Christmas 2016

[disneygolfer1985]

We were there during Christmas Week in 2014 and it was amazing.... and busy.

Christmas Eve gets packed closer to the evening and Christmas Day is pretty full at MK and EPCOT. It took us 90 minutes to get from Animal Kingdom Lodge to EPCOT on Christmas morning -- so when you make your plans:

1. Choose Animal Kingdom on Christmas Day or get to EPCOT super early on Christmas morning. I wouldn't try Magic Kingdom - it'll be full super fast.
2. Stay on property but choose a hotel that's centrally located to most of the parks.
3. Plan your days so that you do more of the busier parks further away from Christmas. If you're there the 21-28, try to do MK as close to the beginning as possible - or the day after Christmas and further out in your trip to departure day.
4. Make your Fast Pass reservations for LATER in the day - not in the morning. Same goes for ADRs, do lunch. That way if you do get delayed you're not penalized. (We missed Test Track FP+ by 5 minutes due to the 90 minute bus ride to EPCOT).

I definitely like option 1 and 2. Also, definitely stay away from MK closer to and after Christmas. It is amazing how much you get done on Christmas or Thanksgiving Day at AK. I do think staying around Epcot is a great choice because you can walk to 2 parks, so you aren't dependent on transportation. It can get very packed on the buses and make some late. Since it is busy, it will feel more relaxing if you can wake-up and walk to a few parks.

 

[hjvigz72]

I can't even begin to express my excitement while reading through this thread. I was originally looking at booking the first week in December because I knew it wouldn't be nearly as crowded, but I just can't justify taking my daughter out of school. Our son is graduating from college a year early in May and this will not only be our 10 year "family reunion" trip at Christmas time, but a chance to extend our Christmas Magic for another week as well as a gift to him and the family.

I'm so overwhelmed though. We're booked for the Cabins at FW which I'm a little nervous about. The size of that property is pretty scary to me! (Reserved a golf cart ) Between the size of the resort, Christmas time and it being vacation week for basically the entire U.S., I feel like I've signed up for something I'm not quite ready for, but having visited a few times prior, I think I've got this!

I must admit that although I'm slightly intimidated by the thought of the crowds, the youngest in our group at the time of our vacation will be 11, and I think we will more than likely be spending the least amount of our time at MK so we may be in a better position. AND, I understand there's tons to do at FW, so I think we're good.

Counting the days!

 

[larryz]

Need to ask....and want as many opinions as possible!!

We have been to Disney over 10 times with our now grown children-going mostly in the summer due to my teaching schedule. Our DD will be turning 21 this fall and wants to celebrate at Disney over Christmas week. Yikes! As much as I would love to see Disney at Christmas....is it really as terrible with crowds etc as we have heard? People told us about ---Parks being shut down, wall to wall people, no way to get into food areas?

Would you go or not???

I would go, but only as long as everyone agreed that it's a family Christmas trip, not a trip to WDW for Christmas.

What I'm saying is that you should expect to get all your enjoyment from being together at WDW, not relying on WDW to keep you entertained.