Christmas crowds

[mickekmania]

We are going to be spending Christmas 2006 in WDW (Dec. 17-27) and was wondering if you could share your past crowd experiences during Christmas week. In other words, when did the crowds really start to pick up and IYHO will the crowds be okay the first few days we are there?

Thank you

 

[Vavasmon]

We were there the 22 - 29th this year. The crouds were manageble until Christmas day IMHO. It was amazing the difference between the 24th and the 26th. I planned on doing most of the "major" must dos before Christmas and then doing decorations, shows, and characters after the holiday. It worked great.

 

[mickekmania]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate all the help I can get.

Julie

 

[Tink215]

I arrived with My family on X-mas day of this year....We stayed for 6 days and 5 nites at the Pop Century and visited 3 parks with a day inbetween for resting and stuff.....I am a Florida resident and I hate to break it to you Its too much work... The crowds are manageble but only in the early morning, after Noon, it all went down hill and real bad....I absolutely love WDW but will never visit at this week again.......I was with my two young dd's and my older one actually got pushed to the floor along with half of me because some very rude mother wanted to push her very tall son infront of my very petite little girl......I rather go when I can really enjoy it......The Resort was also very crowded especially during those morning hours and then dinner, we actually just bought our food then took it upstairs to get some quiet.....worked out better for us.......All I can say is I didnt listen and put alot of money into it, paying full price for my room and stuff when I could have gotten a Fl rate before the holiday, Hubby had already taken the days off and couldnt go back and reschedule....I hear that the first three weeks in Dec. are great and then after that......Really think about it.....if this is a once in a lifetime trip and you dont know when you are going to be able to go, really think about it....We hung in there and and just said hey we didnt do this or see this but its our excuse to go back,lol...But really please think about it.............

 

[rkmassa]

We did the 17th to 27th last year. Crowds really picked up on the 24th. More so than the previous year. Might have been that the 24th was on a Saturday this last year though. We did soooo much before the 24th that it didn't matter. We used Tour Guide Mike's advice on which park for which day of the week, and even my DH was amazed how TGM knew which park to be at. MGM had 10 and 15 minute waits on TOT and RRRC on the day he told us to go there. Was well worth the money spent for TGM. You will be fine before the 24th. I think the UG online has it at a 10 this year, and I think it was a 7 last year. We just hung out at our resort after the 25th. Went to the beach on the 25th. Just relaxed before going home.

 

[jejune]

we were there from dec. 23 to jan. 4 2005, and quite honestly compared to those dates two years ago there was a lot less people around. there was only two moments during our trip that i felt there was a good amount of people in the parks: christmas afternoon/evening and on new year's eve. beside those dates there was people but not enough to freak out.

 

[MICKEEP]

We were there from the 17th to the 26th 2005. Thought the parks werequite empty during the week we never waited for more than 20 minutes for any ride. Never experienced any crowds till Christmas day at the MK. Left MK and went to MGM on Christmas, MGM was empty.

The week leading up to Christmas day is a great time to go. We were expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised by the low crowd levels.

One suggestion - If you go the week before Christmas, don't waste your money on the MVMCP, since all the MVMCP events, parades, shows, etc. are also done during normal park hours that week.

 

[rwenzel2]

One suggestion - If you go the week before Christmas, don't waste your money on the MVMCP, since all the MVMCP events, parades, shows, etc. are also done during normal park hours that week.

MICKEEP,
I'm so glad you added that point - I am debating whether to shell out the additional $$$ ( and quite a few additional $$$ for 4 adult and 1 child tickets) for the MVMCP. I was wondering that those $$$ got you that you couldn't get during normal park hours at Christmas.
Thanks.

 

[winniedapooh]

we were there from dec. 23 to jan. 4 2005, and quite honestly compared to those dates two years ago there was a lot less people around. there was only two moments during our trip that i felt there was a good amount of people in the parks: christmas afternoon/evening and on new year's eve. beside those dates there was people but not enough to freak out.

We arrived the 25th and stayed through the 8th and thought the same thing. I am not sure if it was that conference I attended near DL at the beg. of December that made me think the crowds were manageable or I am certifiable, lol!

 

[CheshireVal]

We've been from the 16th-27th the past couple of years. Crowd levels are usually great right up until Christmas Eve, which is when it starts to get pretty crowded. IMO, the week before Christmas is the best time to go! The weather is generally pretty decent, the decorations are beautiful, and the crowds really aren't too bad at all.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We were just there (12/17-12/26) for our first Christmas at WDW. I was expecting much larger crowds and longer lines, but was pleasantly surprised. As I have said on other threads, I truly have seen longer lines during our June trips. The crowds did start to increase by Christmas eve. It was a very nice birthday/Christmas trip for me and I would love to go back again in December. It's really hard to keep all of the family well (colds, URI) during that time of year, so I guess we'll have to go back during the hot, humid summer!

 

[Lcm2108]

It really starts to become crowded Christmas Day and thereafter. Many people get their tickets for a Christmas Gift so.....

But, if you go early, stay onsite, and do the "big rides" first, it will be ok. Each park is open late every night and the decorations are beautiful.

Lisa