Christmas-New Years Week...Tips?

[DisneyMama21]

Alright, hit me: What are your tips for having a successful WDW trip between Christmas and New Years (besides, "Don't Go"!! ) We are booked Dec 26th-Jan 5th. Never been to WDW during holidays AT ALL but have been to WDW several times and will return 2 more times within the next 8 months. It will be DH, myself, DS8, DD5 (turning 6 while we are there!), DD4, and family friend (16). What do I need to do/not to do? Thanks in advance!!

 

[mesaboy2]

Alright, hit me: What are your tips for having a successful WDW trip between Christmas and New Years (besides, "Don't Go"!! ) We are booked Dec 26th-Jan 5th. Never been to WDW during holidays AT ALL but have been to WDW several times and will return 2 more times within the next 8 months. What do I need to do/not to do? Thanks in advance!!

Be at the parks at open if not before, use FastPass, have realistic expectations, and be patient.

 

[g-dad66]

What mesaboy said.

Figure that everything (from buying an ice cream bar, to walking from one attraction to another, to waiting in line at the bathroom) will take twice as long as you would normally expect it to take.

 

[GovieMom]

After parades, fireworks, or when exiting the parks, make sure to have a firm grip on your children's hands. Our family once got separated while exiting Epcot after Illuminations (New Years week). Due to the enormous number of people shoulder-to-shoulder, we weren't able to find each other until we got to the resort bus stop. I was praying that DH still had our son with him. Horrible!!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Plan on doing half the things you planned and it taking twice as much time.
Make sure the little ones know what to do if you get separated. Be flexible, have a back up plan and go in knowing you wont be able to see or do everything. Go against the grain and avoid the parks that have EHM. Plan to use Fast Pass whenever possible.

 

[kohlby]

As an adult, my first three Disney trips were the week between Christmas and New Years. And it was a blast! I didn't have kids with me, so that made it easier, just hubby. We always were there at rope drop. We didn't know about touring plans and best park days and all that then - but still managed to use good 'ole common sense and never wait a lot for anything. We also found that the morning of New Year's day was much quieter than we expected. MK started picking up earlier than EP, which was dead for a while. But we took full advantage of all those people sleeping in. (We also were up past midnight the night before. But we were younger then and RD to closing types night after night. With kids, pick your times wisely!)

As for going with kids during that time, I'd sit down with your kids and make a list of must-sees. Then focus on those and everything else is just extra!

 

[dis@dills]

Our first trip to Disney during the holidays (Dec 23-30) we subscribed to a service at this website, www.tourguidemike.com. It was the BEST $20 we ever spent. I think the service is $22 now. We followed the tips and recommendations for park touring and recommended viewing areas for Wishes, Illuminations, Candlelight Processional etc... and it was a blessing. We rarely waited in line (15 mins at the most) and enjoyed all the attractions and all 4 parks.
Have a wonderful time!!!

 

[mmafan]

take it slow and ENJOY......youll be back so if you miss somehting ohwell..soak in the christmas feeling

 

[DisneyMama21]

Oh thank you so much everyone!! Getting great tips and getting more excited!! Keep them coming

 

[baler31]

Same tip, but get there EARLY and leave after lunch. Check the hours for the park on www.easywdw.com or the travel agent calendar. Dec. hours were updated today. Keep in mind that many of the days you are there the parks will open at 7am or 8am, these are golden hours. Even during the holidays we had the parks to ourselves for the first two hours(relatively speaking).

Even if you are not table service people consider it to stay out of the crowds. We would always do a TS for lunch and then usually we would leave the park as it was so crowded by then. We would return late at night for whatever night time activities we wanted to do.

Make a list of you must do things at each park/day. If you are returning soon you may want to concentrate on the holiday activities that will not be there next time. For example the afternoon parade is the Christmas parade but MSEP is the same. HTH

 

[Circus181920]

We were in WDW for NYE 2010-2011. We decided to go to EPCOT and I would highly recommend going there for NYE! The atmosphere was great!!!! Although it was very crowded and wait times for e-tickets were 4 hours , the nice thing about EPCOT was that we could just hang out in world showcase (eat, shop, explore the countries).

WDW is even more magical at xmas; enjoy it!!!

 

[rlilly79]

Alright, hit me: What are your tips for having a successful WDW trip between Christmas and New Years (besides, "Don't Go"!! ) We are booked Dec 26th-Jan 5th. Never been to WDW during holidays AT ALL but have been to WDW several times and will return 2 more times within the next 8 months. It will be DH, myself, DS8, DD5 (turning 6 while we are there!), DD4, and family friend (16). What do I need to do/not to do? Thanks in advance!!

We are going the exact same dates with roughly the exact same size party and with the exact same fears! However we have never been before and no immediate plans to go back. But after a year of planning this surprise trip, I feel comfortable with the idea that we just cant see it all...i just hope once the surprise is revealed that my children will be understanding of that as well, i believe they will, they will be so happy Just to be there. Hope you all have a blast and just remember when you are there fighting the crowd, me and my gang are there somewhere too!! Lol Merry Christmas

 

[RMulieri]

Plan ahead, have a list of MUST dos and Like to dos if there is time.Everything that week ( including walking, meals ,shopping and bathroom breaks) will take twice as long as it would normally.Get there for rope drop, Use Fastpass.Pack your PATIENCE...it is beyond crowded and tempers can easily flare if you let it.Talk to your kids in advance about the crowds and what to do if you or they become separated.

