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View Full Version : Jan Trip & Christmas Decorations??



disneyfan328
09-09-2011, 11:08 PM
Hi guys, its been awhile since I've been on, but the hubby put a Disney bug in my ear, and we are thinking about taking a trip to Disney in January instead of having a big Christmas this year. We would be arriving on 1/8 (marathon day) and staying for 6-8 nights (not sure exactly how long yet). I have a few quick questions for you Disney Veterans

How bad are the crowds for the sunday of the marathon and MLK weekend as we will probably be leaving to come home on MLK day.

I know the weather is iffy this time of year but average wise - is it going to be jeans, sweatshirts and winter jackets or do we need to pack shorts too?

Will the christmas decorations still be up at all??? We are hoping to catch them, but it looks like evertyhing ends (castle lights, osborne lights etc.) around jan 4th.

any help you guys can give would be great as I am not totally sold on going but this is the only week we can go because of my school schedule.

Melanie
09-09-2011, 11:35 PM
We've been for Marathon weekend the past two years. You will see a few decorations still up, mainly at the hotels, but they will disappear that week. For example, the large lobby tree at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was up on Tuesday of this particular week, and then gone on Wednesday morning.

Count on anything for the weather. You just never know! This year we were doing shorts, but in years past I remember very cold weather.

January has become very popular with the Brazilian tour groups, so be prepared for those tour groups and the crowds they bring. Used to, January was an awesome time to visit the parks. For us, not so desireable anymore. Still not approaching holiday or summer crowds though.

ibelieveindisneymagic
09-10-2011, 08:58 AM
We were there during the first couple of weeks of January this year.

Marathon weekend isn't too bad, the Sunday is busy although the Monday was worse this year, since all of the runners got a free 1-day pass on the Monday. Still, very manageable crowds although we did have a really long wait for our ADR and the server was commenting on how busy it was.

Crowds dropped off on the Tuesday, and for the rest of the week. However, as Melanie said, the tour groups started to pick up as well. We really only had an issue with them on our last day, but it something to be aware of.

As for weather, I'd pack a bit of everything. Most days were shorts with warmer shirts this year, but we did have a morning were we wore our coats and mittens!

The decorations are honestly annoying, there are "bits" left, but all of the good stuff is over. It was kinda cool to see it "undecorate" a little bit every day though.

All in all though, I LOVED going in January and would go again for sure. Enjoy your trip :mickey:

disneyfan328
09-10-2011, 10:41 AM
thanks guys :) I still don't know for sure if we will do it or not but we are leaning towards going. we've only been in March, May and September - how are the crowds in January as compared to May and September? I guess its a bummer about the decorations. I gues we were still hoping at least in MK that they would still be up. Oh well we won't be basing the decision on the decorations but still......how about the gingerbread house thing at the gr. floridian - any chance that will still be there? Its a shame they have to take them down so fast :(

also someone told me the pools are heated??? even at the values - is that true??

MstngDrvnDsnyLvr
09-10-2011, 10:56 AM
Yep, ALL the pools are heated to 82ºF in the colder months.

cfoshe
09-10-2011, 11:16 AM
how is the crowds from Jan 1 to Jan 5 tend to be

MstngDrvnDsnyLvr
09-10-2011, 11:56 AM
I imagine that January 1st will be crowded because it is a Sunday and many school districts around the area don't start school back until January 3rd. This means that Monday January 2nd will be their prime travel back home date.

Good luck and have fun!

Butters
09-10-2011, 04:01 PM
I've been marathon weekend twice, the last time was record cold spell.. We wore our winter coats and gloves and the CMs were setting up heaters on all of the plants at AK.

We made the best of it and still had a great time. Crowds were very manageable and this may have been the only time I ever enjoyed Ellens Energy since it was 45 min in the warmth :thumbsup: