January in DW??????????????????????????

[audiotinker]

Just wondering if anyone could tell me what its like in January at DW. I'm wondering about the crowds, if there are any events, and what the parks themselves and the weather is like during this time. Basically any info on the subject of Jan. in Dw. Thanks!

 

[Master Yoda]

Crowds will be pretty mild with the exception of MLK weekend and January 1st. Weather can be mild to quite cold. I can not think of any special events that happen during January save for NYE fireworks.

 

[Babylon Control]

There is also Marathon Weekend which tends to bring in a large amount of people over the first weekend in January.

 

[mickeysshoes]

when does Disney take down the christmas stuff????

 

[Babylon Control]

when does Disney take down the christmas stuff????

Around Jan 4.

 

[NewfieFan]

when does Disney take down the christmas stuff????

Usually pretty soon but I read trip reports on here from folks who were there this past Jan. and still saw some Christmas stuff around.

January can be cold or it can be pretty nice. This past January was really cold... really cold!!! But a couple of years ago I had a friend go for about 10 days and had beautiful weather the whole time she was there. Most days they were in tees!

 

[mickeysshoes]

Around Jan 4.

Thanks!!!! :wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

when does Disney take down the christmas stuff????

Not soon enough.

Around Jan 4.

We were there this past January & saw Christmas crap out for at least half or more of our trip. I just looked back at my trip report (see signature) and saw the castle lights on January 11th. They definitely seemed slow on taking down everything this year.

Usually pretty soon but I read trip reports on here from folks who were there this past Jan. and still saw some Christmas stuff around.

January can be cold or it can be pretty nice. This past January was really cold... really cold!!! But a couple of years ago I had a friend go for about 10 days and had beautiful weather the whole time she was there. Most days they were in tees!

That's an understatement. LOL! I don't think it would've bothered me so much had it not been for the bitter cold temps. The evening of January 9th when we were at Epcot freezing to death the Christmas music & decorations totally felt like they were mocking our misery. Seriously. I was not a happy camper. It truly felt like the Disney Gods had dropped the ball with the clean-up crews getting that stuff down.


To the OP, my signature has trip reports from January this year & last year. Be aware that earlier in January when all the Christmas stuff is coming down you run the risk of getting your pics in front of the castle with that lovely crane sticking out from behind it. Also, because of the lighter crowds you'll have much more limited park hours and fewer EMH's than when it's busier. Those are things that have me seriously questioning whether I want to do January again. We've done January/early February trips for 6 of our 7 family trips. The parks still can get pretty busy on the weekends. I'm starting to think that considering our touring style (early mornings in parks, rest & relax @ our resort thru the middle of the day, then back out to tour into the evenings) we would be better off going when there's longer hours in the evenings and more EMH's available.

 

[audiotinker]

I personally don't mind shorter evenings. We usually get up early and go to the parks and by about 8 pm I'm pretty shot. That is a twelve hour park day walking all over the place. We usually like the early to bed, early to rise theory, so I don't mind having dinner after parks close like at DD or something. I would prefer it if it weren't in the teens, but I hate the heat, so the colder the better. If I could wear a hoodie and jeans that would be perfect. We went in August once and I swear it was over 100* and I said never again! I wouldn't want them to be taking decorations down while we were there so maybe late Jan. would be better. I also don't want to be caught up in the marathon crowd.

 

[Epcotfan21]

We went the weekend after MLK and we were very surprised how crowded it was...in all the parks. 90+ minute wait for the E ticket rides. Noticed there were a ton of South American tour groups there, so maybe we just picked a bad weekend.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I personally don't mind shorter evenings. We usually get up early and go to the parks and by about 8 pm I'm pretty shot. That is a twelve hour park day walking all over the place. We usually like the early to bed, early to rise theory, so I don't mind having dinner after parks close like at DD or something. I would prefer it if it weren't in the teens, but I hate the heat, so the colder the better. If I could wear a hoodie and jeans that would be perfect. We went in August once and I swear it was over 100* and I said never again! I wouldn't want them to be taking decorations down while we were there so maybe late Jan. would be better. I also don't want to be caught up in the marathon crowd.

