January crowds

[Dyanna]

We are looking into maybe going back to WDW in Jan 2009. Approx the second week. How are the crowds at this time? Are any of the Christmas festivities still going on or does that stop at New Years? Would we be better going during this time of year or go the second week of November which was another thought.

[offwego]

By that time all the Christmas things have stopped. (most are down by the end of the first week & the parades, parties & shows do wrap up at New Years).

Crowd levels are normally lowish at this time but you may want to look at trip reports (use the search feautre or just go back several pages) to see if you can get a variety of input from others.

Have fun planning.:mickey:

[Sunshine1010]

Starting January 5th, 2009 - the crowds will be VERY manageable. January 5th is when almost all schools go back in session.

Before the 5th - forget about it.

Also, look into when the marathon will be - it will be more crowded during that weekend - but not unmanageable.

[Deesdisney]

We went this past Jan. and it was very slow. I really enjoyed it. The longest line at that time was 30 min. Some you walked right on. The weather was very strange. It was cold with a few showers for the first half of the week then the sun came out and my DD wore a dress cause it warmed up. On the weekends it got a little more busy but still manageable. I am going again in Feb. 2009 the first week. I hope they will have good specials again.

[Nini]

Hi Dyanna,

I have been looking into this time of year also. It looks like the second and third weeks of Jan. are 2 of the best weeks (crowd wise) to go all year!

As of right now we are planning to go Jan. 20 - 27th. The only problem with the week before (depending how you figure your weeks) is Martin Luther King weekend (17-19). Apparantly the crowds aren't expected to be much bigger, but the resort rates go up, so if you were hoping for value season, take this into consideration.

Also, I guess it can be kind of cold, but I'm from up North and "cold" is relative. What I can't take are the hot humid days we've experienced other (Sept.!!) times of the year.

I've subscribed to a site that rates every day as to how busy it's expected to be, so if you want those details I'd be happy to pass them along - just PM me!!

Happy planning!!!
:mickey: Denise

[FenwayGirl]

We were there this Jan (18-26) and I found it to be quite crowded. We usually go to WDW every other January at this time. Never any crowds! There were Cheerleading groups, dance groups and many international tour groups. It was not as busy as the holiday season, but quite an uptick from Jan of "06

[Dakota Rose]

Just wondering how quickly before/after President's Day the crowds disseminate? Would we find less crowds the Friday before President's or the Tuesday after? Generally speaking of course. I've read a ton of trip reports, etc, but this question looms in my mind.

[Mickey 101]

January is our favorite time of year to go. MLK weekend definitely adds to the crowds, so if you are trying to go when it's quiet, try to avoid that time frame.

Also, it does get very chilly. We've had it as cold as 30 during the day in Jan. We're used to cold temps, as well, but something about the dampness in FL and being out in it all day, you definitely need warm clothes to be comfortable.

[LauraF]

Next year will be my first time planning for January. I'll be going down for a week and half, leaving right before MLK day. (Check my sig)

My sister (former college program CM) told me that this was one of the better times to go. She said it was a nice change after the holiday crazies and that she almost never needed a fast pass on her days off in the parks. But she did caution me that many of the South American tour groups start coming at the end of January as that's their summer. But she also said they're pretty easy to avoid if you avoid EMH.

Me, I just want to get away from snow at that point. :D

[Jenemmy]

We were there this past January 13 - 18. It was the week right between Marathon weekend and MLK weekend. The odd thing is, there were many, many more people milling about than I expected....at times, even hard to walk through the parks, BUT there were virtually no lines :confused: I think the longest we encountered was 15 minutes or so. I only used one fastpass the entire trip and then found that when I got back to the attraction (RnRC), the standby line was shorter than the fastpass return line!!!

The exception is the day we left -- which was the Friday of MLK weekend-- it was MISERABLE. You couldn't get near anything in the MK. Even picking up a counter service lunch was a trial.

I think you would be in good shape if you booked prior to marathon or after MLK. I think going in between like we did left for a lot of residual crowds from those two events.

Weather wise, it was a total mixed bag. A couple of gorgeous sunny days and a couple of rainy freezing days. Even the latter was OK, because we all got a new Disney sweatshirt out of it :)

[Dakota Rose]

All-right, that really helps! Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to plan that we leave ND on Saturday 1/17 so that we arrive to WDW in the late afternoon/early eve of MLK Day. We won't go into any parks until Tuesday. That should work in our schedule. And help us avoid holiday crowds, don't you think?

[kellykaypa]

I have already booked my family's vacation in January of 2009 (room only) and have reserved my flights. A bit of info I'd like to share about January that I found out AFTER I locked in my flights. Super Bowl 2009 is Feb 1st in Tampa. I was hoping to avoid crowds..too late for me but you may want to take this into consideration.

:mickey:

[Duchess99]

I was there 9 years ago during the 2nd week of January and there were NO crowds. We hardly waited on a line...it's great! But the weather is very cool, so be prepared!