Much difference week before Xmas vs week after?

[MinnieGirl33]

I know crowds progressively increase from Thanksgiving onward BUT do you think there is much difference in crowd level between the week prior (say 12/17 - 12/24) and the week after (12/24 - 12/31)? Is the week before just as bad as the week after?

Trying to decide between Pop Warner week & the week of 12/17 and keep trying to weigh the pros & cons of each. If the week prior to Xmas isn't quite as bad as the week of, then it may be worth it to us to avoid the Pop-ers

Am I crazy to consider 12/17-12/24 over 12/3-12/10 ?

WWYD?

 

[Lesia]

Actually, the week between christmas and New years is the ABSOLUTE WORST it could be. It gets progressively worse each day. so 12/17-12/24 is better than 12/25-12/31. I don't know when Pop Warner week is.

 

[lindsey]

We have been both weeks, and the week following Christmas is definitely more crowded. For the week before, the closer to Christmas the more crowded the parks get.

 

[BradyBz12]

The week before will get progressively more busy each day as you get closer to Christmas. Exactly when it gets crazy depends largely on what day of the week Christmas falls on and when the kids get out for Christmas break.

The week between Christmas-New Years is historically THE busiest week of the entire year at WDW with park closures for capacity not at all uncommon many days.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Go with the week just prior to Christmas if you don't mind traveling on Christmas Eve. It will be busy, but not at the stand still due to capacity attendance that it will be the week of Christmas to New Year's.

You'll have a great time and be all ready for the peace and quiet of a Christmas at home!

 

[kathy884]

I've done nine Christmas visits. It's much better the week before Christmas than the period between Christmas and New Years day. For both, it's crowded, and you need to be there at rope drop and have a touring plan. The Unofficial Guide usually gives the week before a crowd calendar rating of a 9, and the day after Christmas through New Years 10s. When they are both that high, you'd think you wouldn't see a difference, but you really do. If your plans are flexible, do the week before instead for sure. You can even tell a difference on the road and at at offsite resturants in Lake Buena Vista.

20 Trips with # 21 coming up
March 1971 – KOA closest to Disney (camping)
March 1972 – Jellystone Park (camping)
March 1974 – Outdoor Resorts of America (camping)
Dec. 1974 – Outdoor Resorts of American (camping)
March 1975 – Outdoor Resorts of America (camping)
Dec. 1975 – Fort Wilderness (camping)
Dec. 1976 – Fort Wilderness (camping)
Dec. 1977 -- Outdoor Resorts of America (camping)
Dec. 1986 – Marriott Royal Palms (condo by Marriott World Center)
May 1993 – Disney Contemporary (Garden Wing) (hotel)
Dec. 1994 – Polynesian Isles (condo)
May 1999 – Disney Contemporary (Main Building with high floor and Magic Kingdom view) (hotel)
Dec. 2001 – Cypress Pointe (condo)
March 2003 – Sheraton Vistana – Cascades section (condo)
March 2004 – Sheraton Vistana – Cascades section (condo)
Dec. 2004 -- Cypress Pointe (condo)
June 2006 –Tampa relative’s condo
June 2007 – Cypress Point Grandvillas (condo). Disney -- Port Orleans Riverside (hotel), and Sheraton Vistana – Fountains section (condo) – stayed three different places on this trip.
Dec. 2008 – Sheraton Vistana Resort (remodeled Fountains section) (condo)
Oct. 2009 – Hilton Garden Inn Seaworld (hotel)
(Will be going again March 2010 – staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Seaworld again)

 

[stephmarty]

We went one year the week after Christmas with my mom and dad who invited us to stay in a house they had rented near WDW. NEVER again! Not even if the trip is free. The traffic was horrible. The parks closed daily due to reaching max capacity. One day I was on the monorail with a CM who said he was not allowed into MK for work that day b/c it was closed even to additional CMs due to the crowds. Think Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday times 100.

 

[woodkins]

We have done all of the weeks you are looking at & I would by FAR do Pop Warner week over the weeks surrounding Christmas. I would suggest not staying at the All Star Resorts or POP since that is where most of the teams are at, but the parks are NOWHERE near as crowded as the week prior to Cmas and the week of. We were there Pop Warner week this past Dec and it was barely noticeable. I did have a friend who was at the ASMo and said it was full of teams, but we were at the Pop Century and saw no one. It was a great time to go, low crowds but all the magic of the holidays.

 

[curemyreed]

Absolutely WAAAYYYYYY fewer people at the parks Pop Warner week. Have been there twice during Pop time and found the park crowds to be very manageable. Crowds build and build toward Christmas then mushroom the week after....just don't stay at the resorts that book big Pop crowds, would be my suggestion.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

We arrived the day Pop Warner wrapped up last year and had a very quiet week. It does not get progressively busier from Thanksgiving on. The weekend of Thanksgiving is very busy, then it's quiet til about a week before Christmas.

 

[tdsimcic]

i will never go the week after christmas again.....if that was my firsy trip wdw i probally would never go again we felt like we missed so much because it was so crowded

 

[MaxsDad]

I've been the week after christmas, the week before christmas and during pop warner.

We went this past year in DEC 09 during pop warner but stayed off site so I can't comment on the hotel situation, but we only saw them a couple of times in the parks and it wasn't too bad. Especially in comparison to post christmas crowds.

Unfortunately the family has decided to go for my sister's birthday (Jan 2) this year so I will be there the week after christmas, but if I could avoid it I wouldn't go during that time.

 

[JPN4265]

I know crowds progressively increase from Thanksgiving onward BUT do you think there is much difference in crowd level between the week prior (say 12/17 - 12/24) and the week after (12/24 - 12/31)? Is the week before just as bad as the week after?

Trying to decide between Pop Warner week & the week of 12/17 and keep trying to weigh the pros & cons of each. If the week prior to Xmas isn't quite as bad as the week of, then it may be worth it to us to avoid the Pop-ers

Am I crazy to consider 12/17-12/24 over 12/3-12/10 ?

WWYD?

The crowds will be just as bad. People coming in for the Christmas holiday, and people coming in after Christmas for the New Years. This is the most crowded time of the year to visit Disney.