Definitely good that you're thinking of your touring style when considering when to go. I could do the 12 hour park days but my hubby couldn't. He gets cranky & ready to go. I dunno. I say I could but then I love napping so much (truly, I do) that I'm a much more pleasant person when I've had a nap to refuel my happy-bucket. :lol: The bitter cold this year was really tough on us. It's unusual and not likely to happen again but it was so horrible I'm almost gun-shy because of it. We're not used to cold like that at all. It was a real obstacle for us and made a huge impact on our ability to enjoy the really cold days. We wouldn't even attempt going anywhere outside our resort a couple nights. I know. Wusses, huh? :lol: I'll own that one. Yes. My name is Kelly and I'm a big ol' wuss.

 

[DisneyNut7578]

Just wondering if anyone could tell me what its like in January at DW. I'm wondering about the crowds, if there are any events, and what the parks themselves and the weather is like during this time. Basically any info on the subject of Jan. in Dw. Thanks!

Busy, it will be busy. I went this last January (one week after MLK) and there were about 500 tour groups and the crowds were insane. Maybe this was on off year, but I'll never go back in Jan. I've been in Feb. before, and it's much calmer.

 

[jugglingfanatic]

Ride Rehabs start shortly after New Years Day. The Marathon usually happens the second weekend of the month, with participants arriving as early as Thursday or sooner. I personally love going the first week of January and we have decided all our trips will happen this week if possible.

January 2-9, 2009 - Weather was upper 70s to mid 80s during the day and jeans and hoodie temp at night. It rained once on this trip for about 20 mins while we were eating lunch. After lunch if it weren't for the fact we saw it raining we would have had no clue it rained. Splash Mountain closed for rehab (believe this is an annual closure that usually happens as soon as the holiday rush is over) on the 4th, so we did that early on the trip. The longest line was 30 mins, 45 mins tops (not counting Toy Story Midway Mania). I rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster 7 times in the single rider line in an hour.

January 1-8, 2010 - Weather was much colder this time. I preferred jeans, a hoodie and a stocking cap. Temps in the upper 40s during the day, near/just below freezing at night. That was about 30 degrees warmer than what it was back home, and about 2 feet less snow too. I don't recall any rain on this trip. Splash Mountain closed on the 3rd I think, so we did that early in the trip. Longest wait time had to be 30 mins tops (again, not counting Toy Story Midway Mania).

If you are a cool/cold weather person, I would take the risk of hitting the 'cold' weather since most people are in Florida to have warm weather and don't come out before noon on the cold days. There were mornings we were in the park at 10am and it was still walk on for Jungle Cruise and Pirates. Also, it is the value season, so an on-site hotel room is going to be cheaper.

 

[MCC1]

Marathon weekend is officially Thursday, January 6 - Sunday, January 9, 2011 this year. We don't bite. But there are road closures and other things to factor in if you're there that week.

 

[BLY]

We were there in January and is was horribly cold - and I'm from the UK! It was so cold that we could not stay for too long in the parks as our young children were so cold. To be fair the weather did seem to be particularly extreme in many places last winter, but we will not go back in January again. We do have lots of pictures of the castle and the crane - I was not impressed as it was my youngest daugters first trip and wanted a nice family picture. I did the half marathon and my husband the full, but I did not notice particularly large crowds that weekend. Next year we are planning for the end of February - we had a great time a few years on a trip in February and hopefully it will be a little warmer.

 

[jugglingfanatic]

Marathon weekend is officially Thursday, January 6 - Sunday, January 9, 2011 this year. We don't bite. But there are road closures and other things to factor in if you're there that week.

I didn't mean anything negative towards marathon runners, just pointing out that the crowd levels from the first of the year to maybe the 3rd and then around marathon weekend are the 'busier' times in that week I pointed out. As soon as New Years is over, the crowds drop and you can see a little bump again for the marathon.

Also, forgot to mention it earlier, Christmas decorations were up till the 6th in the 2009 trip and stayed up throughout our 2010 trip. But, the really cool thing about it - if they are taking them down while you are there, it is all done over night and is really amazing to think about all the work that happened the night before. Main street is all decked out with the tree one night and the next morning it is all gone with no signs of it anywhere. The do one park a night until they are all down (at least that is what they did in 2009).

