Early Decemeber...still a "sweet spot?"

[Luv2CtheMouse]

Originally Posted by meredith1

I have seen some discussion that Pop Warner will be the second week now since Dec. 1, 2013 falls on a Sunday?

We will be there Sun, Dec. 1 through Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. We went the same week in 2011 and it was great!

From the pop warner website:

Important Dates:

Event:
Nov. 30 - Dec. 8, 2012

[RMulieri]

It is no longer the "lowest crowds" .It is more average to moderate and there will be plenty of people and waits for attractions.Disney has done an EXCELLENT JOB marketing this time frame.ALSO be aware that this year with the Fantasyland Expansion completion around that time, Crowds will likely be slightly larger.Pop Warner is also there in that time frame .At the beginning of the week, they are not really noticeable during the day since they are competing.But as the week goes on and teams are eliminated from play, you will definitely see them in the parks.You will also see them in the evenings and if you stay at any of the resorts they do.It is still a nice time to visit, but don't go expecting dead empty parks like in the past.Those days are long gone

[Dizzytime]

Originally Posted by smileymomof3

I need to know! Is early December (first 2 weeks) still a "sweet spot" in terms of low crowds and being the best time for wdw trip? I have heard that crowds at this time are now much heavier than they used to be. I want low crowds and a few friends have put some kernels of doubt in my mind about going to Disney this time of year. Anyone have any first hand experience about how the crowds are then? I have looked at ALL the crowd calendars out there...I've seen 1's, 4's and 8's all reported! TIA for any insight on this! :-)

smileymomof3 , was trying to think of anything that I can add that I haven't read. Good time, not as good as other times, not as good as it used to be, football, cheerleadears....wow,...

I've been there at that time, and although nothing is is perfect, just wanted you to know I'd go in a heartbeat if I could.

It's Christmas! Go. Have Fun! You'll have the trip of your life!

[smileymomof3]

Originally Posted by Dizzytime

smileymomof3 , was trying to think of anything that I can add that I haven't read. Good time, not as good as other times, not as good as it used to be, football, cheerleadears....wow,...

I've been there at that time, and although nothing is is perfect, just wanted you to know I'd go in a heartbeat if I could.

It's Christmas! Go. Have Fun! You'll have the trip of your life!

THANK YOU!! I am super excited!! Going with the mindset to just have fun and we see what we see...I want to enjoy every minute with my family! Yay!! :-D

[Holeshot1982]

This thread just bummed me out.... We'll be there from Dec 1 to Dec 6 for our first time, was hoping it was still the one of the best weeks to go...

[JennyDrake]

Originally Posted by Holeshot1982

This thread just bummed me out.... We'll be there from Dec 1 to Dec 6 for our first time, was hoping it was still the one of the best weeks to go...

It is still a GREAT time to go! Don't be bummed! It just isn't *empty* like it used to be.

[ppony]

Originally Posted by MinnieGirl33

IMO, those few early weeks weeks have increasingly grown over the years. It is no longer, what I would consider, a slower time.

Agreed whole-heartedly! I'm noticing less and less different between other times of the year and then. It used to be our favorite time to go, and still is, to a degree, but not because of low crowds anymore that is for certain. I can compare from the early '90s to just a few years ago at that time of year., VAST differences. It's busy no matter how you slice it. With rare exceptions, lines were always long. Especially for headliners. The word is out, the decor is lovely (albeit not it's former glory), DVC members get the best value on points....

Disney has done a GREAT job at evening the playing field of crowd levels, which as a business, they wanted to be doing. Just stinks for those of us that used to enjoy more quiet times.

STILL, WDW is our ONLY family vacation spot, and we hate summer heat. Given how busy it has become on our last few early/mid Dec. visits, we decided to try other times of year again. We had settled on Dec. before because we found we loved it. DH and I did mid/late Jan. this year. Gotta say, it was busy too. Oh and Lordy, MK the day after the Pres. was there. Crimeny!!!!! PACKED! Everyone avoided it the day he was there. Like I said, the playing fields has been somewhat leveled.

[ppony]

Originally Posted by JennyDrake

It is still a GREAT time to go! Don't be bummed! It just isn't *empty* like it used to be.

