Our information to January 2023 at Walt Disney World affords a free crowd calendar, days to go to & keep away from, climate, seasonal occasions, planning ideas, and when Christmas decorations are taken down. We cowl all the pieces at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. (Updated December 31, 2022.)
Typically, January is the month of the vacation hangover at Walt Disney World. Some Christmas leisure continues for a couple of days in early January, and there are nonetheless decorations up for the primary half of the month. January’s large attracts are the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts and the Walt Disney World Marathon.
Aside from these occasions, January tends to be comparatively quiet. Most visitors who wish to go to throughout the winter achieve this in November or December of the earlier 12 months. Those who start planning a go to for the brand new 12 months sometimes don’t go to till Easter or Spring Break. As such, there are numerous upsides to visiting in January, from gentle crowds to favorable climate. Of course, there are some downsides, too…
I’ll be sincere: I’m not an enormous fan of Walt Disney World earlier than mid-January. To me, it actually does really feel like a hangover. There are straggler decorations that really feel misplaced or forgotten, and the climate could be frigid. This is completely a matter of private desire, as I do know some individuals take pleasure in with the ability to see Christmas decorations with out coping with the crowds. Personally, as soon as Christmas is over, I’m performed with the vacation.
Here’s what else you may count on from January at Walt Disney World…
January Weather at Disney World
If you go by historic averages, January is the coldest month of the 12 months at Walt Disney World. In my expertise, November by way of February can have climate starting from chilly to downright balmy, however January tends to have extra of the previous class than the opposite winter months. Expect climate on common from the upper-40s to low-70s.
Packing for January climate requires getting ready for a variety of climate circumstances, and also you’ll wish to ensure you consideration to the prolonged forecast earlier than your journey so that you don’t get stunned with a streak of 30-degree climate or 90-degree climate and never have the right apparel for both excessive.
Read our Winter Packing Tips for Disney put up for extra perception on what to take in your January Walt Disney World trip.
January Special Events at Disney World
Between the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts and the Walt Disney World Marathon, January isn’t fairly the “sleepy” month it as soon as was. We completely love the annual Festival of the Arts, which runs from January 13 till February 20, 2023 at Walt Disney World. Read our Guide to the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts for more information and recommendations on this particular occasion.
The 2023 Walt Disney World Marathon will happen January 4-8, 2023 and will probably be held dwell and in individual. If you’re doing the 2023 Walt Disney World Marathon and want last-minute “training” recommendation, see our Idiot’s Guide to runDisney.
Normally, there’s a “holiday hangover” for a few weeks at Walt Disney World. During that point, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and (to a lesser diploma) Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom parks nonetheless embellished for Christmas. There’s no different Christmas leisure (there’s extra information about all of this in our Ultimate Walt Disney World Christmas Guide), and not likely the rest.
However, that is largely as a result of Walt Disney World Marathon. Many runners postpone their November or December journeys with the intention to run the occasion in early January, and revel in seeing the illuminated Christmas decorations on the course within the early morning hours. Consequently, most decorations left up till that weekend and brought down shortly thereafter. It’s unknown when the vacation decor will probably be uninstalled in January 2023, however our guess is the center of the month.
January Refurbishments & New Attractions
In phrases of different sights that will probably be closed throughout January 2023, examine the Walt Disney World Refurbishment Schedule. Just a heads up: that is perhaps a bit misleading by way of precise development work. There’s going to be numerous ongoing development all through Walt Disney World, and will probably be for the following a number of years.
The development venture that may have essentially the most noticeable influence on the visitor expertise is the large reimagining on the entrance of Epcot. This is beginning to look higher, however the entrance of the park continues to be a sea of development partitions with a large grime pit within the center. On the plus facet, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Space 220 Restaurant, Creations Shop, Club Cool, and Connections Cafe are all open.
Speaking of which, Walt Disney World’s largest addition to Epcot in many years is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Experiencing the brand new experience is a bit sophisticated, so make sure you take a look at our How to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind & Virtual Queue Speed Strategy to enhance your probabilities of success for becoming a member of the free digital queue. (Note: this digital queue may be retired sooner or later after January 9, 2023.)
Another different is shopping for line-skipping entry through the Individual Lightning Lanes. Those posts clarify every possibility, their execs & cons, and all the pieces else you’ll want to know. Suffice to say, don’t simply present as much as EPCOT anticipating to affix the standby line–as there isn’t one.
