Tell me about your experience - late Jan./early Feb. 2018

[mn51]

It is funny how differently people see things! I wonder if I just choose really poorly with what parks I went to. Truth be told, I didn't follow any of the crowd calendar suggestions for which parks to do which day because I thought crowds wouldn't be an issue and I didn't bother with park hoppers either.

I don't think you made bad park choices as we had Park Hoppers and would hop to another park only to find a high crowd level there too. We were there for 10 nights and just found the crowds high. A cast member told us that it was a popular time for South Americans. When I mentioned we were there the same time in 2017, the cast member indicated that the Olympics were being played there in Jan/Feb 2017 so the crowds were lighter the year before. The cast member also stated that the South American economy was better in 2018. Honestly, not sure if what the cast member stated was true. We only knew that the crowd level was much higher from the year before.

 

[theone74733]

We were there January 27th - Feb 2nd so we were in between Pro Bowl the first weekend and a dance competition starting the second weekend. I would say that the parks were all crowded, but using the strategies on this board we were still able effectively tour and accomplish everything we needed to. Except for a 40 minute wait on Splash Mountain, we never waited in a line more than 20 minutes. The only park I felt had horrible crowds was Animal Kingdom. Like shoulder to shoulder people and standing room only in Festival of the Lion King, which I have never seen before. Epcot seemed to have low-moderate crowds and Magic Kingdom had the normal crowds as expected. Yes, there were a lot of international visitors which probably outnumbered American visitors so this may have been a contributing factor as they weren't so apparent when I went in January 2015.

One weird thing was our hotel All Star Sports was pretty quiet for the most part. I easily went to the food court and it was a walk-on through the food queues and cashier line. Also, the bus lines with the exception of Magic Kingdom were all short. It only got busy the last night due to check in's for the dance teams.

 

[larissawbb]

Does anyone know if Universal was crowded too?

 

[Surgie2]

We’ll go the last week in January again in 2019 for one last trip before the APs expire. It’s just two of us and even though last year was crowded we still managed to do what we wanted with FP (30 days out) and RD.

 

[StarSeven7]

I'm not too worried about my family having to deal with crowds since we've gone quite a few times in the last few years, but we are traveling with my extended family, most of whom have been saving up for a few years in order to go and I would hate for them to not have an enjoyable time!!

 

[ChrisnKim913]

We always go starting the Monday after the Super Bowl (feb 5th this year). We always find the crowds manageable and the weather is perfect

 

[WEDWDW]

A cast member told us that it was a popular time for South Americans.

Yes,they are on "Summer Break" from school so Families and also The 15s travel to WDW then.

January it is mainly Brazil and February is mainly Argentina.

 

[Surgie2]

I'm not too worried about my family having to deal with crowds since we've gone quite a few times in the last few years, but we are traveling with my extended family, most of whom have been saving up for a few years in order to go and I would hate for them to not have an enjoyable time!!

In spite of unexpected crowds, it was still a really fun time and we did everything we wanted without long waits - including FoP at RD.

 

[StarSeven7]

In spite of unexpected crowds, it was still a really fun time and we did everything we wanted without long waits - including FoP at RD.

That's good to know! Thank you!

 

[JessiMommy]

We were there January 28- February 3 of this year. We’ve been at this time in years past and it was definitely more crowded this year but I’m finding that every time we go it’s just more crowded than it was in years past. We thought everything was manageable with doing rope drop and booking more fastpasses after you use your first 3, etc. Nothing about our Jan/Feb trip made me swear off that time of year. Hope that helps.

 

[Dumbo777]

The races/presidents day tend to make it more crowded that time of year. I like April (far away from easter/before spring break) or even early June/late May before school is out at the tail end of f&g.

We went April of this year, after spitting break and a bit after Easter and in my opinion is was very crowded.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

January 25-31, 2015 was hands down our worst experience at Disney World. The bus service was terrible at BWV. It was really cold. The Brazilian tour groups were obnoxious.

 

[ddavis3586]

Does anyone know if Universal was crowded too?

We were in Orlando from Jan 7-21st this year and we did 3 days at Universal/IOA. The crowds were not terrible, much more manageable than the Disney Parks. We got there at park opening both days and were able to experience everything we wanted with minimal waits. The most we waited was 40 minutes for Escape from the Gringotts.

 

[drbrjb01]

We were there from Jan 31 - Feb 6. One day at animal kingdom was pretty crazy from noon - 6pm and that Saturday was busy in the world showcase but besides that we didn’t think it was overly busy. We saw a lot of South Americans in groups but they didn’t overwhelm the parks or anything.

 

[automaticsoap]

I've gone in early February 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017. It's one of my favorite times to go -- I've never found it to be crowded, even though there's often a cheer/dance competition going on at the same time.

 

[pens4821]

Going to be going the week of MLK. Will be in the parks Sun-Fri. Planning on rope drop, afternoon FP's, and then evening are up for whatever. We think with this plan, we'll be ok with any crowds that'll be there. We were there MLK week of 2014 and it was crowded then, will probably be worse now.

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

Going to be going the week of MLK. Will be in the parks Sun-Fri. Planning on rope drop, afternoon FP's, and then evening are up for whatever. We think with this plan, we'll be ok with any crowds that'll be there. We were there MLK week of 2014 and it was crowded then, will probably be worse now.

So funny! We went MLK week in 2014 and i thought the place was a ghost town!

 

[StageTek]

We were there Jan 28 to Feb 1, 2018. Ft. Wilderness Cabin

Weather was wonderful. Crowds were light. Got all the FP's we wanted. Got all the ADR's we wanted. Never waited more than 25 minutes for anything - even Sorin'.

I did a solo trip Jan Jan 12 to 22, 2017. I'm planning on late Jan 2019

 

[StarSeven7]

So interesting to read all the different perspectives! Thanks for your input everyone!

 

[pens4821]

So funny! We went MLK week in 2014 and i thought the place was a ghost town!

Funny how everyone has different perspectives. I remember we felt Sun/Mon/Thurs/Fri were very crowded. Tuesday and Wednesday were nothing. I admit, I don't remember which parks we were in which days. We were ok with the first part of the week since we figured with the holiday it'd be more crowded. After the middle being dead we were shocked that the crowds seemed to reappear at the end of the week. We must've picked the wrong parks on those days.

The wait times weren't really anything too horrible. I don't go as often as most here, but we go every couple years. We've learned to go early and be able to get in 3-5 rides (some re-rides and depending on popularity) relatively quickly. Then use our FP starting at 12 ish. That leaves the evening for any low wait rides and night shows. Although we haven't been since early 2016 when you had to go to a kiosk to get the 4th+ FP, and they were always crowded so we never did it. It should go even more smoothly being able to book from the phone.