The fall is such a popular time to use DVC points that people refer to it as Fall Frenzy. You get the perfect combination of low points for villas, holidays, good weather, and both the Epcot Food & Wine Festival and Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. While I love visiting Walt Disney World during the fall, I would also argue that January is also a great time to use your DVC points. Here are some of my favorite reasons for visiting in January:
Low Points
Since January is part of the second travel period on the DVC points charts, the point values are just as low as those in the fall. For example, studios at the BoardWalk Villas start at 9 points a night for Standard View, and one-bedroom villas at the BoardWalk start at 23 points a night for Standard View.
New Year’s
If you arrive in time for New Year’s, you get to kick off the New Year with some amazing fireworks shows! You may even be able to take advantage of DVC gatherings like the one at Topolino’s Terrace or Top of the World Lounge. One year I would love to try booking a Theme Park View studio at one of our home resorts, Bay Lake Tower, to enjoy the New Year’s fireworks from our very own balcony. It would be a great escape from the crowds.
Holiday Decorations
Disney tends to leave the Christmas decorations up for a few days after New Year’s, so if you arrive during the first week of January, you can still catch a glimpse of the festive atmosphere. Walt Disney World is always magical to me, but I happen to think that the decorations add even more cheer.
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend tends to fall the week after New Year’s. Timothy and I got to run the half marathon in 2018, and we had a blast. Every mile is truly magical! Donald counted us down at the start, and we were sent off with fireworks. It was so much fun to run through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom between the characters along the route and the cheering station along Main Street. I would love to do this again in the future.
Cooler Weather
Being from New York, I tend to melt in the Florida heat. Even though I’m now able to tolerate the heat in June and survived my first August trip, I much prefer the cooler temperatures of January. This includes that time it hit 30 degrees while we were waiting in the corrals for the half marathon to start. I figure you can always plan accordingly and layer up more.
Festival of the Arts
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts may not garner as much attention as the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, but it has a lot of great offerings. You still get lots of food booths to explore, fun activities and photo opportunities around the World Showcase, beautiful Disney art, and performances by Broadway performers. I also love that this festival isn’t as crowded as Food & Wine.
Do any of you love visiting Walt Disney World in January? If so, let me know why in the comments below!
We always go in the end of January. Unfortunately, we can never get a room at Boardwalk.
I’m a big believer in January DVC visits. One reason not called out in the article is that to most of us, January is a depressing month because the joy of the holiday season is over. Having a trip booked for January gives you something great to look forward to when the holidays come to an end.
We own December use years specifically for January travel and to escape some of the Western NY winter! This January we are combining DVC points and some off property stays to stay for a full month!
Shhhhh. I thought this was our secret. 😂. We go in January every year. Crisp air, low crowds (at least it used to be) and for us one of then big benefits is that it gets dark earlier than in summer. We love the parks at night but rarely stay out much later than 8 PM.