Will parks close Jan 1-Jan 7?

[justme0729]

Should I expect that some parks might close between Jan 1 and Jan 7? I am particularly thinking of when we enter MK on Saturday January 3 at about 3:00-3:30 when the Christmas Parade is going on.

As a side note, will we be able to get to our BOG reservation at 4:15 if there is a parade going on at 3:30 and we enter at about 3-3:30?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

January 1 is a Thursday. From January 2 onward, for about a week, everything will be very slow!

And getting to BoG should be no problem. The 3:00 parade does not really block things as you can go up Main Street through The Emporium and there are crossings.

 

[wdwphile]

What did I miss? I'll be there that week. I know there are road races toward the end of that week, but why will everything be very slow from the 2nd on?

 

[siskaren]

What did I miss? I'll be there that week. I know there are road races toward the end of that week, but why will everything be very slow from the 2nd on?

Because it's after the Christmas season., and in particular, kids will be back in school.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

Shouldn't crowds kind of thin out around the 4th or so? I think most schools go back on the 5th, right?

 

[Tennshooter]

Parks will still be very busy Jan 2 & 3 but most folks will travel back from where they came on Jan 4 as most kids start back to school on Jan 5. Luckily our kids don't start back until Jan 8 so we will have a few slower days at the parks.

 

[JanaDee]

Because it's after the Christmas season., and in particular, kids will be back in school.

I would guess most kids go back on the 5th, not the 2nd.

 

[siskaren]

I would guess most kids go back on the 5th, not the 2nd.

True, bus as Tennshooter pointed out, parents aren't going to wait until the 5th to leave. I can certainly see them leaving on the 3rd or even the 2nd if they've got a long drive.

 

[ghtx]

January 1 is a Thursday. From January 2 onward, for about a week, everything will be very slow!

Actually I think it will be quite busy through that weekend. Not until Monday the 5th will it become slow (i.e. uncrowded).

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Actually I think it will be quite busy through that weekend. Not until Monday the 5th will it become slow (i.e. uncrowded).

I am with this consensus. I think the weekend will still be busy. Monday will start slow time. But I guess none of us will really know until reports come in. I don't think it will be closed for capacity busy though OP.

 

[JanaDee]

True, bus as Tennshooter pointed out, parents aren't going to wait until the 5th to leave. I can certainly see them leaving on the 3rd or even the 2nd if they've got a long drive.

The crowds will go down on the 4th, and for sure on the 5th. I wouldn't count on anything before that.

 

[JanaDee]

Actually I think it will be quite busy through that weekend. Not until Monday the 5th will it become slow (i.e. uncrowded).

 

[figmentfan0724]

we go to disney every january after the holidays and startingth3 3rd & 4th the parks will slow down. this is why we choose to go at this time. the parks will get a little bit busier towards the end of the week with the marathon, but it will be manageable.

 

[ghtx]

Actually I think it will be quite busy through that weekend. Not until Monday the 5th will it become slow (i.e. uncrowded).

FWIW This January (2014) we arrived on the Sunday right after New Year's, but didn't go to the parks until the next day (Monday). Crowds were really low the whole time we were there (we left on Thursday, right as the marathon weekend was starting).

 

[csjordan]

I don't think the Christmas parade will happen after the new year. Will probably be Festival of Fantasy parade.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Saturday, January 3rd is predicted a 7/10 crowd. 99% probability you'll get in. From Sunday on it's crowds of 5-2.
The Christmas parade ends on 12/31. I don't know how many in your party or how old, but 45 minutes from gate to BOG should be fine. Add more time if you have a stroller, many children, ect.

 

[justme0729]

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! So I take all of the responses as it will likely be busy through Jan 1st-3rd/4th but not so busy that we would expect closures, right?

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Disney classifies the end of the holiday season as January 4th. You can see this because the offers for 2015 began on January 5th. I would suspect crowds to be heavy. Many school districts out West do not return until the 12!

 

[mom2rtk]

With New Year's Day on a Thursday, I would be shocked at any school that goes back on the 2nd this year. I would expect the parks to be busy through the weekend then drop of substantially on Monday. Ours don't go back until Wednesday the 7th.

 

[RebeccaRabbit]

My family has visited WDW from Saturday-Saturday the first week after New Year's for several years in a row. (We've never actually gone to the parks on that first Saturday though - always arrive too late for that.) In the recent past, Sunday after New Year's has been the busiest day of that week, but not anything crazy at all. I'd say more of a moderate. We do avoid MK that day, as it tends to be busiest. Monday-Saturday have been pretty low crowds. Lots of literal walk-ons, especially in the mornings. We've found it to be a great time to go. The first few days you should get to see some of the Christmas decorations, but without the throngs. Maybe there's something different about the timing this year that will change things compared to prior years, but I don't see any reason to expect that. We're going to Uni at that time this year (1/3-1/10), and are hoping for low-ish crowd levels there too.