***Official January 2023 Thread***

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Starting tomorrow, Disney Springs will have a high-energy "kids club" at Waterview Park every Saturday morning.

New Family-Friendly Entertainment at Disney Springs Kids Club

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

It's the last few days of January!

Before people check out of this thread, I wanted to say thank you to everyone for following along all year! It's been fun and has definitely kept me on my toes (special shoutout to @gorkt for being the first person to post in this thread)!

For those whose vacations are starting this week, and for those who are still returning over the next week or so, please continue to post any questions or experiences! I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts, whether on here or other threads. I'll still be hanging around, so give a holler when you return!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

FYI.

PHOTOS: Roaming Green Army Patrol Returns to Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios

Frozen Sing-Along Reopens From Refurbishment With Refreshed Seats & New Carpet

Hours Extended for Star Wars Launch Bay Character Meet & Greets at Hollywood Studios

 

[emily nicole]

Hey all! I didn’t add myself to the official list but we just got home from our 1/29 to 2/4 trip. We had an amazing trip and stay at AOA. The Skyliner was an awesome form of transportation, we loved it! All CMs were exceptionally friendly. The best part was Guardians. I’ve never ridden a ride more amazing than this one! We used to go to Disney 1-2 times a year… sadly they’ve gone up in price so much that our next trip will be in 3 years. Can’t wait to see what’s new by then!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Hey all! I didn’t add myself to the official list but we just got home from our 1/29 to 2/4 trip. We had an amazing trip and stay at AOA. The Skyliner was an awesome form of transportation, we loved it! All CMs were exceptionally friendly. The best part was Guardians. I’ve never ridden a ride more amazing than this one! We used to go to Disney 1-2 times a year… sadly they’ve gone up in price so much that our next trip will be in 3 years. Can’t wait to see what’s new by then!!

Yay, thanks for letting us know how it went!

Just for fun, I added you to the January list! You've been added to post #1 on page 1 and post #846 on page 43.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Friendly reminder about expiring Photopass photos and videos!

Each item expires 45 days after the image or video was taken. You can purchase a one-time 15-day extension for any items that have not yet expired ($19.95). Otherwise, current pricing is shown below.

Note that media taken on January 1st will expire on February 15th. Please plan accordingly!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Just returned Sunday from a fabulous 10 day trip staying at POFQ. We now have a favorite new time of year to visit. Loved the Festival of the Arts. The food was outstanding and a highlight of the trip. We had a mix of cool days and hot days. Going to MK on Tues the 31st when it closed at 4:30pm for the CM party was also a smart choice. We arrived around noon and had lunch. We waited about 15 minutes for HM, 20 minutes for JC and 10 minutes for 7DMT. All of the other rides were walk-ons. It was incredible. No LL needed which saved us a few $$.

Also have to agree with @emily nicole that Guardians is the best ride we have ever been on. Love, love, love it!! We actually changed around our park reservations to include more Epcot days so we could ride it. It was funny, our first day we missed out on the 7am virtual cue (lesson learned to go outside of room and be on cellular network for better speed) but got in the que at the 1pm drop. We were called back in the evening and we were SO TIRED already. We were cranky in line and waited around 45 minutes to board. When we got off the ride, we were all smiles and energetic wishing we could ride it again. Luckily, the rest of the trip we got into the 7am que with callbacks between 9:30-10:30am and the wait was under 20 minutes to board the ride.

We were lucky to have no illness the whole trip. On departure day, I had a scratchy throat and tested positive for covid yesterday. BOO!!!! I SWEAR I know who gave it to me. On Friday, at the Muppets show, an older woman came and sat right next to me. Mind you, there were PLENTY of seats in the theater and she had no need to sit next to me without a buffer seat. The whole show she was coughing, clearing her throat, and popping throat lozenges. Ugh.

Everyone in the parks were pretty nice except for two miserable women at one of the FotA food booths. We were all waiting for scallops (I think) and I told my daughter to go up to the counter to wait for our scallops so that all 4 of us weren't clogging up the small area. This woman rudely said to us "that we weren't going to cut the line when they were waiting first"...huh?? The other woman then uttered more rude comments and they walked off with their scallops. We were all dumbfounded and shook our heads. They must be a real pleasure to be around......lol

 

[MaidMarian444]

Just returned Sunday from a fabulous 10 day trip staying at POFQ. We now have a favorite new time of year to visit. Loved the Festival of the Arts. The food was outstanding and a highlight of the trip. We had a mix of cool days and hot days. Going to MK on Tues the 31st when it closed at 4:30pm for the CM party was also a smart choice. We arrived around noon and had lunch. We waited about 15 minutes for HM, 20 minutes for JC and 10 minutes for 7DMT. All of the other rides were walk-ons. It was incredible. No LL needed which saved us a few $$.

