Pros and Cons of WDW in January?

[Pig Pen]

I am thinking that there is NO WAY I can wait till the end of April to visit WDW.

If I can convince DH, get a good airfare and a good AP hotel rate (I've already spent all my DVC points for the year), I would love to squeeze in a short trip in January.

What are the pros and cons of going in January so I will have some good ammunition as I try to convince DH? He thinks it will be too cold and expensive for a short (5 days) trip.

We live in Vermont....how cold can Florida in January be????

What are the pros and cons you can come up with?

 

[kandmwedding]

I'm going for my honeymoon in January, and for me it's all pros.

Disney claims January (except for MLK weekend) is the lowest attendance. Yay! No lines!

While the temperature varies, the average during the day is about 70 and in the evening is about 50. Not too hot, like DW usually is!!

Value season travel is always nice!

 

[Peggo]

It can get cold, but no unbearably so. I wore a light jacket, by no means a winter weight jacket. The coldest times are of course after sundown, but the parks close early so that's not too much of a problem.
The lack of crowds is what makes this time of year worth the trip. You can stroll onto rides over and over. The water rides are best done around midday and have some clothes to change into.
But otherwise the air is crisp and you can actually smell the flowers!
Early in Jan the Christmas Decorations are still up, and if you time it right you can experience the change back to normal.
It's probably like October in Vermont.
So the pros are
No crowds
Early close so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour to get up for the next day
Crisp air instead of sweltering heat and sudden downpours
The cons are
It somethimes feels a little lonely
Chilly at night
You need some extra warm clothes
Not as many shows and extras as the packed months.

You decide.

 

[Harambe]

We love it also. Even MLK weekend crowds are not as bad as summer crowds.

If you are thinking of staying at AKL or WL, the fireplaces going add a nice touch to your stay, and I think you can really enjoy all the good food - sometimes when you're sweating to death, the thought of eating . . . yuck!

Shorter hours do kinda force you to do the early morning thing but that's okay. Even when the parks close early in the evening, you can have a wonderful meal at a resort restaurant, or head over to Downtown Disney. The low crowds during the day allow you to do so much!

See ya there!

 

[Puffy2]

January can bring warm weather (shorts and tshirt ) or cold weather (jeans, sweater and jacket) but mostly you will be ok with jeans, long sleves in the parks during the day.

NO crowds.

NOT hot.

The only draw back is that some areas like the boardwalk at night are kind of "dead" - because crowds are down and fewer "extas" like artists, jugglers, etc.... open up "shop".

But generally, it's a GREAT time to go because the hotel is much cheaper, the airfare is cheaper too, short lines, good weather. I'm betting it;s a better experience than in April.

 

[Pig Pen]

AKL or WL would be fabulous in January! We stayed at WL in May and adored it. I remembered thinking that sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate would be great if it wasn't 90 degrees.

We are early risers so the early closing doesn't bother us. That gives us an excuse to go back to the hotel and relax a bit.

I love the sun, but DH is not a real pool person, so not being able to swim would not be a problem. I do enjoy the hot tubs (spas, whatever) though.

And I figure ANY Florida weather would be better than Vermont's weather in January.

Hey, it snowed here this week!

 

[tinaluis]

We visited January 16-30, 2003 and the parks were virtually empty. We walked on to everything and most FP machines were closed because they weren't necessary. We had chilly weather though, but it was nothing like the record cold we'd left in Chicago, so we just took it in stride. The locals were wearing winter coats, gloves, hats and scarves and my family and I were in t-shirts and jeans -- they thought we were crazy and vice versa. We did stay off of the water rides, though, because my oldest DD was just getting over strep throat. We're visiting again this month (10/11 - 10/31) because my DDs really want to swim and do the water parks. If they weren't too interested in swimming, January would definitely be my choice. Good luck in talking your husband into another trip!!!

 

[BonnieA]

No cons from me. I love January. Don't rule out swimming or water parks. Even during our coldest trips there is usually one day that has been warm enough for a water park. And the last time I went in January (2002) there was record breaking heat, around 85 the whole week. Too hot for me but I lived through it.

