Anyone want to tell me about their December trips?

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

So, we are booked for the first week of December this year, and I'm so excited! It's our first time in WDW during the holiday season, though, and I know that our strategy might change based on different factors (weather, in particular). We'll be factoring in MVMCP, and wanting to focus on the holiday-oriented things. Also, we usually spend a decent amount of time at the pool, given we usually visit in warmer weather, but I'm not sure if it'll be warm enough to swim. On the other hand, reduced heat might mean we last longer in the parks!

Anyway, I'm really hoping to hear about those December trips! Where did you stay, eat, what holiday-related events/attractions did you enjoy, how did you structure your days?

 

[mom2rtk]

We went every year in December for a long time. Now we've been going in early January (because of college schedules) so very similar for weather.

The weather can be anything that time of year. The last couple of January trips we had very warm weather. We have been in December with bitter cold weather. Mostly it's just lovely, but you need to be prepared for anything. Layers are your friend. You might need a sweatshirt in the mornings, but want to lose it in the afternoon.

We are a park open to park close kind of group. Reasonable weather makes that much more doable.

 

[PalmettoPath]

We go every December and love it! My favorite time of year at WDW.

We go the third week of December, just before the big rush of Christmas week. Crowds are not bad at all and everything is in full Christmas spectacle. We always stay at the Grand Floridian, which is our favorite resort but that goes double at Christmas

Weather can be up and down. December 2022 it was on the cooler side. High 60s to lower 70s in the day. One day was swimmable (I didn't go, but wife and daughter did) and the nights were upper 50s to low 60s -- so very pleasant for park walking (at least for me--I still stuck with shorts). Sometimes it's a little colder at night (pants and hoodies) and sometimes you get lucky and there's a warm spell. It varies, but we've rarely had rain, so that's good (knocking on wood for this year, lol).

We do the Christmas Party every year and also occasionally the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT. We did it this past December and got Neil Patrick Harris as our narrator. I highly recommend it if you are at all into the biblical Christmas story. It is an amazing show. We do three weeks each year at WDW, so we follow the same schedule as always. It's way less crowded than the Spring Break period, so that's a bonus.

 

[kylenne]

Definitely take the time to check out the decorations at the resorts. Not just WL and the GF either! I only briefly got to see holiday stuff, I went for Veterans Day weekend back in 2019 and on the day I was set to leave they put up the gingerbread carousel at Beach Club where I was staying. Was really cool! I am more of a Halloween person but the Xmas party was fun, the eggnog was some of the best I've ever had anywhere. I'll say I actually like the decorations better at HS than MK, seems like Main Street is all that gets decorated whereas at HS Gertie gets her Santa hat and it's so cute.

 

[jo-jo]

We love going that time. Love the extra decorations and storytellers in Epcot. The weather can be iffy. We bring everything, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, t shirts, even a hat and gloves.

The only thing I dont like is MK closes early so many days for the parties.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We go the first two weeks of Dec each year. Went in may last year and the heat made us decide to stick with early December. MK will be less crowded on party days, but you’ll have to leave early if you’re not staying for the party. So it’s a trade off. We’ve done the party lots of times but don’t anymore, but it is nice, though it’s very crowded. Epcot is beautiful, take the time to see the storytellers in each country, they’re amazing. And all the Xmas food booths are great too. We spend a whole day checking out the Xmas decorations at resorts, grand Floridian has the awesome gingerbread house and wilderness lodge is beautiful too. Lots of people staying at Fort wilderness decorate their campsites and it’s fun to check out, you can take a horse carriage ride and check them out, We lately have been staying at Poly and Boardwalk villas (we’re DVC) but we’ve stayed at most of the DVC resorts (weren’t crazy about the grand, too stuffy and didn’t feel “Disney” to us). We’ve seen people carrying small xmas trees and decorations into their rooms, though we’ve never done that. It’s actually not that crowded at the start of December (Disney’s always a little crowded), the weather is nice (can be cool in evening) and the pools are heated, our kids still swim. It’s a beautiful time to visit. Have fun!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Oh and I wanted to add that candlelight processional is beautiful and if you want to go it’s best to get the dinner package to assure you get a seat to see it

