Christmas 2008 At Disney World

[salvato03]

I have two beautiful little girls ages 4 & 5. I want to take them to Disney for Christmas Dec. 24th-31st. My mother is driving me crazy telling me I am going to waist alot of money its going to be to busy and the girls are not going to enjoy themselves ect. I am looking for advice from the Disney experts could help me out I would appreciate it. Maybe I should wait until they get older or a better time. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for your help

Amy

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

I think their ages are fine. My girls were 3 and 4 when we went over Thanksgiving 2007. Their ages were not the reason that we will never travel during a holiday again....It was the crowds. We were there Thanksgiving week and they were VERY crowded. The parks, the resorts, the buses (standing room only everyday), restaurants, ect. The Christmas decor was up when were were there and it was beautiful. Seeing the Castle lit with the lights was the highlight of my trip. It is absolutely breathtaking. I think ewveryone should see Disney decorated for Christmas once in their life b/c it is so beautiful, but just keep in mind that a lot of people are doing the same. Go in prepared and try not to get stressed out. If it is too crowded and they are cranky head back to the resort for a rest and go back in the evening when all the lights are on. Your girls will be amazed! Your daughters are the perfect age for a lot of things, mine absolutely loved the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

Good luck! I'm sure whenever you decide to go, you will have a great time

 

[Jakesmom504]

We went on our honeymoon, Dec 17-23, 2000 and if I wasn't in school I would go back during Christmas in heartbeat!!! It was sooo nice, not crowded at all (except for the last day, it was a mob scene). EVERYTHING is decorated for Christmas, Scrooge wouldn't even be able to fight the Christmas spirit! I think your kids are a perfect age. My DS will be 4 in May and he doesn't know we are planning a trip for Aug 30...it's going to be his big bday gift. He has been begging for months to go so I keep telling him when we have enough money from Ebay we can go. Well, he's been bringing me his toys etc and tells me "Mommy, sell these on Ebay so we can go to Dizzy Wurld!" It's really cute. We give him an allowance for doing his "chores" and helping around the house and every week he puts his money into his bank and tells me it's for Disney. I can't wait to tell him, not to mention I can't wait to see the look on his face when we get there. I think I will be a sobbing fool!
You know your kids, if you think they will have a great time then I'm sure they will! Especially if they are the least bit interested in Disney! It might help to get them involved in planning also. Good Luck!

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Heres my two cents - Go just before Christmas! Your girls are young enough that if they miss a little but of school (for the 5 year old) it wont be a huge deal, and its much cheaper, and much less crouded (value dates end 12/18 I believe). My girls will be 2 and almost 4 when we go, and we will be there 12/9-12/16. Think of it - your girls will get two great things, Disney Christmas and then Home Christmas.

 

[Perditamarie]

Sounds like your mom will miss you over Christmas!! Have the best of both worlds and go the first or second week of Dec. It is beautiful, Christmasy with all the great Christmas entertainment and you won't have to fight any holiday crowds and then go home and enjoy your regular Christmas traditions.

 

[AlyLynn]

We will be at Disney for Christmas for the first time this year with our 4 kids, ages 2-13. We went last Thanksgiving, and while it got crowded, the resorts are so decorated, that we stayed away from the parks and had a great time. Our 2 year old has been begging to go back since we left!

 

[Disney1976]

The weeks leading up to Christmas, as others have said, are very nice. You get to see the decorations, and experience some of the special events that Disney offers, like the Candlelight Processional and the Osbourne Lights.

Christmas week, on the other hand, is very busy. Know that the dates you are considering is really a peak time, and crowds will continue to grow that entire week leading up to New Year's. Even with a lot of advanced planning, I think it could be a very tough trip just because of the large crowds and the fact you are traveling with younger children.

If you were able to go a little earlier, I think everyone could enjoy themselves a little more.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Don't forget that alot of times during that week parks reach capacity and close. You may not even be able to get into the park. I would take them a different week. JMHO.

 

[3littleHalls]

I agree with the "go before Christmas" crowd. We went the begining of Dec '07 in anticipation of low crowds but Disney at Christmas. We had never been for Christmas and were fearful of how bad the crowds could get. The parks and resorts were wonderfully decorated, loved MVMCP, the weather was anywhere from 70-80s. Downtown Disney was like a zoo. Very crowded, lines rediculously long, and hard to find what you were looking for. Kind of like TRU the day after THanksgiving. I just think that since my kids are around those ages, they were happier getting to ride rides(not wait for them) and be more laid back. When we got back home they were geared up for Christmas!! BTW, I think your girls are the perfect age to go to WDW!!

 

[mareed]

Heres my two cents - Go just before Christmas! Your girls are young enough that if they miss a little but of school (for the 5 year old) it wont be a huge deal, and its much cheaper, and much less crouded (value dates end 12/18 I believe).

This is my sentiments exactly! We're stuck with school schedules now, but my oldest is in 6th grade at a gifted/talented magnet school, and there's just no way he could miss more than 1 day for a trip. When he was in kindergarten though, we pulled him out for an entire week with no problem, and did 2-3 days before/after school holidays frequently through 5th grade (basically elementary).

 

[KatieH]

Having the kids in school does not always make it easy to go on the less crowed times of the year. My family went from December 21st to 27th last year. We loved it so much that we are going again from the 21st to 29th this year and bringing the grand parents this time.

There are tricks, admittedly we have not been in the low seasons so I can’t compare, but we did not find it overwhelming. Before we went I was very nervous, looking up kid leashed, family GPS’s and ordering everyone the same colored T-shirt with their name on it. However when we got there it was no big deal, the trick is to Zig while everyone Zags, my kids were 2 and 6 and they LOVED it,

My biggest tip is this, eat breakfast in the room, get to the park early and take advantage of your morning magic hours. Head straight to Fantasy Land it will be pretty empty, go on rides. Go up through Mickey’s Toontown fair, look through but don’t bother waiting to see Mickey Mouse, take Walt Disney rail road back to main street get off eat at the Crystal Palace (call ahead and make reservations for about 1:00pm) and get your character fix. By the time you get out of the restaurant the streets will be packed, but that is ok because you have already done what you wanted to do, leave the park go back to the hotel and take a nap or swim whatever. At 6:00pm head back to the park when everyone else is tired and hungry and wanting to go home.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

That is the absolute busiest time of the year. We like to go from around the 19th to the 27th. Only Christmas afternoon and the two days following are crazy busy. Before that, the parks are very slow. It's a wonderful, magical time of year to visit.

 

[FamilyMcCord]

Hello all

I have been a lurker for sometime now.

My family and I were there during Christmas week 2007, and it was absolutely way beyond busy. We waited at least an hour or more for any ride. You could barely move when you walked. All you could see was people and more people. I have to say that my family and I had a wonderful time because it was what we made it, but I will probably never go back Christmas week again. From what I heard from many of the CMs is that the week prior was practically dead and there was no waiting for anything. Plus you can possibly go to the Mickey's Christmas Party. We were not able to go because the last day was two nights before we arrived.

If you are looking for advice many of the individuals are correct, I would go a week prior to Christmas week.

 

[mom2aredhead]

I have to agree with everyone. Go before Christmas, or in October, or pretty much any time other than Christmas week. We were there 12/12 - 12/18 and it was terrific. But I saw pictures of the crowds the following week...