 

[momsmall]

Several years ago we were in the world and it was wonderful, the day we left Maryland it was 35 degrees and it was in the 80's our entire stay in Florida. We were once again in the world in Jan. 11 - 21, 2003. It was cold, frost on the roofs a couple of mornings. Usually we leave our winter coats in our car prior to flying to Florida but this time we took them because it was so cold prior to flying out. It was a good thing because we wore them most of the week in Florida. We wore hats and gloves as well. It was just beginning to warm up when we left but there were no shorts for this stay. There are no lines to speak of and that is a plus. It was unusual for the weather to be as cold as it was and to avoid crowds we would not hesitate to attend in January again. Have fun, it is worth it to go when the crowds are down.

 

[LisaRay]

Aw yes,
we were there last Jan. when they had that VERY cold spell! We also had our winter coats with us since we fly from st. Louis and we had to buy gloves. Couldn't find any for DS (age3) so he used socks on his hands. Also had to take our beach towels with us one morning to cover up with and we are from Ill. !! We have a cute pic of all of us with Mickey at AK in winter coats and gloves! They even cancelled the 1st Lion King show of the morning at AK! And brought in HUGE heaters for the 2nd one. Another morning my DS and i went to watch the 1st beauty and the beast show at MGM while others rode RnR. We got all settled in covered up with our towels and they cancelled the show due to the cold! It was 30 something one morning and warmed up to 50. We had the high of 50 for at least 2 if not 3 days. and 50 isn't BAD but 30 something is in the morning! We spent alot of $$ on hot chocolate that week! However, with all that being said we have been before in Jan. and swam and we are also planning on braving it again this Jan. too. So I do think it was a fluke but I am still hoping for 70's!

 

[mom2of2]

Please check your pm's

 

[Disney Doll]

We've gone in Janaury a bunch of times...it's a great time to go. It's not crowded. For us Northerners, the weather is nice...high 60s-70 during the day, 50's at night(beats -20 at home, right ). One time when we were there, it was in the 30'ds for a couple of days, but we were having a blizzard with 2 feet of snow up North!!!! As I told my DH at the time "30 in Disneyworld is still better than 2 feet of snow at home!!!!"

 

[jann1033]

con: may be colder than you like (a few days) for swimming still usually can wear shorts and tee shirts, may need a sweat shirt occasionally
inmumerable pros:, no crowds, if you are from vermont there is nothing like leaving a cold snowy home to sunny warm weather...taking off the heavy coat and rolling down the windows ( one reason we like to drive down!), laying in a hammock at FW on the empty beach and feeling that balmy breeze blowing when the night before you were wading through 2 ft of snow, walking on every ride and complaining if there is a 5 mins wait because THAT is crowded, no crowds, no crowds no crowds....oh wait maybe I shouldn't let that cat out of the bag!

 

[tjkraz]

Two more "cons" for the list: Ride Rehabs and cheerleaders. You can count on one of the water parks being closed, and the rock-bottom attendance means that they may have a handful of attractions out of service as well.

The Wide World of Sports hosts cheerleading and dance competitions on most weekends in January and into February. The impact on the parks is typically limited to Fridays and Mondays as they spend their weekends exclusively on the competition. However, I've been told the All Star resorts, and sometimes moderates, can be a nightmare for those expecting a peaceful vacation.

I'm a January vet, and will probably do it again. We got lucky with the weather--just missing the week of 40-50 degree highs. We stayed for six days and I believe it got into the 70s all but one day.

I really think you need to go into a January trip with the proper mindset. If you realize from the get-go that you may be in jeans and sweatshirts the entire week, you'll be OK. The winds at Epcot can be chilling. The night we saw Fantasmic, the temps had dropped into the high 50s, and the water sprays were not pleasant. You may not be able to swim during your entire stay.

If you are prepared to deal with all of the (potential) negatives, then you can't beat it. Everything else said here is true--short lines, no need for FastPass, no problem getting PS, etc.

