January?

[PeterPan20]

We are thinking about going the first week in January (1-8). I have heard that this week usually isn't bad, but I just realized that the marathon is that weekend (1/9). Is this going to increase the crowds in the parks a lot? What should we expect?

 

[msmouse]

we have been in DisneyWorld in January for the past 4 years. Two of those were Marathon Weekends. I saw no impact on the crowd level at all.

 

[winniedapooh]

You will love it. We have been 3 times during that time and noticed a bit of a crowd increase over the marathon weekend but the traffic was worse during it than the crowds. Weather can range from 30-80 degrees, but hey who cares when you are in the happiest place on earth!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I gone to WDW during the marathon time in January for the past 4 years, and the crowds don't seem too affected. The problem I noticed is trying to get a room on-site for the Friday and especially Saturday night before the marathon, as everything seems to get booked. One year we did notice that MK was a tad busier on the Monday after the marathon, but usually the week before/after the marathon is a great time to go.

<img src="http://home.att.net/~disneysue/hugsmall3.gif">

 

[Harambe]

You will get to see the Christmas decorations also! They take them down right after the first, but you will at least see them for a day or two.

The marathon doesn't really impact the parks. MLK weekend which will be the weekend after you leave does push attendance up a little, but that's not really bad either!

 

[PeterPan20]

Thanks for all of your input everyone! I feel MUCH better about our choice of dates. And the weather doesn't matter much. I'm from Maine, anything over 20 degrees is a welcome change!

Thanks again,

 

[Tinkim]

Josh,

My family has been twice in January during the second week after the marathon though. The crowds are really minimal, the lines are short, and the weather has been pretty good. Some rain and somewhat chilly at times but we're from NH (DH is from ME) so it all seems good to us! We just went this January and school was closed the Friday before we left because it was "too cold" so even 60 degrees was heaven to us. Whenever you go you're sure to have a good time!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you can get there for NYE, do it!! We did it this year and had a wonderful time. I'd prefer NYE over Christmas now and we have been there for Christmas at least three times.

The biggest impact of the marathon is probably the MK early in the AM since the runners go down Main Street anywhere from about 7AM to 8:30AM. They finish in Epcot anywhere from 9AM to 1PM and the runners should be staggered depending on their speed. Both the marathoners and half-marathoners will run through MK, but only the marathoners will run through Epcot.

There were about 26,000 runners this year.

 

[axavilez]

I too was there this year during the marathon and I can tell you crowds were almost non-existent. I had the same concerns as you before the trip. We went to Magic Kingdom that morning and it was great. I think most people tried to avoid Magic Kingdom because of the marathon. The only headache was getting there, which took longer than normal. Otherwise, we walked right onto rides all morning. Pretty much saw everything in about 4 1/2 hours. We were so shocked! We ended up park hopping to MGM Studios and saw about half of it. It was a very productive day.

An interesting observation, I noticed that they let marathon spectators into Magic Kingdom early that morning. I'm not sure if they needed tickets or special passes. You might be able to get in without having to use a ticket that morning. Although, that may not be the most ethical thing to do.

 

[jann1033]

we did not notice an appreciable increase in crowds. however they changed ee day to Sunday at Ak ( last min., almost went to mk as planned instead ) and it was very congested there, a lot of shows opening later than usual and kind of a pain since the walkways were restructured for the runners and hard to get past, some closed with out any signs, ect. wouldn't bother going to ee at AK on that day since so much was shut down, just safari and ttbab open

and at Ak they were definitly taking tickets as usual