 

[PCFriar80]

I'll start by saying December trips are my second favorite after our Food & Wine trips in October. Weather is unpredictable for Florida and last year it was warmer for our December trip [12/1 - 12/8] than for our October trip
[10/19 - 10/27]. We're headed back 11/30 - 12/7. The Christmas decorations at the resorts and parks are always great. The Christmas background [area] music is what really affects me! Just a constant holiday flow wherever you are. We're primarily Epcot folks so enjoy all of the food and drink specialties they offer during this time, not to mention the Candlelight Processional.

Enough about me! Check the weather ahead of time and pack accordingly. It does get cool at night and can be breezy. I guarantee you'll have warm pool days, but have no credentials to back up that guarantee. Check out other resort decorations and have fun!

 

[RoyandWalt]

We went the first week and a half after Thanksgiving the past 2 years and loved it. Every day was around 80, but as others have noted, it isn’t predictable. Going right after the Thanksgiving rush and before the Christmas rush was perfect.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Anyway, I'm really hoping to hear about those December trips! Where did you stay, eat, what holiday-related events/attractions did you enjoy, how did you structure your days?

Love going in early December! EPCOT is my absolute favorite during the holidays. I love all the holiday food booths, the storytellers and especially Candlelight Processional (we aren’t a religious family and still really enjoy it).
At MK we usually go on a party day, crowds are a lot lower those days and we try to sneak in a dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern for a “holiday meal”. Make sure to visit all the resort lobbies to see the decor and gingerbread displays.
At AK the merry menagerie animals are very cute and the Tree of Life at night is amazing.
HS has great decorations like a PP said and we’ve gotten some really good holiday treats there over the years too. It’s a great time to go!

 

[rhenkt]

I’ll go the opposite way and say December isn’t my favorite time.

While all the holiday festivities and decorations are nice, I feel like it makes everything a bit “one note.” It’s sort of the same holiday sights and sounds everywhere, whether you’re on Main Street, or in a resort lobby, or in Toy Story Land. You lose some of the brilliant variations that make WDW so special.

Don’t get me wrong it’s still wonderful…but I’d rather go during “standard” times with no decorations.

 

[Melissa622]

My family and I went during the Christmas season two years ago and loved it so much we're going back again this year. I definitely recommend going to a Christmas party. It was one of my favorite things I've ever done at Disney. The weather was a mix of everything. The mornings were cold, but most days it got warm enough by the afternoon/evening to swim. Nighttime was usually freezing though. We're from Buffalo, so we're used to the cold, but we ended up having to buy extra hoodies and jackets beyond what we already brought with us for extra layers.

 

[Tk0021]

We did Christmas week 2022. We arrived Christmas Eve and Christmas Day along with the the first three days of our trip were freezing. 30° in the morning. We wore winter hats, two hoodies and a shirt underneath because we didn’t bring winter coats. We also had hand warmers with us. By the end of the week it was 80°. So, be flexible.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I’ll go the opposite way and say December isn’t my favorite time.

While all the holiday festivities and decorations are nice, I feel like it makes everything a bit “one note.” It’s sort of the same holiday sights and sounds everywhere, whether you’re on Main Street, or in a resort lobby, or in Toy Story Land. You lose some of the brilliant variations that make WDW so special.

Don’t get me wrong it’s still wonderful…but I’d rather go during “standard” times with no decorations.

I definitely get where you're coming from. I'm honestly SO excited to do all the Christmas stuff (and my husband is a Christmas fanatic, so this is a dream come true for him), but I also thinking it might be a one-and-done as far as the time of year. I love going in May, I love getting the pool time in, and I don't foresee that changing. But I'm really excited to have a Disney experience I haven't had yet.