 

[jimjenkids]

If you want table sevice dining-make ADRs!....found out the hard way on our first Xmas trip!.....Go expecting a HUGE amount of people-worse than shopping on black friday, and it wont seem so bad. We are crazy enough to say that we are going again for our 3rd xmas trip and cant wait! use the FP and single rider lines when possible also hit some of the longer wait rides during parades......Enjoy, you are going to love it!

 

[jovimama]

This will be our third xmas trip to Disney. We were terrified the first time hearing about all the crazy crowds, but I have to say, we never never waited on line! It can be done. The difference between going this time of year and any other is that planning is a must. I got fantastic info here and joined some touring sites which helped a lot. My biggest tips are these (some have been said before):
1) Plan Plan Plan. This is one time of year it is necessary - but like I said, with a little info and planning your family will have a fabulous time.
2) Get to the parks before rope drop. It is amazing the amount we were able to get done in those first 1-2 hours before the real crowds come filing in.
3) We stayed off property. This is the one time of year I was glad I did. It's waayyyy cheaper (for my family of 5, the savings was huge). With the money saved we were able to drive and park at the parks. The busses can be a nightmare this time of year. I would avoid them at all costs.
4) Make advance reservations and make them early in the day for lunch and dinner. We ate 11AM lunches and 5PM dinners.
5) Fast pass, fast pass, fast pass
6) For crazy crowded events like fireworks and Fantasmic look into booking packages. We did the Fireworks dessert package at MK and had an amazing view with no crowding. We also booked Fantasmic dinner packages which allowed us not to wait in the crazy lines.
7)Leave early afternoon. Exit the park as the herds of people are entering. It was amazing to us when we would overhear (more than once) families who obviously just entered the park eating lunch in a restaurant with us casually saying which rides they should go to. We knew they would be waiting for hours on end. We had already been on most everything and like I said, WITH NO WAIT!
8) Check the weather and bring warm clothes! Last year was beautiful but the prior year was freezing. We had our winter coats, scarves, gloves, the works (especially good for waiting for rope drop).

Christmastime is an unbelievable time to go to Disney, but it could easily be miserable. You do need to plan, plan, plan but it is so worthwhile! Enjoy!

 

[AppleSister1]

This will be our third xmas trip to Disney. We were terrified the first time hearing about all the crazy crowds, but I have to say, we never never waited on line! It can be done. The difference between going this time of year and any other is that planning is a must. I got fantastic info here and joined some touring sites which helped a lot. My biggest tips are these (some have been said before):
1) Plan Plan Plan. This is one time of year it is necessary - but like I said, with a little info and planning your family will have a fabulous time.
2) Get to the parks before rope drop. It is amazing the amount we were able to get done in those first 1-2 hours before the real crowds come filing in.
3) We stayed off property. This is the one time of year I was glad I did. It's waayyyy cheaper (for my family of 5, the savings was huge). With the money saved we were able to drive and park at the parks. The busses can be a nightmare this time of year. I would avoid them at all costs.
4) Make advance reservations and make them early in the day for lunch and dinner. We ate 11PM lunches and 5PM dinners.
5) Fast pass, fast pass, fast pass
6) For crazy crowded events like fireworks and Fantasmic look into booking packages. We did the Fireworks dessert package at MK and had an amazing view with no crowding. We also booked Fantasmic dinner packages which allowed us not to wait in the crazy lines.
7)Leave early afternoon. Exit the park as the herds of people are entering. It was amazing to us when we would overhear (more than once) families who obviously just entered the park eating lunch in a restaurant with us casually saying which rides they should go to. We knew they would be waiting for hours on end. We had already been on most everything and like I said, WITH NO WAIT!
8) Check the weather and bring warm clothes! Last year was beautiful but the prior year was freezing. We had our winter coats, scarves, gloves, the works (especially good for waiting for rope drop).

Christmastime is an unbelievable time to go to Disney, but it could easily be miserable. You do need to plan, plan, plan but it is so worthwhile! Enjoy!

What she said!!!!

We've gone frequently at that time of year (we'll there at the same time as you this year!) The key is to get there at RD or even a bit earlier (sometimes they'll suprise you and let you in early.) If you ARE staying on-site, morning EMH is key. Leave just before or after lunch, do something out of the parks for afternoon, and head back in the evening as crowds get thinnner. I'd say Park Hoppers come in super handy this time of year....if one park is nuts, you can go to another.

I'd also start looking at some ADR's for table service if you haven't already...just knowing you have at least one relaxed mean a day planned ahead can be a huge relief. And yes! Bring layers, gloves, scarves in case it's chilly!

 

[tstidm1]

WDW today put together a great podcast episode on Friday about this. They have a lot of tips in that half hour such as how to prioritize attractions, to get there 45-60 minutes before Rope Drop and to eat lunch at off times were the ones I remember from listening on my commute in this morning.

 

[DisneyMama21]

Thanks for all the great advice...I have another question...we will be staying onsite but will have a friends daughter with us that will only join us for some of the days So for those days we won't be able to use EMH cause she is staying offsite with her parents. Will it make that much of a difference if we can't go in for EMH? What time should we get there in those cases?

 

[AlohaAnnie]

I think everyone gave wonderful tips and advice!

We went December 22-29, 2011. We had a wonderful time & it is a magical place to be at Christmas.

Enjoy! Merry Magical Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

:Santa:

 

[jchristie214]

We are going for our first Disney trip around the same time! We are going Dec. 30 - Jan 5 as well so I am glad you asked this question! We are staying off-site though.

Do we need to make reservations for Rainforest Cafe?