It’s not always easy to decide what time of year to visit Disney World.

Do you take advantage of school or holiday breaks? Visit in the summer for the warm heat? Plan your trips around EPCOT festivals or runDisney marathons? Or, you might plan around one very specific Disney World element — CROWDS. Some people don’t mind them but others will avoid them at all costs. So what are the crowds like in January? We’re here to break it down for you!

General Crowds

Overall, crowds in January tend to be on the lower side, aside from a few particular dates (which we’ll get into). While the holiday season leading up to January is usually packed with crowds, many visitors don’t opt to travel immediately after the holidays, with kids going back to school and adults getting back to work.

Keep in mind, however, that the first week of January is usually more crowded than the remainder of the month, with leftover crowds from Christmas and New Year’s. If you want to stick with lower crowds, make sure you book later in the month.

Also, the weather is often cooler, which is great for people who don’t like the typical Florida heat!

A month-by-month guide to planning your Disney World vacation!

Important Dates

As we said, New Year’s Day and the week after are often crowded in Disney World, so that’s not the best time to visit in January if you’re hoping to avoid crowds.

Another event you might want to avoid is the runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon, which typically takes place on the first weekend of the year. These events often turn out large numbers of runners who run a race in the morning and visit the parks in the afternoon, which means — you guessed it — higher crowds than usual.

And Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the preceding weekend are often crowded, with many kids and adults taking advantage of the three-day weekend. Weekends are usually busier in Disney World on their own but you typically can expect three-day weekends to get busier than usual.

Even on these events, January might be a bit less crowded than other times of the year but remember these dates if you want to maximize your chance to encounter lower crowds.

Going to Disney World in January? Here’s what you need to know!

EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts

And EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts typically kicks off around mid-January and lasts through February. This festival celebrates culinary, visual, and performing arts, with a variety of unique food booths and entertainment to enjoy.

If you’re interested in avoiding crowds we wouldn’t recommend visiting EPCOT the first few days of the festival, but keep in mind that a new festival can also mean lower crowds in the other three Disney Parks!

The Festival of the Arts is a bright spot in January, and it’s usually only around for a little more than a month, so it’s easy to be missed without visiting Disney World at the beginning of the year. If you happen to be in Disney World in January, we highly recommend checking it out. You can eat food that is literally a piece of art!

You may encounter more congested areas around EPCOT due to the festival but overall the Festival of the Arts tends to be a bit more low-key than other EPCOT festivals. You can even check out live chalk art and contribute to a Figment mural!

So if you want to time your January visit with the Festival of the Arts, make sure you check out the dates of the event before booking your trip.

Learn more about EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts here!

Regardless of when you visit Disney World, you’re still probably going to have to deal with some level of crowds, and we’ve written extensively on ways to escape the crowds in Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. Keep following DFB for more Disney World planning tips!

50 ways to avoid the crowds in Disney World!

Have you ever visited Disney World in January? Tell us in the comments!