~~**The Official January 2014 Group**~~

[katmg]

Please add me!

Jan 2-8, right now we're looking at Wilderness Lodge. It will be me, DH, DD6 and DS4 and my parents. My mom is the biggest Disney freak around so it will be fun planning this trip with her.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

We are planning to go for our honeymoon would you suggest POR ? We are mostly considering Pop because it appears that it will be the cheapest. But I'm not sure. Any advice?

I'm back! Pop wasn't terrible, but I won't go back. It felt very much like a motel. I would go for a mod, personally.

I also want to say bye to the January 2014 thread, after last weekend we aren't planning to return in January again. While we really enjoyed ourselves, we didn't get the low crowds we were hoping for. We though that coming after the marathon and MLK weekend would be perfect but there were so many Brazilian tour groups (at the parks & Pop) and dancers/cheerleaders. H & I were able to enjoy ourselves and with some planning we hit everything we wanted, but we decided if we're going to battle crowds we would rather do it in Nov & Dec when we could at least see holiday decorations.

Good luck to everyone still planning a January 2014 trip! I'm off to plan our Disney cruise & park stay in November 2014!

 

[camandjacksmom]

I'm back! Pop wasn't terrible, but I won't go back. It felt very much like a motel. I would go for a mod, personally.

I also want to say bye to the January 2014 thread, after last weekend we aren't planning to return in January again. While we really enjoyed ourselves, we didn't get the low crowds we were hoping for. We though that coming after the marathon and MLK weekend would be perfect but there were so many Brazilian tour groups (at the parks & Pop) and dancers/cheerleaders. H & I were able to enjoy ourselves and with some planning we hit everything we wanted, but we decided if we're going to battle crowds we would rather do it in Nov & Dec when we could at least see holiday decorations.

Good luck to everyone still planning a January 2014 trip! I'm off to plan our Disney cruise & park stay in November 2014!

Sorry you didnt have as good of a time as you wanted. Staying at a value with all the tour groups probably didnt add to enjoyment, that is why we do not stay at a value resort. Low crowds is a relative term for Disney. What you just experiences IS the new low time for Disney. Saying it was busy and crowded so you mught as well go at a busy time like Nov or Dec because you just battled crowds could set you up for an even more miserable time. I have been during Christmas week and New Years week and I can tell you January is a walk in the park(literally). Join a Nov/Dec group so you can have a good tour plan. There will be times in the park it will be wall to wall people, schools will be out during other weeks, and then you have the wine and dine half marathon in Nov. Getting this information for planning will be invaluable! Good luck to you!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We returned from a great trip last week (stayed at AoA) and I'm planning a return for January 28th - February 2nd, 2014!

Taking advantage of DD's student holidays again. For now, I'm leaning towards AKL which we've never been but am also considering trying a monorail resort again since we had such a wonderful time at Poly last year and really enjoyed the proximity to MK.

 

[dakotix]

Yeah we're planning January 2014 too... we contemplated upgrading to a monorail resort or even something like fort wilderness lodge but are having a hard time justifying spending an extra grand. Coronado springs I think will be our hang out for the next couple trips until we make more$!!!

 

[spacepoints]

Just booked BLT 1/9-1/16/14. Here comes marathon weekend part 2.

 

[tifaas]

Hey everyone! My DH and I will be returning back home in Jan for our anniversary. We haven't set up the exact plans just yet. However it will probably be set up like this. Jan 2nd - 5th at CSR. Then we have our Dream cruise from the 5th - 9th. Once we are back from the cruise we will return back to CSR and stay until the 14th.

We are planning on doing the 5k over Marathon weekend and possibly the half depending on how well our training has been going.

My parents might be joining us for the cruise and the 5k as well. So I will update if anything changes in our plans as it is a ways out still. I look forward to planning with you all.

 

[ghtx]

Hooray! I just booked OKW for Jan. 8 - Jan 13.

I will be running my first ever full marathon! I will be trying to convince my wife to run the half marathon (she has run a full marathon before but had knee surgery a couple of years ago and never returned to distance running).

Can't wait!

 

[vacation_junkie]

HeatherLassell - POLY - end of January (no firm dates yet)
Winue - AOA - end of January (because that's what I'm hoping lol)
ckrisie - January 5th -12 th
fanofWD - AOA or POR - January 8th -14th
KRFillion - - January 15-24th
Gracer9977 - January 18th-26th
Sandi12404 - January 18th-26th
Meriweather - January 18 -Jan. 31st
rafikifan2911 - Port Orleans French Quarter - January 23-31st
soonerlpn - Wilderness Lodge or POFQ - January 30th - February 8th
disneylovin24 - Wilderness Lodge - December 30-January 6th
the_green_machine - January 24th- January 31st -
bouncycat - January 12- January 17 - BLT or BCV
katmg - January 2 - January 8 - Wilderness Lodge

mrsdrake625 -
the_green_machine - LATE January

Jan 25th-Feb 2nd 2014 for us!!!!! We LOVE the World in January. You can't beat the crowds and the weather!

