Christmas day at US???

[Disneyof3]

Was thinking of taking a trip to Florida in 2007 at x-mas time. Was just wondering if US is as busy on x-mas day and boxing day like WDW is? I know there parks close most times with capacity and was hoping US wasn't like that. Thanks all for the info inadvance.

 

[disneyloveNY]

We were just there this Christmas. We actually split our stay WDW and US and Dec 25 was our transfer day. WDW was not bearable. However, suprisngly, US was not crowded at all. We enjoyed all the rides we wanted with minimal wait and the streets were not packed at all. It did , however get pretty unbearable at US for New Year's Eve weekend.

 

[Disneyof3]

Thanks for that information. We are planning on being there day before x-mas and x-mas day and then maybe boxing day and then leaving the area and heading to the gulf coast. Did you stay at a hotel on site at US? If not did you find it along wait because you didn't have the advantage that the US guests have with the kinda fast pass ticket??? What was the food like there also? The only thing I have to compare is WDW and Bush Gardens. Thanks so much again

 

[disneyloveNY]

Yes we stayed onsite at the Portofino-amazing! You must stay at one of the property hotels because with the FOTL pass we never waited more than 5 minutes even on rides with 60 min wait. We truly love the PBH, lots of delicious restaurants at the hotel -two pizzerias, a deli, three full restaurants- Trattoria del porto, Mama Della's-both fantastic and a fantastic gelateria. The Hard Rock Hotel looks great too-we've only stopped by for dinner -good restaurant too.
If you do go to US, FOTL passes are 100% a must.

 

[Disneyof3]

WOW great information thanks so much. I was looking at the on site hotels but figured they'd kill the credit card during x-mas. Friends of ours went but in November and they stayed off site and said it was great and they stayed real close. I was hoping for that but was worried with the line ups especially during and on christmas. I don't mind waiting in line for up to 1/2 hour but after that the youngest one and I are going to go nuts Thanks for all the info again this is great for our trip.

 

[louise1928]

WOW great information thanks so much. I was looking at the on site hotels but figured they'd kill the credit card during x-mas. Friends of ours went but in November and they stayed off site and said it was great and they stayed real close. I was hoping for that but was worried with the line ups especially during and on christmas. I don't mind waiting in line for up to 1/2 hour but after that the youngest one and I are going to go nuts Thanks for all the info again this is great for our trip.

I guess it all depends on your itinerary. We travel without kids, so our time is more flexible, however, we have been at US twice during the christmas season, but we arrive 2 days after christmas like we will this time. The crowds were very good at US/IOA and we spent a day at Epcot and that was fine too. It probably will also depend on the time of day you visit each park. As far as the rides are concerned, we would get into the single rider line which saved huge amounts of time, and sometimes we would end up on the same ride. Plan your days accordingly, and keep visiting this board. It sure helped us out the first time we went. We will be there this December, arriving the 27th, and staying 5 nights. We are staying offsite but very close to US at the Amersuites again. We are considering staying our last night (NYE) at Portofino or Royal Pacific, but have not decided yet).

 

[Disneyof3]

Question louise 1928 have you booked your hotel yet for this December? The reason I'm asking is I'm trying to get prices and they say they can't until 50 weeks to check in. Or are you calling the hotels direct and not booking it through the internet. I was looking on travel I2000 and they won't let me yet. Are plan is to arrive on the Saturday or Sunday and stay until boxing day on the Wednesday and then head to the gulf coast to see the in-laws.

 

[louise1928]

Question louise 1928 have you booked your hotel yet for this December? The reason I'm asking is I'm trying to get prices and they say they can't until 50 weeks to check in. Or are you calling the hotels direct and not booking it through the internet. I was looking on travel I2000 and they won't let me yet. Are plan is to arrive on the Saturday or Sunday and stay until boxing day on the Wednesday and then head to the gulf coast to see the in-laws.

Hi, Yes we have already booked our accomodations at Amerisuites. I booked directly at the hotel website and was able to book it for December 27th leaving Jan 1st. I also noticed when you try booking at other websites, like expedia or travelocity, they do not have rates that far in advance. Doubletree, Hilton and Best Western also have their rates for December using their website.

It probably has a lot to do with contracts with outside vendors, which is why if I am planning a vacation well in advance I would book directly with the hotel and most of the time the rate is the same or better, especially if we use AAA, which we did at Amerisuites, and their rates will be going up since they are changing over to "Hyatt Place". I can't wait to see what their new rates will be so that I can compare it to the rate we have now.

You still have a lot of time, but the rates at non-hotel sites should be available at least by February or mid March.

 

[Disneyof3]

Thanks for all your help Louise1928. This really helps alot. I'm off Friday and am going to start calling the hotels in the US area that I've been keeping my eye on. We also are thinking of actually seeing the hotels in person when we go the WDW in March. To check them out and see if there any good for us and how close they are to US.