Thinking of a late January trip...anyone done this and have thoughts?

[nbliss]

We've always gone midweek in late October, and love love love the lack of crowds during the week. Thinking of going Jan 24-27 (in parks Mon -Wed). I know some stuff will be down for refurbishment, there might not be fireworks (not a big deal to us). Has anyone gone in late January, and what did you think? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Geemo]

We've done that time of the year and have loved it. The weather in Socal at that time of the year is equal to our spring/summer.

Be prepared for refurbishments. If you can deal with the list, you'll do fine.

You can check the thread of Historical Hours to see how your dates have been in past years.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/

Geemo

 

[PoohBearFriends]

This will be our third time doing the last week of January in Disneyland and we did it once that week at WDW. We have had pretty good weathe. One time rain in am a few days. That kept the locals away. There are closures but there's still so much to do we seem don't have problems with finding plenty to pack our days.

Crowds are great and hardly any line. I love the temp.


My kids do give me a hard time that Splash Mt. Has been down the past 3 yrs. Luckily they have a band trip over Memorial Day. And can do it then.

 

[Angrose]

We went the end of Jan in 2013 and had super low crowds and great weather (mid-70s). IIRC the rides that were down were Splash, GRR and IASW (to remove holiday overlay). I thought it was a great time to go. We included one Fri night in our trip so we were able to see the fireworks. Keep in mind that SoCal is expecting the big El Niño rain this winter and Jan- Feb is when it would hit the hardest.

 

[nbliss]

Thanks for the replies. I'm from just east of Seattle, so rain is ok with me. Crowds are my biggest issue. I appreciate all of your input!

 

[SMD]

Honestly, every week day I've been in the parks since the 60th started has been significantly more crowded than a similar week day during previous years. That may continue into January. We won't know if Disney will offer a So Cal ticket deal like they have in past years, but if they do, I imagine the increased crowds will continue. It will still probably be less than what's people are seeing now for Halloween (assuming they don't come up with some really popular Star Wars promotion to go with Seasons of the Force, if it's still happening then, which we also don't know yet.) But I would plan to see higher crowds than you're used to just in case and hope it's not as crowded as you're expecting.

I've even gone twice when it was raining and have not seen the drop off in crowds you'd expect from previous years. I think that either the word is out that people expect light crowds on rainy days or it hasn't rained enough to deter people.

 

[smiley_face2]

We have a very sad anniversary the last week of January, and choose to be away, usually at Disneyland for it. It was our sons favourite place and we feel very close to him there. This last trip there were a lot of closures because they were getting ready for the 60th, even the castle was tarped! but our favourites were running, (I don't really like the wet rides anyway) and there is still so much to see and do, you don't really notice. Except for Soarin....that was closed because of the complete reno of that whole area!! that kind of mad me sad. Also the lagoon there was drained, no world of color! This coming january, it will be rivers of america that will be drained! so no Fantasmic, but we will get to see the new world of color show! and I think from what I have seen, just the Paint the Night parade alone is worth a trip there at any time!!
http://www.disboards.com/threads/woc-dark-jan-19-feb-1st-2016.3459802/
So now WOC will be down during that time

 

[LALA8971]

We are heading to DL at the end of January this next year. We are slightly worried about the rain, but being from Oregon, we are used to it. Some of my best memories of DL are from rainy days!

 

[tiffjoy]

We are going Jan 22-26. Just be aware that NAMM is 21-24, which I was worried about. If you stay with your proposed dates, it won't impact you. Also, with the 60th, we are finding there are constant crowds.

 

[PoohBearFriends]

We are heading to DL at the end of January this next year. We are slightly worried about the rain, but being from Oregon, we are used to it. Some of my best memories of DL are from rainy days![/QUOTE

We are ok with the rain. It has happened a few times. We have gone for 3x that time of year. Being a NW person. No big deal. We love the lower crowds and just realize there will be closures.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

My birthday is at the end of January, so I have been there for a birthday trip a few different years. I would say it's one of my favorite times to go. Crowds are low and the weather is usually just fine. It may rain some but as long as you are prepared for it, it isn't a big deal. More rides will be down for refurb compared to the summer, that's really the biggest downside. If you do need to change your dates, I would suggest pushing the trip into February rather than going earlier in January. In particular I found that DLR was practically empty one Superbowl Sunday (keep in mind that in CA the Superbowl airs in the afternoon, not the evening). That evening after the game crowds really picked up, but during the game it was sprinkling outside and we felt like we had the place all to ourselves...fond memories!

Anyway, late January is a good time to go. After dealing with the crowds and humidity this past summer, I think I am going to stick to January or February for my future DLR trips.

 

[DLfan4]

we went jan 15-22 and crowds were low, weather perfect. best time to go.