WDW in January questions

[kkevcamsmom]

Strange, I posted these questions yesterday but they never showed up...

We are going to be there from 1/27 to 2/3 2007 and have some questions:

When you were there in January did you feel like you were pushed for time to get through the parks since they close earlier?

How were the lines, generally?

On days the parks closed early did you feel bored?

Do you need park tickets to go to Downtown Disney?

I have some friends that live in Florida and want to see us but not spend the $$ for the park. I thought we could at least eat somewhere in DTD but wasn't sure if you needed a park ticket to get in.

Thanks again for all the help!


Lori

 

[Daxx]

Went to WDW for the first time this Jan.! Here are my thoughts/experiences based on your questions:

When you were there in January did you feel like you were pushed for time to get through the parks since they close earlier?

No. I don't know why we didn't feel pushed ... maybe b/c we've been to Disney and knew we'd be back, so if we missed something, we didn't feel horrible about it.

How were the lines, generally?

Some lines were longer than others, mostly a 20 min. wait, though.

On days the parks closed early did you feel bored?

Not once! We went to see "Chronicles of Narnia" one night, shopped around DTD another night. We felt we were able to rest and relax and enjoy our resort. We also "toured" other resorts ... checked out the lobby, restaurants, etc.

Do you need park tickets to go to Downtown Disney?

No! The only place that charges "admission" is Pleasure Island.

I have some friends that live in Florida and want to see us but not spend the $$ for the park. I thought we could at least eat somewhere in DTD but wasn't sure if you needed a park ticket to get in.

Lots of nice places to go at DTD to do this ... don't need a park ticket at all! Restaurants are in all price ranges, too! From $ to $$$!

I loved WDW in Jan. We had two cold, windy days but the other days were nice and mild. We wore fleece jackets and jeans. One day, it was warm enough for shorts!!!

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Chuck65]

January can be a fun time. Our last trip there was the the same dates you are taking. The only drawback is possibly the weather. If Canada decides to export a brutal cold front, it can get chilly: which can keep you out of any water activities. The lines we found were not bad at all My son and I did Space Mountain and literally had a 2 min. wait. We tried to do it the day before, but they were having problems with the ride while we were in line. So, we hopped the rail and did Buzz back to back. The next day at about 10:30 am we walked in to Space Mtn and directly on to the car

 

[dydrmr81]

I Disney in January! Even though the parks close earlier, we did not feel rushed because the lines are so much shorter you can see/ride things quicker. So we got to do everything we wanted to in a shorter amount of time. On the nights the parks closed, we would either check out other resorts, go to dinner, walk around DTD (Ghiradelli sundaes, yummm) or swim (the weather was warm the entire week we were there - shorts and t-shirts weather). We didn't feel exhausted because we weren't rushing around trying to get to everything. I agree with the other poster who said the longest line was about 20 min, but most of the time waits were around 5 minutes, some rides were even walk ons. We rode Splash Mountain 3 times in a row without getting out of our log because there was noone waiting to get on.

Have a wonderful time!!!

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

We prefer to January in general, but we did your exact dates this year! It was perfect, the weather was absolutely wonderful (high 60's - low 70's) the lines were great! We only used fast pass twice (for space mountain, and soarin') and everything else had at most a 20 minute wait. The most memorable was walking on Mission Space and having it all to ourselves. We do tend to do things "right"; get ADRs, go early in the morning, go to headliners first or do them during parades and fireworks. . . but sometimes it's just not very neccessary during January.
We never feel rushed, mainly the trip is more relaxed because even though the parks close early the lack of crowds makes it easier to get what you want done.
Never got bored, use the extra time to go swimming, hit DTD (no tickets), relax at the hotel, or go to bed early so you can get up early.

 

[TinkGirl]

Jan. is our favorite time to visit WDW. The Florida sun actually feels good. Also, we did everything we wanted to do during our six days in the parks. Lines for the most part are short, so we could do our favorites a lot. I think we rode Space Mt. about 15 times this Jan. Parks closing early did not bother us. There is still plenty to do, and we could get the kids to bed at a decent hour and be rested to get up early for the next day. In fact, we are able to stay in the parks all day without taking breaks (necessary for our family in the summer heat and humidity). No tickets are required for DD. We also met friends from Fla. for dinner one night during one of our trips. Have a great time!

 

[antsss]

We're going Jan 31st for 6 nights. We'll have the kids with us (only 7,5 and 3) so we'd end up having early evenings anyway. So many people I've spoken to just love WDW in Jan...we can't wait!

 

[PolyFish]

Well in my signature it says like 3841 or something days. That's in January because if i'm a teacher that's the time I get off.

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

oh ya, forgot that great part of January too, until Tinkgirl mentioned it.
Our family has also found that with the shorter hours a day break really isn't neccessary, thus saving you potentially more time than you might lose with the early closer.