Crowds next week

[GusGus77]

We made a last minute decision to spend 3 days at Bonnet Creek (near Disney) next week since we have to pick DD up from a camp in Northern Florida (we are from Illinois) and can’t be that close without going to the area. Disney parks are sold out several days, so looking at maybe Universal as kids are older and have been asking to go. We have never been and would go for 2-3 days Jan 4-6 if we decide to go. We cannot afford the extra for express passes, so that is out. We would be stretching it to pay for tickets as it is. Will crowds be ridiculous like at Disney? Is it better to just NOT go during this time. (I don’t want to spend all the money and then just be overwhelmed by crowds and not be able to ride anything.) Thanks!

 

[ajsamett]

Next week is after break, so the crowds should drop significantly. Especially with 2-3 days on a weekday, with a decent touring plan, you can do everything just fine! With older kids, you can take advantage of single rider lines too!

 

[wdwrule]

I totally agree with @ajsamett . I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The first few hours after park opening are golden for short waits. As already mentioned, single rider lines should be a breeze if your family is ok with that. Maybe do standby first then re-ride using single rider. Massive holiday crowds should be minimal after the 1st. I would go for it as January is typically a very low crowd month.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

It's not after break. That's why Disney is sold out. A lot of schools around the country (my kids' included) have next week off because of how the holidays fall. We went this past January from the 4th through the 8th in a similar situation - a fair number of schools had that week off too. Each day was a little less busy than the last. It wasn't as busy as Thanksgiving was but more crowded than we were expecting. We were glad we had express passes. If you can go knowing it'll be fairly crowded and still have fun, I would go. You'll have some longer waits for rides but overall I would think it would still be worth going. But if crowds really bother you, then I would try to go some other time.

 

[isabellea]

We’re in Orlando Dec 28-Jan 6th (kids go back Jan 9th) and Premium hotels were a lot more expensive Dec 28 than Jan 4th when we check in (was sure if we should start with WDW or Universal) so I think Universal is expecting the crowds to go down after Jan 1st.

I would go expecting the worst and having a plan with at least 1-2 must-do each per day and thinking everything else is bonus. That how we tackled WDW this week and we had a lot of fun even with the crowds.