A Little Help? *might get long, sorry*

[MattsPrincess]

I know no one else can make this decision for us, I just need a little..."insider info" to help us in doing that. I figured you guys would be the best source. Dh and I will be taking our 2nd trip to the Land at some point in the next few months. Either October 4th-8th, or December 21st-26th. Right now, we already have everything booked for October, but are starting to have second thoughts. This is because:

We will also be traveling home sometime this year. DH is military and we live in Tucson, but were both born and raised in Michigan. Whatever time frame we don't go to Disney will be when we go home. We planned Disney in October and home in December so we'd be home for the holidays. But now we're starting to think we'd really like to be in MI for fall, as that is the only season we haven't been able to go for since we moved. It also happens to be my favorite, and wouldn't be as hectic a visit.

SO...on the Disney side of things, which would be better? We're two 22 year olds, no kids. We'd have 4 day hoppers. In October we have the Camelot booked, but if we changed to December it would be HoJo. We planned on going to the Halloween Party. I like the idea of seeing the villains and Halloween decor, as well as all the pumpkin food. On the December side, those decorations look incredibly beautiful, and I like the idea of seeing the carolers and santa and the xmas parade, snow on Main ST., etc. We would be taking the Holiday Tour.

If you had to chose, when would you do Disney? The October dates are firm, but the December ones are flexible. I know Christmas Day can/will be crazy crowded, but it would be our last day in the parks anyways, so mostly last minute shopping and leaving a little early to gear up for the drive home. We wouldn't have to be rushing around trying to hit rides etc, because we will have already done that. We would do Minnie's that morning, but other than that just walk around and soak it all in one last time. Am I right in thinking that having mostly week days would help here? I guess what i'm getting at with this novel laughing, is if you had to choose between the nifty HalloweenTime celebrations or the magical Christmas festivities, which would you do? And also, what do you think the Dec. dates I have picked would be like in comparison to Memorial Day crowds? (i say that because that's the only experience I have to compare it to) Would any other dates work better?

 

[NVDisMom]

I'd go in December. October is going to be crazy with WOC and annual pass holders on top of the normal Halloween Time madness. Christmas in Disney, who wouldn't want to do that? And the weather in Michigan has got to be better in October than December.

 

[ChickenCarlos]

i agree christmas in Disney is awesome, and they do snow after the fire works. i think you would enjoy it more in December.

 

[CADisneyMom]

We've done both, last two years we did Halloween, the year before that we did Christmas, and this year we're doing Christmas. We're actually going the first portion of December for about 4 days. I agree that you would want to be in MI in October, pretty time of year and less snow if any. I say Christmas, no better place to be.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh, wow, MattsPrincess - I know you were really looking forward to HalloweenTime and the MHP and all the pumpkin goodies!

Well, it's a tough call, mainly because I wonder if DLR will increase the decorations and things this Halloween season since MHP will be held in DL and they have more ground to cover, but...

While I love both holiday seasons at DLR, there is really no comparison between the two in terms of immersion. Christmastime at DLR is just soooooo magical - for all the reasons you mentioned, like Santa and carolers all over, and the snow, the lights, the parade, the giant trees, the holiday tour... I mean, IASW Holiday is so stunningly beautiful at night, in person. Same with the Winter Castle - in person, at night, it's just breathtaking. And let's not discount the holiday goodies too! There are holiday goodies galore! It's almost like you can't escape the magic even if you wanted to!! DLR is so thoroughly decorated - every corner of it has pretty much been tapped with the Christmas wand...all the restaurants, all the shops, all the hotels...the Christmas music changes themes in certain lands, so it might be calypso-influenced in Adventureland, and then jazzy in NOS and country-western flavored in Frontierland. It's really just fantastic.

Not that you won't have a great time if you go to DLR for HalloweenTime, but the Christmas season is extra, extra special!

 

[lulubelle]

Well, I am going to tell you the opposite of all the others.
I would do DLR in Oct and family/MI in Dec. Why you ask?
Well to me, Christmas is all about family. Just the warm spirits in our hearts and the whole holiday vibe. I wouldn't want to be away from my family at Christmas. Will your parents be sad you won't be home? I'd be sad if my baby girl (who is 23) went to DL instead of coming home. Plus, DL is fabulous in Oct. A lot of really fun things to do and see, but I know you know that.

Good luck deciding. I'm sure you will have fun either way.

 

[gatorfreud]

I would pick October. We were in the parks last Dec. 19-22 and I have never seen it so insanely crowded. And we always arrive super early, use FP well, and usually take afternoon breaks. But it was seriously beyond insane. Like you could not even walk around a lot of the time. It got worse as it got closer to Christmas. For reference, this picture was taken about 2:30pm on 12/22.

And this was just people walking... about the same time I think.

I also remember on 12/21, which is my son's b-day, we decided to go over to DTD for lunch just to try and escape some of the crush of people.

 

[pixiewings71]

I would do Oct at home and Dec at DLR.