Christmas Day Planning...Are the crowds really that bad?

[Disneylover99]

From my holiday experience at BOG is it actually one of the few places that runs very accurate on reservations. If you pre order your meals online you will quickly be seated and receive your meal within a short time. We ate at BOG on Easter Sunday this year and we were seated on time and had our food within 15 minutes.

I was thinking more about how the crowds pooled in that area on Christmas Day. It was the one area (around the lunch hour) that seemed like complete gridlock. It was difficult to navigate and get anywhere mid day.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I've been to Disney multiple times over Christmas and it took us awhile to stop going to the MK on Christmas Day. AK is a great place to go in the morning. It is pretty dead until about noon. Now what to do in the evening is a better question. This year we are going to California Grill for dinner. I wanted to do CP because a previous poster stated, that will take up most of your evening and it will be a good way to kill the crowds. But I would highly advise of avoiding the MK at all costs on Christmas Day.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I understand that to some that might be your only time to vacation but why on earth if you read these boards would you ever want to do that to yourself.

I would never visit the world during any major holidays, ever. The buses must be a mess too, my lord.

This is the smart planning board...for instance I do the parties on weekdays and no where near the events for low crowds!

Enjoy but I would go!

 

[Disneylover99]

The buses must be a mess too, my lord.

I have to say, I've never had better bus service going to and from the parks as I did the week of Dec. 20-30. They put so many buses out during that time, it was truly amazing!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I have to say, I've never had better bus service going to and from the parks as I did the week of Dec. 20-30. They put so many buses out during that time, it was truly amazing!

I agree! We were there Dec. 23rd to Jan. 1st. at CSR. Most waits for transportation were in the 5-10 min. range and we never waited more than 15 min. We also took the monorail and the boat to the Fort a couple times and only waited a few minutes for those. We were at DHS on New Year's Eve and I was amazed at how many buses they had.

 

[akaDaddy]

THANKS CampbellzSoup. Your insight and experience with the Christmas Holiday Schedule have been most informative. Your guidance has certainly made an impact on our families planning.

After reading your post, I informed my superior to disregard my request for leave\vacation & asked my wife to cancel all her plans for the week of Christmas as well. We’ve had a family meeting where we informed our daughters that we’re calling off the Disney trip this December because Daddy can’t play on the “smart planning board” if we go to the Magic Kingdom this Christmas. Is that what you were hoping to accomplish with your post?

I understand that to some that might be your only time to vacation but why on earth if you read these boards would you ever want to do that to yourself.

First off, there are a myriad of reasons why someone may only be able to visit Disney during Christmas; Deployment, an Educator, Public Servant etc. What’s more, some may even choose to visit at that time of year; to see the “Happiest Place on Earth” all decked out for the Holiday or maybe even to fulfill a child’s wish.

This is the smart planning board...

Secondly, for future reference, vacations may involve more than an individual. There just might be friends, family members or others who are along for the fun. These boards are like this too. In some cases, everyone may be interested in the planning and therefore, might be keeping up with the posts and plans. My daughters are this way. This year their only Christmas request was to work our family schedules out to have Christmas at Disney. To that end, they have been “knee-deep” in planning: reading forums, checking out reviews for ADR’s, choosing MB colors and planning schedules. Yes, we all are fully aware Christmas Week will be crowded and wait times will be long. Why, many of the posts to this thread have correctly pointed that out and have offered guidance and strategies. But until your post, none have gone so far as to verbally bully me to looking into the “not so smart planning board.” After all my daughters have read, they were still super excited about the trip, until this post, which has now prompted a “Dad, maybe we should work on a Disney trip for some other time you can schedule it.” THANKS AGAIN

While I am on this soapbox with a flamethrower in my hand (only on defense, mind you), this is the reason I don’t post very often. While most of the members are wonderful, there is almost always a small group that finds it necessary to criticize other poster’s judgments, usually only based on their own preferences or conclusions. I thought the purpose of these forums was to seek advice so that others could PLAN, not to critique other’s decisions based solely on preferences and assumptions. Certainly everyone wants to know the facts; be those magical, bad or downright ugly. Be mindful however, when responding to someone’s post about a restaurant, for example, there is a big difference between:

“The food at Tony’s was horrible; I’d never go back”
vs
“You must be nuts to be considering Tony’s”

Obviously, hundreds of positive, encouraging, helpful comments can be erased by one harassing post.

