January or summer ...

[4401DisneyMom]

With one son in college and the other in high school, it is becoming more and more challenging finding a "good" time to visit. While we always LOVE our Disney vacations, I'm not really a fan of Florida summers; consequently, looking at a travel time of 1/2/18 - 1/7/18. Do the leftover holiday visitors and marathon participants really increase park(s) attendance to a level that is greater than summer crowds? I don't mind summer-level crowds while enjoying more temperate weather ... I just don't want higher than summer crowds, despite better weather. Thanks for any input/suggestions!!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

There's no standard answer because a lot depends on the timing on the holidays. I would definitely not go the week 1/2 to 1/7 this year due to New Year's Day being on a Monday this year. That entire week is probably going to be very busy. We usually go the following week, between Marathon and MLK. The weekends are busy but mid-week is nice.

 

[WWWD]

One thing about summer is the longer park hours, kids are old enough to take advantage of late nights in the parks. We have gone many times in February and have hit Mardi Gras a few times and increases crowds made the parks extremely crowded due to winter park hours - at times MK would close at 8pm.

 

[BigRedDad]

Unfortunately, missing days in high school is not as easy as elementary and middle school. We have been many times and at all levels of crowds. I was worried our trip in July would be so bad I would not want to go back. Turned out it was one of the most enjoyable trips. We altered our plans. Hit parks at rope drop, commando style the big rides, enjoy shows and street performances until about 1PM. Back to the resort for 3-4 hours of pool fun, rest a little with dinner at the room, then back to a park around 7-10PM-ish.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We usually go the following week, between Marathon and MLK. The weekends are busy but mid-week is nice.

So do we, and it usually works out well.

OP, can you go later in the month? Search Google for "Disney Crowd Calendars January 2018" for some insight. First week doesn't look very promising to me.

 

[Figgy1]

One thing about summer is the longer park hours, kids are old enough to take advantage of late nights in the parks. We have gone many times in February and have hit Mardi Gras a few times and increases crowds made the parks extremely crowded due to winter park hours - at times MK would close at 8pm.

^^^^This if you're only going for a week. Commando rope drop, take a break and then close a park. My dh isn't a fan of heat and he did that a few days with us last summer. On th days he spent the whole day in the parks we did inside shows mid day. Also remember EPCOT is mostly inside and AK is mostly outside