Doing Christmas Week...I know it's crowded, I'm crazy & it's expensive...now help me out.

[djc9699]

We are going for the first time at Christmas this year too. We are very excited for the atmosphere and Christmas only experiences - Candlelight Processional, Epcot Storytellers, Osbourne Lights, etc. We are scheduling our fastpasses, hitting rope drop or evening EMH, and planning on having a blast - just like every trip. We always concentrate on what we CAN do and don't worry about what we can't. We just can't wait for the festive atmosphere! Keep your upbeat attitude and it will be magical. In the words of my DD11 "even if we don't ride anything, what could be better than Christmas at Disneyworld."

 

[akaDaddy]

We are going for the first time at Christmas this year too. We are very excited for the atmosphere and Christmas only experiences - Candlelight Processional, Epcot Storytellers, Osbourne Lights, etc. We are scheduling our fastpasses, hitting rope drop or evening EMH, and planning on having a blast - just like every trip. We always concentrate on what we CAN do and don't worry about what we can't. We just can't wait for the festive atmosphere! Keep your upbeat attitude and it will be magical. In the words of my DD11 "even if we don't ride anything, what could be better than Christmas at Disneyworld."

Great to hear you are planning a Disney Christmas as well. Good luck on your ADR and Fastpass planning. Keep us posted

 

[Dentam]

We did Christmas week back in 2009. The MK was filled to capacity at least one day but we had a great time touring the deluxe resorts looking at all the amazing decorations and gingerbread houses. We also did the Candlelight Processional and saw the Osbourne Lights. Honestly, I don't remember the crowds much just the great time we had and how awesome the parks and resorts looked all decked out for the holidays. Hope you have a great trip!!

 

[Golden Rose]

I've never been brave enough to try it, but my BFF and her extended family did it last year, and they had a fantastic time. (Such a good time that she's tried to convince us to do it with them some time!) Their party included 6 adults and 5 kids ranging in age from 5 to 12, and all of them loved it. She gave me the same advice lots of people are giving you - get into the parks early, do what you really want to do, and get out and do something else in the afternoons. They booked interesting dinners, usually character meals, at the resorts, to keep the festive Disney feel without the park crowds.

They also preferred the cooler weather in December to the hot weather you get for so much of the year.

 

[pavicich]

We have done xmas the last two years and are going back again this year. It is a FABULOUS time to go. The spirit, decorations, parades, merchandise are all extra special.

I really encourage you to have table reservations while in the parks to just have some downtime, for example I would love to have dinner at LTT on Xmas day.

It was really fun to be silly and wear Santa hats with our Mickey headbands over them (thinking your daughters will like that since mine did).

It was fun for each of us to buy a hoodie - days can be cool so we definitely used them the entire time.

Last, if you have the space also recommend taking a xmas tree to decorate in your room.

Have a great trip and holiday season!

 

[ChimCher-ee]

You guys are making me want to go at this time of year!

I had never even given it a thought, but now I'm starting to mull it over, "Maybe the trip after the next-next one, which will be right after I get a handle on planning the 2016 trip, which I'll start when we get back on July 9." There is time for them all, as long as health and continued employment allow.

Thanks for all the tips and insights...I'm following along!

 

[akaDaddy]

Thanks for all the insight and encouragement. KEEP IT COMING.

I have to agree with a couple of comments to this forum that after reading these reports, maybe I should have done this sooner....We'll see.

 

[CarrieR]

I travel with all adults - and Christmas week is our favorite. We go the following week (26 Dec to 3 Jan this year) and soak up the chaos.

We have found the trick is to really burn the candle at both ends and split your sleep. Be at RD for your morning park, tour until lunch (we do a lunch ADR around 12 or 1, or leave the parks by noon and grab lunch at the food court and eat it in the room while some of us shower.) Then we take a giant nap and either do a dinner ADR around 6 - if we didn't do a lunch ADR - or just go back to the parks (MK) around 8. Our other trick is to do AK only in the evenings, arriving with two or so hours left in park operations, before hopping over to the MK. Then we close out MK and sleep a handful of hours before doing it all again.

ADRs are our friends - they are a dedicated break from the madness and often our only solid meal, as we are snack/quick grab people.