Then there’s the following large addition to Walt Disney World: TRON Lightcycle Run. Walt Disney World has already revealed that this may debut in Spring 2023, however has not introduced an official date. While it’s more likely to open comparatively early within the 12 months, it won’t debut in January. Unless Disney is utilizing the Mayan calendar or one thing I’m not conversant in that considers January a part of spring. (Highly uncertain.)
Beyond that, there are a number of sights that haven’t but opened and certain gained’t till later in 2023. This consists of Moana’s Journey of Water at Epcot, which is more likely to open within the second half of the 12 months in accordance with Disney. (Judging by the present tempo of labor and the truth that it’s a water walk-through, it debuting in late summer time is feasible.) Other smaller scale additions are doubtless later in 2023. Nothing will open in January 2023–it’s unprecedented for Walt Disney World to debut new issues throughout the winter low season.
For an summary of what’s on the horizon, see What’s New & Next at Walt Disney World in 2023 & Beyond.
January 2023 Disney World Crowd Calendar
When it involves January 2023 crowd calendars for Walt Disney World, it’s an actual curler coaster of a month. In true “holiday hangover” style, the start of the month tends to be fairly busy. As we’ll talk about on this part, crowd calendars additionally spike at different factors in January, which is in any other case a reasonably quiet month.
If your Walt Disney World trip begins earlier than the vacation season ends, we now have a put up discussing Visiting Walt Disney World at New Year’s that you simply may wish to take a look at. Every day of your journey earlier than New Year’s Day, you may count on a number of the worst crowds of the 12 months at Walt Disney World. There’s a drop New Year’s Day, however not as precipitous of a drop as there was once.
There’s not a color-coded crowd calendar right here as a result of we have gotten more and more averse to these. If we simply had a visible crowd calendar graphic right here, lots of you’ll solely have a look at that and never learn the accompanying clarification that covers what you may really count on.
We suppose such an method would do readers a disservice, and we’d warning in opposition to over-reliance on any Walt Disney World crowd calendars. While they are often helpful instruments, crowd calendars are one piece of a bigger puzzle. Choosing your journey dates solely on a crowd calendar is dangerous, as they’re much less dependable than prior to now. Walt Disney World can manipulate park reservations, staffing, closures, and capability–the results of which is “feels like” crowds that don’t mirror precise attendance or natural demand.
As a common matter, we wish to warn you that winter just isn’t the “sleepy off-season” at Walt Disney World. In Winter Is Not Off-Season at Walt Disney World, we clarify how January and February crowds have grown since ~2017, and what to anticipate going ahead.
There are quite a lot of occasions crowds spike throughout the first two months of the 12 months. Everything from runDisney occasions to beneath the radar vacation weekends to high school breaks push attendance and wait occasions even greater. With all of that in thoughts, listed here are our crowd calendar predictions for one of the best and worst weeks at Walt Disney World in January 2023…
If we had to decide on one week to go to Walt Disney World this month, it will be the week starting January 9, 2023. Not solely is that this the bottom week for crowds, but it surely’s largely earlier than Festival of the Arts begins, so EPCOT shouldn’t be as filled with locals for the beginning of that occasion.
During these weekdays from January 9-13, our expectation is that crowd ranges will probably be beneath 5/10 throughout the board. Offering extra exact predictions is exceedingly tough given inconsistencies with winter wait occasions the previous a number of years. Suffice to say, that ought to be an excellent week to go to–among the finest within the first quarter of 2023, if not the greatest. Crowd ranges may find yourself being 1/10 to three/10 for some parks and days. As of December 31, all of those dates are inexperienced on the Park Pass reservations calendar:
Another good time to go to ought to be the final partial week of January 2023, main into early February 2023.
There aren’t any holidays this week, and it has traditionally been a lull in attendance and wait occasions as in comparison with most weeks earlier in January and later in February. Nevertheless, we count on it to be barely busier than the ‘sweet spot’ of January 9-13, 2023. Crowd ranges are nonetheless more likely to be beneath 5/10.
