Which would be better in Jan.?

[BiloxiMom]

My dh and I, like very low crowds. I like Disney in any aspect, but he gets very frustrated, very quickly, if the parks are mobbed. That being said, we've always found Jan. a great month as far as crowds and weather. This yr. it seems like there are a lot of activities (cheerleader competitions,etc.) in Jan. and I'm having a hard time choosing a week. Which do you think would be LESS crowded:

week of 1/6--1/12 (I know the marathon is the weekend of the 10th, so I don't know how that will impact the crowds.)
week of 1/13--1/19 ( MLK weeekend, but I wasn't sure when the crowded week actually is.)
or week of 2/25--3/2 (This is the first week in Feb. we could go.)

SO what do you think? Help, please!

[michelle and warren]

We are actually going the 1-6th it may be a little crowded when we get there but Chef mickeys had a TON of open seating times for that Saturday which tells me that everyone will be leaving by then. be careful of that week in FEb, Make sure that it is not president's week, the schools in the northeast always have that week off and it tends to be pretty crowded.

[TammiMcMan]

This yr. it seems like there are a lot of activities (cheerleader competitions,etc.) in Jan. and I'm having a hard time choosing a week.

Every year, the range of low level crowds seems to grow shorter and shorter. Honestly, I remember going Christmas week of 1996 and having very few people in the parks all week. Now, it's become a mob scene.

week of 1/6--1/12 (I know the marathon is the weekend of the 10th, so I don't know how that will impact the crowds.)

The week will start off quiet, but resorts will start filling as you come closer to the marathon. Doesn't normally impact crowd levels too much, just traffic around the resorts and parks.

week of 1/13--1/19 ( MLK weeekend, but I wasn't sure when the crowded week actually is.)

Same as previous, although as you approach Friday and get into the weekend, you'll notice much larger park crowds. Also, if you don't have a reservation yet for the MLK dates, good luck finding something.

or week of 2/25--3/2 (This is the first week in Feb. we could go.)

In New England, our school vacation week is the week before. Unless you run into any school vacations, this should be a low level time at the parks. If your husband is a sports fan, this time frame includes ESPN weekend at MGM.

[BiloxiMom]

Hmmm... I was really hoping that first week in Jan. would work. I'm not sure I want to take a chance though. And I didn't want to wait ALL the way until the end of Feb. :o)
Which do you think would be better? I have no idea what to do now.

[LCPZA]

week of 1/13--1/19 ( MLK weeekend, but I wasn't sure when the crowded week actually is.)

I have gone this week in the past. During the week the crowds were not bad. Some rides you could walk on and ride 2x others had a 5-20 minute wait a few rides had even longer wait times on Friday. Most only had 5-10 minutes during the week. Now for MLK weekend we made the mistake and went to MK Sat, Sun, and Monday and left. It was a zoo. We ended up going to MGM(DS), EPcot, then AK on Monday and had no problems at all 3. Epcot was the most crowded out of the 3 days. Other than that I had a great time. I would go just about whenever I could go during those times. I think the crowd levels will still be much lower than peak times. Good luck.

[TammiMcMan]

I have no idea what to do now.

You may want to let current availability decide for you. We've tried to get last minute reservations during the marathon weekend and our only choice was a 2 bedroom suite. As I mentioned, the parks won't be crowded during the first week, but the resorts and roads around the marathon will be during the event weekend.

[bkfree]

We went Jan 07 the 13-19th and the crowds were very low. It was wonderful and we did even notice that it was a holiday weekend at all. The crowd did not seem to grow at all because of the holiday. There none or very minimal wait on rides. The EMH at the parks were a dream. The buses were never even half full and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes ever for a bus. It was important though to have ADR's for table service dining. Despite the very low crowds, walk ups still had a hour to 2 hour wait for a table in the more popular places.
That week was so great that we are planning to return next trip during the same week.
The weather was also great.

[BiloxiMom]

Thank you everyone for listening to me whine and all the advice. DH and I are going to sit down this week and decide what we want to do. Hopefully discounts will come out the end of the week or next week too. Thanks!

[Volksjager]

We went the last 2 weeks of January this year and found the crowds where not too bad, the biggest thing we noticed is that the ride wait times are nearly always wrong.

Some said 20 minute wait and we got through in 8, others we walked right up and got on again. Of course some rides did have some amount of wait. We found that the lines "looked" long but they did not snake everyone through every row, so it was not bad.

[Laura670]

You may want to let current availability decide for you. We've tried to get last minute reservations during the marathon weekend and our only choice was a 2 bedroom suite. As I mentioned, the parks won't be crowded during the first week, but the resorts and roads around the marathon will be during the event weekend.

I have to disagree we were there this past January during the marathon and it was CROWDED. We also spoke to a CM and he said that because of the New years falling on a Monday Florida schools returned back to school later so this is something you might want to check on too! Hope this helps and good luck planning

[TammiMcMan]

I have to disagree we were there this past January during the marathon and it was CROWDED.

That's fine, our experiences can be different. We've stayed twice during this time frame and noticed a huge decrease in crowds right after New Years and it only picked up again on the weekend.

[Laura670]

That's fine, our experiences can be different. We've stayed twice during this time frame and noticed a huge decrease in crowds right after New Years and it only picked up again on the weekend.

I didn't mean to offend anyone just letting everyone know about my trip experience. I was really looking forward to low crowds when we went Jan 5th -12th and My family is use to going in early Dec when it's not really crowded. We were shocked in Jan to see how many people were there because everything we read on here said that the crowds were low it could have been too because it was so warm in the
80's this may have brought more people to the parks So again sorry if I offended you

[Pipalotta]

We are going the 5th - 12th and staying at pop. I have been twice before, once was right after New years and once was right after Valentines day. Back then I didnt know about marathons or busy weeks we just went. Going in early January was a dream no lines and for the first part of the week it was warm, the 2nd half not so much. We went in Feb it was a nightmare, it was so crowded we didnt ride anything and barely spent any time in the parks. People who went last year the 5-12 have to realize that the marathon was the weekend of the 5-6 so you experienced people who probably ran the marathon and stayed the rest of the week. Going this year at that time, you wont find many people who go to the parks the week before they have to run a marathon. Now the week after may be a differnt story since you will have people who stayed for the marathon and then you will have people who are coming for mlk jr weekend.

That is just my opnion

[dizfanforever]

bkfree,

It was so nice to hear your take on MLK weekend. We usually go over Easter but are going to be there MLK weekend this year. It would be such a refreshing change to have little to no wait times compared to the huge crowds we experience at Easter time!
I hope the crowds are as light this year as they were last year!