January visit?

[redleg96]

I know that the first week of January will be busy due to the end of the holiday season; but aside from the first week (so in 2012, looking at after 7 JAN) - how is the rest of January? I'm guessing MLK weekend may get busy but how are the crowds the rest of that month. How about tour groups from other nations?....Or am I overthinking this and is it just a great time to visit? Thanks

[Strmchsr]

The South American tour groups are quite large in January (surprisingly large) which has increased the month as a whole. It's their summer vacation, so perfect time to visit for them. It's not packed, by any means, but it's not empty during January like it used to be, either. You have the tour groups, marathon weekend, MLK weekend, and cheer/dance competitions that all add to the traffic. Again, it's not horrible. Crowds are definitely manageable, just go with proper expectations.

[redleg96]

Is there a posted schedule (or cheat sheet) of when the dance/cheer competitions and marathon are taking place so we can deconflict as much as possible?

[Strmchsr]

The marathon events are Jan 6-8. The big thing about those is avoid Epcot on Saturday and Sunday as it's a nightmare getting in and out, trafficwise.

As for the others, most of those are posted on the Wide World of Sports website, but I believe they occur the last weekend of Jan and the first weekend of Feb.

[Stickey]

We went this year in January, 1/24-1/31/11.
There were several Brazilian tour groups. Watch out for the flag leaders. Some waits were longer than posted at times and rides were practically walk-on at other times.

Overall, not too bad for crowds.
It is important to start your days in the parks earlier, as the groups appeared to arrive late morning.

Weather can also vary in January.

[epceddie]

We've been the second week of January the last two years and didn't have any problems with Brazilian tour groups. The weather was another story. In 2009, all they kept talking about was the "Arctic Blast" that was coming down from Canada. We were lucky if it got up to 50 degrees during the day. We had to use a credit card to clear ice off the windshield early in the morning. We wore shorts the first day (we were just about the only ones) and switched to jeans and sweatshirts for the remainder of the trip. I didn't go swimming even once, which was a first.
This past January, it was warmer (mid 50's) but nothing close the the 70's that we were looking forward to during what was a brutal winter up here with snow that came down in feet, not inches.
We did a Pirates Fireworks Cruise from the Contemporary one night and it was 38 degrees out. Everybody stoked up on hot chocolate before hand and they gave us blankets to use while we were out on the water. People were bundled up like eskimos.
January is a great time to go because of the low crowds, but we've found that it can be hit or miss where the weather is concerned. After two straight misses, we'll be returning in September or October on future trips and praying that we don't run into a hurricane.

[kakn7294]

We did a quick 5 day weekend in January this year. It was the weekend after MLK day, all-day Thursday thru Monday late afternoon. I thought crowds were pretty good until we went to MK on Monday and encountered HUGE crowds and dozens of Brazilian tour groups. It was terrible, almost worse than summer!

[morebroccoli]

Just avoid the first week of Jan. That's all i have to say! Went Jan 2 - 7 this year and there were the biggest crowds i've ever seen. I'm guessing it was because of the day of the week New Years fell on and people were still out of school that first week but WOW i have been in Jan before but never dealt with the crowds like this before. Not even in summer.

[A Big Kid]

I've been the second week in January for several years now because of the Marathon.

Parks closer earlier, but the crowds are much smaller.

The BTG's are starting to show up in force. I've never had a good experience with them but YMMV.

The weather can be anywhere from the 20's to the 80's.

ADR's and even walk-ups are pretty easy to obtain.

[Dyanna]

We were in the World this past Jan from the 8-15 & were amazed how many Brazilian Tour groups there were. At some point it was just impossible to get to the entrance for a ride (ex Test Track & Big Thunder Mountain) because many groups were waiting right at the entrances for when their Fastpass time would come up. The weather during this week was a mixed bag. Daytime was manageable in the 60's but the nights got in the high 30's to low 40's. Was a bit cold waiting for parades fireworks etc.