Christmas in Florida... is it worth it?

[mfoz1]

We've been to Florida several times before but never at Christmas... I guess because we like it nice and hot and couldn't afford to go twice in one year. Anyway, it looks like next year is the 'year' so to speak but before we empty our bank account and book hotels and flights we'd like to get some feedback from anyone who has done it before.

A list of things to do would be good along with any other tips you can think of.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gilld]

Well, you may not want to hear my view...it IS wonderful BUT it is SO busy. We went in 1997 to celebrate our 20th anniversary, Dec 22 - Jan 6th. Christmas Day in MK was positively dangerous in my opinion. They closed the gates to even resort guests at 9.30am .

We took over an hour to walk from Splash Mountain to Haunted Mansion because of the crowds. It was impossible to see the parades and queues were over 2 hours long. Most days were almost as busy until Jan 2nd. New Years Eve was worse!

Seeing the decorations was magical, finding a gift hanging on our room door on Christmas morning and the general atmosphere all made it special but I would NEVER do it again.
We had mixed weather, frost on many days where we had to wear 4 -5 layers and a few days where we were able to swim and wear shorts. Considering it cost us over £12,000 for a family of 5 we felt we should have gone somewhere else.

Only you know if you'd feel comfortable with SO many people pushing and shoving, if you do go for it I hope you have a great time.

Edited for spelling

 

[allie5]

Although we are due to go at Christmas this year, to be honest, it wouldnt have been my first choice of time period. We were orginally going to go around now (late Nov, to the Thanksgiving Sales then an early MVMCP). The parks are usually quiet early Dec (a time we have done before and loved) plus you get all the festive atmosphere. We had no choice due to DH's work commitments, we HAD to go at Christmas.

I KNOW the parks are going to be heaving, and Im dreading that part of it, but to compensate I know the atmosphere will be magical. Having two small children, the rides arent our top priority, we are quite happy to "wander" the parks at our leisure!

To be honest, if didnt HAVE to go at Christmas then I wouldnt. If you can be flexible, then the run up (last weeks of Nov, early Dec) would be my ideal time to go. Also, its MUCH more expensive over the actual Christmas period (flights can vary by as much as £300 just by leaving a day or two into the "busy season").

Bad news is, DH has just got another contract which means it looks like we will have to do the same next year, cancelling our already booked Oct trip for Christmas again. Better hope we enjoy it this year then!!

 

[vernon]

If you're going for a couple of weeks you should be OK to work around the REALLY busy days in the parks. The week before Xmas is generally OK, it's only from Dec 23 Jan 2 that get REALLY packed. If possible I'd choose to visit SW and the quieter parks in the week and do most of MK,Epcot MGM days before/after the busy times. If you can't avoid doing the parks in that time then be prepared for long waits and allow for/plan around those problems.

 

[AlexE]

We have been over the Christmas period and just after Thanksgiving and I would say that just after Thanksgiving is the best.

We flew out the day before Thanksgiving and there were no decorations in the parks and then hey presto the day after it was christmas!

The parks were not too busy the climate was great, still t-shirts and shorts with may be something on your arms in the evening. All the parades were christmas orientated, with a sprinkling of snow and it was brilliant.

We stayed off-site on both occasions.

When we stayed off-site over Christmas and New Year the weather wasnt great, rather chilly, one night we stayed for the illuminations at Epcot and basically froze. Had a camisole, t-shirt, sweatshirt and zipup sweatshirt as well as shorts and track bottoms and drunk hot chocolate all evening to keep warm. We still enjoyed outselves but could have done with a bit more heat - even had frost on the car 2 mornings. Also 2 brilliant thunderstorms on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve - but any Floridian will tell you that they always need the rain!

So basically, you can have Christmas after Thanksgiving in Orlando and still have Christmas in the UK.

We preferred Christmas after Thanksgiving.

Hope this helps

Elaine

 

[Camac]

We were there last Christmas from 16th Dec to 1st Jan 04 and would say that Vernon is quite right - the parks were very quiet up until 23rd Dec, we were able to ride two or three times in a row with no queing on some attractions and what queues there were did not last longer than 10 mins.

We did make the effort during Christmas week to get into the parks at opening time when they were quieter and then left by lunch time to do other things. Do not attempt to go to the main Disney parks on Christmas Day - we went to Discovery Cove which was a wonderful experience and saved buying pressies for everyone!