Also have to agree with @emily nicole that Guardians is the best ride we have ever been on. Love, love, love it!! We actually changed around our park reservations to include more Epcot days so we could ride it. It was funny, our first day we missed out on the 7am virtual cue (lesson learned to go outside of room and be on cellular network for better speed) but got in the que at the 1pm drop. We were called back in the evening and we were SO TIRED already. We were cranky in line and waited around 45 minutes to board. When we got off the ride, we were all smiles and energetic wishing we could ride it again. Luckily, the rest of the trip we got into the 7am que with callbacks between 9:30-10:30am and the wait was under 20 minutes to board the ride.

We were lucky to have no illness the whole trip. On departure day, I had a scratchy throat and tested positive for covid yesterday. BOO!!!! I SWEAR I know who gave it to me. On Friday, at the Muppets show, an older woman came and sat right next to me. Mind you, there were PLENTY of seats in the theater and she had no need to sit next to me without a buffer seat. The whole show she was coughing, clearing her throat, and popping throat lozenges. Ugh.

Everyone in the parks were pretty nice except for two miserable women at one of the FotA food booths. We were all waiting for scallops (I think) and I told my daughter to go up to the counter to wait for our scallops so that all 4 of us weren't clogging up the small area. This woman rudely said to us "that we weren't going to cut the line when they were waiting first"...huh?? The other woman then uttered more rude comments and they walked off with their scallops. We were all dumbfounded and shook our heads. They must be a real pleasure to be around......lol

Hi, we were also at POFQ from Sunday the 29th to Thursday Feb 2. Also loved it and agree it might be my new fave time of year to come. That day MK closed at 4:30 was magical and the next day at Animal Kingdom was also a breeze. Did you look at the wait times for Monday and Tuesday this week? (Feb. 6 and 7) I couldn’t believe how long they were in comparison to last week, at least at MK. Wonder what the difference was? Looks like today is back to a more manageable crowd level. We had two connecting rooms at POFQ and thought it was very good value compared to all of us squeezing into a Deluxe room.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Hi, we were also at POFQ from Sunday the 29th to Thursday Feb 2. Also loved it and agree it might be my new fave time of year to come. That day MK closed at 4:30 was magical and the next day at Animal Kingdom was also a breeze. Did you look at the wait times for Monday and Tuesday this week? (Feb. 6 and 7) I couldn’t believe how long they were in comparison to last week, at least at MK. Wonder what the difference was? Looks like today is back to a more manageable crowd level. We had two connecting rooms at POFQ and thought it was very good value compared to all of us squeezing into a Deluxe room.

I did notice several rides have been down--HM comes to mind--and that can definitely affect wait times at other rides. I also believe the dance teams may have stayed over a few days after competition ended. We did notice a LOT of foreign visitors and I think their travel wax and wanes are contributing to the wait times.

We also love the value of POFQ. GF is our favorite resort but we can get 2 rooms for a couple hundred less a night at POFQ. Four beds and two bathrooms will win every time!! I was shocked at the lack of discounts this year but maybe its the new normal and we now plan for the resort that fits our budget at rack rate.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Just returned Sunday from a fabulous 10 day trip staying at POFQ. We now have a favorite new time of year to visit. Loved the Festival of the Arts. The food was outstanding and a highlight of the trip. We had a mix of cool days and hot days. Going to MK on Tues the 31st when it closed at 4:30pm for the CM party was also a smart choice. We arrived around noon and had lunch. We waited about 15 minutes for HM, 20 minutes for JC and 10 minutes for 7DMT. All of the other rides were walk-ons. It was incredible. No LL needed which saved us a few $$.

We were lucky to have no illness the whole trip. On departure day, I had a scratchy throat and tested positive for covid yesterday. BOO!!!! I SWEAR I know who gave it to me. On Friday, at the Muppets show, an older woman came and sat right next to me. Mind you, there were PLENTY of seats in the theater and she had no need to sit next to me without a buffer seat. The whole show she was coughing, clearing her throat, and popping throat lozenges. Ugh.

