Crowd Level
moderate
Avg High
72°F
Avg Low
52°F
Rain Days
6 days
Pros
Reasons to visit in January
- ✓The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts begins mid-month, bringing pop-up food studios and art booths through World Showcase.
- ✓Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind runs shorter waits than peak season, making early Lightning Lane Multi Pass returns realistic.
- ✓Cool temperatures make the exposed pavement around World Celebration and Spaceship Earth comfortable to walk at midday instead of miserable.
- ✓World Showcase pavilions like Norway and Japan are pleasant to linger in without the summer heat driving guests indoors.
- ✓Moderate crowds mean Soarin' Around the World and Frozen Ever After clear out noticeably by evening.
Cons
Things to watch out for
- ✕Marathon Weekend runners and their families add early-morning EPCOT traffic and packed rope drop lines around World Discovery.
- ✕Festival of the Arts booths narrow the walkways between France and the American Adventure, slowing foot traffic at peak hours.
- ✕Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind still routinely posts long standby waits despite the calmer month.
- ✕Evenings can turn genuinely cold for outdoor World Showcase dining, and there's little indoor shelter along the promenade.
- ✕Popular Festival of the Arts food studios sell out fast, so late risers miss the better dishes.
Pro tip
Arrive by 8:30am and head straight for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind before the Marathon Weekend crowd or Festival of the Arts foot traffic builds near World Celebration. Use a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure for midday since France gets congested once the art booths open. By 4pm, walk World Showcase counterclockwise starting in Norway for Frozen Ever After, since waits there drop noticeably as the sun goes down and temperatures cool.
SPECIAL EVENTS
EPCOT in January
Resort-wide dates
Must-Do Rides
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Rides at EPCOT
AttractionsWith moderate crowds and the Festival of the Arts underway, January is a good stretch to pair World Showcase pavilions with EPCOT's headliner rides without brutal waits.
World Discovery
World Nature
World Discovery
World Celebration
Norway
World Celebration
World Nature
World Discovery
World Discovery
France
World Celebration
World Nature
World Nature
World Discovery
The American Adventure
World Nature
France
Japan
World Nature
World Showcase
World Celebration
Canada Pavilion
Morocco
Mexico
China
World Celebration
France
World Nature
The American Adventure
Mexico Pavilion
World Showcase
World Showcase Plaza
World Celebration
Mexico Pavilion
Imagination Pavilion
China Pavilion
EPCOT Main Entrance
France Pavilion
Mexico
France
World Celebration
China
United Kingdom Pavilion
World Nature
Norway
The American Adventure
The American Adventure
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