Best Time in November or December?

[thumbyskates]

Trying to figure out our next Disney trip. It'll be our second trip as a family (me, hubby, plus two girls who will be almost 7 and 3), and my fifth time personally. Never been at Christmas, and I've heard it's just magical! My daughter turns 7 December 11th.

Suggestions or thoughts for this time of year? Not a big fan of Halloween to tie it back into October - definitely love all things Christmas. We're open to any time really in November or December, except maybe those last two weeks before Christmas.

Would swimming be completely out? Thoughts?

 

[scrapshappen]

The weather can be anything that time of year. From warm enough to swim to cold enough that you need a winter coat (although I would say they are both unusual.) All year round, there is a tradeoff between crowds and shorter hours. We went the week after Thanksgiving in 2012 and found the crowds to be manageable, but since we are rope drop people, we hated the 10 am openings since everyone can be there for a 10 am opening (and even a 9 an EMH). But I agree that Christmas time is the best time to visit the parks.

 

[figment_jii]

For the last few years, the official start to the Holidays in DLR has been somewhere around Veteran's Day in mid-November. You can check out the Christmas/Holiday SuperThread to get a sense of the dates from 2014 (and earlier). The official start is when most things will be up and running, although some things will start earlier and others will start later. For 2015, it is already known that Believe...In Holiday Magic fireworks will not be presented (Disneyland Forever, the new show for the 60th, will be presented instead), but it's not known if the Christmas Parade and/or WoC Winter Dreams will be presented.

In terms of crowds, the holidays are popular, so there aren't really any times when the parks will be empty once the Holiday-season starts. There are several events that also impact crowds (e.g., the Avengers Marathon (11/12-15), Candlelight Processional (probably 12/5-6), etc.). Expect all weekends to be busy, especially the last one before the AP blockouts go in effect (December 12/13). My general sense is that from the start through the week before Thanksgiving tend to be pretty manageable. Early December is also pretty good, but crowds do pick up as December moves along. I would look to go either the full week before Thanksgiving or during the first two weeks in December, but expect that the crowds will still be there and things will not be walk-on.