 

[HeatherLassell]

When I decided on January I wasn't at ALL thinking about my oldest sons highschool exams!!! They are at the end of January!!! Argh!!!

So I might be defecting to an early December trip 2013!

 

[the_green_machine]

when i decided on january i wasn't at all thinking about my oldest sons highschool exams!!! They are at the end of january!!! Argh!!!

So i might be defecting to an early december trip 2013!

whaaaaaaaa??!

 

[HeatherLassell]

whaaaaaaaa??!

I know I know. I can't take him out of school right before his exams and he can't miss his exams. He also can't miss the week into the new semester. So it's either go in December or we don't take my oldest on the trip. And that isn't really an option.

 

[the_green_machine]

I know I know. I can't take him out of school right before his exams and he can't miss his exams. He also can't miss the week into the new semester. So it's either go in December or we don't take my oldest on the trip. And that isn't really an option.

EFF! Ha

 

[KyWildcatGirl01]

I am here...no confirmed dates yet but I am begging to go as in December I will be graduating from college and I think a Disney trip would be a GREAT present!

 

[lovingeire]

Sign me up for January! Baring any special circumstances we'll be celebrating my oldest's son's 14th birthday in the World! I'm thinking sometime around the 11th-18th. We'll hopefully be staying at the Contemporary with the Deluxe Dining Plan (since my husband says he's not going back without it!). Whatever gets him there! Looking forward to the countdown!

 

[oneprincessjo]

I will be down there January 25th - 31st!! We will be staying in a 1 bedroom theme park view room at Bay Lake Tower!!! I'm a DVC member and BLT is my home base. It will be my third time staying at BLT but my first time with a Magic Kingdom view. So excited for my 18 month old (she will be closer to 2 and half when we go) to see the fireworks from our room every night!! This will be dd's 3rd trip as well, she's spoiled and she knows it. Haha. Can't wait!!! 327 days to go... Too many days to go

 

[mjmstd1]

So excited to be planning our first family trip to WDW in January. Not sure of the exact dates yet but we have a rough idea of when we want to visit. It will be DD's first trip, she will be 4 going on 5 and it is our present to her before she goes on to be a big time kindergartener. She has heard us talk about saving money up but we are hoping we can pull off an official surprise (crossing fingers)!

 

[DisneyFanatic09]

Im in!!! Going to WDW for my 3rd time and im bring my little brother for his 1st time lol A LOT of bonding! yay for sister brother trip. We have our dates set for Jan 2-8. We are as of now looking to stay at ASSP. I havent read through the whole thread yet, but has anyone started to get estimates for their trips? I have tried but since its so early its a bit hard to get exact estimates. I have a rough estimate but im hoping the hotel and flight will drop a bit. Also can any of the JAn "regulars" enlighten me on weather, prices, dining plans (any free dining in Jan?) etc. and how they play in lol. Thanks in advance

 

[disneylovin24]

I haven't been on the Dis in awhile so I thought I'd drop by and say hello!

We are now officially booked in the WL for December 30-January 6! We are doing 2 studios which we did this past June and since it worked out really nicely then and requires very little points, we'd figure we would do it again!

I am now in this process of trying to figure out the perfect ADRs! Since we won't have a kitchen in our room we will probably be doing a few more ADRs than usually which is fine by me. Also, we are actually getting annual passes because between a trip we are taking this weekend and the trip in January, it is going to be much cheaper for us to have the AP. This makes the ADR scheduling alittle easier since we don't have to plan park days around where are eating and can just go wherever!

 

[bksomody]

Im in!!! Going to WDW for my 3rd time and im bring my little brother for his 1st time lol A LOT of bonding! yay for sister brother trip. We have our dates set for Jan 2-8. We are as of now looking to stay at ASSP. I havent read through the whole thread yet, but has anyone started to get estimates for their trips? I have tried but since its so early its a bit hard to get exact estimates. I have a rough estimate but im hoping the hotel and flight will drop a bit. Also can any of the JAn "regulars" enlighten me on weather, prices, dining plans (any free dining in Jan?) etc. and how they play in lol. Thanks in advance

We went this year Jan. 2-9. There was free dining but I don't think they announced it until Oct./Nov. We were renting points so we weren't able to use the free dining but it was worth it to stay at the BWV.
The weather was good. There were days when it was chilly and we wore our sweatshirts and the last two days it was in the 80's. bring a little of everything.
The crowds weren't so bad. The beginning of the trip was a little more crowded but nothing like those stories you may have heard. I'm a teacher so I can only go during certain times. We're already booked for this year, Jan. 1-8. I'm sure the first few days will be crowded but we just take it slow and then when the crowds die down we hit the parks hard. Can't wait, I want to start planning but I'm waiting for the EMH times to come out. I think I read they come out 6 months before.