First Week of January Review

[ImagiAsh]

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.

[faline]

It certainly does sound like it was very crowded! Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Wow! That is crazy crowded! When were there a few years ago in early January, isn't wasn't anything like that.

But, with discounts, and I know schools here went back "later" than usual, or maybe it was the same other places as well.

[AgentC]

I'm sorry it was so busy but glad you still had a great time.

I think this year is a bit of an anomaly because of where New Year's Day fell. I know many people who had the Monday off as well as Tuesday for New Year's Day which made it a lot more appealing to take the whole week off than usual. FL was another place where the kids went back to school late. Most of the Tampa area didn't go back until Jan 7th.

[January-2007]

Thanks for reporting.

[emerzmom]

Wow! A huge line just to check in your resort and no R&R or ToT.....no bueno. It sounds like you made the best of it though.
Thanks for sharing.

Julie

[Melanie]

Wow, I've never seen a 35 minute wait to get through security at Epcot.

We arrived on the 10th and crowds were quite manageable by then. I think the weirdness of the holiday, like Cindy was saying, had a lot to do with that first week of January being busy.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Wow, we are planning sometime in January or February for our next trip, guess we need to mark first week of January off. Thanks for the report

[IwannabeinNarnia]

a THREE HOUR wait for a ride???
That is out of control! wow! Still sounds like you found a way to manage the crowds and had a nice time! I enjoyed reading your report.

[DisneyDadfromPittsburgh]

Wow, I never expected to hear some of the items you wrote regarding an early January visit to WDW. We leave in three days for a trip and we picked last weekend in January hoping it was mid winter down there, school was in and the weather may not be that great, all things to keep crowds away. We will see.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[nqi2]

I was there at the same time frame and actually found the parks to be very managaeable and the reason I say that is because we have only been in the summer where you can't breath let alone walk through the seas of people. We had front row seats for the night time parades and didn't have to scope them out forever in advance. Longest wait time we had was Big Thunder at 45 mins.

I guess timing is everything.

[hauntedmansiongirl]

You definitely made the best of a horribly crowded week! Gees... I've been telling people that the first two weeks of January are good. I'll be revising that now!

[BigRedDad]

a THREE HOUR wait for a ride???

Should have seen the waits at MK when Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain opened. Waits were 3-4 bathroom trips long. BTMRR had lines that stretched back to PotC back in the day.