Early January 2010 Crowds?

[dreadpirateemily]

Hello all,
We booked our trip from Jan.4 - the 11th, thinking we would take advantage of post-Christmas slowness.
I just read on the Squidoo site that crowd levels will still be at holiday levels through the 6th?

Any experience to share either way as to what to expect?

Thanks!
DPE

[Strmchsr]

Crowds start dropping off fairly quickly after Jan 1-2, but I've just found you can't believe any past crowd guesstimates. All the patterns seem to be changing. I was always told january is a dead time, but I was there during the second week of january last week for a conference and found the crowds to be moderate. Then I was told the first week of May is a great time to go. No crowds at all. So, we took our family vacation during that time this year and it was packed. I've given up on wondering about crowds. I'll go when I can and just deal with whatever I find.

[Patricia]

Years ago, I would go during that time and it was very quiet.

Now that they have the Marathon Weekend, this year it is from January 7-10th, you will find crowd levels up during that time.

I want to add that it will still be slower and more manageable than the holidays..

[dreadpirateemily]

Thanks for your reassurances! I'm getting all keyed up...
Last year, I thought I had picked the perfect week, and then it turned out the SuperBowl was in town that exact time. D'oh!
Still turned out to be a great trip.

[mudpuppysmom]

= I'll go when I can and just deal with whatever I find.

Yep, sound like a plan.....

We went the second/third week of January a few years ago and the place was pretty dead, but I think with the specials they have been running there is really no slow time anymore, so I will take the above mentioned strategy and go with that.....

Last year we went Dec 14-20 and the first few days were even nuts and got "worse" near the end of the trip.....We were at MK one night and it was like July 4th I swear -- you couldn't even move!

We returned this year Oct 14-20 and I really can't say it was packed, but I'd say moderate, but it was during the F&W Festival....which the weekend was mobbed! We also had sick kids so while DH was back at the room with one sick kid I took the other and did what I could, which with a 1 yr old 'ain't much -- and it was just he and I, so we did alot of people watching and wandering around looking at all the little things we always miss b/c we are too busy with the big kid stuff -- it was nice though.

There is a nugget of wisdom, if you will, in this last trip....while we did have sick kids the majority of the trip, we did take the time to stop and look around at things we typically don't see/do, so if the place is so pack with people waiting for rides and shows, take a look at all the little details that exist that many people overlook!

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

After the Marathon ends, crowds really drop. They don't pick up again until around President's Day which is in February, mostly because a lot of schools get a 4-day weekend during that time.

It might be crowded during the marathon but to be honest it wasn't even comparable to the Christmas-New Years rush. Sure, slightly more crowded compared to the rest of the month, but if you play your cards right by using Fastpass and avoiding parks that have morning EMH (despite popular opinion evening EMH days NEVER seem to be an issue, and half the time they're dead during the said EMH) you should be just fine.

If you have a car, there may be detours on some of the roads during the marathon so be ready for that.

It also depends on what you define as SLOW. I've seen slow and I've seen dead. I would say slow would be most attractions are 5-10 minute waits with the popular ones topping out at 30 minutes, maybe 40 during the middle of the day. Now, on the 16th of this month at Epcot? That's what I would define as dead. There was literally NOBODY there. And even though historical trends can be a helpful travel planning tool, you're going to find that there are just random days where for some reason or another the crowds just never show up.