Was anyone there Jan. 2006?

[zookeeper]

I'm thinking of travelling to WDW the week after New Year's 2007 because I'll have that week off of work. Was anyone there at that same time (1st week of Jan.) that can let me know about crowd levels, etc. Thanks for any info.

 

[belle&beast]

We were there January 14-21, so not exactly the week you are going. Crowds are great (we never waited for more than 20 minutes) but our weather was cool- we didn't use the pools. The parks close early and also this is the time things are refurbished. All that said, we think it is the best time to go because of the low crowds.

 

[mrsltg]

Let's see, there was dh and I, our 2 dds, and I think 5 or 6 other people??? It was dead. It was chilly most days but we got a couple of warm sticky days, too. It was a great vacation!

 

[welovedis]

We were there from the 5th thru the 13th, right before Marathon weekend and left right before the MLK holiday.

Crowds were slightly heavier than we had experienced in Jan 2004, however, they are still really light and there were few waits. The exceptions (for us at least) were at Soarin during EMH and BTMRR on a weekday which we thought was a little odd.

DH & DS swam twice, it was too cold for me, but the days were nice and sunny. We wore lightweight fleece jackets most nights, one evening we needed gloves and caps because it was really breezy.

I'd go again at this time of year, this was our second time going and it was fine. If it wasn't for our school schedule & the testing that DS missed we'd do it again, HTH!

 

[mamacatnv]

We departed at noon on 1/5/06. The parks were pretty crowded the 1st & 2nd, the decline became noticable on the 3rd & 4th and we regretted having to leave.

A number of schools across the country including ours have their holiday break the week following Christmas and New Years so the park levels were higher than a lot of people anticipated for the 1st week of January. Especially with New Years day falling on Monday making it a 3 day weekend, just like when it fell on Sunday this past January a lot of people got the Monday off.

We are returing Jan 1 - 9, 2007. We know the first 2-3 days will be crazy and are hoping to enjoy a decline in the park attendance going into Marathon weekend.

 

[emh1129]

We're going from Jan.2-12, 2007. I picked that time because I dislike the heat and I was hoping that it would be slow, but I'm worried about the marathon crowds..

 

[SarahSs]

We went January 2-7 this year. We love going in January, the weather is fine and the crowds are low. January 2nd the Magic Kingdom was VERY crowded, but the rest of the week crowd levels were low.
Be sure to pack every thing from t-shirts and shorts, to sweat shirts and jeans. One day we were in tank tops and shorts and my brother and his girlfriend even went swimming. Near the end of our trip it was cool and we had jeans and jackets on all day long.
I think January is a great time to go. You are not sweating your butt off, and there are minimal crowds to deal with.
Hope that helps
Sarah

 

[SarahSs]

We're going from Jan.2-12, 2007. I picked that time because I dislike the heat and I was hoping that it would be slow, but I'm worried about the marathon crowds..

Marathon crowds were not bad. The only pain was being in Epcot when the marathon is going through. The marathon runs right through the park pretty much cutting it in half. It was quite a hassle to try to cross the runners path. You can't interfere with the race so you have to wait for a break in the runners and race across. We had to wait several minutes for a break in the traffic. Good luck if you have small kids, strollers, or a large group. My advice would be to go to another park the day of the marathon.

 

[susykt4]

We went Jan 5th-13th, 2006 and had a GREAT time with low crowds. We were at Epcot on marathon day and spent the entire morning on The Land side and had no problems getting around and no major extra crowds. By the time we went to the other side of Epcot the marathon was over. We never even would have known the half marathon was going on... It didn't affect us at all. We stayed at Pop Century, which was supposedly sold out marathon weekend. Again, we NEVER would have known this! We ate in the food court almost every morning and evening and never had crowds. We also got a wonderful room location without making any special requests.

Our kids are 5 and 3 and don't nap anymore so we REALLY appreciated being able to stay in the parks from open to between 4 and 6 without having to take a break from the midday crowds. The temps were always low enough that we never had to take a break from the heat. We'd go back to the resort for food court dinner. Swim if it was warm enough (2 or 3 times) or explore the resort and have the kids in bed by 8. We followed this schedule our entire trip and after 7 1/2 days in the parks noone was overly tired!

Our previous trip was during a busy spring break week and while we had a great time, there was really no comparison. The low crowds and cooler temps (and no rain) in January ruled!!!

 

[Dina]

We went for Marathon weekend in 2005, and the crowds weren't bad at all. The only inconvenience (as someone else mentioned) was in the park as the marathon was running through. We were in MGM, and had to be careful when walking through part of it to make sure it was a break in the runners. No biggie though. The only other problem was getting to MGM the morning of the marathon-- bus had to take some detours and it took about 35 minutes to get there from CBR. That was just the one day though only during the race-- not a big deal. Going back in 2007, because DH has decided to run it this time (rather than just watching).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Marathon crowds are not bad.

Be advised that transportation to and from the Magic Kindgom will be problematic on the saturday and sunday of marathon weekend (first weekend following new years).

My hubby 2 years ago coming to see me run at Magic Kingdom was stuck on a bus for 2 hours.

I highly recommend careful park planning on these days. Maybe make them your off day to hang out at the resort--or staying at a resort with non-bus transportation toa park and then planning your visit to that park on race day.

Magic Kingdom is empty of runners at park opening and from past reviews tends to be less crowded in the morning hours due to transportation issues.

On half marathon day (saturday)--only EPCOT will have runners in it at park opening and they are done by about 10am or so due to the course time limit of 3.5 hours (it starts at 6am and they allow time for the entire field to cross the start line--so actual time can be closer to 4 hours).

On marathon day (sunday)---Magic Kingdom is the only park empty of runners at park opening. All the other parks have runners in them. Again, not too big of a deal--but more roads are occupied by runners and transportation is a headache.

It is a FUN time to go and be sure to cheer any runners if you see any and congratulate anyone you see in the hours and days following who are wearing a donald (half-13.1 miles), mickey (full 26.2 miles), or goofy (did both for a total of 39.3 miles).

Don't let the marathon scare you away.

 

[Mandy_in_NC]

We were there the first week of Jan and we had a blast. We checked in on Dec 31 and we knew better than to go to the parks so we waited until the Jan 1st to go to any of the parks. My kids were able to swim a couple of days. IT was way too cold for me to be swimming but I am cold natured anyway. We wore shorts the first 2 days then we wore jeans and were comfortable. THere was one day that we were in jeans sweatshirts and coats. The only time that we noticed the crowds was on the Saturday of the marathon. We went back to MK that day and it wasn't too bad crowed until we got to Fantasy Land and it was so crowed that you couldn't move with out bumping into people. The wait for the rides for the most part was not bad. We got maybe 5 fast passes the whole time we were there. We are starting to plan another trip for 2010 and this is the time we are planning on going. Just packed a variety of clothes and you will be fine. Hope that helps.