The Week after New Years

[Philhar-Fanatic]

We have always been to Disney on Spring Break...3rd week in march. We're used to very moderate to lightly heavy crowds. Wanting to know what to expect the week after New Years? For our 9th trip we are looking at the 1st thru the 7th. So crowd wise, what can we expect? Also, will any Christmas decorations still be up? In the parks or at the resorts. Thank You

 

[tractor tipper]

Crowd wise, depends on when kids go back to school. My best guess would be crowds will lessen later in the week say Wed. on.
Decorations will still be up early in the week. Seems like the resorts take them down first especially the gingerbread house at GF.
Weather, check the 10 day forecast before you leave so will know what to expect. Have been there 3 times during this period, 30's one time, 80's and then 70's so it can vary.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

Crowd wise, depends on when kids go back to school. My best guess would be crowds will lessen later in the week say Wed. on.
Decorations will still be up early in the week. Seems like the resorts take them down first especially the gingerbread house at GF.
Weather, check the 10 day forecast before you leave so will know what to expect. Have been there 3 times during this period, 30's one time, 80's and then 70's so it can vary.

Thank you! We actually are thinking of checking in the night before new years eve so that we would have the day of the 31st or explore the resorts. We aren't going to get park tickets for NYE though.

 

[nickys]

We have always been to Disney on Spring Break...3rd week in march. We're used to very moderate to lightly heavy crowds. Wanting to know what to expect the week after New Years? For our 9th trip we are looking at the 1st thru the 7th. So crowd wise, what can we expect? Also, will any Christmas decorations still be up? In the parks or at the resorts. Thank You

As for the decorations. It seems like they leave them up until the first weekend after New Years.

So when we went in 2016, I'd read that the decorations would be down by about the 2nd or 3rd of Jan. Turned out they were still up when we left, on the Friday (5th). The reports though were technically correct, in that 2015 Jan 1st fell on a Saturday, so they started taking everything down over night 2nd to 3rd. In 2016, Jan 1st was a Monday so they were up for almost a week afterwards.

And the parks were still busy because kids were still off school and the big running festival was the weekend after too. Hours were cut suddenly too, from New Years. For the week before MK opened at 7 every day, other parks opening at 8 or 8:30. That post NY week, everything was back to 9am opening, bar EMH. Oh, and Epcot Christmas events all finish on the 30th, in preparation for NYE.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED being there over Christmas and New Years, despite the crowds. I had tempered expectations and we got more done than we had expected to. Took time to resort hop and soak up the atmosphere of the season.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

As for the decorations. It seems like they leave them up until the first weekend after New Years.

So when we went in 2016, I'd read that the decorations would be down by about the 2nd or 3rd of Jan. Turned out they were still up when we left, on the Friday (5th). The reports though were technically correct, in that 2015 Jan 1st fell on a Saturday, so they started taking everything down over night 2nd to 3rd. In 2016, Jan 1st was a Monday so they were up for almost a week afterwards.

And the parks were still busy because kids were still off school and the big running festival was the weekend after too. Hours were cut suddenly too, from New Years. For the week before MK opened at 7 every day, other parks opening at 8 or 8:30. That post NY week, everything was back to 9am opening, bar EMH. Oh, and Epcot Christmas events all finish on the 30th, in preparation for NYE.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED being there over Christmas and New Years, despite the crowds. I had tempered expectations and we got more done than we had expected to. Took time to resort hop and soak up the atmosphere of the season.

Thank you for your input. That helps in trip planning for sure!

 

[Driver]

It will be busy during that week for sure. It really doesn't slow down till the end of Jan. Also depending on location many decorations stay up past the first week.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I've been mid January at least 10 times and the crowds are very manageable. Most people that rush to Disney for the holidays are gone by about Jan 10th and headed back to school/work.

That said, Disney is either crowded or insanely crowded these days. Even the slow times are still quite busy.

It will be nothing like during actual Christmas/New Year weeks.

