Seeking a Little Clarity About Crowds and Hours

[anne60]

Another vote for end of April/beginning of May. I've been 3 times during the last 2 weeks of January. While there were a few warm (70s) days, the majority of the time it was at least sweatshirt weather, if not colder. Twice we were there the week after MLK day, the tour groups were MASSIVE. We've gone twice during the first week in May, beautiful weather and manageable crowds both times.

 

[anniemae]

May would be lovely. Very slow crowds and fantastic weather.

That said, I personally love early Feb. I personally find the cooler weather great for park touring. The heat and humidity of the summer is brutal. I find the cooler weather refreshing. We always found crowds at this time slow.

 

[mountdew1]

Slow times are all relative now at WDW. Through pricing changes and scheduling of events, WDW has done a good job of distributing the crowd throughout the year. Instead of slow vs busy its usually now more busy vs slammed. Yes, anytime when kids are in school will tend to be a less busy than during vacation periods, and other than Marathon Weekend in early Jan, there aren't popular events booked like the holiday events or F&W.

Yes, during those non-peak periods, park hours are usually shorter. For instance, I think normal close for most nights in Jan is 9 or earlier right now. But, since the crowds are lighter (relatively) you can still accomplish roughly the same amount as you can when the park is open later during busy times.

Jan/Feb can still be cold. Or it can be hot. I usually go down for Marathon Weekend (usually first weekend after NYE) and I've had it be 30 degrees and sleeting, and I've had it be 80. The biggest consistent is that the mornings/nights tend to be cooler than the middle of the day, so even when it hit 80 in the afternoon, it was still low 50s to start/end the day.

 

[Donalyn]

Been twice in January. First full week and last full week. Both were cooler, but we also swam at least one day each trip. Had great trips both times.

No time is perfect at WDW. Have to pick your poison, so to speak. (For instance, my current poison is that the only time we have to go is spring break, which this year falls the week after Easter. So, the parks will be super busy. But it is a super busy park or not getting back to WDW for another year. I'm taking the busy park.)

Good luck planning.