If in any respect potential, we suggest avoiding by way of January 1-4, 2023 as a result of many native colleges are nonetheless on vacation break for these dates. It’ll get unhealthy after the vacation weekend, as blockouts for many Floridian Annual Passholders are lifted on January 3 and that may end in a surge of visitors on that date. Fortunately, Osceola County and Orange County colleges return into session by January 5, 2023, providing one thing of a reprieve for a pair days.
However, crowds gained’t let up after that as a result of the 2023 Walt Disney World Marathon will happen from January 4-8, 2023. The major occasion for that’s on January 8, however runners sometimes arrive early and benefit from the parks earlier than the races somewhat than extending their keep into the next week. That’s why January 9, 2023 is when issues will really begin to relent.
The drop will probably be sharp and sudden–don’t be stunned if crowd ranges go from 8/10 on January 7, 2023 to three/10 solely a few days later.
Another time to keep away from is January 13-16, 2023. This is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day lengthy weekend, and normally spikes crowds. However, it sometimes doesn’t disproportionately influence the next Tuesday by way of Friday. Being so near Christmas and New Year’s, most individuals don’t get or take a full week off.
Then there’s Lunar New Year, which is able to happen January 22, 2023. This is one other vacation with a negligible influence on Walt Disney World–that leads to a far larger spike at Disneyland. While it’s supreme to keep away from these weekends, they’ll doubtless solely be slight spikes, and shouldn’t see crowd ranges greater than 6/10.
On steadiness, our expectation is that crowd ranges for January 2023 as an entire will as soon as once more be extra much like a traditional 12 months. The Walt Disney World Marathon will doubtless spike crowds early within the month. Then the Dance Team National Championship, a colossal youth cheer occasion held at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, will end in an inflow of occasion attendees later in January 2023.
Another complicating issue could be that January can be the beginning of ‘summer’ trip season for South America, particularly Brazil. In a traditional 12 months, you’d encounter massive South American tour teams in Walt Disney World. These tour teams sometimes don’t have a big influence on crowd calendars, however may influence on the “feels like” crowds for those who encounter them incessantly.
It’s doubtless that worldwide visitation numbers will rebound to some extent all through 2023. The extent to which that happens actually will depend on whether or not the greenback weakens, and when that occurs (to date, it has not occurred). At current, worldwide guests are going through greater prices resulting from conversion charges–and that’s on high of all Walt Disney World’s value will increase during the last year-plus.
January Pricing & Discounts
The silver lining to a January trip is costs. Disney sometimes releases some room-only reductions for most of the people, Annual Passholders, and Florida residents. While a few of these offers are provided year-round, the distinction in January is that rack charges are at their offseason ranges for many nights in January, making these reductions in late January cheaper than the identical affords in November or December.
We desire the room-only reductions to the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion, which isn’t being provided for January 2023, anyway. Our Walt Disney World Discount Comparisons put up covers why the room-only low cost will get our vote over “free” eating. In this case, free isn’t at all times higher, although it’s for a lot of visitors. If you’re reserving a room-only low cost, you may determine for your self which lodge is perhaps greatest by studying our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews.
Overall, January is a blended bag at Walt Disney World. Once January 1 hits, I’m not thinking about something Christmas, and by the second week in January, the background music and decorations simply really feel awkward. If you go to Walt Disney World to flee the chilly climate, this month may additionally not be for you. Florida in January could be surprisingly brutal, particularly for those who’re dressed for a tropical getaway. Plus, park hours are sometimes brief and crowd calendars spike at numerous factors by way of mid-January.
The upside to a January go to is decrease attendance later within the month, which additionally means decrease costs. The cooler climate can be very helpful, and we’ll take January climate over summer time warmth and humidity any day. You may really desire the shorter hours, because it means getting all the pieces performed in a shorter timeframe. Festival of the Arts can be one of the best seasonal occasion of the 12 months at EPCOT. In different phrases, there’s quite a bit to like about January–particularly later within the month main into early to mid-February, when the crowds are simply as low, the climate is beginning to enhance, and there aren’t any remnants of Christmas left lingering about.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about motels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To get monetary savings on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips put up takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for all the pieces you’ll want to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you want Walt Disney World in January? Are you a fan of the vacation choices after Christmas at Walt Disney World? Looking ahead to Epcot’s Festival of the Arts or doing TRON Lightcycle Run? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation or crowd calendar suggestions for January 2023? Any questions we may help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!