Yay, thanks for reporting back!

So glad to hear you had a good time. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Hi, we were also at POFQ from Sunday the 29th to Thursday Feb 2. Also loved it and agree it might be my new fave time of year to come. That day MK closed at 4:30 was magical and the next day at Animal Kingdom was also a breeze. Did you look at the wait times for Monday and Tuesday this week? (Feb. 6 and 7) I couldn’t believe how long they were in comparison to last week, at least at MK. Wonder what the difference was? Looks like today is back to a more manageable crowd level. We had two connecting rooms at POFQ and thought it was very good value compared to all of us squeezing into a Deluxe room.

Welcome back! I'm loving that people found a nice pocket of time to visit!

 

[emily nicole]

Just returned Sunday from a fabulous 10 day trip staying at POFQ. We now have a favorite new time of year to visit. Loved the Festival of the Arts. The food was outstanding and a highlight of the trip. We had a mix of cool days and hot days. Going to MK on Tues the 31st when it closed at 4:30pm for the CM party around noon and had lunch. We waited about 15 minutes for HM, 20 minutes for JC and 10 minutes for 7DMT. All of the other rides were walk-ons. It was incredible. No LL needed which saved us a few $$.

We also took advantage of the early closure at MK on the 31st. We stayed from 10 until 4:30. Everything we rode was a 10 minute wait (or 13 minutes in the case of HM!) except the Dwarves which was only 40 minutes. It was like having an After Hours event during the daytime! I wouldn’t hesitate to go to MK on an early closure day again!

I should clarify that anything that said 10 minutes (or 13) was a total walk on including Space and Big Thunder. Multiple times!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

We also took advantage of the early closure at MK on the 31st. We stayed from 10 until 4:30. Everything we rode was a 10 minute wait (or 13 minutes in the case of HM!) except the Dwarves which was only 40 minutes. It was like having an After Hours event during the daytime! I wouldn’t hesitate to go to MK on an early closure day again!

I should clarify that anything that said 10 minutes (or 13) was a total walk on including Space and Big Thunder. Multiple times!

I agree! Would almost plan a future trip around the prospect of early Mk closure! We did 7DMT around 4pm and the sign said 40 min but the actual wait was 13 min and 10 minutes.....we rode back to back.....lol We rode BTMRR around 1:30ish?? back to back 3 times and it was almost exhausting going through those long queues at such a fast pace to walk on. They really should have changed the configuration to eliminate a lot more of the queue. IK......first world problems....

 

[MaidMarian444]

The last two years they have announced the CM party about two months ahead of time. I jumped on it when I saw it this year and planned a quick trip. May do the same next year if I can find anyone to go with! Not only do crowds choose not to go on an early closing day, I suspect Disney probably chooses a day when it notices a relatively low number of resort/park reservations, so it’s like getting an inside tip on which week is going to be low crowds.

 

[disney-inspired]

I've been back for awhile - we mostly had a good time but one friend caught a cold the week prior while at a work conference in Orlando so she didn't have that great of a time.

I got us in the VQ for our first Epcot day and while it was fun for on e friend, it was a bit too much for me and the other. I had a headache and she had to focus on not barfing on the person next to her the whole time. I managed to get the former friend in the VQ two more times that trip.

The parks were very busy so that's why I don't believe Disney when they say the park reservations help. Help them, sure, help us? nope. Overall, I'll be okay with not going in January again - too cold to enjoy the pool (I'm from southern California) and don't really care for the Art festival.

Highlights of our trip:
- We had dinner at Ohana and as we're leaving MK was closing so in hopes of avoiding the crowds exiting to busses, we were going to try to take the bus from Poly to HS and then boat over to Beach Club. HS was closed so knew this might not work - first bus pulled up and the driver told us that was a no go and that we had to go back to MK to take a bus to our resort. We stayed and waited until shortly after another bus heading to HS pulled up but it was completely empty. We told the driver (Rafael) our plan and after he confirmed we all were trying to get to Beach Club he said he could take us directly. So we three got a private bus to the hotel - so awesome!
- We had the BEST Skipper on Jungle Cruise - Fred! He was hilarious.
- Saw Harmonious on a whim - enjoyed it but not enough to like the barges lol
- Rode COP like 4 times - each time we ended up dozing off LOL. We were tired and it was a great, comfy place to rest.
- Rode the train! Albeit not on the good cars - we all prefer the cars where the benches are facing out so we can people watch - no such luch this time.
- Stayed at Beach Club Villas - first time experience for me and I LOVED the resort (not the villas so much b/c the studio is tiny). I'm hoping to go there next year with my sister & her family during a warm month to take advantage of the lazy river. Also being able to stroll over to Epcot and a boat to HS was AWESOME.

