Christmas and New Years 2015 advice needed

[jessie31383]

We just returned from our first WDW trip and we fell in love! Our biggest regret was the lack of time. We were there Mon through Sat morning and just wished we had more time. We decided we want to go back for Christmas and New Years 2015. That is the easiest time of year for us to get away with our work schedules. We will arrive late on the 23rd and go home on the 2nd. We are hoping that they will offer free dining through the 23rd again to be able to take advantage of that. We are planning at staying at Wilderness lodge as my research says that is the best Christmas location. Do you agree? I see that a lot of people say the crowds are insane at Christmas where as other people say it is the best time of year to go. We will have a 12 and 11 year old with us. We generally don't mind crowds but I do despise being pushed. Our main goal is to see everything. We did most of the rides this trip so it is not a major goal this next trip. Of course we will ride some but it will not be our main focus. We just want the Christmas atmosphere and decorations.
Do you have any advice or tips? Has anyone been during this timeframe and say it is not a good idea? This will be the most expensive trip we have ever taken and the first time traveling during Christmas so I want to make sure it is a good idea and worth the money. Also does anyone know if we can ship gifts to the resort in advance? I tried google but can't find the answer. Thanks for you advice and stories!!

 

[bastos]

Like in six months trip - or 18 months trip?

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Two things:

First: Christmas is the busiest time at Disney. I say this not to discourage you from going, but to impose upon you the need to plan and be prepared for crazy, wall-wall crowds. Preparation is key here. You will need ADRs if you want to sit down to eat, you will have to utilize P+ and Rope Drop.

Second: Wilderness Lodge is currently expecting to be undergoing pool closure and refurb. You may want to take that into consideration if it is important to you, some people are not happy about it being under construction. Now, while the closure is slated to be completed prior to your trip, it is important to note that setbacks do occur and it is a possibility they will not be completed on time.

 

[wickersham]

We spent new year's 2014 at WDW (Dec 29-Jan 3) and had fun but would not go again at this time of year. The weather wasn't ideal with several long periods of rain on multiple days. The decorations are lovely and the lights at DHS are terrific. We also enjoyed the New Year's Eve party there. I would not go again at this time, however, for other reasons--it was so crowded and the parks all were open so many hours that most of the special rope drop shows were absent, we had fewer magical experiences of receiving an extra FP, being selected for something special, or other small things that usually make WDW so wonderful for us. It was as if the cast members were just trying to manage crowds and keep people moving. There were also MANY ride closures for technical issues that I suspect was related to the parks being open so many hours each day. Space Mountain seemed to be closed most of the times we were at MK.

Our favorite holiday time was several years ago when we missed the last day of school before the break and were there Dec. 16-23. The decorations were up and the crowds were nearly nonexistent until the final day or two. Spring break is also nearly perfect as the crowds are manageable and the weather is gorgeous!

It is more challenging as our kids have gotten older (high school and college) and vacation schedules are all different. We are contemplating an early June 2015 trip. Keeping my fingers crossed! Any day at WDW is really pretty awesome!

 

[NinaBella]

I have never stayed at WL but have visited in (resort hopping) one trip. It is a nice resort. Also, consider Gaylord Palms and ICE! It has an amazing resort for Christmas. It is off property but perhaps a consideration for a split stay.

Extremely unlikely they have free dining over the busiest time of year. Free dining is usually offered during the low season.

Fort Wilderness Cabins is also another favorite place to stay for the holidays.

 

[jjsmouse]

We are long time Disney folks and have been to the world many times but never during the week of Christmas/new years. We will also be staying at the Wilderness Lodge. We usually do the spring/fall break times when things are not so busy. We have been before just after Thanksgiving when most of the decorations etc. were up but that was years ago and we would like to see it once during the season.

We have developed plans/strategies over the years but with the park "full" there are some things that we don't know that we are interested in. Typically we like to go to a given park in the morning until noon or so, go back to the hotel and rest for a bit and then return for the late afternoon/early evening until closing. DisBoards description of Christmas events period seems to indicate that you need to stay in the park for the whole day for New Years Eve day. Mmmm....

During the Christmas through New Years week do all the parks run at capacity so just on New Years Eve Day?

If the parks are full but your staying at a property hotel we hear that they will get you in somewhere? How does that work?

If a park is at capacity do they run a waiting line that allows folks to enter as others folks leave? (realize the wait might be awhile...)

Certainly ADR is necessary (usually is) and we will do that but we are interested in the experiences of others.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

During the Christmas through New Years week do all the parks run at capacity so just on New Years Eve Day?

This is the busiest time in the entire year. I would expect all of the parks to be near capacity.

If the parks are full but your staying at a property hotel we hear that they will get you in somewhere? How does that work?

Sometimes... there are stages of closure. Usually MK is the one affected by this. If you are staying on property you are promised by Disney access to a park, that doesn't mean any park!

When closure is necessary, Disney will begin by turning away day guests and offsite visitors and those without tickets. Then, if the park continues to fill to capacity they will close entry to onsite guests as well.

So the answer is: sort of... you can be denied entry to a specific park (usually MK) but they will offer you entry into another park (at Disney's discretion)

If a park is at capacity do they run a waiting line that allows folks to enter as others folks leave? (realize the wait might be awhile...)

Sort of. This is again with what I mentioned above. They shut the ticket booths and the parking booths typically. Then they will wait till a few hundred guests leave before letting a few hundred enter... Its not like they let a person enter as soon as one leaves.

Certainly ADR is necessary

Yep

 

[jessie31383]

We are going in 18 months. The actual pricing is not out yet but travel agent says it will be in the next month or so. As far as the free dining they are actually running it THIS year through the 23rd so we are hoping the same will happen next year. As far as rain is there ever a time it does not rain? It rained every day we were there last week and rained all day for 2 of those days. We didn't mind as we put on our ponchos and just kept going but may feel different if it is cold outside as far as the pool I think the renovation would be done before next year but did not even consider using it at Christmas time. Is it really that warm that people still swim in December? We love in Texas so we are used to warm weather but not swimming in December. Are most of the shows and parades cancelled or just rope dropping? We actually never went to rope dropping last week so I haven't seen any of those shows.

 

[eyehartdisney]

During this time of year Disney replaces the afternoon parade with the christmas parade, and it snows on mainstreet, which is awesome. I haven't seen them cancel ropedrop shows, but they did move them back by 20 minutes, so perhaps PP just missed them. So to see the rope drop show, you need to arrive no later than 40 minutes before the park opens. (I might get flamed on this one, but the rope drop show is overrated. It's cute, I'd see it once, but it's not a must do.)

 

[NinaBella]

I would suggest skipping the parks on December 25th. I would instead plan on going to Ice at Gaylord or if I was staying in a cabin, I would plan to do things around the campground that day.

I guess it's just me but I don't think it's worth going into the parks on the 25th.

 

[insectreflection]

Extremely unlikely they have free dining over the busiest time of year. Free dining is usually offered during the low season.

I'm going this Christmas and I have free dining. I caught the tail end of it - as long as the first day of your vacation started by the 22nd, you could get it for the entirety of your stay. We're going 21st-28th. We do a lot of table service, signatures/shows, and character meals/buffets, no way we could make this trip without free dining.