WDW in January

[Hawkeye Sparks]

My family just got back from Disney and we have already started planning the next trip.

I went in October thinking surely the crowds won't be that bad.
Well needless to say I was a bit surprised, the crowds and the weather had me wondering if it was July, but we had a great time and that's the most important thing.

I understand that January is one of the least crowded months of the year and the resort rates are lower, so tell me, I will have a 2 year old son (almost three) if we go to WDW in January 2006, for anyone that has been in January what can you tell me about the world at that time? I was really considering the time around MLK weekend.

Thanks,

Hawkeye

 

[Disneyof3]

We were there last January for MLK day. Were from Canada and forgot about the holiday. We actually were in MK for that day and the crowds were busy to us, since we had only been here once. After reading these pages it was nothing compared to the summer. The longest line-up was 1/2 hour long. According to the board that is nothing. This year we are going in Feb. only because were hoping for more sun. If I had no choice but to go in Jan. again I wouldn't hesitate. DMGM on the Tues. was dead. No line-ups for anything.

Hope this helps

 

[crazywig]

we're going this january .....we went in jan '03 as well, the week following mlk day.

except for the actual holiday, the place was dead! the only lines we saw were at MK...and those were minimal.

universal was a bigger ghost town! literally walked right to the front of everything.

great time to go

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

We go late Jan. into early Feb. every year. IMO this is the best time to go. We have never waited more than 15 min. for a ride, and the weather is nice, not too hot. But the weather can be iffy, it may rain or be "cold"--with cold I mean maybe 50-60 degrees. (coming from Mass. that is a heat wave!!!) But you will also get the 70 to 80 degree days. I prefer to do the parks in this kind of weather than to sweat all day. The parks are also not open as late this time of year. They close around 6-7 pm (exception of epcot that has rides open till 9pm.)
Your 2 yo will probably also do better when it is not so hot outside, I know my 4 yo son does.
I hear MLK weekend can be busy, so if you can, you are better off avoiding this time.
Have a great time!
Jen

 

[harvey]

We have gone several times in January, and will go again this Jan. The only iffy thing is the weather, which can waver quite a bit.

The earlier park closings are no problem as there is such small waits for things, you easily get in everything you'd like to do/see. With the little ones, it is nice to get back to the resort and have them in bed at a decent time.....we really made use of the stuff to do around the resorts because we had our evenings free.

One other thing to note is that although the water parks are running, (and heated?) I believe Blizzard Beach is closed every Jan for refurbishing. We don't do the water parks during Jan, but do use the resort pool if it gets about 67 degrees. That winds up to be about half the time. (Also, PO Riverside main pool is usually closed in Jan.)

Bring warm clothes for the evenings! Walking around Epcot waiting for Illuminations or at Disney Marketplace can get chilly once the sun goes down! We do best with layering, as opposed to bringing heavy coats, but we always have hats and mittens.