 

[Princess Charming]

Please don't think that I am anti-cheerleaders by posing this question:

I am wondering if anyone knows what it is like staying at the all stars with the cheerleaders. We arrive on Sat., Jan. 31st and leave on Thursday, February 5th. No date changes possible at this point.

Noise doesn't bother me as we plan to be up early although with a 5 1/2 year old, sleep is important.

I'm wondering if anyone has experienced All Stars with the cheerleaders and if there is good reason to upgrade resorts.

 

[tjkraz]

Try searching the boards for "Cheerleaders", and I bet you'll get the good, bad and ugly from prior threads.

You really can't tell in advance how it will be. A lot of it depends upon the quality of the chaperone(s) assigned to any groups that might be in your vicinity. Some groups are up until all hours while others are more well-behaved.

The one tip I'll offer is that you might want to request a room away from any pool areas. If they are likely to congregate in any outside area, that's probably it.

Their competitions will likely be Saturday and Sunday, so you'll only have a couple of nights at the front end of your trip to worry about. After that it should be smooth sailing.

Personally I wouldn't recommend the moderate upgrade solely to try and avoid these groups. If the all-stars are booked, the next resort for the cheerleading groups are the moderates.

 

[january]

To the Cheerleading thing just don't get a room that faces the football field. Building 7 or 10 back side of those buildings are fine tho.

When we stayed Jand 3rd to 12th of 02 we was in building 7 facing the football field and that was where the cheerleaders practiced at other than that we didn't even know the cheerleaders was there but there practicing was a little noisy and they started practicing about 8am and did not stop till about 10 pm.

It was not unbearable noise but we knew they was out there.

As far as the pros and cons of Jan and the parks We loved our Jan visit we did use all of our gear everything from shorts to winter coats hats and gloves. Illuminations can get cold as can sitting waiting for Fantasmic. One or 2 nights that week the Tapestry of Dreams parade was canceled because of wind. Those nights we only stayed one night for Illuminations the next time we went on back to room even tho we'd have loved to see Illuminations again.

I'll give up pool time and put on an extra layer of clothes to miss the hot temps of summer and the crowds anytime tho. Parks closing early did not slow us down we'd move over to Epcot World Showcase or couple of evenings went to Downtown Disney and shopped. And while we didn't lay in bed half the day we didn't feel that rush to be in the parks when they opened to beat the crowd either. Usually arrived by 9:30 and did not stand in line and wait to get in the park.

 

[jann1033]

as far as the cheerleaders go, unless we have always just happened to miss them, I don't think their impact goes beyond ( I read) the assport much since I never ever knew they were in the area till I read these boards! Many have complained about the noise in the allstars from them, if it is the same time as your trip I think i would upgrade just because who wants a bunch of peppy people at 2 am(lol)

 

[eelderm1]

Hi, we were thinking of going Jan 2-6. I was wondering , I know these dates are right after new years day, because of this are the crowds still down in early Jan?

 

[jann1033]

I am trying to remember the exact dates we went last time in Jan and the 6th sticks in my mind but maybe because that's when we are going this year( simple mind ,gets confused easily lol) but it was even less busy than when we have gone in early Dec. I have heard the last few years the "value season " has been busier due to more promotions, ect. so it could be a little busier than dead. we have always walked pretty much straight on everything and not had to worry about touring plans, going back to the hotel to escape the crowds, ect.and the kids always swam . I think after new years weekend it should be back to slow. especially since ther new promaotion starts Jan 4, I'm guessing Disney expects it to be slow by then or they wouldn't be offering a promo!

edited cause I asked my husband if he remembered. he said the last time we went in Jan was the first week and it was not busy at all. the only attraction he remembers waiting for at all was BTM and that was only a couple mins. by the time you got through the ropes you waited ac ouple mins. then boarded. the only bad thing about this is you don't get to really look around in the pre show areas since you are basically just walking through and a lot of the secrets on the "secrets" thread seem to be there so you need to look around fast!