Lastly, a reconsideration of the tag line might be in order. Apparently, if one DREAMS of a Disney Christmas they cannot DO it.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Every time of year has its pros and cons.

I have been to WDW many times since the late 70s'. I have been in the months of February, March, April, May, August, October, and December. I have been at Christmas, President's week, spring break, summer and the off-season. All seasons have their pros and cons and all are manageable if you do your homework.
OP - I don't know how old your daughters are. But, as long as they are all on their own foot power (I wouldn't really want to deal with a stroller at Christmas) and you are willing to do some planning, you can do as much Christmas week as any other week.
Here's a list of some of the good things about the holiday week as Disney:
1) no refurbs - you don't need to worry about your favorite ride going down for refurb; there were exactly 0 ride refurbs happening on our trip (not including things that were permanently closed, like Maelstrom, of course); I don't think this is true of any other time of year
2) transportation - as mentioned before, Disney adds tons of buses/ boats to the routes; IME - the busier Disney is, the less time you spend waiting on the buses
3) Everything is open extended hours - when else can you have a Dole Whip for breakfast at 9:30 am?
4) you can meet Santa at your resort
5) IF you are willing to get up early, we found we could actually get MORE done at rope drop than at a slow time as most people didn't arrive at the parks until after 9. When the parks don't open until 9, you have a much shorter window before the lines build.
For example, one morning at the MK between 7-9 am we were able to accomplish the following (starting in Tomorrowland): Space Mountain x2, Buzz, Astro Orbiter, Tea Cups, meet Alice and the White Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Small World, Little Mermaid, breakfast at Gaston's Tavern, all moving at a leisurely pace
6) All the holiday activities - all the special stuff that's available throughout the month of Dec. is still available and you don't need to pay for a Christmas party to see the holiday parade at MK as it becomes the regular parade
7) extra photo pass photographers to capture your special holiday moments

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

 

[TwoCortWort]

I've read that the crowds are the worst ever on Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom. OK I believe you, but is it packed full from rope drop until close?

My original plans were to ride the bus to the MK for rope drop, enjoy the morning with Fast passes for 10, 11 and 12 and eat lunch at Be Our Guest (1:00 pm ADR) and then leave the park and back to CSR and rest. Is this crazy?

If you've survived Christmas, give me a heads up about the crowd through the day....

Thanks

Until 2010, we ALWAYS did MK on Christmas Day from Opening-Closing. When we did DL on Christmas Day, it was a mad house and we swore it off. DL was closed to capacity long before noon that day and the shortest line came right at closing. We said NEVER AGAIN! We do MK on Christmas Eve, Epcot/HS on Christmas Day and AK on the 26th now. 24th is crowded but not terrible, but I swear people are catching onto coming the 24th vs the 25th. It seems to get more crowded each year.

 

[illinidp]

I've read that the crowds are the worst ever on Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom. OK I believe you, but is it packed full from rope drop until close?

My original plans were to ride the bus to the MK for rope drop, enjoy the morning with Fast passes for 10, 11 and 12 and eat lunch at Be Our Guest (1:00 pm ADR) and then leave the park and back to CSR and rest. Is this crazy?

If you've survived Christmas, give me a heads up about the crowd through the day....

Thanks

You're not crazy at all. I would stick to this plan as this is what we have done and it worked well. We really enjoyed walking Main St ad watching the street performers Christmas morning. As long as you actually get there before RD and get those FP times and you have the ADR you will be fine. You might not want to ride much standby after 10 though. If you are on property you can ride a couple of headliners and then go back to Frontierland at park opening to ride those, then do your FP+ selections. It will be busy, but every park is. I would head out right after lunch though. Hollywood Studios and the Osborne Lights are a great thing to do right before that park close.

 

[djc9699]

Dad, maybe we should work on a Disney trip for some other time you can schedule it.” THANKS AGAIN

We purposely planned to go at Christmas. We have scrimped and saved to afford it. Don't change your plans because of someone else's opinion. We know it will be crowded but my daughter insists the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day is where she wants to be so we will be there at 6:30 Christmas morning and roll with whatever happens. Do what your family wants to do. It will be crowded, sure, but you'll be with your family at Christmas and you won't have to cook or clean up . We are hoping for Liberty Tree that day, but if not CP is already booked. Please don't let someone dampen your excitement. You never know for yourself until you experience it. I hope your family stays excited and maybe we'll see you through the massive crowds on Christmas Day. I can hardly wait!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

@akaDaddy, calm yourself - you took things far beyond any point I was trying to make.

