Are the Christmas decorations worth it?

[NeverlandClub23]

We've gone on 6 trips between the first full week after Thanksgiving and the first and second weeks of December. People that say the crowds are low, do you follow any touring plan? I ask because it seems when we were there for the two first full weeks of December in 2011 and the second week of December last year, the parks were pretty crowded and I'm wondering if maybe we're just hitting the parks on the wrong days? We got to Epcot around 11 a.m. one day and all the Fastpasses for Soarin' were gone and it was an 80-120 minute wait throughout the day. We waited 30+ minutes for Muppet Vision, Tower of Terror, and Rock 'n Rollercoaster and 70 minutes for Toy Story Mania another day.

We decided to go in late September this year since I went during that time in 2010 and found it to be much less crowded, but I would like to eventually get back to going when the Christmas decorations are up. Our trips in December 2001, 2005, and 2006 were very low crowds, usually no wait for anything, sometimes 5-10 minutes.

Now don't get me wrong, late November/early December has never been as bad crowd-level wise as mid-summer in the 90's, but I've been really surprised by the amounts of crowds the past two years and after reading this, I'm starting to think we're not planning right or something.

[siskaren]

Originally Posted by NeverlandClub23

We've gone on 6 trips between the first full week after Thanksgiving and the first and second weeks of December. People that say the crowds are low, do you follow any touring plan? I ask because it seems when we were there for the two first full weeks of December in 2011 and the second week of December last year, the parks were pretty crowded and I'm wondering if maybe we're just hitting the parks on the wrong days? We got to Epcot around 11 a.m. one day and all the Fastpasses for Soarin' were gone and it was an 80-120 minute wait throughout the day. We waited 30+ minutes for Muppet Vision, Tower of Terror, and Rock 'n Rollercoaster and 70 minutes for Toy Story Mania another day.

You really need to arrive at rope drop for the shortest waits for the most popular rides, regardless of what time of year you go, and Soarin' and Toy Story Mania in particular almost always have long waits. Muppet Vision is about 30 minutes total for both the pre-show and the show itself, so you must have hit it right when a showing had just started.

As for what park to go to on what day, I would highly recommend checking out easywdw.com.

[LuvMyEAR]

I have been trying to persuade myself for some years to go in the early fall to see the Halloween decor, merchandise and a MNSSHP, but keep losing the battle.

I thought I was getting really close, but then they starting putting up the castle lights. Oh. The. Castle. Lights. LOVE THEM.

Of course for me, another factor is the weather. Fall is our best season at home, and it is usually very hot in FL. I like the warmth, but not a lot of heat.

[joanchris]

YES! The decorations are definitely worth it! We just went for Christmas, and it was beautiful! There were days where it was warm enough to swim (from Christmas to New Years) as well as days where we were COLD. It was definitely better than our HOT October trip, and the decorations are amazing.