Pros & Cons about WDW in January

[Terk-1]

Need to move my trip from December to January (like the 6th to the 15th). How is it then? How is the weather? What about the crowds? Is there anything going on during that time? What about the park hours?

HELP!!!

 

[oogieboogie]

Pros:
The crowds are low
The weather is cool
You hardly need PSs
Much more relaxed atmosphere

Cons:
The weather can be cold
MK and AK close really early - AK closes at 5pm, and MK can close as early as 7pm
Sometimes it's too cold to use the pools
Nothing going on at that time expect for the marathon

 

[ImagineEar]

Ditto to Oogieboogie' list. We like that time of the year because for us the pro's outweigh the cons now. But when our kids were little - it just wasn't a vacation to them if they didn't get to go in the pool for a bit everyday... so we did Oct - Nov instead.

 

[Lives4Disney]

January is our absolute favorite time to visit WDW. We really cannot do it at that time of year anymore as I have a teen starting high school this year. Big bummer.

The weather is lovely, however, we never swim during January. Too cold for us. The no swimming has never been an issue, though, as the parks are just so wonderful. There is hardly any wait for rides, main street is clear of traffic, no hassle for dining at all, no problem finding an awesome seat for parades, ......I love January at the world.

It does get very cold at night. Once in the 30s for us. That didn't bother us too much as we came from IL and had our coold weather clothes. (Bring hats and gloves!) One of my favorite memories of January trip was when it was very chilly evening and we had a LTT dinner. The place was deserted!! We literally had all the characters to ourselves. They just doted on my 2 little girls. I have some neat photos of that dinner. When dinner was over, the park was already closed. We were the ONLY ones leaving. It was so lovely and quiet. I tried to take some neat pics of the empty MK but they didn't turn out as it was too dark.

Enjoy!!! To me that is the best time to go!! No stress, hassles, crowds.....

Lives4Disney

 

[blujaymama]

I have gone more often in January than any other time of the year. It is value season (less $$) and the smaller crowds are a huge perk for me, but I must confess, it is just darn cold. The last two times we went it got down to the 40's at night and I didn't enjoy that too much. Pool time was definitely out. It is a dry time of the year though, so no big worries about that, which is nice. Around MLK's birthday the parks get much busier though (just for that weekend). The park hours are shorter, but if you get up early then you still definitely get a full day in.
Either way you will have a blast. Have fun!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We always go in July. THis year we're adding on January too since DH will be entering the marathon. I have a feeling it's going to be like the Twilight Zone for us. Less crowds will be nice, but three kids are going to miss the pool. Oh well that should be the least of our problems.

 

[2x_dis_dad]

We usually go in January. It is the best time to go. No heat or humidity problems. No lines. We had the MK to ourselves for EMH night. The parks do close earlier, but without the crowds you can still do everything by closing time.

 

[travelin' tigger]

Is there anything going on during that time?

I believe that somewhere around those dates is the Marathon and that usually draws large crowds for Jan. - anyone know the date for 2006???

 

[oogieboogie]

Pool time may be out but it may not. When we went this January (dec 31 - jan 8) we were able to use the pools. It was actually warm enough in the afternoons and early evenings and we got in lots of pool time.

The weather was very nice in that we were able to walk around in t-shirts and shorts and in the evenings just put on a sweatshirt.

Just bring your swimsuit anyway. You never know. Last year we went in Feb and it was high 80s up to 90F all the way until the last day of our trip.

 

[Bob P]

I believe that somewhere around those dates is the Marathon and that usually draws large crowds for Jan. - anyone know the date for 2006???

Marathon weekend is Jan 7-8, 2006.

We did the marathon in 2004 and despite the influx of 25,000 participants and their families, we have never seen the parks so empty.

Bob

 

[travelin' tigger]

Marathon weekend is Jan 7-8, 2006.

We did the marathon in 2004 and despite the influx of 25,000 participants and their families, we have never seen the parks so empty.