 

[experiment624]

MK in January 2010. (I don't remember exact day but around the 13th) This year I was so dissappointed in the weather. The cloud cover at night was so intense and so low, you could not see the top of the castle let alone the fireworks. Also, it drizzled most of the day leaving everything wet. The drizzle was light enough that you could comfortably walk around outdoors with warm clothing and a hoody; just don't try to sit on anything. An umbrella wasn't really necessary. The rain did stop by dinner time. There was no parade, instead they did some sort of "street party" where dancers in clown costumes tried to get toddlers and little kids to dance on the normal parade route. I always check for closures and announcements ahead of time and I could not find any advanced notice that the parade would not be on. When I asked the few cast members I could find about why there was no parade, they could not answer. I don't know if it had to do with the rain drizzle earlier in the day or the fact that park attendance was extremely low. We didn't have to wait for anything all day. It felt almost like the park was closed.

EPCOT in Late January 2010. Perfect weather, no rain. The crowd was light. During the day it was warm but it did get very cold in the evening and we bought blankets to wrap up in while waiting for evening show.

AK in January 13,2009. Perfect sunny weather in the morning, and rain drizzle and heavier rain started in the early afternoon continuing all day, needed umbrella and ponchos. Light crowd. Warm outside, my sisters wore t-shirts and shorts. We did leave the park very early because the rain was uncomfortable.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I didn't mean anything negative towards marathon runners, just pointing out that the crowd levels from the first of the year to maybe the 3rd and then around marathon weekend are the 'busier' times in that week I pointed out. As soon as New Years is over, the crowds drop and you can see a little bump again for the marathon.

Also, forgot to mention it earlier, Christmas decorations were up till the 6th in the 2009 trip and stayed up throughout our 2010 trip. But, the really cool thing about it - if they are taking them down while you are there, it is all done over night and is really amazing to think about all the work that happened the night before. Main street is all decked out with the tree one night and the next morning it is all gone with no signs of it anywhere. The do one park a night until they are all down (at least that is what they did in 2009).

There was no mistaking the castle lights coming down this year during the day. Between the eyesore, the loud diesel noise, and the strong diesel exhaust smells there was just no imagining it away:

January 11, 2010

January 16, 2010:

We were in the MK much less than we normally would be over the 9 days. I took very few pics of the castle compared to what I usually do because the crane was such an eye-sore. I was irked they didn't do this overnight. I'm pretty sure that's how it was done in years past. Maybe the refurb of the moat this year and all the other things being refurbed in the vicinity had something to do with the use of the crane during the daytime hours. I don't know for sure. The exhaust smell was pretty tough on the back side of the castle and the sound of the diesel engine revving seemed exaggerated by it bouncing off all those facades back there in that relatively small area.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We were there in January and is was horribly cold - and I'm from the UK! It was so cold that we could not stay for too long in the parks as our young children were so cold. To be fair the weather did seem to be particularly extreme in many places last winter, but we will not go back in January again. We do have lots of pictures of the castle and the crane - I was not impressed as it was my youngest daugters first trip and wanted a nice family picture. I did the half marathon and my husband the full, but I did not notice particularly large crowds that weekend. Next year we are planning for the end of February - we had a great time a few years on a trip in February and hopefully it will be a little warmer.

Are you going to do the Princess Half Marathon??? That's my goal! :wave:

 

[mouselvrmom]

We used to go in January and February and we thought it was a great time to go.

Of course, we had to deal with the weather. It has been really, really cold on occasion. We are from Minnesota and are used to cold, but it's different when you plan on being outside all day in the parks. Usually when it's cold I stay inside. :lol: Disney may get more of your money in selling gloves, blankets, and sweatshirts, but you can always bundle up and enjoy it.

Crowd wise hasn't been too bad. I wouldn't say that it was dead when we were there, but certainly not like August either.

I will agree with sweetpea and say that the crane can be annoying. There were still quite a few decorations up the last time we went in January and the crane was visible for most of our trip.

Also, there are often some rides that are down during that time. Although really anytime there will be that.

So all in all January is a great time to visit. We loved going at that time and would probably still be going at that time if it wasn't for me being a teacher and my oldest needing to buckle down in high school.