Lows
- We waited 75 minutes for a bus on our last day b/c we had two ECVs and every bus that came by was full since Beach Club shares busses - that really put me in a mood
- Waited like 40 minutes for a funnel cake at Sleepy Hollow b/c they were understaffed and running behind on the Belgian waffles but I didn't even want a Belgian waffle! They were literally waiting to take an order until the previous one had been fulfilled.
- Friend was sick and didn't seem to have much of a good time - kinda put a damper on my trip.
- Waited 75 minutes for Haunted Mansion - apparently ride shut down for a bit and they didn't bother to tell us. I would have left if I had known it wasn't working.

 

[emily nicole]

The last two years they have announced the CM party about two months ahead of time. I jumped on it when I saw it this year and planned a quick trip. May do the same next year if I can find anyone to go with! Not only do crowds choose not to go on an early closing day, I suspect Disney probably chooses a day when it notices a relatively low number of resort/park reservations, so it’s like getting an inside tip on which week is going to be low crowds.

Is the CM party generally at this same time of year?

 

[MaidMarian444]

Is the CM party generally at this same time of year?

No, it was the week after Thanksgiving in 2017 (or 2016? Might be misremembering the year we went). We booked week after Thanksgiving again in 2019 and I hoped we’d hit it again, but that year they held it in November. Last year it was supposed to be in January but it got moved to May due to weather.

Edit: Oops I was wrong, it was in December in 2019 : https://worldofwalt.com/disney-world-service-celebration-dec-2019.html

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I've been back for awhile - we mostly had a good time but one friend caught a cold the week prior while at a work conference in Orlando so she didn't have that great of a time.

I got us in the VQ for our first Epcot day and while it was fun for on e friend, it was a bit too much for me and the other. I had a headache and she had to focus on not barfing on the person next to her the whole time. I managed to get the former friend in the VQ two more times that trip.

The parks were very busy so that's why I don't believe Disney when they say the park reservations help. Help them, sure, help us? nope. Overall, I'll be okay with not going in January again - too cold to enjoy the pool (I'm from southern California) and don't really care for the Art festival.

Yay, thanks for the trip report!

We haven't stayed at any Boardwalk resorts yet, but hopefully someday. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

 

[emily nicole]

No, it was the week after Thanksgiving in 2017 (or 2016? Might be misremembering the year we went). We booked week after Thanksgiving again in 2019 and I hoped we’d hit it again, but that year they held it in November. Last year it was supposed to be in January but it got moved to May due to weather.

Edit: Oops I was wrong, it was in December in 2019 : https://worldofwalt.com/disney-world-service-celebration-dec-2019.html

Darn, I wish it was consistent so trips could be planned for it! lol. Thank you for replying!

 

[jvalic33]

I wanted to thank Thereyouseeher for this awesome blog....it was a lifesaver and timesaver for me when planning to know what was changing and when.

This was our second trip around this time of year and I already booked our return with the exception that we will pick up the last two days of December and spend NYE in Disney for the first time ever.

We are doing Wilderness Lodge and already so excited.

The kids all agreed it was our best trip ever and none of us can put our finger on exactly why but it was unanimous.

We all loooooooved Guardians and almost extended our ticket one more day to try to ride it before we left. It didnt hurt that Dad was picked for the HDDR and we really enjoyed HS Afterhours and were able to hang in there with the kids until 11:30!

Food was better than the year prior, supply chain issues weren't as obvious, we were seated under an AC at Cali Grill and the waiter noticed and brought us all shawls. Awesome CMs and just great trip overall....BW is an amazing and extra magical resort. Even waiting for dinner at the Flying Fish was magic as we watched the entertainers. It was oir first split stay and we ended it at AKV and with dinner at Jiko and it was just perfect. That resort is so beautiful as well....


Only thing that would make this time of year better would be if they could add Food & Wine to it. We left right before the Festival started, so didnt get to enjoy that.

Until next year everyone!