 

[LAKid53]

Are you talking about 2018? The 1st weekend in January 2018 is the 25th WDW Marathon. Expect heavy crowds due to those 4 races...and delays In the AM due to road closures. The races start Thursday, January 4th and end Sunday, January 7th with the full marathon, which runs through all 4 parks. So plan accordingly.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

Are you talking about 2018? The 1st weekend in January 2018 is the 25th WDW Marathon. Expect heavy crowds due to those 4 races...and delays In the AM due to road closures. The races start Thursday, January 4th and end Sunday, January 7th with the full marathon, which runs through all 4 parks. So plan accordingly.

So the runs actually affect the people in the parks touring and riding? I wouldn't have thought that the races have that much affect, other than the extra people watching.

 

[LAKid53]

So the runs actually affect the people in the parks touring and riding? I wouldn't have thought that the races have that much affect, other than the extra people watching.

They do. Most races start/end in Epcot. With the longer races, the last runners will be running through the parks while they are open. Areas will be cordoned off until runners are through. The minimum pace for a runDisney race is a 16 minute mile. So the slowest runners will take nearly 7 hours to complete the full marathon. Start time is 5:30 am for the 10k, Half and full Marathon. And they stagger starting the corrals, so the last runners may not start the race until well after 6:00am. I was in the second to last corral for the Dark Side Half Marathon in April and didn't cross the start line until 6:15...and I was at the front of my corral. So, yes, expect runners to block access to park entry and areas of the parks for the half and full marathon until all runners clear that particular park or area. And depending on where the staging for the race is (Epcot or MK), parking will be restricted at that park. If I remember, staging for both the Dark Side 10k and Half took up nearly 50% of the MK parking lot.

If I didn't mention before, all the races, other than the full marathon, are sold out. And that's what's on the runDisney site; doesn't include runners who got their bibs via a charity or travel agency. Between all the races, I'm gestimating 30,000 runners - add to that family & friends and the thousands of volunteers who make these races possible.

Edit: forgot to mention that all those runners usually end up in the parks to celebrate once they've cleaned up and refueled.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

They do. Most races start/end in Epcot. With the longer races, the last runners will be running through the parks while they are open. Areas will be cordoned off until runners are through. The minimum pace for a runDisney race is a 16 minute mile. So the slowest runners will take nearly 7 hours to complete the full marathon. Start time is 5:30 am for the 10k, Half and full Marathon. And they stagger starting the corrals, so the last runners may not start the race until well after 6:00am. I was in the second to last corral for the Dark Side Half Marathon in April and didn't cross the start line until 6:15...and I was at the front of my corral. So, yes, expect runners to block access to park entry and areas of the parks for the half and full marathon until all runners clear that particular park or area. And depending on where the staging for the race is (Epcot or MK), parking will be restricted at that park. If I remember, staging for both the Dark Side 10k and Half took up nearly 50% of the MK parking lot.

If I didn't mention before, all the races, other than the full marathon, are sold out. And that's what's on the runDisney site; doesn't include runners who got their bibs via a charity or travel agency. Between all the races, I'm gestimating 30,000 runners - add to that family & friends and the thousands of volunteers who make these races possible.

Edit: forgot to mention that all those runners usually end up in the parks to celebrate once they've cleaned up and refueled.

Oh wow! That scares me a bit. We may just stick to our normal routine of Spring Break!

 

[LAKid53]

Oh wow! That scares me a bit. We may just stick to our normal routine of Spring Break!

Don't let race weekend scare you. Traffic will be back to normal by late morning. And runners will leave the parks early, because we have to get up at 2am to get on our 3am bus to staging to stand around in the dark for 2 hours waiting for the race to start. And most of us leave on Monday.

Race weekends have a great vibe, and not just for us runners. You'll see plenty of tired runners hobling around on sore, tired feet proudly wearing their medals. Plus January is usually great weather.

Go. Parks full of tired, happy runners are better than parks full of Spring Breakers.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

Don't let race weekend scare you. Traffic will be back to normal by late morning. And runners will leave the parks early, because we have to get up at 2am to get on our 3am bus to staging to stand around in the dark for 2 hours waiting for the race to start. And most of us leave on Monday.