Oh and I wanted to add that candlelight processional is beautiful and if you want to go it’s best to get the dinner package to assure you get a seat to see it

About how long would you say the candlelight processional is? I've been debating whether we should do this, considering we have little kids with limited attention spans.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

We did Christmas week 2022. We arrived Christmas Eve and Christmas Day along with the the first three days of our trip were freezing. 30° in the morning. We wore winter hats, two hoodies and a shirt underneath because we didn’t bring winter coats. We also had hand warmers with us. By the end of the week it was 80°. So, be flexible.

I have a friend who did a trip in January and had 30 degree weather like that. We're the first week of December so I'm crossing my fingers it's a little milder!!!

 

[loves to dive]

I've been the week before Christmas many times and the weather has been a mix bag. Some years we had to wear jackets and scarves and gloves, some years it was t-shirts and shorts. Some years it's rained, some years sunny and pretty. We will actually be going the week of Dec. 4 this year (if I get off my rear and actually book a resort) so I'm thinking it will still be slightly warm. Keep in mind, we are from Georgia so if it gets below 70 its cold.

The decorations are different at all the parks and we love to resort hop and look at the decorations at the resorts as well. Don't rule out the moderate and value resorts for decorations, they might surprise you.

The park hours will be shorter because of the time of year so keep that in mind. We have never done the party at MK, I'm cheap and can't see paying extra just for a different fireworks show, parade and stage show. But, we do go to MK on the party day since it does tend to be less crowded.

I've stopped to see the candle light processional but it isn't my thing so I only stayed like 5 min. Not sure it would keep the attention of the kids, it depends on how little they are. It's basically a reading of the bible with choir thrown in between.
The story tellers at Epcot are fun and the puppets at AK are fantastic.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I definitely get where you're coming from. I'm honestly SO excited to do all the Christmas stuff (and my husband is a Christmas fanatic, so this is a dream come true for him), but I also thinking it might be a one-and-done as far as the time of year. I love going in May, I love getting the pool time in, and I don't foresee that changing. But I'm really excited to have a Disney experience I haven't had yet.



About how long would you say the candlelight processional is? I've been debating whether we should do this, considering we have little kids with limited attention spans.

The processional is not that long, less than an hour

 

[TaraS29]

I’ll go the opposite way and say December isn’t my favorite time.

While all the holiday festivities and decorations are nice, I feel like it makes everything a bit “one note.” It’s sort of the same holiday sights and sounds everywhere, whether you’re on Main Street, or in a resort lobby, or in Toy Story Land. You lose some of the brilliant variations that make WDW so special.

Don’t get me wrong it’s still wonderful…but I’d rather go during “standard” times with no decorations.

That’s interesting, I felt a bit like that about Halloween.

We’ve got our first Christmas trip this year so I’m really enjoying everyone sharing their experiences.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

That’s interesting, I felt a bit like that about Halloween.

We’ve got our first Christmas trip this year so I’m really enjoying everyone sharing their experiences.

I think I'm feeling excited about holiday-time trips in general lately. We've been doing early May for years now, so I think the novelty of different decorations and events is exciting. If we do Disney again in 2024 I"m hoping it will be during Food & Wine (which I've never done) and Halloween (which we haven't done in a decade now), or maybe go in a different direction and go out to Disneyland,

 

[TaraS29]

I think I'm feeling excited about holiday-time trips in general lately. We've been doing early May for years now, so I think the novelty of different decorations and events is exciting. If we do Disney again in 2024 I"m hoping it will be during Food & Wine (which I've never done) and Halloween (which we haven't done in a decade now), or maybe go in a different direction and go out to Disneyland,

We did late May last year and loved the flower and garden topiaries. We did really enjoy Halloween and the party, but I think flower and garden decorations edge it for me.

I totally agree about the novelty being exciting. Plus I absolutely love Christmas so that combined with Disney is my dream!