Early January Crowds

[dixiepixie]

One of our favorite times of the year to go to WDW is in January. We usually go mid to late in the month and the crowd level is very manageable. Due to work conflicts, for our next trip we are looking at going in the beginning of the month, possibly around the 5th. How much higher will the crowd levels be at the beginning of the month versus what we are used to?

[Fangorn]

If anything, the first part of January is less crowded than later in the month. By Monday the 5th, the Holiday crowds will be gone and MLK weekend is still a bit off. If there really ever are slow times at WDW anymore, this is one of them.

Have a great trip!

Steve

[faline]

I think the crowds won't be much different than what you are used to as long as you go after the New Year's crowds have departed.

[jenperich]

How late are Christmas decorations kept up?

[ImagiAsh]

I have to say, we were there the first week of January (2nd - 6th) last year and it was WAY TOO CROWDED. I know that most people assume the holiday crowds would have died down by the 6th, but it was just as bad as the 2nd. Speaking casually to a cast member about it, he said that Disney had released room discounts for that time period and a lot of people still had off from the holidays, so everything booked up fast! Reservations were hard to get, fast passes were gone before noon... it was just unpleasant. They are trying to fill the slower seasons with incentives, so between the holidays, the room discounts, the marathon weekends, and more, it was just really crowded. I would imagine the later weeks in January are much more enjoyable.

[ImagiAsh]

How late are Christmas decorations kept up?

Christmas decorations started to come down on the 2nd last year. Each park dismantled slowly. First the decorations would go, then the holiday music would stop. By the 6th of January, there was significantly less holiday decorations, but still a decent handful to continue enjoying the season.