Calling all those who spent Xmas at WDW!!

[Debs Hill]

Hi guys! Would love to hear from anyone who has spent Xmas Eve/day at WDW.....what did you do? Would you do anything differently? What is the weather like? The crowds? Where did you eat!!
Trying to plan next year!
Debsxx

 

[GRUMPY D]

we spent Christmas of 07 in Disney and on Christmas day after we opened gifts that Santa Bright we rented a car and went to the beach ( cocoa beach about a 45 min to 1 h drive ) it was a nice brake from the crowds there was about 6 other families there and we let the kids play in the sand ,swim in the ocean , and collect seashells then had a picnic lunch / dinner ( warring do not throw bread at the birds they will attack you ) then that night we spent it at down town at Disney quest

 

[peppermintpea]

Hi...we just got back and I have to say I will never do it again. VERY disappointed! The crowds were horrible (and we have been during summer and spring break) lines for rides extremely long (180 min for test track!! and it was running at full speed) FP gone or for really late in the evening, nasty CM's who have no magic in them. Rude people in the parks out for themselves and no manners at all.
The good things were.....wonderful dinners at Cape May, Yachtsman, and lunch at Liberty Tree Breakfast at Boma out of this world! Weather was beautiful! And one special CM at Epcot who helped us with a situation....she was/is the true epitome of Disney.
We go to Disney all the time and this was our worst experience/letdown of all the 20 trips.....

 

[writersstop]

We just got back christmas eve and had a great time! Of course, it was crowded.. but if you have a plan and you know what days to go to what parks, it is not bad. The last night we were there we stayed at HS until 9:30 with hardly any crowds, we hung out at the Osborne lights with hardly any crowd. The CM's were great, we did not run into any rudeness... the CM's were dancing and singing at HS that last night,,, it was fun to watch and we will not forget this xmas trip...

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

I've done Disney several times at Christmas and LOVED it! Yes, it is insanely crowded and I usually spend more time at the resort than at the parks at that time. BUT the key is advance PREPARATION! Knowing where you are going and when you are going to do it is a must. We usually spend our time checking out the shows and other attractions we'd skip on a normal trip and if we don't get Fastpasses for an attraction, we just go back during EMH for those.

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

We enjoyoed our 2007 WDW vacation during the Christmas holidays due to good trip planning. We used Tour Guide Mike to pick which parks to attend on which days. Basically our schedule was as follows and it worked very well:

1. ALWAYS arrived 30' early at the park of choice.
2. Left the park after lunch. Returned in the evening for dinner and rides.
3. Hit MK on Christmas Eve. Got there at 6:30 AM for a 7:00 start. It was awesome. Went back to the hotel after lunch and enjoyed a good nap. Returned after dinner for the fireworks, second parade and rides. Closed out the park. Enjoyed the "snow" while walking down Main Street past midnight early Christmas AM listening to Christmas music and soaking in the atmosphere.
3. Went to AK on Christmas Day.
4. Visited/toured/shopped outside of WDW from 27 Dec through New Years. Avoided the high tide of humanity. Returned to WDW on 02 January.

I hope this helps!

 

[LaWa]

Just got home today!

I loved our week at WDW. It was our first family trip and my last trip was 30 years ago.

Yes, it was crowded. But we rarely waited for a ride. Why more people don't use FastPass boggles the mind? We rode every ride we wanted to with minimal waits. We arrived at the parks early, got on Space Mountain with no wait. We got lucky with a few rides. Like walking by Dumbo when it was just coming back online. Riding the teacups repeatedly after fireworks.

Christmas Eve we opened the park MK and rode Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain RR within the first hour. Walked around and did some shopping and headed back to the WL for swimming and a nap. Had a nice dinner and went back to the park for Wishes at 10 PM. My daughter and I cried we were both so touched. After that there were no lines in Fantasyland. We ate funnel cakes and watched the final SpectroMagic parade. Walked down Main Street to falling snow and Christmas carols. IT was very magical.

Christmas Day we had breakfast with Mickey at Chef Mickey's. (Don't recommend the 8:00 AM ADR, but the lines after we left were long for tables. Actually we didn't care for Chef Mickey's much at all.) Then we went to see family in Tampa. The boats going to MK were the busiest we saw them all week.

Lots of fun. Lots of holiday atmosphere. Lots of people. But everyone was in a good mood. CMs were really nice.

 

[toodycat]

We are booked for 12/26-31 2010 at the Wilderness Lodge. If anyone has any other tips or comments about the best ways to navigate crowds and strategize parks, please let me know. We usually travel during late August when the parks are less crowded.

 

[dreaming-of-disney]

we spent Christmas of 07 in Disney and on Christmas day after we opened gifts that Santa Bright we rented a car and went to the beach ( cocoa beach about a 45 min to 1 h drive ) it was a nice brake from the crowds there was about 6 other families there and we let the kids play in the sand ,swim in the ocean , and collect seashells then had a picnic lunch / dinner ( warring do not throw bread at the birds they will attack you ) then that night we spent it at down town at Disney quest

Was the ocean warm enough to swim in?

 

[GRUMPY D]

Was the ocean warm enough to swim in?

yes it was warm , Ill say the water was about 70 degrees and we even saw some people surfboarding , just watch for the jelly fish ( a cm told us as he gave us directions )they come in close to the shore that time of the year

 

[Tam1067]

We stayed at the Grand Floridian from 12/19-12/28. It was our best wdw trip
ever! By getting to the parks early and using the UG touring plans, we were able to do everything we wanted multiple times with no waits longer than 30 minutes. This includes Space Mountain 4 times on 12/24 and Test Track 4x and soarin' 2x on 12/25. If you know what you're doing and plan well, you can have an amazing time. We will be there in 2010 for Xmas too!

 

[Vickis3js]

We've spent the last 2 Christmas's at WDW and we LOVE it. We will be going back in 2010 as well. Like most others said its all about planning. Getting there early, leaving for breaks, and going back late if you want. Our first year we did the parks and we were able to see evrything we wanted and ride the rides my kids loved over and over and over again. One day we rode TSM 5 times!

Christmas day we stay away from the parks until late. This year we didn't go to them at all. Instead we plan an adventure for the kids and thats what Santa brings them for their gift. Last year it was BBB at DTD and this year a Pirate Adventure Cruise at YC. Next year Santa has no clue LOL.

All the CMs were amazing where ever we were, especially at our resort. People were generally nice and pleasant. There is always a few that are the exact opposite but thats anywhere anytime of the year.

I say go for it and enjoy!

 

[WDWisOurHappyPlace]

I'll give you a couple of links to pictures that I posted when we got back from our Christmas trip:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2358156

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2359376

Christmas at Disneyworld is great, if you go prepared for the crowds and the weather.