Tell me about the second week in January

[shellybaxter]

What are the pluses and minuses. DH and I have been in November and May. We are thinking of going the second week of January (the 9th - 17th) and meeting up with friends while down there. They have four children 5 - 15. We thought they could use some extra hands.

Are their any events we'll want to know about, or special things to attend or avoid. Will there be cheerleaders or footballers in the all stars (probably won't stay there anyway). Any assistance appreciated.

Shelly

 

[jl3614]

Two things come to mind -

1. the crowds will be very light, even though the parks will close early you should have no trouble seeing anything you want with little or no wait.

2. the weather can be extremely variable, you could have highs in the 40s with wind chills in the 20s, or you could have temps in the upper 60s - low 70s. I would not plan on much pool time.

 

[twocjsmom]

We were there for 5 days last year at that time. The first couple of days was when the marathon was going on, and while the crowds were slightly larger during thsoe days, it was really neat on the morning of the marathon to see the crowds of support for the runners. We went to AK that morning, and transportation was a little slow but that was because they reroute the busses due to the race. Many parts of the races go right through the parks, which was really inspring to watch as we walked into AK that morning. The weather was cold (and from what I understand, it was exceptionally cold at that time last year) but was tolerable especially since we knew that we had escaped snow back home. We'll be returning about the same time this year, as my husband has a conference in Orlando there again this year. While there are plusses about going during the warmer months, it was really great to not have to wait practically anywhere for more than 10 minutes for a ride, especially when toting two small kids with us! The room rates are very inexpensive then too!

 

[Jillpie]

Well, you couldn't match our dates any better! We just came from doing those exact dates this past January (9-18th). I can't say enough great things about it, it was truly wonderful.

Swimming- did it every afternoon at SAB. Fantastic. Had alot of the pool to ourselves, people didn't know what they were missing. It was a tad chilly stepping out of the water at times, but the water was heavenly and warm.

Weather-we wore fleeces/sweats every morning to the parks. Took them all off by late morning. Wore them again at night, but not every night. So the mornings were a little chilly, afternoons were about 70's and the evenings were about 50's.

The rides- what can I say? An absolutely fantastic experience. There were virtually no lines and got on our most favorites over and over again. Can you imagine just getting back on Splash Mt. over and over and being the only ones at some points? Awesome.

So if you don't mind wearing a light jacket in the mornings, go for it. You won't regret going at this time. It was just awesome!!

 

[shellybaxter]

Thank you for all your great replys. It sounds like a good time of year to go. Are any of the Christmas decorations still up by chance? And what and when is the marathon? Where does it run?

Shelly

 

[DawnAK]

My family usually goes in January. We went this year too, Jan 3-13. I doubt you will see Christmas decorations in the parks, but maybe in the resorts, they seem to be up a little longer. The marathon is a major event at WDW. We participated in it this year. I believe in 2004 it is Sunday Jan 9. There are appx 24,000 participants in the full and half marathons. The race starts very early in the morning (6am I think) and it has to be finished by a certain time (3.5 hours for half and 7 hours for full). We have gone several times during the marathon and haven't noticed much of a difference in crowds. On marathon day, transportation can be difficult especially in the morning.
It is a great time to go. Just be prepared for different temperatures. On marathon morning it is 40 degrees with a windchill of 32 degrees. I was grateful to have my gloves and ear band to keep me warmer!
Dawn

 

[homeschooler]

WE LOVE IT! WE LOVE IT! WE LOVE IT!

You can see from my signature, we only go in January/February. This year February with annual passes and the next year January with the same passes. Two year on one pass.

Groups are light. We can get into character meals generally as a walk in sometimes a short wait. No wait on attractions. Sometimes the CM will sort of drag you into a show as the doors are closing.

No one is in the pools except us odd balls from the north.

 

[TonyS20]

This was the timeframe we went in 2002 and it was perfect. We saw some cheerleaders at MGM one day, but they did not impact the crowds. We went back in December 2002 and had a great time then as well.

As a matter of fact, we are planning our 10th anniversary celebration (May, 2006) and my DH does not want to go in May. Therefore, I told him to pick any month and we would go, but we would be celebrating our 10th. He picked January and said even though the Christmas decorations were fun, he had a great time in January. We'll be there in January, 2006 to celebrate 10 years!!

All the Christmas decorations were pretty well gone by mid-January. Some of the resorts still had some garland/ornaments displayed, but the parks were back to "normal".

The weather was perfect; however, you really need to have long pants/shorts and t-shirts/sweatshirts to account for what the weather could be like. Or you could just buy a sweatshirt if it is chilly!

 

[msmouse]

When is Martin Luther King Holiday? Was there one January during that time, and the weekend of the Holiday was really heavy.

 

[Jillpie]

Its me again.

Christmas decorations- when we arrived on the 9th, they were all up at the BC, a big tree in the middle of the lobby. To tell you the truth, it was a little weird for me. In January, as much as I adore Christmas, the holiday is over and its time to move on. Never mind seeing decorations that, in my mind, are for cold weather! As you can see, we're northeners, Christmas is very cold and felt very strange to see things in Fl. Anyway, by the end of that week, everything was down.

The marathon- it will fall on the first weekend you are there. Don't worry about this. It does not impact the crowds in any way at the parks. It is so cool to see all the runners though, they go through all the parks (very early in the am). When we visited the SAB jacuzzi after the running, we encountered several runners in there. They were very soar and they talked about the run. We saw them coming out of AK and cheered them on, very fun.

Again, you will love this time of year! Have a ball.

 

[n2mm]

msmouse, MLK holiday is the 17th, but as an added plus for us government employees we are also off for holiday (not sure what other companies) for Thursday (same week) for innaguation day the 20th. For me that's great, because Monday is a holiday, Thursday is a holiday and Friday is my flex day off. So I only have to use 2 days vacation and have the entire week off. Needless to say I already made my ressie for the WL for the week at the cast rate!