California in early December?

[Garfieldo]

Hey ya'll! We're making plans for a short trip to Disney this winter. We're looking at somewhere between December 1st and 10th. Now, I realize that since it's the holidays it's bound to be crowded, but we though maybe if we go earlier in the month we might avoid some of the crowds. Is this just wishful thinking?

 

[JohnZ46]

Here's the DLR calendar for Dec 2008:

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/calendar/monthly/monthly?name=CalendarMonthlyPage&date=20081224

The days that Disneyland closes at 8pm should be light crowd days. Weekends will be much busier.

Check out the Disneyland forum for more detailed information regarding hotels, dining, etc.

 

[melancholywings]

Weekdays are wonderful. Weekends are a pure living hell. The crowds are so insane with locals - we were packed in front of the castle so tightly that when the fireworks were canceled we had to walk like a penguin just to move out of the area while CM's were yelling at us to keep moving as we went inch by inch. And we were completely roped off! I think it took us an hour to waddle down mainstreet and get out of there. People were rude, angry, yelling, and pushy. CM's were tired and cranky and took it out on the guests. It almost completely destroyed me on any future Disneytrips.

 

[Garfieldo]

Weekdays are wonderful. Weekends are a pure living hell. The crowds are so insane with locals - we were packed in front of the castle so tightly that when the fireworks were canceled we had to walk like a penguin just to move out of the area while CM's were yelling at us to keep moving as we went inch by inch. And we were completely roped off! I think it took us an hour to waddle down mainstreet and get out of there. People were rude, angry, yelling, and pushy. CM's were tired and cranky and took it out on the guests. It almost completely destroyed me on any future Disneytrips.

Yikes! That's definitely sounds less than magical. Thanks for the warning! Do you know if it would be like that on Fridays, too?

 

[DSNY4ever]

This is my favorite time in the DLR Any weekdays during this time will be perfect. If you have little ones make sure you take them over to Santa's Reindeer Round-up back behind Frontierland. They have little shows and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus and you can decorate cookies (the cookies cost $5, but everything else is free). Have fun!

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Disneyland board.

 

[Jperiod]

This is our favorite time of year to go. Keep in mind, the Candlelight Processional will be the first weekend, 6 & 7, and in our experience, the park is a MADHOUSE. Fridays also seem to be pretty bad for some reason. Mon-Thurs have been fine, Wed & Thurs the best though. Castmember parties are 8 & 9 though, so DL closes early (but opens earlier) and CA stays open late.
We have also been pretty close to Christmas and it didn't seem any different than earlier in the month. We just avoid Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and get along just fine no matter when we go.

 

[melancholywings]

Yikes! That's definitely sounds less than magical. Thanks for the warning! Do you know if it would be like that on Fridays, too?

It was really crowded Friday, but Sat was just plain awful. CA and DTD were also really bad. You couldn't just go do something else to get out of the crush of people - they were everywhere. Like a mosh pit of mickey ears.
If we were to go again I'd arrive Monday and fly back out Friday. You'll miss Fantasmic but it was impossible to see it with that many people, and you'll be able to enjoy everything else the park has to offer. And the sugar cookies are sooo yummy.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

If you plan on going on a couple of weekdays in the beginning of the month, you should be ok (as others have stated above). Sometimes it can rain, and also the Christmas fireworks can be cancelled for winds. Try and do the fireworks on your first day in the park, then if they are cancelled you can try each night after that. (We learned that after missing them one year when wind caused cancellations 3 nights in a row.....). The Christmas fireworks are absolutely lovely.......
Have fun planning and an even better time in the parks!!!!

 

[Garfieldo]

Thanks for the great responses! Hopefully now we'll be able to finalize our plans!

Disneyland + Christmas - Crowds = One heck of a vacation!