It's awesome, crazy crowded, and completely insane. Yet we do it every second year (renting points at BLT so we can walk back after closing out MK) and have a blast.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[mgentry210]

1. 
   
   I was hoping that might be the case! Does anyone know if there are photopass photogs in all the resorts that do xmas decorations? Was hoping to take a day off from the parks to resort hop a little. Which characters meet in the main lobby at Wilderness?
   
   If you buy gifts, can you get them gift wrapped for free or for a fee? One thought I had was to let DS point out a few things he liked, tell him to ask Santa, and then have DH sneak back to purchase for Xmas morning.
   
   Oh - and where are the Santa M&Gs? I know there is a Goofy one in HS, any in the resorts or DTD?

I've personally only seen them at the deluxe resorts. Each night the characters were different. I didn't notice a pattern. You can also see Santa downtown Disney. One night in the lobby we got Santa Goofy too.

I don't know about gift wrap, but I did have one of the table top Christmas trees with lights delivered from I think pro flowers. It helped with the atmosphere.

 

[robinb]

I've personally only seen them at the deluxe resorts. Each night the characters were different. I didn't notice a pattern. You can also see Santa downtown Disney. One night in the lobby we got Santa Goofy too.

I don't know about gift wrap, but I did have one of the table top Christmas trees with lights delivered from I think pro flowers. It helped with the atmosphere.

I know that Mickey and Minnie will often meet and greet in front of the big christmas tree in AKL.

 

[debjk4]

We are going Dec.20-27th also and this thread makes me even more excited! I really love the idea of of ordering a tabletop tree~ I will for sure look into that! Thanks for all the info too!

 

[PrincessLou]

I was there over xmas and new year last year and we had a fabulous time.
We went to MK on Christmas Day and 30th and it was busy but if i am honest apart from the main street area and a few bottle necks there were still plenty of areas in the parks for a bit of respite and what an atmosphere.

We found it did take a while to get to and from the parks due to crowds and traffic so bear that in mind when you are scheduling and just add 30 minutes on when planning.

I agree with booking adrs we found it a nice rest from the park and it gave us a chance to recharge!

On the busiest days we got there early and got on whatever rides we could straight away then booked fastpasses for when the parks got noticeably busier after 11am. If we were staying for the afternoon we would leave the rides and enjoy shows and parades or take a break and go back at night. I really enjoyed the parks after midnight as lots of lines were around 20 minutes as opposed to 2-3 hours at peak times.


We booked the desert party for wishes on 30th which was good and also stayed for the midnight fireworks which we watched by the castle. It was nice to have the two different views and experiences in one night.

We found the weather quite changeable so definately pack layers.

Smile and the world smiles with you!!

 

[dfb]

Great time to go!

Did Dec 19 - 24 2009 and 2012. Had a blast visiting my kids doing the college program.

• Rope drop and close the parks - don't hold back. Sleep is for when you get back home! Well maybe take a nap if you must! 2009 Last day, I opened the parks at 8 closed the parks at 3AM (actually got off the monorail @ 0430 slept til check out and took turns driving home that day. It was great!!
• Put credit card on MB give the kids a limit or a gift card and let em go! Meet up for special time and some meals!
• When it gets real crowded mid morning/day go to shows, ADRs, shop (Christmas merchandise is usually 50% off during this time). Also a good time to take a tour. Check out events at resorts and recreation facilities. Different resorts have varied entertainment- from the gingerbread house at Grand Floridian to small groups of musicians with characters playing holiday tunes at other resorts.
• Although Downtown Disney is a mess with construction there are nice holiday shows there as well. Santa at DTD and in the parks. Great pics but crowded.
• We are DVCers so we have an oven in our room and we bake cookies and holiday treats and play christmas songs in room on the early nights. Heat up stuff in microwave if no oven.
• Take a small Christmas tree or a small string of mini lights to decorate your room. You can fashion them into a small light-tree over a lamp or something.
• I think the campgrounds do a carriage ride to see the lights in the area? Not done this just heard folks talk about it.
• Usually warm in the day and cool/cold at night. Mostly clear skies that time of year but the rain can set in for a long rain. Take a light weight pancho in case.

You'll have a great time!!!

