One perhaps good thing in 2019 is given the way the calendar falls, the marathon will be Sunday 1/13. It was 1/7 this year.
Crowds will be very heavy
This will be the case, as New Years Day falls on a Tuesday. The holiday crowds will remain in full force the remainder of the week, due to most schools remaining closed until the following Monday. Expect the parks to be slammed.
it's talked about all over here: There is no "dead" time to go to WDW anymore.
Just plan to go when YOU can . .and plan accordingly.
There is another thread that is talking about how January 2018 "felt" more crowded than June of 2017.
It's getting harder and harder to do .. but what I've done the past few years (since I have been able to choose my dates easily with no kids in school (yet))That's the thing- we don't have to go then. I'd pick May or November again over crazy Christmas/NY crowds!
If you're not specifically going for the holidays or New Year's, I would avoid it. We went for NYE (had an amazing time even with crowds) and with the marathon being the next weekend, it was still pretty crowded. That being said, weather that week was awful so that helped a bit with crowds, but not too much
Not what I wanted to hear, but I appreciate the honesty.
It's getting harder and harder to do .. but what I've done the past few years (since I have been able to choose my dates easily with no kids in school (yet))
1) Try and avoid marathons/special events
2) Try and avoid going directly on or very near holidays
3) Try and avoid the summer
4) Try and avoid when "everyone" is out of school (see #2 and #3).
So I've gone in late January, late March, late August, and early October with pretty good success. I wouldn't say any of those times were "not crowded", but the important thing is we still had fun.
I am breaking Rule #2 this fall and going on Veteran's Day weekend . .simply because it falls the week between Halloween and Thanksgiving and saves me and my son a day from taking off work/school. Oh well!
As all pp, expect it to be extremely busy. If you know what you're getting into, you just plan for it. FPs are extremely important. Getting to the parks at RD, leaving mid day for a bit and then returning works well.
Expect much higher crowds than you've experienced before.These are the dates I’m looking at too. In the parks Jan 2-5. We have been Veteran’s Day weekend and Memorial Day week. I hope we don’t regret going the first week of January. We are working with 4 school schedules and none of them break at the same time except for major holidays