Best time to go in December?

[KTSMOM]

My DH wants to plan a Christmas December visit to DW this year. Does anyone know a good time to go that's not real crowded..or is it crowded no matter what time you go in Dec?
TIA

 

[Shells9]

The earlier the better.

Also, if you're there the first weekend or so, you might have the opportunity to see the taping of the Christmas parade.

 

[Bob P]

December crowds are quite manageable until you get to the weekend before Christmas!

Enjoy,

Bob

 

[MICKEEP]

Actually we found the week before Christmas quite empty. We were just there from 12/17 thru 12/26 and never experienced any crowds or long waits until Christmas morning in the MK. We left MK and went to MGM in the evening on Christmas and found that park was uncrowded. We went to the late Fantasmic show on Christmas night and the stadium was only 1/3 filled.

The advantage to going the week before Christmas is that all the parades and shows that are only available at the MVMCP can now be seen by everyone.

 

[greg126]

I'd stay clear of the weekends if possible....

 

[dinky]

I've made 6 trips in Dec since 2000. Three of them were the first week in Dec. and two were the 2nd week. Neither time was crowded, except for Saturdays. The parde is usually taped the first Sat in Dec at MK, and it is very crowded, but fun to watch. December is a wonderful time to go- it's beautiful and so festive!

 

[fwm]

Actually we found the week before Christmas quite empty. We were just there from 12/17 thru 12/26 and never experienced any crowds or long waits until Christmas morning in the MK. We left MK and went to MGM in the evening on Christmas and found that park was uncrowded. We went to the late Fantasmic show on Christmas night and the stadium was only 1/3 filled.

Apparently we must have visited different parks. We were there 12/18-23 and the parks were crowded all week. Other than with Fastpass or EMH the waits were quite long.

 

[HollyJoy]

We went the first week of December in 2004, and it was AWESOME! The weather was great, and the crowds were very low. (with the exception of the MK that first weekend -- they were filming the Christmas Parade). We liked it so much, we are going again Dec. 2-9 2006!

 

[MICKEEP]

Apparently we must have visited different parks. We were there 12/18-23 and the parks were crowded all week. Other than with Fastpass or EMH the waits were quite long.

Sorry to hear that. We pretty much followed the unofficial guides best days to go to which park and we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything all week. And we did all our favorites like the mountains, HM, ToT, R&R, Soarin, TT a couple of times each.

 

[kellyg403]

We went for the first time 12/15-12/23 and we thought the crowd level was great, really manageable. We had expected far worse. We just took the advice and did alot of the rides during parades and chose parks that were not having evening EMH and the kids were able to ride the big attractions sometimes 2-3 times in a row. We went to Epcot(EMH park)for our ADR at GG at 2 pm on 12/18 and the wait time for Soarin' was 200 minutes with no fast passes left, but AK, where we had just came from, had very little crowds. We did Kali River Rapids like 3 times in a row within 45 minutes I think. The longest wait was at Primevil Whirl which was like 15-20 minutes. We even did MVMCP on the 18th, rode all the rides during the first parade and had no waits. The girls were the first ones on Space Mountain and we didn't make to MK until almost 7. You couldn't walk anywhere near Main Street, but the rest of the park was empty.(Well, our version anyway!) Then we stopped for the 2nd Parade and quite literally had a pick of where to sit to watch, virtually empty. So, I think it has alot to do with planning and listening to sound advice! Besides, what was not crowded to us may seem very crowded to someone else.

Kelly

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We were there the 17th-26th and I didn't think the crowds were too bad. I've been in June and seen bigger crowds. We went to MVMCP on the 18th. We were at MGM on the 19th, Epcot on the 20th and 24th, and MK on the 22nd and 23rd. On the days we went to the parks, we were there at opening and pretty much walked on most of the rides or had a 5-15 minute wait. We only waited 20 minutes for Soarin' (stand-by), and for everything else, we used fastpass. I did notice the crowd building on Christmas eve in Epcot. We did not go to the parks on Christmas day, however, we did have an ADR at 1900 Park Fare, so we had to take the bus to MK and then hop the monorail. We were so glad that we were not going in MK because the lines trying to get in were HUGE! I was expecting a much larger crowd and longer waits all week, but was pleasantly surprised.

 

[gibbscmc]

DO NOT GO once schools are NEARING their break, (probably the 16th and on)..... IT WILL BE HORRIBLE. We went Dec. 1-9, 2003 and it was PERFECT. We left COLD Georgia weather and were wearing shorts, short sleeves (with a jacket in the evening). We enjoyed all of the Christmas shows, decorations, parades, etc and didn't wait in line for anything at all. We spent one entire day visiting different Disney resorts and taking in all of the decorations. Wilderness Lodge and the Beach Club have my favorite decorations.

 

[micksterlee]

we were there the 17th -24th and I thought the crowds were pretty heavy. We stayed at Pop and evry day the food court seemed packed.On days we didn t get to the park at opening the lines had already grown pretty long by 11 am.We had a great time but we usually go the first week of June and in my opinion the crowds seem smaller the only problem in June is the heat.

 

[TDS373X]

we were there this past Dec 10 thru 15 ...we got there the day most of the Pop Warner folks were leaving so our wait times were minimal but by WEd night(12/14) we noticed more people and by noon on the 15th it was VERY noticable that there were more people. During our visit we could ride 2x in a row without even getting off if we wanted on some rides. I thought it perfect

 

[hockey mom]

We were there from Dec. 10th to 17th and it was great time to go. We waited at the most 10 minutes for the really popular attractions. Everything else we walked right on.