January.....

[LimoFam5]

What is your experience with travel to Disneyworld in January???
My family and I will be staying at Kidani for 4 nights prior to our 15 night Panama Canal Cruise...........we have never been to Disneyworld in January so....
What is the weather like?
What are the crowds like?
Good for swimming?


Also probably a silly question but is there ever a season or month were Florida snakes hibernate? They give me the CREEPS!!!!!!!!

 

[Ellester]

Weather in January is a crap shoot. It could be in the 80s or the 50s during the day, you really never know. Our last January trip in 2007 was great weather wise. One short rain shower and mostly highs in the 70's, one day was chilly (60's for the high). It was too cold for me to swim, but the kids didn't mind the cooler weather. Our Feb. 2009 trip was about the same, but I know this past winter was much colder down there. I love the January crowds, they are very low but the park hours are much shorter too. I think you have to plan on snakes at any time though, it really doesn't get cold enough to count on them not being up and around.

 

[El&Asmom]

We did trips in Jan of '08 and '10. We got lucky as last year it was a cold Jan. We were there over MLK week, and had good weather. The weeks before and after were very cold for FL in general. In '08 we had beautiful weather. Rain one night. In the 70s and 80s during the day. The kids swam most days on both trips. I like it to be 80-90 before I swim. I got in a couple of times but didn't really enjoy it.

I love Jan for going to the parks though. Low crowds and cool weather make for great touring.

The crowds will depend on when you go in Jan. Obviously New Years will be crowded. Marathon weekend is supposed to be as well. We have been over MLK which is busy for the weekend but the rest of the week is great. My parents stayed an extra week after MLK week and said it was empty. Walked on to absolutely everything.

Dh and I will be there again over MLK this year since I have a conference there every year. Can't wait, and hope we have good weather.

Good luck. Sorry, but can't help with the snake thing. We've never seen one in all our trips to WDW.

 

[Lenc324]

Disney World in Jan with 60 or 70 degree temps sure beat Chicago in Jan

 

[Chuck S]

January has quite variable weather. It can be nice, warm enough to swim. It can also be extremely cold, with the humidity making it "feel" much colder than the actual temperature. It can go below freezing, making a lot of work for WDW horticulture. We decided to switch our travel back to early December, after several years traveling in early January... it was just too cold this year.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We LOVE to do Disney World in January, but as others have mentioned, the weather is pretty unpredictable and can be anthing from freezing to 90. Usually it's in the mid 60's-70's though. In 2009 we were there for 2 weeks and about 5 days of that was below freezing each morning. The rest of the time though, it was a balmy 70. We always bring things to layer just in case we get a wet cool stretch on our January or December trips.

The BEST part is the crowds are nonexistant!

 

[cseca]

My advice, bring long pants and shorts. Tshirts and sweatshirt/jacket.

 

[cogero]

I loved our January 10 trip and had every intention of a January 11 trip but things happened and now we are going for Christmas this year. The wather was fabulous. My dd went swimming not me. I only swim when it hits 90 or above but we wore capri pants and shorts the whole trip.

 

[drusba]

Crowds depend on when in January you are going: Jan 1 to 3 will be extremely crowded because of the holiday crowd. Thereafter Jan is generally very good except large crowds over MLK weekend; Marathon weekend is really not crwoded at the parks.

Weather varies. We have been in Jan when it was in the high 70s to low 80s for the 9 days we were there; other years when it was 60s with a couple of colder days (50 for a high); then there was Jan 2010 where for the first half of the month Orlando had its longest run of days where the lows hit below freezing; typical day was early morning 27, mid-morning 37; mid-afternoon 48; hour after sunset 32. There were even some snowflakes a couple of days

 

[Lost in Neverland]

What is your experience with travel to Disneyworld in January???
My family and I will be staying at Kidani for 4 nights prior to our 15 night Panama Canal Cruise...........we have never been to Disneyworld in January so....
What is the weather like?
What are the crowds like?
Good for swimming?


Also probably a silly question but is there ever a season or month were Florida snakes hibernate? They give me the CREEPS!!!!!!!!

Disney in January is iffy but when it is good it is really good. We were there this past January and the mornings were really cold but by afternoon it was into the low 70s. The night at the parks required gloves and coats.A couple of days it was in the low 80s and the kids hit the pool since it it heated.

We were there MLK week. Sunday and Monday were crowded but nothing like Easter or even the summer months. We only got a couple of fast passes the entire week and those were for Soarin'. Space Mountain had only a 15 minute standby line most times.We were die hard Easter week fans until the first time we went in January and now I can not imagine going any other time.
The one thing we have to worry about that time of year is snow preventing us from traveling down or home. I would highly recommend this time of year.

 

[El&Asmom]

Disney World in Jan with 60 or 70 degree temps sure beat Chicago in Jan

Agreed! That's one of the reasons I love to go in Jan. Chicago has such a long winter. I don't mind Dec since there is so much going on with the holidays, but Jan stinks. It is so long and with nothing to look forward to except for 2 more months of winter. When we go mid Jan, it breaks it up nicely and helps winter go by faster. Plus I'm going for the Princess half marathon this Feb, so it should be even better this year.

I'm not sure I could handle summer in FL though. It's so nice here in the summers.

 

[william1375]

December
Average high temperature: 72.9
Average low temperature: 51.3
Average precipitation: 2.15
Average humidity (1pm): 57
Record high (1978): 90
Record low (1983): 20

January
Average high temperature: 70.8
Average low temperature: 48.6
Average precipitation: 2.30
Average humidity (1pm): 56
Record high (1991): 87
Record low (1985): 19

February
Average high temperature: 72.7
Average low temperature: 49.7
Average precipitation: 3.02
Average humidity (1pm): 52
Record high (1988): 89
Record low (1996): 26