coastermaniac Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 According to this article, January is one of two of the best months to visit (least crowd wise). For anyone who has gone in January, is that true? I'm thinking it would be kind of busy in at least the first part of January. While many of the high schools go back probably early January, many colleges don't go back until mid-January so that could (my thinking) bring more people in during that time. I'm thinking about going during January but I don't know what part of the month to go. Any info would help. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Yeah, January is usually pretty quiet. Check the events calendars to make sure there isn't some crazy cheer-leading thing going on, but even still, I'd think it would be a great time to visit the parks. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Also avoid marathon weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 We went a couple of years ago during the last week of January. Crowds were very light. Keep in mind though that you have a higher probability of missing out on some rides because of rehab schedules that time of year. Like, I am pretty sure Splash Mountain has its annual rehab during that time. Just make sure you go after Martin Luther King weekend and before President's Day weekend and you will have fair crowds. I also think a lot of people from Louisiana invade Florida during Mardi Gras week. So, that could be a small issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 ^Ahh good point, I also want to say Big Thunder Mountain will be down as well so definitely check the rehab schedule if that stuff is important to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I went Martin Luther King weekend five or so years ago and was able to comfortably do the four parks in three days. We obviously didn't get to do every last thing (limited time schedule) and couldn't extend our trip, but we were still quite satisfied with what we did get to ride. It wasn't empty, but none of the waits were anything to become impatient with except for the Nemo show at Animal Kingdom which I believe was brand new around that time. Like someone else said, expect rides to be down for rehab. When I was there Rock 'N Rollercoaster, Splash Mountain, and a few other smaller rides were closed. There's still so much to do though that this shouldn't have any sort of effect on the quality of your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Marathon weekend isn't bad, crowdwise, but you have to deal with road closures. MLK weekend is busier, but not horrible. Do avoid the cheerleaders, if possible. Be prepared for a variety of weather. Temps can range from 20's to 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I was some times in Miami during that time and wanna go to Orlando for two weeks in Jan/Feb 2013. Weather is mostly dry and temperatures are mostly nice and not too hot - during summer I avoid Florida as I hate temps over 100F. During the time you plan most hotels and rental-car companies offer bargain prices. Make sure to hire a car if you wanna do BGT or Kennedy Space Center - public transport in Florida is nearly non-existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 I didn't even think about ride closures (rehabs). I checked Screamscape (not sure what other site to check for possible ride closures) and according to the site, the only closures that would make me are Big Thunder (closed 1/9/12 through 5/12/12) and Fantasmic! (closed 1/9/2012 through 2/12/2012). Since it's only the end of November, things could change; those could not close and/or other good attractions could close but possibly not. Hopefully no other good attractions would close but I can't really control that. Also avoid marathon weekend! What is marathon weekend? Also, how's the weather in January in Florida? I remember when I went down there in November back in 2007, it got pretty chilly some nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Marathon Weekend is the 7th and 8th, marathon races are run all over the WDW area. I was there the first week in January this year and last year. Last year crowds weren't too bad but this year they picked up more. It wasn't jammed but the major rides had up to an hour wait standby. Over at Universal, IoA was packed, Forbidden Journey was posted at 120 minutes standby in the middle of the day on the Wednesday of that week. I later found out that schools went back later than normal this year because of the way the holidays fell on the calendar. I think the same thing will happen this year because this year they offered free dining the first week of January, for 2012 they did not until the 2nd week. It can be warm or freezing. Last year, it was in the 40's most days and one day we left the hotel to go to Animal Kingdom and it was 39 out. By night it was in the mid 30's. This year, it was in the 70's and much more comfortable. Because Big Thunder Mountain is closing on January 9th, Splash Mountain will not be closed this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Because Big Thunder Mountain is closing on January 9th, Splash Mountain will not be closed this year. How do you know for sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 For a rehab schedule, this is a good site: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/rehab.htm Sorry to say it, but I wouldn't count on the BTMR rehab changing. That time is probably as set in stone as rehab schedules go. They probably are on an extremely strict timetable to get that done before the peak summer season starts, so that will not be flexible. I do know that they kept moving back the Space Mountain rehab a couple of years ago, so there is always a small chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I found that crowds weren't exactly "light" in January of last year, but they weren't heavy either. In that part of the year, it's really sort of "hit or miss". When my first day of work was over, my friends and I went into Magic Kingdom in the evening. Standby for Space Mountain was 180 minutes! We ended up waiting about 150 