Bob

A friend of mine was there for the marathon this past Jan. and said the morning of the marathon it was almost impossible to get around via car or bus due to the marathon interrupting the traffic flow - worst was trying to get to MK!!!!

 

[jsmla]

We often go in early January. The last few times we have been lucky and hit temps in the 80's. One thing I would add is to be careful of the New Years crowds. New Years fell over a long weekend this year and the crowds were fairly large until mid-week or later.


Jennifer

 

[Bob P]

A friend of mine was there for the marathon this past Jan. and said the morning of the marathon it was almost impossible to get around via car or bus due to the marathon interrupting the traffic flow - worst was trying to get to MK!!!!

Well, that's indeed possible! We participated and were caught in a huge traffic jam getting back to the hotel when we finished running about 9:00...but the parks were empty!

 

[oogieboogie]

On the marathon days, it is advised to take Disney transportation. A couple days before the marathon, we got a memo in our room stating this and some alternate routes to take.

The parks were definitely empty though on marathon day.

 

[ReninDetroit]

I LOVE Dec-Jan-Feb.

The weather, IMO, is perfect. It gets cool, but not really ever cold. And I would MUCH rather wear a jacket than be hot.

It's chilly in the mornings, and it's chilly after dinner, but for the peak hours of the day it's warm enough to go without a jacket. (Usually).

It does get cold at night, though. You need good outerwear (more than a hoodie, which usually suffices for the other parts of the day) after 7:30ish at night and before 8:00ish in the morning.

The prices are cheap, the crowds are low, and all is well at WDW. The hours aren't a con for me. We're not "out late" people.

The only con I could possibly imagine is that it's too cool to swim. But that's fine with me because the good side of that is that you can spend ALL day in the park without a break in the afternoon because it's so unbearably hot.

 

[Bob P]

On the marathon days, it is advised to take Disney transportation. A couple days before the marathon, we got a memo in our room stating this and some alternate routes to take.

The parks were definitely empty though on marathon day.

Hi Oogieboogie,

I should point out (from my earlier post) that we DID take WDW buses, and the traffic was still horrific. It took us more than half an hour to get out of the MK parking lot, and close to an hour in all to get back to CSR from the MK. And this was about 9:AM.

Bob

 

[oogieboogie]

Hi Oogieboogie,

I should point out (from my earlier post) that we DID take WDW buses, and the traffic was till horrific. It took us more than half an hour to get out of the MK parking lot, and close to an hour in all to get back to CSR from the MK. And this was about 9:AM.

Bob

That's interesting to note. I guess since we didn't do MK that day I didn't encounter the traffic jam. Weird!

 

[Annette_VA]

Jan/Feb is our favorite time to visit. The only reason we've ever deviated from those months is when we've gone because DH has a conference to go to.

Crowds are minimal. The weather is nice - not so stinking hot, you're all sweaty by time you make it down Main Street. I always still do PS's, but that's probably just because I'm anal - LOL.

 

[Terk-1]

Thanks everyone for your input. I was a little nervouse, but even though I love to swim, not swimming at WDW is not a major loss for me. I'm more interested in the smaller crowds and nicer weather (hey 60 degrees in FL beats 20 degrees in MA in January!!). I'll probably still do PS for the harder places to get a PS, but may wing the rest.

Speaking of the marathon, which parks are involved with that? Do they close off sections of the parks? What time do they usually start? How much is it to do? Do you have to qualify? How long is it? What is the route?

 

[wld]

We had always went to WDW in early Dec or once in May. We went the last 2 years in January and don't think we will go again. We went the second time because of the deals
Cold in WDW beats 0 and work at home take gloves
low lines, but didn't really see any more d/t reduced hours
But the real reason I probably won't go in January again is the green plywood everywhere. I know that they have to refurbish stuff and I know rides must be closed, but I hated all the green plywood we seemed to encounter esp at MK, (I know they were getting ready for the celebration this year, but we saw it last year too) and MGM. I guess it is because we usually go when there are extra decorations/flowers/etc up.
Haven't been there during the marathon.