Anyone been to WDW in Jan???

tractorm3

tractorm3

Active Member
Hey all a group of myself and freinds are taking the summer to save up and go on out first "non family" disney trip for a little over a week. We are thinking that since we have such a long winter break in 2009 we would go either the first full week or the second full week in january. Any one can give me how the parks are at that time post new years? I shoudl think the weather would be very cool but im worried more about the parks.

Let me know what ever imput you have will be great!!
 
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Mr.EPCOT

Mr.EPCOT

Active Member
It's a great time to visit! (Unless you were expecting to go to both water parks) I would probably suggest the second week of January. If you are going to stay at a Disney Resort, I would recommend staying away from the convention Resorts (Contemporary, Coronado Springs, etc.) and the value resorts. Crowds at the parks during that timeframe are just about as good as they get nowadays.
 
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DisneySam

DisneySam

Active Member
It's Great!

I try to go every January (except this past one sadly) the weather's great, the crowds are low. I used to always go in August so January is a nice change of pace for us.
 
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Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
You'll have a great time! Wait times are excellent, a little cooler out, but, Just be wary of the tour groups. They are very rowdy and they come in packs...I was in Camp Minnie-Mickey and they were just opening the exit for FOTLK and it was just a sea of tour groups that came out of the theater it was crazy :lol:
 
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Hrudey3032

Hrudey3032

Well-Known Member
We were there the 19th-28th this time in January and the lines were very small.We went to Epcot on sunday the 27th and at night there was hardly any one around.It was like having 2/3 of WS to ourselves.Take a coat or long sleeve shirt tho as it gets down to low 50's upper 40's at times.
 
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Philo

Well-Known Member
I went last year from the 6th - 21st and loved it. Even though we had the marathon and MLK weekend the crowds were small. We waited at most 30 mins for a ride but generally it was more like 10minutes (although still needed a fastpass for soarin'!). The weather was a little cooler than you might hope but I was still there in shorts and tshirt (anythings warmer than the UK!).

The only downside is that only one of the water parks will be open but if your arrive part way through the first week you may be able to see them both as the refurb changes from one to the other.
 
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Disney_Belle

Disney_Belle

Well-Known Member
I have been the second week of January and LOVED IT. Even though the marathon was going on, there really was no interference with our time at the parks. The weather is beautiful, although, even in florida, it can get a bit chilly so make sure you pack some pants too.

The crowd level is great, everything is usually a walk on. It is my favorite time to go.

Maybe we will see you there :wave:
 
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tractorm3

tractorm3

Active Member
Original Poster
Well sounds like if i can Jan if DEFINATLY a good time to visit and get some stuff done there.

How about prices? would they be any cheaper since it kinda like an "off season"? as far as hotels and flights go?
 
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mouselvrmom

mouselvrmom

Well-Known Member
We went Jan 8-18, 2007. It was definitely a great time to go. While the weather can be unpredictable, the crowds are definitely not too bad. The park was not as bare as I would have liked, but you could move around and get lots done. The only park that felt really crowded was ak one day. I think this was because of tour groups, they like the congest the walk ways.
 
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Philo

Well-Known Member
I think it's a little cheaper mid Jan although I'm not 100% as I'm only going from a few travel agent prices I can remember.

The other great thing about January is that you don't always need ADR's. I would highly recommend it if there is somewhere you want to eat but, being ignorant of this things last year, we just turned up and ate where we could. With almost no wait we managed to eat at the Garden Grill, Rose & Crown, Sci-Fi, 50's Prime Time and the italian restaurant which I forget the name of by just turning up and waiting. We also managed to eat at the Cali Grill but we needed to book a whole two days in advance for that! Maybe we were just lucky and I wouldn't risk it again but it might give you an indication of crowd levels.
 
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hansel1

hansel1

Member
January has been our month to visit WDW. We have gone the past three years: 2nd week, 2nd week, 4th week.

We had great weather for both of our 2nd week trip (06) and (07). This year was colder during the 4th week.

Crowd levels have gotten worse the past couple of years and we specifically went the 4th week this year to try and avoid the increase. It didn't seem to help.

In january you have to contend with NEW YEARS, the MARATHON, MLK weekend, CHEERLEADERS, and TOUR GROUPS. Now this is not to say that January is a busy month, but it definately is not what it was a few years ago.

If you decide to go in january my vote would definately be for the 2nd week, but you will need to decide soon as rooms book up for the marathon weekend fairly quick.
 
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Tinkrbell

Tinkrbell

Active Member
We were there Jan. 3-6. Corwds weren't bad. I think the longedt wait we had was Soarin' right as Epcot was closing on an EMH night & that was less than 30 minutes. When we got off, however, the line for Soarin' was up the stairs & heading back towards the door. We walked on rides that we had never walked on in the past. I'd say the average length we waited for any ride was around 20 minutes.

The weather was very un-Florida-like. It was in the 30's & 40's when we got there Thursday afternoon. We wore sweatshirts almost the enitre weekend & were comfortable (keep in mind that we're from Wisconsin, it was 14 below when we boarded the plane to leave).
 
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Tim G

Tim G

Well-Known Member
I went in January, February, March, April, May... etc etc.. :)

Sometimes more often than I bargained for... :lookaroun

But, YES January is a great moments as well... :D
 
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Disneykidder

Disneykidder

Well-Known Member
Granted it has been 9 years since I was there in Jan, but it was awesome!! We were still able to catch the Christmas lights and decorations. We were actually there the week they were taking it all down. Each resort has a unique tree, something to think about when going to the resorts for ressies. One day we saw decorations, and the next we didn't...the magic of thousands of Disney elves.

Weather wise it was good. Jeans and a t-shirt and towards dinnertime, sweatshirts over it. Night time is the same...long sleeved shirts and jeans. One day it was a reallly cold day for Fl and we were cold (even coming from a blizzard in NY that delayed our flight a whole day) so we bought gloves and hats and were fine. Locals were in winter coats...funny.

Crowds were great. It was not crowded at all, but again, I am going back 9 years. One year we were delayed a day due to our plane being icy from a storm we had in NY. Well, we called Disney and were able to get a day extension~~that is how unbusy it was. We were also there 2 of those Jan times during the marathon. No worries, hakuna matata.:)

Hope this has helped. You will have a great time!!
 
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