though. The only reason we even waited that long was because we really had nothing better to do. The day afterward though, when I went in by myself during the day, I only waited 15 minutes. Like I said - hit or miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimace Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 ^As for the "hit or miss" thing, it's a huge help to pay attention to what parks have Extra Magic Hours on what days. The park that has evening EMH will usually be much busier than the other parks, especially later in the day. Given your example, I'd be willing to bet that the busy evening you went was an EMH day for the Magic Kingdom, and the next day you went was not. Word of advice for any WDW visitor who is not staying on property: if you want to have the shortest lines possible, plan your trip to avoid the parks that are having Extra Magic Hours, especially in the evenings. Also, Fantasmic days at Hollywood Studios can cause the lines to be double the length (or more) for all of the attractions in that park. If you want to get lots of rides on Tower of Terror and Rock n' Roller Coaster, DON'T go on a Fantasmic day (plus Florida's Fantasmic is pretty lame IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Like with all parks look when hours are limited and the hotels offer value packs or off-season prices. For 2012 its the 3rd and 4th week of Jan as well as the 1st and 2nd week of Feb. First week of Jan is generally a bad idea as some might extend their xmas holidays. If you've no children do all holidays as far away from the school holidays and public holidays as possible! As Disney also gathers international crowds I'd Disney parks on weekdays and the other parks on weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I really only ever go in January - in part due to previously being in high school and the long weekend after midterms being the only time I could go, and in part because I love going that time of year. I've never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride at Disney or Universal in January. Magic Kingdom usually has Splash Mountain down later in January, so keep an eye on the rehab schedule. Universal tends to take down Dudley Do-Right's as well, but I'm not sure that you're going there! And Big Thunder is set to close January 9th and not reopen until May I think, so you might miss out on that this year! But aside from the ride closures (I'm still bitter about Kumba's repainting keeping me from riding), it's a fantastic time to go. Minimal crowds and warmer weather than you (or at least I) can find at home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Another source for rehabs and all things Disney is this site... http://allears.net/tp/rehabs.htm I love the menu part of this site. It made it easy to make dinner reservations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'll likely even stay at a Disney hotel... A little more than a year now and this thread really wets my appetite for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermaniac Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'll probably want to do a park for EMH for at least one park, which means I have to stay at a Disney hotel. So if I try to avoid parks with EMH for that day, then the park should typically be less crowded? Also, the All Star resorts are the cheapest hotels at Disney, right? I like cheap ...well, cheapest in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) Yes, the All Star resorts are one of the Value Resorts (cheapest category of Disney resorts). The only way I would recommend doing EMH at a park would be if you had a park hopper ticket. You could go to that park for the morning EMH and then leave that park once it started getting too crowded during the late morning or early afternoon. Same thing for evening EMH. Do another park during the day and then head to the EMH park that evening. If you go this time of year and avoid parks with EMH days, history shows that you should have good luck with crowds. The only exception to this rule is Magic Kingdom on Monday. Do not go there! A lot of Disney vacations begin on Mondays and that is the first park they want to go to! One last piece of advice. Get to the park 30 minutes before rope drop (park opening)!! Even if you go to the park in peak summer, if you are at the park for rope drop, you can stay ahead of the crowds! Most rides will be walk-ons and you can grab fast passes for when the park gets busier in the afternoon! Edited November 30, 2011 by ernierocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 This thread is just making me more excited for mine and my girlfriend's own January trip - just five weeks to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chroniq Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 FWIW- January is our second favorite time of year to visit WDW (followed by early September, as you get the food and wine festival + light crowds). I've been down during Marathon weekend (not so bad, if you use a site like touringplans to figure out where to go) and MLK weekend (definitely worse, but still better than any "Summer" day). January (after the 4th) is a great month to visit WDW as the combination of low prices for rooms and short lines for rides is tough to beat... I'll take a coulple rides closed for rehab over long lines and high prices any day. Chris "is now checking out prices for a January trip" Connolly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 ^ Go on Chris, it'd be awesome to hang out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chroniq Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 ^Mike.. I might do something solo like I did last year; Providing Kristin Connolly isn't against it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwm1444 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Neat - we'll be there the 3rd to the 12th, so if you - or anyone TPR-related - turn up during that time, it'd be great to spend some time. Mike 'will stop threadjacking...now' Moody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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