Agreed.
You won't have anything to compare it against, so why worry. It is what it is. And it most decidedly is NOT holiday crowded!

[kellyg403]

We have gone the last 7 years using dates that fall within the first 2 weeks of Dec. We have planned our 8th for this Dec 10-15. I will agree with others that over the years its not 'quiet' as it used to be, but I can't complain about the crowd levels at all. We are not commando types at all. We see what we want, we do what we can and we enjoy the atmosphere that is WDW during the Christmas season. We parkhop a lot. Most waits even at midday/afternoon are 60 minutes or less.

This year with the FLE opening earlier the prior week, free dining...well, I expect to really have a plan, at least for MK. We will probably go to this park several times during the week. Normally we only visit MK during the MVMCP. We spend most of our time at the other parks.

Its a great time to go. At some point the crowds may be to much for my dh but we will still go for short trips, maybe a park. Being at Disney during the holidays is just wonderful.

Kelly

[JoeyAnyc]

I agree with most of what's been posted. I've only been to Disney during the first full week of December. Over the 7 years I've been going, there is a noticable difference from what the crowd level was when I first went. However, that doesn't effect my time at Disney. 2 Years ago they had that crazy cold front. I had my winter jacket, gloves, scarf and hat. I'll take a the crowd over the freezing weather. Will be going Dec 2 - 7. Can't wait.

[Chaoticsweetness]

Last year the crowd was large, but manageable. It wasn't to bad except when we went to DHS for rope drop, the crowd was wrapping around corners & it was suppose to be the least crowded park of that day. We ran to TSM for fast pass & return time was around noon & stand by line was at 30 minutes.

2010 was not bad except for the freezing temps, there was literally no lines for anything.

[Holeshot1982]

Originally Posted by ppony

Agreed.
You won't have anything to compare it against, so why worry. It is what it is. And it most decidedly is NOT holiday crowded!

Good point!

[LisaTC]

We are going 12/15 -12/22 -- the week before crowd levels of 10 each day. I'm still not freaking. We are early risers and use FP like pros as well as a touring plan. We chose this time to do Disney at Christmas on purpose. Well, actually, we will be leaving before Christmas. The way the calendar fell this year should help. Many schools, up here at least, aren't getting out for break until 12/21. My DD's school is getting out on 12/19, so she will miss 3 days. However, with the dining promo and still decent rates, I was able to snag our package for about $100.00 more than last year when we went Oct 22-29. Great time to go, BTW with Halloween decorations, etc. My philosophy and expectations are for it to be crazy busy. Anything less is a welcome surprise. If you go with the expectation it could be busy, then you can manage anything less with ease. I'm from Ohio, so no cold weather will scare me. I don't wear a jacket if it's 55 degrees out! I think you will have a great experience. The touring plan we follow is listing the crowds very low with the exception of the 2 Saturdays of your dates. I think you will be ok.

[DisWishes720]

We are also going from Dec 10-16. I had been using tourinplans to make our itinerary and it had been calling for crowd levels of as low as 1.5 on some of our days. There is a 9.6 on Saturday at MK, but we will obviously be avoiding that park that day. Do you all think tourinplans is pretty accurate if we really stick to the parks with crowd levels of 3.5 or less, or should we expect much higher crowds? We went this past May when the crowds were at a 6 or so and I found it to be pretty crowded especially in the afternoon. We will hopefully have less crowds than that, right??

[mom2rtk]

Originally Posted by DisWishes720

We are also going from Dec 10-16. I had been using tourinplans to make our itinerary and it had been calling for crowd levels of as low as 1.5 on some of our days. There is a 9.6 on Saturday at MK, but we will obviously be avoiding that park that day. Do you all think tourinplans is pretty accurate if we really stick to the parks with crowd levels of 3.5 or less, or should we expect much higher crowds? We went this past May when the crowds were at a 6 or so and I found it to be pretty crowded especially in the afternoon. We will hopefully have less crowds than that, right??

It won't be terrible that week, but it won't feel like 1.6 either. We've gone that week several times and have only encountered a crowd that felt that low once or twice. It will be manageable but you'll need fastpass.