January at Disney?

[Laurie S]

My husband and I always travel to Disneyworld in September. The crowds aren't bad, love the Halloween party, and food and wine! But the heat is really starting to get to us. We are thinking of trying January next time. Cooler temps and Festival of the Arts sounds intriguing. Any advise?

 

[mandis77]

We always go in Sept/Oct too, but this year we are going in late Jan/early Feb. I'm just in the beginning planning stages, but looks like temps lower but crowds (a little) higher!

 

[gordydis]

Wife and I went for a very quick trip this past January and crowds were pretty low and temps were great. It did get "Florida cool," but nothing a light jacket didn't take care of. Another thing to note is Xmas decorations were still up in Magic Kingdom on January 10...not sure if that is normal every year, but was great to see decor up without the Christmas crowds.

 

[olecow]

We've gone in late January and love the weather and (at the time) lower crowds. We'll be there this January from the 4th to the 9th and are really looking forward to it. It can get chilly in January (chilly being a relative term as we're from Wisconsin) but the days are usually nice and warm.

 

[JennyDrake]

As long as you avoid the marathon weekend and the federal holiday you will be golden! It can be great time to visit!!!

 

[kwdw]

I've liked my January trips weather-wise! You have to pack for a very wide range of temperatures - I've had the temp range be between low 50's to low 80's in a four day time frame. It means layering so I'm not sweating at 1pm and freezing at 7pm. Now - there's no news yet about that other SWGE ride opening expectation yet.... that might impact DHS this year.

 

[mamamelody2]

We also have gone 3 times in September and are going again this year. BUT, I would like to take another trip just DS and I. I was looking at late January and was about to ask this same question! Weather looks like it can be very variable, so we'd have to pack a lot more clothes. I've actually never seen Magic Kingdom without Halloween or Christmas decorations up, so that sounds nice. I'm hoping it works out for us!

 

[BalooFan]

I went this past January hoping for cooler weather. It was probably my worst WDW trip weather-wise. It was too cool; I wore jackets and/or sweatshirts every day and was still cold. It was also rainy and not just the brief afternoon showers everyone talks about. There was at least one day that was a total washout. Admittedly, you can hit a patch of lousy weather at any time of the year, but my last trip left me with no desire to ever visit in January again.

 

[Magical2017]

We have gone in January when the kids were little. We loved it and feel it was the best month to travel to WDW for our family. We have had trips with winter coats and one trip with 80 degree weather and no rain. Crowd levels were manageable. A few rides were closed. There were evening EMH back then, which helped offset any early closing times. Even with cooler weather, there were always a few days of warmer weather for a swim, and it was always warmer than home.

 

[YawningDodo]

It's my favorite time of year for weather in Florida--it doesn't rain so much, and it's usually pretty pleasant in daytime and requires only a light jacket after nightfall. Historically it's also been a low crowd season, but in 2018 I found January much more crowded than I expected--not sure how it shook out in 2019 or how it'll be in 2020. I booked my own next trip for late January, if that tells you how I feel about it overall.

Edited to note now that I've read other replies--there is always the chance you'll hit a cold snap or it'll rain more than usual. The thing about cold weather in Florida is that it feels colder than it really is due to the humidity. I'm still going for it, but it's worth checking the weather the week before your trip and bringing a couple warm layers just in case.

 

[beccasmom]

You do have to keep tabs on the weather so you know what to pack, but January and February are great for more temperate weather - usually! In 2018 it was very warm in early February, but we visited later in the month and it was fine. Avoid the federal holidays....they draw big crowds.

 

[westie55]

I went in January and it was winter coat cold. The parks all closed early. To be honest, I missed being able to stay in the MK until midnight and I missed the water parks and swimming in the resort pool. Those are things that really make my vacation great. Crowds were low, yes, but it wasn't like the really popular rides were walk ons. They still had substantial waits. I am also not rushing to go back in January. Another consideration is cold and flu season. I have young kids and if we travel in the winter, sure enough someone (or everyone) gets sick. That is less likely to happen in summer. My older son has gotten sick every.single.time we have taken him to Disney in fall or winter.

 

[Sara_H]

We went in January 2018 and had great weather. Started the day in shorts and sweatshirts and took the sweatshirts off by 9:00. However, I know people who went the exact week this year and they had winter hats and gloves on. Unfortunately, the weather is not guaranteed. As for crowds, I don't think they were too bad. Were there crowds? Sure. But were they crazy? No. We are going in January 2020 the same week we went last time so fingers crossed for good weather again!

 

[Praying Colonel]

We've been twice in January. Crowds were good both times, but it turned cold so daytime highs were in the low 50s. That doesn't sound cold, especially if you're coming from up north where it's really cold that time of year. But for some reason low 50s at WDW feels colder, especially if the sun's not out. DW scrambled to find gloves and a wool cap and she was drinking coffee or hot chocolate just about the whole time. I recommend bringing plenty of layers, gloves and hats, just in case.

