Best time to go in December

[kgilchri]

I was curious to find out when the best time to go in December is? FH and I are planning on going for our honeymoon and I'd love to see WDW at Christmas but w/o the stress of all the crowds. Any suggestions?

Thanks and Happy New Year!

 

[marcbelt]

Just don't go between Christmas and New Year. I was just there, and there were a TON of people.

 

[Snoozan]

Some people may not agree with me, but I'd suggest avoiding the week the Pop Warner kids are there. I believe that's like the week of 12/3-12/9 next year. If you're not near one of the budget or mod resorts, you may not notice them much, but the kids can be somewhat loud and rambunctious on the busses and in the parks. I'm the mom to 2 early 20's DS's so I'm used to rowdy behavior at times, but some of these kids don't seem to be well chaperoned.

 

[mickeymom55]

We were in the parks from Dec. 1-6 this year. The crowds were minimal and the weather was amazing. Pop Warner football arrived on the 4th and the only groups we encountered were cheerleaders - well behaved (although they travel in groups and stop randomly in the middle of the street) and not a factor in the crowds. Decorations were up and the MVMCP was offerred - if you wanted to attend. Seemed like a good time to go. Congratulations and best wished!

 

[pugdog]

the closer you get to xmas the busier it gets. This year the weekend of the 17th really started to get busy. But until then it was great. ug:

 

[micksterlee]

We were there this year from Dec 17th thru Dec 24th and to me the crowds seemed pretty heavy. You had to get things done early in the day or the waits got pretty long for some attractions.We usually go in June but this year we decided to do a Christmas trip and even though the crowds were big I think we enjoyed this trip more due to the temperatures and the Christmas decorations.

 

[owtrbnks]

If you want to go in December, I think today is the last day!!!!!!

 

[widget]

If you want to go in December, I think today is the last day!!!!!!

Very funny!!
I was also at Disney 17th - 23rd and it was really busy. Queues for the most popular rides were nearly always 60 mins min rising to 120 for Soarin at certain times in the afternoon. We braved it for 75 minutes (mad!!) on 21st. We also found it hard to get a sit down restaurant booking as we hadnt harkened to the wise words of wisdom on the boards and booked before we went!! Doh!! Will remember for future trip!

 

[dinky]

Christmas at DW is definitely magical!!! I've made 5 trips in early or mid Dec, and I think I would feel like something was missing if I went any other time. This year was Dec 13- 18, and the crowds were not a problem until Sat, the 18th. I would definitely try to go before "value" season turns in to Holday prices. Go any time after the Thanksgiving crowd is gone and before the Christmas crowd comes in.

 

[paladin]

We have gone several times in December and it is indeed a wonderful time to go. Our most recent trip was just this month - we were there from the 4th to the 17th and it was great.

 

[jwfla422]

We usually go the first week of December but this year I decided to push it more towards the middle so dd didn't miss much school. We went from the 15th - 21st. Wouldn't go back that time again, too crowded for me. The first 2 days were ok but by the weekend it was just crazy. I've found the first week of December to be very comfortable crowd-wise and that's when we'll go back next year.

 

[TAKitty]

We were there Dec 8-12 and I never saw a PoP Warner group. In fact, we saw many adults touring then. Wait times were at most 20 minutes for the "big" attractions. We easily saw most of the magic kingdom in a half day of touring! My husband only wants to go back now during this slow period.

 

[carol-lamb]

We were there the 7th thru the 12th and it was more crowded that I thought it would be, but way better than in the summer when we usually go! I would definitely go again in early December.

 

[Marthasor]

We were there this year from Dec. 14 - 18th. As other posters have mentioned, the first few days were great, but the weekend started getting REALLY crowded. If we do it again this year, we will pull the kids out of school for the entire week and go Dec. 9th - 16th to avoid Pop Warner and the influx of Christmas crowds.

We did have a FABULOUS time! Have a great trip!

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

We were there this year December 11-15. We pulled our kids DS13 and DD10 out of school. I didn't think the crowds were bad, but this was our first trip. I was really nervous, I had touring plans for each park, and the list of HAVE TOs. We didn't need any of it. We rode everything that we wanted, most things more than one time and did some things we weren't planning on. My kids kept commenting on the fact there weren't many kids their ages in the parks. We liked it so much we are going back next year the same week.

 

[mjmcca]

I was there from Nov 30-Dec 6 this year, My only compliant is that it was COLD!