Race weekends have a great vibe, and not just for us runners. You'll see plenty of tired runners hobling around on sore, tired feet proudly wearing their medals. Plus January is usually great weather.

Go. Parks full of tired, happy runners are better than parks full of Spring Breakers.

Thank you! We have alot to think about. I see you will be arriving for a trip in a few days! Enjoy! We love AKL stayed there our last two trips!

 

[LAKid53]

Thank you! We have alot to think about. I see you will be arriving for a trip in a few days! Enjoy! We love AKL stayed there our last two trips!

Thanks. It's my first stay at AKL - we're staying in Kidani, any tips or hints?

 

[nickys]

Thanks. It's my first stay at AKL - we're staying in Kidani, any tips or hints?

Take some time to check out both Kidani and AKL. In the evening, get a drink from Sanaa and take it out onto the outlook to the fire pit. The CMs are really chatty and will happily tell you all about the animals and their own countries. Try the night time vision goggles, if you can prize them off the kids! The CMs will actually step in if they are hogging them too much. You can also order food at the Sanaa lounge if you don't want a full meal, or don't have a restaurant ADR.

If heading to the pool, you can take the Rafiki elevator down to the car park level. There's a back gate to the pool just across the overflow parking area. It's locked so take your magic band.

Victoria Longe at AKL is one of my favourite places. Nice cocktails, but one of them was VERY sweet, too sweet! Can't remember which one though, you'll just have to try them.

 

[LAKid53]

Take some time to check out both Kidani and AKL. In the evening, get a drink from Sanaa and take it out onto the outlook to the fire pit. The CMs are really chatty and will happily tell you all about the animals and their own countries. Try the night time vision goggles, if you can prize them off the kids! The CMs will actually step in if they are hogging them too much. You can also order food at the Sanaa lounge if you don't want a full meal, or don't have a restaurant ADR.

If heading to the pool, you can take the Rafiki elevator down to the car park level. There's a back gate to the pool just across the overflow parking area. It's locked so take your magic band.

Victoria Longe at AKL is one of my favourite places. Nice cocktails, but one of them was VERY sweet, too sweet! Can't remember which one though, you'll just have to try them.

Thanks for all the great info!

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks. It's my first stay at AKL - we're staying in Kidani, any tips or hints?

We usually stay at Jambo House so I've only been to Kidani to go to Sanaa (a definite must for us) but take time to wonder the hallways in Jambo. We were told once by a CM it has the largest collection of African art on display outside of the African continent. They added that there are musuems that have larger collections but that usually these collections are not displayed in their entirety. Also in Jambo house I learned how to play African drums (great upper arm workout!) and have enjoyed talking to CM about their home country. I have yet however to enjoy the storytelling at the firepit - and I regret this each time our trip is over. There is also supposed to be a free culinary tour at Boma and/or Jiko. Like to storytelling, it's been on my list of things to do there.

I'll be jealous thinking of you while I'm running at the beach in the south of France

 

[LAKid53]

We usually stay at Jambo House so I've only been to Kidani to go to Sanaa (a definite must for us) but take time to wonder the hallways in Jambo. We were told once by a CM it has the largest collection of African art on display outside of the African continent. They added that there are musuems that have larger collections but that usually these collections are not displayed in their entirety. Also in Jambo house I learned how to play African drums (great upper arm workout!) and have enjoyed talking to CM about their home country. I have yet however to enjoy the storytelling at the firepit - and I regret this each time our trip is over. There is also supposed to be a free culinary tour at Boma and/or Jiko. Like to storytelling, it's been on my list of things to do there.

I'll be jealous thinking of you while I'm running at the beach in the south of France

You're going to be running on the beach in the south of France for 2 weeks and you're jealous of me?!

Need to straighten out those priorities.....

 

[Swissmiss]

And the best part: no flying involved

 

[LAKid53]

And the best part: no flying involved

*thumbs up*

I can take a boat...