful time.

 

[pilferk]

Just wondering how it is in 2nd week of January - very cold? Do the parks close very early? Restaurants in DTD close any earlier than higher occupancy times? PI close early? Will there be anything for 18 year olds to do at night this time of year?

I am trying to plan my family's trip for next year. We are used to going during President's week or Easter week, but my kids start college in August. We put it to a family vote and they both said they'd like to go but not during spring break. They opted for one week out of the few they will be home during Dec/Jan. We don't want to go Christmas/NYE week, so we are looking at Jan 6 - 13th. Any info about being in the World during this time would be appreciated.

Hey, thanks for asking this one. We're going down from the 5th to the 11th. The two times we've been down there in Jan (for a conference, both times at the Contemp) we've been blessed with amazing weather (80's both weeks, with one day of each week in the 50's and breezy) and the locals were all saying how lucky we were.

I'm hoping we get at least a couple of that type of day in '08...Kids will be extremely bummed if we don't have a good day for some pool time.

 

[hansel1]

january 2006 and 2007 were almost identical for that week. lows in the 50s, highs in the 80s. There was some wind both weeks, but we never wore pants, just shorts. It rained for 15 minutes during 2006 and sporadically a couple of days for 2007.

We found that the week between the marathon and MLK weekend in 2006 had less crowds than 2007.

This year the Marathon and MLK weekend are pushed back a week, so I anticipate the crowds not being as bad. I would imagine there won't be too many hold-overs from new years during your trip.

Having said all that we are going January 20th - 30th. No marathons, no new years hold-overs, the tail end of MLK weekend. The crowds should be low.

 

[DeeCee735]

Thanks for all your responses. I called MS this morning and was able to get a two bedroom preferred view. I was alittle surprised to find out that there was no two bedroom standard or boardwalk views available, not for my entire stay anyway, just a preferred view. Since we were going to spend the points on the bw view, using them for a preferred view was just fine. We are already excited!

 

[lecanarddonald]

We bot DVC because we arrived MLK day as the crowds were leaving. We left on Sat AM. Friday afternoon we needed fastpasses in Magic Kingdom. The only time that we saw FASTPASS in action. The bigges problem with Everest was walking through the endless EMPTY turnstiles. We are going in October, but will be back in January as soon as possible. The best time to go!!

 

[Pennyguy23]

We have great weather this year in 1st week of Jan. I agree, its a great time to go.

 

[rigsby25]

We like to go third week in January. Right after MLK crowds. We usually get at least 1 pool day in. Parks may close earlier, but lower crowds mean mostly walk on rides or short waits. Animals are more lively at AK. Go back to our resort and watch a movie, have a few cocktails, etc. No extreme heat to tire you out in the parks.