New Years and Jan EMH

Do you guys like to do stuff in the mornings, or sleep in?

I use TouringPlans.com to figure out park hours, EMH, special events and the projected crowds. It's a pretty solid resource, and if you have a smart phone a subscription comes with the Lines App, which is an amazing tools to use while you're in the park.

Some people plan their whole trips around EMH, I don't tend to worry about it unless it's an arrival/departure day I'm looking at. Evening EMH can be very crowded and sometimes confusing. If there is a day you want to sleep in, I would probably schedule Hollywood Studios for that day

Which Resort are you staying at? That usually affects some of my scheduling when I plan ADRs.

Square Ace I would definitely do ADRs for ALL meals that you intend to do as a sit down meal. The crowd level may be significantly lower but they will still be high enough to require ADRs for all but counter service places. You MAY luck out and get a last minute cancellation for a place from your resort concierge but I would not count on it.

As far as early vs. late, I typically find that getting there before everyone usually gives you about an hour of time before most people arrive. The last hour at night is often pretty un-crowded, but I've found the mornings more reliable. I wonder how everyone else's experiences compare. My favorite thing about the mornings is that if the park winds up having a light day then usually you can stay quite a while before you start having troubles with lines. Also in the evenings sometimes we burn out before the crowds do.

I personally don't find that Hollywood Studios needs an open to close kid of day at the park to experience everything. Other people's mileage may vary, but I can get there at 11am and do just about everything. The only down point to it that is that Fast Passes for the Toy Story ride will probably not be available.

Yes, yes, triple yes on making ADRs for all of your meals you want table service for. You can always change them of cancel them if you want to rearrange your schedule. However make sure that you secure something if you want to eat at more than counter service.

The first week in Jan may settle down some, but the marathon is usually around the 7 or 9th not sure what the date is this yr, and there are bigger crowds for that (but probably not as big as the holidays). I heard that Disney started the original marathon that week because it was a down time...not anymore! The runners and families flock from all over the world and the crowds definitely grow. You may be gone before that though. We've spent lots of time there during that time as my husband used to run it every year. Check the date to be sure.