Chistmas Day- Oh, what to do??

[mariessas_mom]

Any advice on which park or activity to attend on Christmas Day? Do the parks do any special parades/ activities. This is our 2nd December trip, but the first time we will be there on Christmas Day!

 

[I95 to I4]

We were just there this past Christmas. We stayed for 2 weeks at the Caribbean Beach. (2 connecting rooms with 2 teenagers, only way to go) anyway, we avoided the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day. It was so packed, they stopped letting people in at 10:00am. We went to the Animal Kingdom for the day and then had dinner at Chef Mickeys at the Contemp.

We were there from the 14th until the 29th. The crowds were moderate up until about the 20th and then it was just crazy. Make sure you make PS for everything unless you want the food court for every meal.

Its a great time to go, you just have to have done a lot of planning or you wont get much done because the crowds are so big and not even Fast pass helps. They shut them down at 11:00am because there all sold out.

I will definately go in December again, but I wont be there for the holidays again. If I hadnt had so much time there before the crowds started getting bad, im not sure i would have had that great of time. (Well, its Disney, so you always have a good time, but you know what I mean)

 

[XStAnt]

I don't believe the parks do anyting different from what they do all week long.

However, Christmas Day is one of the busiest days to go to a park. MK often closes by mid-morning (and reopens later in the pm).

What to do on that day often depends on how long you are down there. If you are staying longer than about one week I recommend avoiding all parks that day. Go resort hopping, shopping at DTD, swimming in your resort pool, play mini-golf, go to the petting zoo at Ft. Wilderness, rent a water mouse, etc.

If you're only going to Disney for 4-6 days you may need every day in the parks to try to see as much as possible. Therefore, if you feel you can't afford to take a day off from the parks I recommend going to Epcot. MK is a madhouse. Even if you get there early enough to get in, it is so CROWDED that you will not be able to experience very many rides and attractions. I like Epcot because it is a bigger park and seems to handle the large crowds better than the other parks. Also, it tends to attract fewer kids and Christmas Day at Disney is a major kids day. DW and I went to Epcot on 12/25/02 and were able to get a good bit accomplished that day. Of course, we got there at 8:00 am, stayed until closing, used FP, and had PS already made.

Don't misunderstand, even Epcot will be very crowded on Christmas Day. Make sure you get there before opening and use FP. Spend time in the world showcase in the afternoon when FW gets very crowded. Make PSs for any sit down meals.

Of course, some people like going to MK on Christmas Day for the "magic" and "atmosphere" and to say they were in MK on Christmas Day. I think it's a crazy idea unless you can afford to waste a park day, but to each his own. If you want to go to MK on Christmas just make sure you and everyone in your group understands that you will not be able to do many rides, get good viewing areas for the parades, get to see many characters, etc.

I hope this helpds, and enjoy your vacation.

 

[CamColt]

We just spent our first Christmas in WDW, and it was awesome! This was our day....

We stayed at the Poly, got up and found the bag that Santa left on the door for us. After a quick look at that we were off to the MK. We were able to get the front of the monorail...very magical! While waiting for the park to open we watched the opening morning show. What a great feeling this was knowing where we were on that day! They then let us in the park, but only up to the ropes in the lands. We went to Adventurland. At exactly 8:00 they made the announcement and the ropes dropped. We were able to walk on 4 rides, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion. It was then 9:00 and we were off to the castle for breakfast with the princesses. After breakfast and quick call home(had to call family from the MK), we left the MK. It was maybe 10:15 and the crowds were pouring in now. If we had only had hopper passes I dont think I would have gone to the MK that morning, but since we have APs it was well worth it.

We then resort hopped to check out decorations. We went to POR, took a boat to DTD, then a bus to Pop Century. From there we went mini golfing at Winter/Summerland, and then hopped a bus to CBR. We had our Christmas dinner at the food court here. After that it was back to the Poly to grab our jackets before heading to the Wilderness Lodge. We checked out this resort, grabbed a drink in the lounge, and then took a sleigh ride(Santa conveniently slipped "tickets" to that in the bag earlier this morning).

After the sleigh ride, we checked out the Contemporary and took the monorail back to the Poly, where I took 1 DS to the room to sleep(he crashed on the trip), and DS took our other son to the arcade.

It was a truly great day...but then again, they all were.