Christmas Day Plans...

[shivani61883]

We are going from Dec. 21 to 27. Is the park open Christmas Day? We wanted to maybe go to a park and then to a nice dinner at Victoria and Alberts.

Any other recommendations on things to do on Christmas Day?

 

[jcriket]

Welcome to the boards. To answer your question yes it's open. My advise don't go on christmas. Eat at victoria and alberts, just remember Christmas is the most crowded day at disney. Usually from the weekend before christmas till about 1 week after new years is very busy at disney, christmas being the worst. We go like a week before and the parks are still very christmas, but no crowds. Had a friend from work go on christmas day, and she only stayed about 2 hours it was so crowded. Sorry to say all that, but it's only fair you know.

 

[WDWguru]

Welcome to the DIS! You're in for WAY more information than you bargained for, I fear. Christmas day is probably the single busiest day at Disney World - second only to perhaps New Year's Eve. If you want to visit a park, be prepared to get there when it opens and to stay all day. The parks do fill to capacity and if you leave, you may not be able to get back in.

A nice dinner sounds like a plan, but don't count on being able to get back into the park when you're done. Also be aware that V&A is a very small restaurant with only two seating times per night, so you'll want to make your reservation as soon as you are able.

 

[RunDanceSkate]

It was the first time that we actually spent Christmas day at disney, we have been there until Christmas eve and another time we arrived a few days later. The only thing on my DD Christmas list last year was to wake up at Disney on Christmas day. Due to flight delays we ended up arriving at 2am Christmas day (instead of 3pm Christmas eve) The kids and I woke up and went to MK for opening leaving DH sleeping. The park was fairly quiet and we rode Space, Splash, THunder, went to Tom's island on the 1st raft to find a paintbrush. We decided to go back to the room for presents but noticed the Babrber shop was open and empty. Where else can you get a magical haircut on Christmas day. Back to the room for presents, lunch then DTD and went back to MK around 5pm for rides (stuck to PofC, Jungle cruise, Buzz, in other words not Fantasyland) then an anniversary dinner in the castle during the fireworks. We all agreed that it was the best Christmas ever.

CJ

 

[cncDisney4]

We went last year on December 21-27 and decided that the 25th would just be a day to relax. We did spend some time in AK and DTD, but that was about it. We did the Keys to the Kingdom tour on the 24th and then had our special Christmas Eve dinner at 'Ohana's - which was great! No matter what you do - it will be magical for you and your family!!

 

[AStamm]

Keep in mind that if you're staying on property at a hotel, you can book all your ADR's with one call 180-days out from your December 21 check-in. Should be around June 24 (we're arriving on the 19th, and I think our date is June 22 to make ADR's).

We went to MK two Christmases ago and had a great time. It poured from noon on, so crowds were really light. This Christmas we're planning on going to AK in hopes that it is the least crowded and then having dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Enjoy the trip--I know we're all looking forward to spending another Christmas at our favorite place in the world.

 

[gssmks]

We are going to be at WDW this Christmas. We are planning to spend the day in Epcot's World Showcase. In each country, they have their version of Santa and you learn how each country celebrates Christmas. We are also hoping to get a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package for Christmas Day when they become available. Because we are not planning to ride the rides that day and we will have ADR for our meals, the crowds will not matter so much to us.

 

[makinorlando]

DD and I live in Orlando, and this past Christmas we had family in town. We went to DTD and had a great time. We did some shopping, and snacking and then went and watched "Narnia" at the theater on the West Side. Depending on who (if any) family are in town this year, I think we will do much the same and possibly add some visits to the resorts to see the decorations. I think I will make ADRs for either Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fare for a late breakfast, and then see what MK is like when we are through.


(Note to self - call on June 28th for ADRs!!!!)

 

[Tink215]

Hello, Welcome to the Boards, We arrived last year on Christmas Day, and also decided on no parks, Our Hotel was pretty crowded and talking to some people around the parks were very full, Not very fun, they also say here on the boards to avoid the Magic Kingdom at all cost.....We were there for a week and went Epcot first then MGM and saved the magic Kingdom for the end f the week and it was so crowded I didnt even stay all day.....Just warning you its crowded........We arrived X-mas day, unpacked then it was off to 1900 Park Fare for Dinner with Cinderella then we walked around and looked at the wonderful decorations and the Gingerbread house that is a must to see.....Good Luck and have fun......I have heard it mentioned on here that during that week especially on Christmas day, MK has been at capacity and has had to close.......If you want to go to a park then maybe Epcot would be nice, It was the one I enjoyed the most, especially with all the Holiday StoryTellers in the Countries......


If Crowds are a bother then be warned, I didnt listen and think I would have had a better time if I didnt go on Christmas week......When they say crowded on here its crowded, and it only adds to the fustration of everyone else and well the parks arent as Magical as you would think, and it happened time and time again....I got stuck in the front of the Castle on my MK day after Wishes Fireworks in gridlock for about 10 min. It was so crowded nobody could move, thankgod it was only me, my kids and hubby were tuked in there beds sleeping while I snuck away to see tinkerbell from the castle, it took me about 45 min to get back just to the buses, really I am not kidding it was pretty bad, just be warned, cause I would hate for you to plan and not have a good time......You can work around the crowds by being at rope drops and taking advantage of the EMH...

 

[IandGsmom]

So is EMH a better thing at Xmas time? I will be there Dec 18-25 and am planning my days. I read so many places about EMH being overly crowded that I am unsure about factoring them in...Any thoughts??

 

[Mary Anne]

The MK is open till Midnight during Christmas week. We found the crowds very manageable from 9 pm till midnight and also early in the morning.

 

[AStamm]

If you've got major attractions on your MUST-DO list, getting to the park when it opens (EMH or not) is critical that entire week. On NYE morning two years ago, we rode everything in Fantasyland within the first hour. By a little after lunch, the wait time was 2 HOURS for Peter Pan!!!!!

Being flexible is very important, but you should also go to the park with a specific plan, being sure to include some of the less popular attractions to see and do if crowds (and wait times) start to get unreasonable.

FastPass was a necessity the entire holiday week. Have one person in your group be the FP runner and then meet back at a predetermined spot.

 

[3for Me]

We are going to be at WDW this Christmas. We are planning to spend the day in Epcot's World Showcase. In each country, they have their version of Santa and you learn how each country celebrates Christmas. We are also hoping to get a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package for Christmas Day when they become available. Because we are not planning to ride the rides that day and we will have ADR for our meals, the crowds will not matter so much to us.

Thlis is what we did this past Christmas and it worked like a charm. We got to Future World very close to opening, as I was anxious about the crowds. Turns out we could have taken a little more time to open presents, etc... but who knew?

We headed to World Showcase at lunchtime and ate at Chefs de France then experienced all the countries and lined up at 4:15 for the 5:00 Candlelight Processional. I would highly recommend getting the dinner package (which we did) because otherwise, we would NEVER have gotten in! After the Processional, we went to Italy for dinner and then went home, as my kids were too tired for Illuminations.

It was a great day, and not nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. We were very pleasantly surprised!

Have a great holiday!

 

[faeflora]

Our Christmas plan is to have breakfast at Ohana's with Lilo and Stitch and then depending on the crowd either visik MK for a few hours or AK for a few hours...then enjoy some of the other resorts!!!!

 

[gssmks]

Thlis is what we did this past Christmas and it worked like a charm. We got to Future World very close to opening, as I was anxious about the crowds. Turns out we could have taken a little more time to open presents, etc... but who knew?

We headed to World Showcase at lunchtime and ate at Chefs de France then experienced all the countries and lined up at 4:15 for the 5:00 Candlelight Processional. I would highly recommend getting the dinner package (which we did) because otherwise, we would NEVER have gotten in! After the Processional, we went to Italy for dinner and then went home, as my kids were too tired for Illuminations.

It was a great day, and not nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. We were very pleasantly surprised!

Have a great holiday!

I am so glad you let me know how it worked for you. I was afraid that everyone in the world would have the same great idea and we would end up grid locked and not able to even get around. A friend who has been at Christmas several times told me that in her experience MK is by far the busiest park on Christmas Day and that Epcot was the least busiest. I just found that hard to believe. It seems only logical to to Epcot World Showcase on Christmas Day for the Christmas atmosphere. Maybe you and I and a few others are aware of a well kept secret.

Tell me how you handled presents. My DD still believes in Santa. What we normally do is let her open presents from me on Christmas Eve and when she gets up in the morning, Santa has come and left his presents. I am trying to find a way to keep the Santa gifts hid. Another poster suggested that I mail them to the resort ahead of time and let them know that I won't be picking them up until Christmas Eve. I called the resort and they said that I could do this, but that I would have to come pick them up myself on Christmas Eve, as opposed to having them delivered to my room. The problem with this is that we are coming for two weeks with the entire family, but DD and I are the only ones who will be there Christmas Eve and Day. The rest of my family are leaving for home on Dec. 23 to spend Christmas with their inlaws. This means if I go to retrieve the packages, I will have to leave my DD in the room alone. I know that she will be asleep and I will only be gone for ten or fifteen minutes, but I am reluctant to do this. Any ideas!!!!