Parks at New Years and very Early January

[jxgallan]

Hi everyone, we are planning a trip to Orlando from December 28th to January 8th. From all my research it appears that Disney has their busiest week from Christmas to New Years Day. January is listed as having low attendance. Do the crowds tend to drop off immediately after New Year's Day? I also noted that the Marathon is on January 6th and 7th in 2007 - does this impact the number of people?

Juanita
PEI
Canada

 

[sean-1966]

We've been New Years Day and the parks were pretty busy but for the few days after that it was great.

 

[mackeyapp]

We have been there the past two years from 12/28-01/09. We found that the crowds decreased more each day after the 1st. By the time we left on the 9th the parks were very quiet. The weekend of the marathon was somewhat busy, however the crowds were nothing in comparison to 28-31 of December. Another tip, make sure that if you are planning on visiting certain attractions or rides that they aren't closed for service. We got caught last year when we decided to wait until the crowds dimished at Test Track and then discovered it was closed the first of January for maintenance. Our boys were not happy!

 

[PandaBear & Boo]

Went Jan 1-7, 2006. The 1st was packed. Then everyday after that the crowd went down but not by much. The florida schools were on the same Christmas break as us. By the 5th the crowds were at the levels I thought the whole trip would be like. It is a great time to go because of all the decorations and the weather is nice. Be prepared for the start of your vacation to be crowded. A few days after the 1st of Jan the crowds will start to lessen.

 

[riu girl]

We were there this past January (Dec 31 - Jan 8) and found that the crowds really didn't start to lessen until about the 4th. Even after the 4th it was not quiet. I think you really have to watch school holidays. Many school boards did not return until Jan 9 so I'm sure that this would impact crowd levels.

 

[dhluvsDisney]

We were there this past year Dec 30 - Jan 9th. We were very surprised how busy the parks were. CM's were even commenting on how they were unprepared for how busy it was. It turns out a lot of schools (not just in MB) changed their Christmas break to include the first week of January. The Marathon also makes it more crowded as it has become the 10th largest in the U.S. It really didn't die down until the end of our trip. We had really expected it to be quieter based on past years.

Linda

 

[donkthemagicllama]

We were there from Christmas day until the 8th, this year and even though it was very cold and windy for a few days after new years, it still was really busy. We were expecting the crowds to die down right after New Year's, but it didn't really happen.

 

[luvdiz2]

We go every year in September for three weeks and January for three weeks (gotta luv DVC ). January we usually get there just after New Years @ 4th or so. Over the last few years, we find it really busy, throughout January. Probably compared to summer, spring break, etc. it isn't too bad. September we find, is so quiet (again we go just after Labour Day) we save the busy rides for then. Last Sept. I was on Soarin' 11 or so times, but January this year only once, as I won't do lineups that long (up to 90 minutes in January!!!!) and that was in the morning. Of course, in January, leaving this weather and just "crowd watching" outside brings me pleasure

Luvdiz

 

[surfer_ed]

We were there 2003/2004 and it was great. News Years eve in the park was wonderful and MK was open until 2:00 am. After 12:00 the park was empty and we rode Thunder Mountian 3 times without even getting off the ride.

 

[Disney5Mom]

Went Jan 1-7, 2006. The 1st was packed. Then everyday after that the crowd went down but not by much. The florida schools were on the same Christmas break as us. By the 5th the crowds were at the levels I thought the whole trip would be like. It is a great time to go because of all the decorations and the weather is nice. Be prepared for the start of your vacation to be crowded. A few days after the 1st of Jan the crowds will start to lessen.

We went exactly the same time and agree with Panda Bear and Boo
We did go to EMH on Jan1 at MK from 12 til 3 and it was pretty empty! We did a lot of rides and had a great time. I remember wishing I had brought my camera to take pictures of the quiet park . We enjoyed seeing the decorations but found the parks a bit crowded during peak hours especially at the beginning of the week.

 

[Charleyann]

We went Dec 27 - January 8 /06 The crowds were horrible. People tripping over wheelchairs and strollers. Long line up and too many people to push your wat through.

I love Disney all decked out for the holidays, just not that time of year. I went Dec 1st -15th , 2001 and it was very quiet and you could walk right onto the rides. It was all decked out for Christmas...yet so peaceful!

Charleyann