Enjoy your Christmas vacation!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I understand that to some that might be your only time to vacation but why on earth if you read these boards would you ever want to do that to yourself.

I would never visit the world during any major holidays, ever. The buses must be a mess too, my lord.

This is the smart planning board...for instance I do the parties on weekdays and no where near the events for low crowds!

Enjoy but I would go!

Yeah when people look at our photos and hear about the planning we do, they always ask "why would you do all that planning and deal with those crowds for a vacation."

For some, it's too much of a hassle - the crowds keep people away. BUT, with the right planning - you can accomplish close to everything and beat the crowds. I was always perplexed as to how little (comparatively speaking) the crowds were Christmas morning. By 11am I ate my words, but by 12pm, we had our fill and went back to the resort to relax.

Here's some reason my crazy family does Christmas at Disney every year:

- We grew up on Disney. Okay, maybe this isn't a reason FOR Christmas, but rather than bring us to OBX or Maine or anything like that, my parents brought my sister and me to Disney every 2-4 years. Even with my sister being 31 and me being 26 (in TWO DAYS,) we still love it.
- My sister is a teacher, my dad is retired and my mom has more vacation days than she knows what to do with. Me? I'm the "odd man out" and I happily use my PTO days - so traveling on Xmas is doable.
- It all started after my dad beat cancer. We asked him how he wanted to celebrate - he wanted to experience the happiest holiday at the happiest place on Earth. From there, we fell in love with the parks during Xmas.
- No decorating, no cooking and no gifts. Imagine that? While the rest of the world is out buying gifts, we're planning our trip. While everyone is cooking and washing dishes on Christmas Eve and Christmas, we're wiping our mouths after our delicious dinner and the server is clearing the table. On New Year's day, the only thing we pack away is our clothes. No more putting the Christmas tree up in the attic or standing on ladders to take down lights - THAT, to me, makes it worth it.
- It all becomes worth it on December 26th. Why, you ask? Think about it - the whole family gets together on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to celebrate the holiday. On Dec. 26th, though, everyone returns to their normal life. My sister and I go out with friends, some people go back to work, etc. BUT in Disney, we wake up and do it all over again... for the next 7 days, in fact! My family is always busy. We're traditionalist and eat at least 5 dinners a week together... but it could get hard to see each other as much as we'd like. During that one week, though, it feels like Christmas lasts a little longer. The decorations stay up, the Christmas remains merry, and in between some bickering, we actually enjoy one another's company. We've had more laughs on those trips and formed more memories than I can count. THAT'S what keeps us coming back. Can we do the same on a trip to Italy or California? Sure. And I'd like to venture out soon.. I think we may move to doing Christmas every other year or shortening our trip... but there's just something special about Disney.

Are we crazy - yes. But to each their own. The crowds don't bother me. I battle the crowds in NYC every day.

Also - never had a problem with the buses. Disney actually used to contract bus companies on NYE so that they can run additional buses. I think they've just added cruise line buses since, though.

 

[Disneylover99]

Also - never had a problem with the buses. Disney actually used to contract bus companies on NYE so that they can run additional buses. I think they've just added cruise line buses since, though.

Yeah, all kinds of different buses that week were taking people to and from the parks.

One day, the ME bus pulled up at the Epcot stop at our resort. We were the only one's who got on, and I kept saying to the driver, "Are you sure, you're not taking us to the airport?"

 

[conniehar90]

We have been at Xmas time before. Never had a park close on us as we timed our days to touring plans. We went to AK on Xmas and had no issues. But, I will say that it didn't feel very magical - seemed like any old day at AK to me. We have been to DHS on NYE and loved it. It never closed, but got very crowded. We were able to take a break and come back to enjoy the fireworks.

That said, we are coming back this year and the family wants to go to MK on Xmas day. I keep telling them they are crazy! Since we have been a million times, I think they just want to see the crazy crowds for themselves. Even though I have told him a million times, my DH keeps thinking he will see the Xmas parade that is on tv! Ha. Maybe they will change their minds as we get closer. ugh!