First Week of January Review
Hello! Just got back from a 5 day trip to Walt Disney World (January 2nd - January 6th) and I thought I'd provide a not-so-small review for those curious about traveling around this time period over the upcoming years.
VERY CROWDED. I was under the impression that the busiest weeks were the week before Christmas and the week after Christmas and that crowds typically slowed down tremendously at the start of January. Having arrived at the Orlando airport, we were greeted with a half an hour wait to board Magical Express and a fully loaded bus. (Not really a problem for us, but a surprise to see that many people). Once we arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it was (excuse the pun) a zoo. The main check in line wrapped around itself three times over and the online check-in had about a 25 minute wait. I overheard a cast member talking to a guest about how the previous day (January 1st), was the busiest check-in day in recent history. They went on to say that they suspected the crowds were due to the resort discounts released a few months prior.
The parks were crowded and we soon discovered it would be nearly impossible to get on our favorite rides at Hollywood Studios --Tower of Terror, Rock N' Roller coaster -- each sporting 180+ minute waits. I enjoy them dearly, but I was not about to stand in line for three hours. It was only noon but the fast passes were already sold out. We soon realized the strategy for our remaining time at Disney World was to get to the parks before they even opened if we hoped to accomplish anything.
Our next morning was EPCOT and we were at the gates by 8:30AM (when the park opened at 9). It took 35 minutes to get through security and we beelined for Soarin' fastpasses. We were at Soarin' by 9:30 and received fastpasses for 2PM. This day was a bit better because we were able to get other rides in while we waited to use our Soarin' fastpasses. We visited Captain EO, Finding Nemo, and the Land, in what felt like minutes.
In an effort to not recap my entire trip, the general rule of thumb to make this incredibly busy week work was to get to the parks at opening, grab a fastpass for the number one must-do ride and wait in line for the number two must-do ride. Also, take advantage of late park hours and extra magic hours as the crowds did thin out. We were at MK one evening between 8PM and 1AM and covered almost every major ride in the park.
Dining reservations were almost impossible. We had a group of 14, but even if I tried to book dining for smaller divisions of our group (just 5 people), I could not find a single place available for booking. I have been trying to make reservations for the group, as a whole, since early December and I was only able to make one lunch reservation for our 5-day trip. In fact, one evening we had originally planned to just go wherever the day led us. My boyfriend and I decided we wanted to eat in EPCOT (just the two of us) and when I logged online to see what was available for an ADR, there were literally no places available over an 8 hour window. As I kept hitting refresh, Germany finally opened up and we snagged it.
I would not say the crowds ruined the trip, because I certainly had a blast. However, it did force us to actually plot out our days a whole lot more thoroughly than we anticipated. We had to decide what was actually worth seeing and make a plan for execution to do it. The biggest downer was the fact that almost all of the ADRs we were hoping to get were already booked weeks (perhaps, months) before we even stepped on site.
As a side note, all of the decorations were up through at least January 6th at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. EPCOT seemed to be the earliest to tear down all of their decorations. Weatherwise, it ranged between 50 and 70F most of the week. The forecast showed sun the entire time when we arrived in Orlando, but seemed to change every single morning to clouds and mist for almost the entire day. The best day was Saturday. Lots of sun and hot. :mickey:
