12/9-12/15 = Crazy busy this year?

[BiffMan]

Been trying to pull a family vacation together with DW's side of the family and was finally making some of the resort reservations for our 12/9-12/15 trip and was rather surprised to find out that just about everything is fully booked.

And not just that the discount codes weren't available, there wasn't *anything* available at the moderates other than a couple of king-bed rooms at Coronado. Deluxes only had 1 room at Saratoga Springs and some of the Fort Wilderness Cabins. Even the values were just about gone with some preferred view rooms at ASMo and some standard rooms at ASMu. So I went ahead and snagged 4 rooms at ASMu, but I'm beginning to wonder if we even want to go if it's actually going to be that busy there.

Granted we've not been in early December since '05, but that always used to be one of the nicest times to go since it wasn't at all crowded and everything was done up for Christmas. So are they really this busy now? Is this because of the several discount codes that are available to the public? They almost always have discount codes available during this time but I've never seen it this busy. Or is there a major event or two or ten going on during that time? Or was it just hard to find something from the 12/9-12/15 timeframe and the world isn't actually at full capacity?

Sort of torn here. We really don't like to be there when it's crowded (April, October, and early December having been our preferred times) and we'd really like for Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt & Uncle & Cousin to have a good time since this will be only their second trip there. But in all my time going to Disney, I've never run into having that kind of limited availability, so I'm questioning whether we want to go or not. Don't want to not go since I've been waiting anxiously (as always) but also don't want to have it be incredibly crowded and have the extended family not enjoy one of their very rare trips. But may or may not be able to get everyone coordinated to go again anytime in the next year or two. Sort of a now or never thing and I guess I can live with never (or at least a indetermined wait) if it's going to be so crowded that it would impact the fun of the trip.

So anyone know if it really is that busy in early December this year? Is this some oddity to this year or is that no longer a quiet time to go?

Sorry for the length and rambling, but as of yesterday I was going to Disney with the family in a few months and today maybe not. Sigh....

 

[GuardMusic]

Last time we went in early Dec. was also 2005.

Yes, it's gained crazy momentum for this time because of the holiday decor & events. We kinda knew this and booked back in Jan. Also booked dining the first available day. I still can't believe it will be that packed per the terrible economy & high airline prices.

Both Pop Warner & Mousefest will be going on, but that doesn't seem to be a huge impact. The draw was the holiday stuff & low crowds.

I am concerned & we've already lowered our expectations. If we can just get to our usual faves (possibly only once), we'll probably be happy enough. It will give us a decent idea if we should stop going at this time in the future. This will be tough because my mom LOVES Christmas at Disney.

I think many of us are hoping just the Disney resorts are filled & maybe not so much the outside hotels, which would tell how packed the parks will be.

I'm just trying to keep in mind that I won't be at work and that no matter what - it can't be as packed as spring break or mid-summer.

Good luck.
Gayle

 

[zackiedawg]

I can think of two things that might be contributing to the bookings...

The Pop Warner school stuff is just wrapping up when your trip is starting...and the Mousefest events are just beginning in the middle of your stay.

I don't think you'll be too badly affected by Pop Warner...they'll be ending, and you'll just see lots of cheerleaders and kids around for the first few days. Mousefest may be contributing to some of the extra bookings, as it is an event that pulls in hundreds if not thousands. But they tend also to have events at certain parks and certain times, so you may find it crowded if you're in the same place, or not that bad if you are at a different park.

Add in the Christmas displays which increase the crowds, the cooler weather, the fact that Disney's attendance is increasing overall, making truly 'empty' times of year basically extinct, more people traveling locally to avoid falling dollar value internationally, unfriendly attitudes towards the US in some places & and fear of terrorism abroad, and alot more international visitors due to the decreased dollar making trips here for Europeans a relative bargain.

I'm booked for Dec 11-15 myself...and it'll be my 3rd year in a row heading up during the Mousefest events (I'm not registered with Mousefest)...and though some of the parks occasionally can feel busy, others are not bad at all. It fluctuates, so it is best if you have multi-park passes so you can change your mind and go to another park if you find big crowds at one. And the crowds still are not anywhere near as bad as Memorial Day, July 4, and Christmas week crowds.

 

[BiffMan]

Thanks for the responses, guys! I'm guessing it's because our 12/9-12/15 dates bridge over both Pop Warner and Mousefest that availability was as limited as it was. We'll check again as we get closer to see if we can move somewhere else, but I guess if not then we get to see what ASMu is like, right?

Pop Warner was pretty annoying when we were at ASSp back in 12/05 but hopefully ASMu won't be quite as crowded. Don't think Mousefest should be too much of an issue if we just avoid the scheduled park for each day since they at least have that planned out.

So I guess I'm leaning toward plunging on ahead and hoping the parks and resort aren't *too* crowded. Pity is that we were hoping to show Grandma & Grandpa around something other than an All Star since that's where we were with them last time, but guess that'll have to wait till the next trip.

So anyone want to help me convince myself that ASMu will be a lovely resort and that our 4 & 5 year old children will think the theming is really fun?