7 day Christmas plan for 2 adults

[Doug M]

After our family summer trip in 2014 and realizing that HS has become a half day park, i am curious if this holds true if Osborne lights are up. Just my wife and I are heading to the world December 1 through December 7 this year to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.

Our plan is starting to form and this is how I break it down.

Arrival day we get to MCO around 230 PM and figure be at a park around dinner. We figure this day will be HS, grabbing one of our favorite dinner spots, hit the good rides, hopefully see Osborne Family Lights, then see fantasmic.

Day 2 I have pegged for EPCOT and Candelight Processional.

Day 3 I have MK until late afternoon (even though park hours not out yet, seems like a potential park closure at 7 for MVMCP) then hit EPCOT for an ADR and perhaps Illuminations or just a stroll around the lake.

Day 4 also appears may contain MVMCP, this time we purchase tickets and do MK all day.

Day 5 AK until late afternoon, then head to MK for the remainder of the day.

Day 6 again MK maybe closes at 7, hit that park early then leave for EPCOT again for another ADR and whatever.

Day 7, departure, maybe hit HS to see during the morning, hit any rides we missed or want to repeat from first day, early lunch, then close to noon MDE to MCO for our 4PM flight.

Park days approximately break down as follows
MK 2.5 days
E 2 days
AK 1 day
HS 1 day

I have never done WDW in early December when the holiday stuff has started up, but did do it during the actual holiday once, and it was crazy. I expect less crowds than early summer vacation, but not sure how much extra time to see the holiday specials. Any ideas? Obviously this is very early since hours are not even out, but any flaws you might see? We are extremely open to any suggestions from folks that have done early December at WDW.

 

[siskaren]

If you are going to do MVMCP, rather than spending the whole day at MK, I would suggest taking it a bit easier during the day and checking out the decorations at some of the deluxe resorts.

 

[sharonabe]

The only thing that might mess with your plan is the timing of closing at HS on your arrival day. It should be 8:00, so you can probably see Osborne and F!, but you might not get in many rides. If you're okay with that, then you're good to go. You've got a lot of MK time scheduled. I think I might switch your departure day plan with your last full day plan, and do HS on that day.

 

[matheke]

We usually attend MVMCP on arrival day. Looks like you could be there by 5PM and ease yourself into the Magic. If not maybe a trip to DD. There is a lot of free entertainment during the holidays.

I would also suggest taking the boat/walking from DHS to EPCOT (Or other way around) and see the BC, YC, and BW for the decoration. Many also suggest the Swan.

Do the MK loop of resorts also. GF and the Contemporary each have gingerbread houses that are worth seeing.

There are also 2 tours usually offered, the "Yuletide Fantasy" and "Holiday D-Lights" you may want to think about.

We usually do the Biergarten for the Candlelight package. We like the food and you also get the show while eating and then the CP after.

 

[Doug M]

Thanks for the tips, we do plan to check out several resorts, was going to hit the MK ones for sure, but like the idea of the HS to Epcot ones. Also like the idea of doing MVMCP the day of arrival if available and swapping HS to last full day to ensure we hit 3 or 4 of our favorites in all of WDW (TSMM, ToT, ST, RRRC )

 

[sharonabe]

A hard ticket event on arrival day sounds good now, but what happens if your plane is delayed? You won't get a refund and you miss the party altogether.

 

[Doug M]

How quickly do those event tickets sell out? Is this something that can be bought day of, so if we didnt get a nearly 3 hour delay, which is what it would take to miss the start of the party, we could get tickets say when we land at MCO.

 

[Doug M]

Anyone know if the tickets sell out well ahead of time?

 

[sharonabe]

Some do and some don't. I tried searching for a historical list of sold out parties, but I couldn't find one. It seems like more sold out last year than in years' past. They've added more shows this year, so you may be okay.

 

[Doug M]

We will check on this after hours are released. Id rather have the safety of doing the party on a full day i think but it would be perfect for arrival day.