 

[han22735]

We also have been a few times in January(2017/2018)...Crowds certainly aren't as low as they used to be. We did enjoy the cooler temps when they were in the 70's but we had days we needed winter hats and gloves and to me that's just a tad too cold for Disney(and we live in the northeast) We did enjoy the Festival of the arts.

 

[Miffy]

I used to go in January all the time--the parks were empty, the room rates were excellent, and I didn't care about the weather. Then WDW started the marathon, which is usually held the week I used to go, and suddenly it wasn't such a great time to go anymore, since room rates weren't as low, the parks were more crowded, and because of those two things, the weather wasn't amusing to me either!

Then I started going in early February, but the last two years that I did that, the weather was so bad--raining and winter-coat cold nearly the entire time both trips--that I just stopped. Especially since the parks were still crowded and many rides were closed for refurbishment. Now I go in March or May instead.

As for crowds--it could be very crowded or not so bad in January. Impossible to predict. There's no "slow" season at WDW anymore. As for the weather--it's also impossible to predict. You could have warm days and sunshine with cool nights or you could have cold days and wet weather and frigid nights. Don't leave home without your winter coat, even though you might not need it. As for room rates--if you're staying onsite, avoid Marathon weekend and MLK weekend. The rates should be pretty good otherwise. And as for ride refurbishments--expect some rides to be closed. WDW regularly refurbishes rides in January and February. One of the reasons I stopped going at that time of year was that KRR was closed for refurbishment like 3 years in a row in Jan/Feb, and it's one of my favorite rides.

But . . . if January or February were the only time I could go, I would still go then. Because it's WDW!

 

[skippytx]

The weather is much nicer for sure, but the downside is much shorter park hours. The wait time for most rides doesn't seem much different either as they dynamically staff and reduce capacity of the rides according to park attendance. One example I'm most aware of is Big Thunder Mountain. They can run up to 5 trains at the same time when they need to. When park crowds are low, they'll shut down one side of the loading area and only run 2 trains, taking out 60% of the ride capacity. Instead of a walk on, you end up waiting 20 to 30 minutes anyway. They do this with a lot of the rides they can control how many trains/boats/loading areas they have open. The only ones immune are the omni-mover style rides like Buzz or Little Mermaid.

We generally travel in Feb or March depending on the school schedule. I've had a similar experience during off peak times of low crowd levels, and during peak spring break season. I generally get the same amount done. The crowds are heavier during peak times which make moving around the parks more difficult, and the lines for food and things like that busier, but generally we still get the same amount of rides/experiences done regardless of how busy it is.

I prefer to travel when the parks have longer hours now and the weather is nice. There really is no slow time anymore, we've tried that the last couple of trips and it hasn't worked out. We prefer to tour with a mid day break and stay late at one of the parks each night, so that's what we prefer. If you're a morning person that likes to rope drop and then leave the parks and go to dinner and you're out of there by 6 or 7 anyway, the shorter park hours won't bother you. For me though there is nothing like MK at 10PM or later at night. My favorite memory at WDW is walking through a deserted Fantasyland at like 1 AM with my wife.

 

[pens4821]

We go Jan/Feb. The weather is variable, but not overwhelmingly hot. We haven't had rain issues, maybe a shower here or there. Just this last January, when we got there on Saturday it was in the low 80s. Sunday night, it went down to upper 30s (I think we pretty much always have a night reach the 30s). It can be hard to be comfortable, but I'd rather deal with that than the heat of summer. Major problem is it may be around 50 in the morning, but by afternoon be 70s. Dressing warm for morning makes you hot during the day. I hate dressing in layers, because I hate carrying around my sweatshirt. But as I said, I'd much rather deal with that than the heat.

Crowds used to be great, but it's getting busier. As they say, I don't think there is really a slow time anymore. It may not be as bad as a major holiday or spring break, but waits were quite long while we were there this year.

It's getting harder for us to plan Jan/Feb with school, but I really can't bring myself to come when it's hot (or during the intense crowds of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). I think you'll enjoy it much more. You can be in the park all day, and not be overwhelmed because of heat.

 

[StarSeven7]

I went this past January hoping for cooler weather. It was probably my worst WDW trip weather-wise. It was too cool; I wore jackets and/or sweatshirts every day and was still cold. It was also rainy and not just the brief afternoon showers everyone talks about. There was at least one day that was a total washout. Admittedly, you can hit a patch of lousy weather at any time of the year, but my last trip left me with no desire to ever visit in January again.

You were obviously there at the same time we were! I think our dates were January 23 - February 2 this year. We've gone that same time frame a few times and had decent weather but this year was too cold to be enjoyable - and I live in Canada!!!

 

[alan68]

We went in 2015 the week after New Years. The crowds were only bad at MK, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Didn't rain once. On our HS day, we actually had to stop and take a water break - something we've never had to do in January before! Apparently it does get cold in Orlando some Januarys, but not 2015. In fact, I had bought DW a Mickey sweatshirt for Christmas so she could wear it on this trip, but the weather just wasn't cool enough once we got there.