Too early to plan a January 2023 trip?

[kandb]

My children will be in college and have winter break for the first 3 weeks of January in 2023. We have always gone to WDW in August and am looking forward to not roasting from the heat. We would want to go the least crowded time. Is any of the first 3 weeks of January a slow time to go? Any other advice/recommendations?

 

[peabody58]

We try to go more near the middle to end of Jan. The holiday decorations should be all down by then, and the crowd level does seem lower. The weather is a crap shoot in Jan, but overall we have been very fortunate. Only downside is the parks close earlier and there's not as much going on. We have a trip the third week of Jan next year and are really looking forward to it.

PS - January is filling up pretty fast right now, especially on the DVC side. Best to get your reservation now. Also no discounts from what I can tell.

 

[Robo]

near the middle to end of Jan.

Ditto.

 

[coolbrook]

Its never to early to plan a Disney trip! Its fun to have something to look forward to. I love January at Disney! Anytime after that second weekend should be great except MLK weekend. It seems like sometimes there is a race weekend too to work around, not sure. Enjoy your planning and dreaming!

 

[Accidental Disney Fan]

Seems like a good time to go, less crowds, less hot, avoid MLK weekend. But I think they also do more refurbs and maintenance on rides - there's gotta be a schedule somewhere but maybe not this far out. I think it could be expected that one or two rides might be unavailable.

 

[auntlynne]

Pick the week that works for you. Your kids are out of college; they won’t be the only ones. But pre-college schools will be back in session by Mon, Jan 9.

Looking at the WDW Marathon for 2022 (and previous years), in 2023, they will probably run the weekend of Jan 6-8. I‘m pretty sure they picked a slow weekend (years ago) to hold this race in attempt to make up for low park attendance. January is still listed as one of the low seasons. Sort of like adding Festival of the Arts a few years ago.

Late Jan / early Feb may be even lower crowds, but you have a window dictated by university calendars. It’s going to be lower crowds than Christmas.

If using Disney lodging, race weekend will probably be more expensive - and harder to find. ADRs, too.

You can look at the ticket price calendar on the Disney website; they use dynamic pricing. Higher demand days cost more.

So, no, I don’t think it’s too early to start planning.

 

[musika]

Just another comment on January. We went during the third week of Jan in 2020 and it was bananas busy for some weird reason. And cold. haha. Not sure if you're american but MLK day is Jan 21 so another holiday crowd to watch for.

 

[brewhome]

Just another comment on January. We went during the third week of Jan in 2020 and it was bananas busy for some weird reason. And cold. haha. Not sure if you're american but MLK day is Jan 21 so another holiday crowd to watch for.

MLK Day is 1/16 in 2023.

It’s never too early to plan - we are planning our January 2023 girls trip now! My niece will be turning 30 on 1/11 and my sis will be turning 60 on 1/13 so we can be there for both their milestone birthdays! We’re planning 1/11-1/16, probably a split stay between AKL and either Boardwalk or Beach Club. We will try to rent DVC points if we can get the dates and locations we need, but if not we will go with regular hotel rooms.

I’ve gone in January a few times before and have experienced temps ranging from chilly/needing a couple of layers all the way to hot enough to swim, but we never had any significant rain and the sunshine is wonderful even if it’s chilly. Typically a few things are closed for refurbishment, but that happens year round, really… and if parks close a little earlier, Disney Springs is a great option for dinners and entertainment. We also love to hotel hop and check out different gift shops, restaurants, and lounges.

The Epcot Festival of the Arts also starts around the third week of the month so that’s a nice option. Last year it started on 1/17… we may miss it for our trip but maybe we will get lucky and it will start before we leave.

Happy Planning!

 

[TheHannas]

We are also waiting to book Jan 2023. We have been in July (hot as heck) and November (busy as heck), then January for my wife’s bday. Absolutely best time! Weather was cool and crowd minimal. We usually just go us two so kids back in school is a plus!

 

[mom2rtk]

Just another comment on January. We went during the third week of Jan in 2020 and it was bananas busy for some weird reason. And cold. haha. Not sure if you're american but MLK day is Jan 21 so another holiday crowd to watch for.

And we went the second week of January in 2020 and a few days were hot as blazes. That's really the story that time of year. Be prepared for any weather.