Tell me about January

[kathyfhsu]

Just got from our first trip at Disney World. Now we want to go back, but not when it is so hot. We are tenatively planning on going again in January of 2013. What can anyone tell me about the weather and crowds that time of year.

 

[Uno Mas]

We've been several times in January. The crowds are definitely quiet, just avoid President's Weekend as that one usually attracts bigger crowds. But still much, much better compared to summer season, Christmas, Spring, Break, etc. The weather is a difficult variable to predict. One year, it was shorts the entire time, 70+, beautiful. The next, winter clothes. Average experience has been cool in the mornings and evenings and warmer during the day. So you just have to watch the weather reports before you go and plan to bring lots of layers.

 

[katrina1122]

Crowds are very low, sometimes they don't even open the fast pass machines. Weather is variable. I've worn shorts and gone swimming at night and worn jeans and sweatshirts all week wishing I had gloves.

Because crowds are lower, hours are reduced, parks close much earlier, but we've never not gotten everything in, in the reduced hours becuase there's never a wait.

 

[jjsmom]

We've taken several January trips. Definately not crowded and very very relaxing! I would avoid the Disney marathon (usually right after New Years) crowds have gotten larger as this event has become more popular. Also, I would avoid the MLK holiday weekend. I would plan on chilly weather and be thrilled to shed some layers(expect the worst, hope for the best). We've been lucky with a couple of 70 deg. days, but they were few and far between (still better than here in MD). My sister in law slipped and fell on ICE (whoda thought) on the Boardwalk in January.

I strongly agree with PP; avoid Presidents Day/week if possible! Lots of schools in the Northeast are closed for the entire week for "energy conservation" and Pres Day usually coincides with the Daytona 500. Our school district closes Friday for teacher inservice and Monday for the holiday; lots of families I know head straight to Disney. The Pres crowds crowds rival peak summer (July) crowds during that time.

 

[BarbossasWench]

Isn't President's Day in February or is it a time in January I'm not familiar with on the West Coast? I'm planning a trip in January too!

 

[hroyale]

Nobody mentioned the Brazilian tour groups. So I'll chime in.

In Jan you'll see large tour groups filled with Brazilian teenagers. They can be a bit loud, but are pretty well organized. You just need to stay ahead of them and never get behind one of the tour leaders at the Fast Pass machines.

We love Jan, will be back again this year.

 

[jjsmom]

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you. Yes Pres Weekend is in Feb. I guess I was overly enthusiastic talking about trying to avoid that period in the winter. The largest crowds we've ever experienced has been President's weekend/week (unless someone gave me a free trip I personally would never go Christmas or Easter week). Happy planning!

 

[MaleficentRN]

I would avoid going during marathon weekend. Traffic in and around the parks is terrible. Early morning is chilly. You'll need a jacket. One morning DD and I went to princess breakfast in EPCOT at 9am and when we came out had to go buy hats we were so cold even with our jackets! But by the afternoon we could swim in the pool. It was record lows during one of our trips. We laughed when the newscaster did a story on signs of hypothermia because it was going down to 40 one night. To someone from the NE, 40 in January is balmy!

 

[rapunzels]

We've been to WDW once in January, twice in February, once in July, once in November, and once in December - and by far the best trip was the one in January. We were there tail end of 2nd week of January, into 3rd week of Jan and it was perfect. As far as crowds go, it was the best trip. For some reason we haven't been able to swing going back in January, but it was great. This year we are going in the second week of November, and will be hoping for the lines to be at a minimum. Have fun...!!!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Yes, President's Day is in February, but you've got MLK holiday in January.

 

[gstew24]

other than presidents weekend it's lighter than normal but the weather is much colder and rainy

 

[MonorailPilotMulan]

January is nice for crowds but when it comes to weather, I would definitely check the outlook BEFORE you get here. January is our most bipolar month when it comes to weather. It would average around 65-70 degrees during the day but as soon as a front moves through, it could go down to as low as the 40s. Even after checking the wether, I would make sure to bring some spare clothes that are opposite of what it is predicted to feel like because you just never know in January. If you arrive before the 5th or so you'd likely be able to catch some of the holiday decorations and activities such as the Osbourne Dancing Lights and such. Sometimes it is fun to see that as the decorations are taken down, the crowds kind of widdle away a bit every day. Like everyone else said: avoid marathon weekend and Martin Luther King weekend and you'll be golden!