Mid-Jan to early Feb at Disney World?

[nicolewi]

This probably won't happen. I'm just brainstorming. 

We were at Disney in spring 2019...thought we'd be back before now. My kids had just turned 4, 6, 8 and 10...this winter they will turn 8, 10, 12, and 14!! We might be getting a puppy in mid-February, which means no major travel for a while if we do it. So I'm thinking of whether we could/should try to squeeze in a Disney trip this WINTER??? 

DH would need major convincing, and dog plus Disney=major expenses, but if we didn't go this winter we push it back at least another year, and then DD will be in high school. We may have a harder time pulling her out. 

So TOTALLY just dreaming, but how is it to go in winter? Usually I would have picked March so we could swim, but obviously we'd be super limited if we did this in 2023. I would avoid the marathon and other major events. 

Are there considerations related to catching the end of the 50th anniversary celebrations? Or is that not really a big deal?

[zarapipe]

We went in January once and it was great (minus one kiddo got the flu while there). The weather was still beautiful- shorts and tee shirts most days. I’m an enabler so I say go for it! Stay off site to save some money and try to convince your DH, good luck!

[dcrunnergirl52]

We did it a few years ago, and it was great. They were going through a cold snap though, and we had to wear fleeces and mittens in the AM (think temps in the low 30s and windy) but by the afternoon it was beautiful (which meant we also needed to carry around these coats and mittens for the rest of the day). But, it also kept a lot of locals out of the parks, so it was relatively empty.

[CurlyQ284]

I spent a day at MK the last week of January when I flew in for a Harry Potter event at Universal with a friend. It was so empty, most of the rides had no lines. We were pretty much done by 3 pm.

We are going in November the week before Thanksgiving, but the last week of January was the other time I was considering when planning this.

[estrellita]

I've only ever been to Disney in January (that I can remember at least). It's hit or miss with weather but it's 99% of the time warmer than home since I'm in MN 😆 There are times it's warm enough for water rides and the misting things, and times we're wearing jackets and hats (especially at night). I overheat pretty easily so I don't mind it at all.

I believe the 50th stuff will be done by then but I can't remember. We're actually going the week of MLK Day but I don't think it's usually crazy busy (we usually go earlier in Jan). The weekend before is the marathon, which gets very busy. Before our cruise in 2020 the hotels and Disney Springs were pretty busy with runners! Then it might get a tiny bit busier for Valentines and President's Day weekend, but spring break is really when it starts picking up again.

TLDR: IMO January/February is a great time to go!

ETA: The waterpark is usually closed in Jan and often Splash Mountain is too for maintenance. If that's a deal breaker. We never go swimming, we spend all our time at the parks 🤣

[mrsslocombe]

I’ve been there three times in Jan/Feb, including this year.

One year it was 90 degrees. One year it was in the high 30s in the morning, warming up to the mid 50s. This year it was in the low-to mid 60s.

This year it was the most crowded that I’ve seen in January. The other two times it’s been pretty low. They have fewer cast members working, so even though there are fewer people, lines can be longer than you expect (though they are not atrocious).

Park hours are also shorter, though if you don’t do a lot of evenings/nights that isn’t as big an issue. They use this time to do maintenance on some attractions/restaurants/shops so a few extra things may be closed.

But none of those things are even close to a deal breaker for me.

[quesyrah]

We went mid January (2022) and it was awesome!

It was mostly cold to us. The first couple days were in the 70s and then it dropped 20 degrees or so. We are from SoCal so the 50s are cold to us.

We did still swim most days though! The pool is heated.

Crowds were high but we are not rope droppers and don’t stay until on closing so we never waited long for buses or skyliner and they were never full.

We did utilize Genie+ and all of the individual lighting lane s

[MDmomof2]

We went in late Jan/early Feb in 2019; we were there for the Superbowl. The kids wore shorts and t-shirts and swam, the adults wore long pants and did not swim. Overall the weather was pleasant and helped us spend more time in the parks than we would if it were hot. Our only other trip was late September and we felt it was just as crowded in the parks as it was in September.