 

[akaDaddy]

• Rope drop and close the parks - don't hold back. Sleep is for when you get back home! Well maybe take a nap if you must! 2009 Last day, I opened the parks at 8 closed the parks at 3AM (actually got off the monorail @ 0430 slept til check out and took turns driving home that day. It was great!!
• Put credit card on MB give the kids a limit or a gift card and let em go! Meet up for special time and some meals!
• Take a small Christmas tree or a small string of mini lights to decorate your room. You can fashion them into a small light-tree over a lamp or something.

I really like the idea of the Christmas Tree in the room. Thanks for the advise.

 

[CanadianPaco]

LOVE Christmas at WDW!! We have done it twice and it is amazing! The first time we were at Coronado Springs and at Caribbean Beach this past year! the 2nd time around, we decided to do the Candlelight Processional (awesome), MVMCP (fantastic) and the horse drawn carriage ride at Fort Wilderness (good)! We spent Christmas Eve at WDW and was one of the best days of any of our trips EVER! Magical! We flew home Christmas Day - strange yes but incredibly inexpensive, next to no people and home at my folks for Christmas dinner! Worked so well for us!
One tip: a few pairs of dollar store mini gloves.
Happy planning!

 

[rapunzelmom]

Count us in as another crazy family, booked for YC 12/20-12/26! Love the ideas and happily I have already booked ADRs, and would encourage anyone "thinking" about is to do top as things are booking, CBR is full as are some other resorts. Many top restaurants are taken due to free dining. Still on the fence about MK for Christmas day, Love the AK suggestion though we do love that park!
anyway, will be following.
Also with about 20 visits logged, I'll take crowed and cool over crowed and hot any day! ugh

 

[cocoachip]

Our family has been away from the Kingdom for 6 years. But we've finally got a schedule together that will work (yeah!!!), bad news is it's December 19th through December 26.

We're not newbies, so I already know some will say "it will be crowded, full of fussy people, impatient families all of the great unwashed masses". I already know that many on this board will be quick to tell they would never go during this time if there life depended on it.

No offense, but if you fall into this category, don't reply. I won't read it.

I'm not on this board asking for a critique, I'm looking for advise from those who've lived through the battle and have survived. I'm looking for advise from that special individual who can turn lemons into lemonade.

Help me out with advise, tricks, special family customs, fun things, super events and a great way to spend some precious time with my family.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[cocoachip]

We've been to Disney several times right before and over the holidays. In our experience, the crowds during your dates are more manageable than the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

A couple "survival tips" -
Remember that increased crowds also applies to getting food (learned this the hard way - along with restroom lines)
Take the opportunity to see the decorations at the other resorts - one year we visited the monorail resorts, another year the boardwalk area, and also Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness

Enjoy!

 

[raider97]

Oh!! Like a lot of your responses this is our favorite time of the year to go too!! We will be there at CBR from Dec. 18th - 27th. This is our 3rd Christmas trip with kids and our 6th in total. Our last trip was in June of 2013 and we all missed the Christmas atmosphere of the parks. The parks are gorgeous!! The weather is fantastic!! And so many fun holiday things to see, taste, and hear. Get your ADR's in place and make sure you get your Fastpass +'s secured as well. Rope drops are great because a lot of the stuff still has low waits and then we love to close down MK on an EMH night. Nothing like walking down Main Street all decked out in Christmas lights almost by yourself at 2 a.m.

We always do Animal Kingdom on Christmas day. We were at Magic Kingdom on one Christmas Eve and another year on Christmas day and it is just too crowded for me. Animal Kingdom is fantastic on Christmas Day. We will be going to Epcot/DHS on Christmas Eve. We have also had really good luck at MK on the 26th. We always have dinner at Ohana. It's our Christmas tradition if we are at WDW.

Happy planning and I know you will have a magical trip!

 

[superrach]

We're going for our 3rd Christmas trip this year! We've gone to WDW 3 other times since our last Christmas visit and it just wasn't the same even after we heard Halloween was very festive. So we tried it last October. It was nice but still not the same as December! Christmastime at Disney is amazing! So crowded but if you're a planner (meals and fastpass) you will handle it well just like any other time of the year! Can't wait!!!!