The weather was very cold on arrival (hatsm scarves and gloves) but the temperature gradually increased, the day we left it was 82 degrees! No rain at all.

The Christmas decorations are just stunning and as an alternative to spending time in the parks during the busy time you could take the monorail to visit the resorts which are all beautifully decorated.

We are at home this Christmas but enjoyed ourselves so much last year that we have already booked for Christmas 2005.

Camac

 

[Miffy2003]

I really hope so!!!!!

Will be able to let you know next month

 

[celtic bhoy]

yes well worth the money was there 2 years ago and away back this year on 15th december till jan 5th. as they say its a wonderfull time of the year happy holidays

 

[TinkTatoo]

We always go in August and love this time of year but would love to go at Christmas just to see the decorations and experience the magic.

We are trying to see if we can sneak a trip in next christmas it would mean some serious saving but we think it would be worth it while the kids are still young (they would be 7 & 8 next year)

 

[Danauk]

We are going next christmas from 21st December - 2nd January. I know it will be busy but we have been before when it was quiet so this time we are going for the atmosphere and to do other non park activities which we didn't get to do last time. I can't wait to go.

 

[SaveDisney]

Myself and DGF are off this year from 20th to 27th so I'll try and remember to get back on this thread and give you a shout to let you know how we got on. What kind of group is going (any kids/ages)

SD

 

[disneyholic family]

if it's only the decorations and xmas atmosphere you're looking for, anytime after Thanksgiving will do.....the decorations go up just before Thanksgiving, and all the fun xmas activities begin then....
the parks are virtually empty during the first two weeks of december and well worth the trip just for that reason....
as for christmas itself....you have to have your head examined if you're considering being in WDW then......you haven't seen crowds until you've seen WDW during Christmas....do yourself a favor and go at the beginning to the middle of december and be back home in time for christmas.....

or go to the parks in mid-december and then take a cruise on xmas itself....the ship can't be any more crowded than fully booked.....

 

[Miffy2003]

if it's only the decorations and xmas atmosphere you're looking for, anytime after Thanksgiving will do.....the decorations go up just before Thanksgiving, and all the fun xmas activities begin then....
the parks are virtually empty during the first two weeks of december and well worth the trip just for that reason....
as for christmas itself....you have to have your head examined if you're considering being in WDW then......you haven't seen crowds until you've seen WDW during Christmas....do yourself a favor and go at the beginning to the middle of december and be back home in time for christmas.....

or go to the parks in mid-december and then take a cruise on xmas itself....the ship can't be any more crowded than fully booked.....

Beth, it may be that people can't go early Dec - for example if they are teachers or if they aren't happy to take children out of school. In the UK this year my girls don't break up until 21st Dec so the earliest we could get to WDW would be Dec 23rd if I stuck to school dates.

 

[Verity Chambers]

Yes Karen, some of us teachers would LOVE to go at Christmas!!! No guilt trip honest!!! HEE hEE HEE!!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

Miffy2003 - it depends on the age of your kids.......when my daughter was about 14 and my son was 12 and in his last year of elementary school, we took them out of school before Thanksgiving so that we could be back home with my sister for turkey day.....then on sunday of thanksgiving weekend we headed down to WDW for a heavenly 3 week stay.....
when i told the school we were taking the kids out for a month to go to the states, they said, "we can't give you permission for that"....my response?.....i told them, "i'm not asking permission, i'm simply informing you why the kids won't be in school for the next month"....
it's now 6 years later and they're none the worse for wear....we had a perfectly marvelous time and it was worth every second they missed of school.......

of course, if you're a teacher, you can't do that....i suppose......

 

[kipper]

We love it at xmas time cos no pressure at home buying presents and the rush for fresh veggies on xmas eve

 

[Goofyish]

We are off to WDW next December, flying out on the 15th and returning on the 29th. Our schools break up on the 16th in 2005 so we can go a little earlier to take advantage of at least a few days of lower crowds before the Xmas madness
We are taking our DDs (12 & 16) out of school two days early and DW who is a classroom assistant and so will have to take two days unpaid leave so we can go on the 15th. (Main reason for going a few days before schools breakup is the cost of the flights - Virgin flights go up around £300 each a couple of days after we go ).

If it was our first trip to WDW then I don't think we would choose to go at Christmas. But as we have been 3 times before we can relax and not rush round to see everything. We can just take things easy and enjoy the holiday celebrations in the parks and around the resorts