Christmas Day - yes we're doing it

[disEAR]

Magic Kingdom on December 25th. I know, everyone suggests not doing it, but call us a little crazy.. or a lot!?

A couple questions:
What time do the REAL crowds typically show up?

How are/have/would you plan Christmas Day at Magic Kingdom???

Thanks and Happy trails!

 

[Disneylover99]

Magic Kingdom on December 25th. I know, everyone suggests not doing it, but call us a little crazy.. or a lot!?

A couple questions:
What time do the REAL crowds typically show up?

How are/have/would you plan Christmas Day at Magic Kingdom???

Thanks and Happy trails!

We’ve been on Christmas Day a few years ago and we will be there again this year!
Love it! There is know other place I want to be.

Get to your bus stop before 6am. to stay ahead of the crowds. We head to Tomorrowland for the 7am, while just about everyone else heads to Fantasyland. We had the place to ourselves for the first hour or so. Crowds really started to pour in at about 9-10am. We had an early lunch reservation at LTT and headed back to our resort. Main Street and the hub were packed at that point with people still streaming in.

We headed back for fireworks after dinner at our resort. It was wonderful! We’re hoping to keep this same plan this year.

 

[Klayfish]

Magic Kingdom on December 25th. I know, everyone suggests not doing it, but call us a little crazy.. or a lot!?

A couple questions:
What time do the REAL crowds typically show up?

How are/have/would you plan Christmas Day at Magic Kingdom???

Thanks and Happy trails!

Do it!! Yes, it's insanely busy, but who cares? You're in MK on Christmas Day, it's an experience that I'm glad we got to do. We did it in 2015, and were in AK on 2017. We stay off property, so we drive in. We got to MK around 8am if I recall. It was already packed. Instead of getting on the monorail or a ferry, they herded us to buses waiting nearby. I will give them a ton of credit...for as many people as were there, it was amazingly efficient. We waited less than 5 minutes for our bus. Once inside MK, yes it was extremely crowded. Some spots were a true traffic jam, such as the narrow walkway in front of IaSM and PP, but for the most part you could still get around OK. We used our 3 FP+ with no problem and even got several more using refresh of the MDE app. We stayed until about 2pm and then headed out. At that point, it was as busy as you'll ever see it. However, people were in the holiday spirit and we had a great time.

Last year, on our way into AK, we were on the overpass that goes over the roadway that leads to the MK parking toll plaza. I don't remember exactly what time it was, but it was something around 10am. I've never seen such a line of cars trying to get into a park. It went back as far as we could see.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

Thoughts and prayers.

 

[Lynne G]

We stayed in Epcot on Christmas Day last year. Had PPO breakfast and dinner reservations. Watching the Candlelight Processional, then Illuminations and it was a nice way to end the day for us. Then we very leisurely left the park.

 

[kevind2112]

We spend Christmas week at the World in 2016. We spent most of Christmas Day at Epcot, which worked out perfectly. Busy, but not insane. Later that evening we strolled over to Magic Kingdom, and it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be. I'm sure during the day it's nuts there though!

 

[disEAR]

Love it! There is know other place I want to be.
Get to your bus stop before 6am. to stay ahead of the crowds. We head to Tomorrowland for the 7am

Great advice! Appreciate it We plan on waking up majorly early!

Do it!! Yes, it's insanely busy, but who cares? You're in MK on Christmas Day, it's an experience that I'm glad we got to do.
.

That’s our thought exactly! As long as we set our expectations right. We’ve done MK July 4th, can you speak to if it’s similar in crowd craziness

Thoughts and prayers.

LOL you’re too funny! I’m sure it’ll be something crazy. But hopefully memorable!

Then we very leisurely left the park.

Sounds lovely! Hoping we have a similar experience.

strolled over to Magic Kingdom, and it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be. I'm sure during the day it's nuts there though!

Well that gives us some hope!

We’re expecting the ultimate craziness in crowds. Not really anticipating we’ll get to do many rides outside of our initial FP+. We have ADR’s set up throughout the day, and the Dessert Party booked for fireworks viewing.

We haven’t figured out the parade yet. I’ll bet people start camping out for that the moment the park opens. Maybe ADRs at Tony’s and we request the balcony seating?

Any other advice or stories of experience??

Thanks again everyone!

 

[hakepb]

If driving, arrive early.
By 11 TTC parking may be full and World drive becomes a parking lot. I highly recommend Disney transport if staying onsite.

July 4th is lighter overall crowds than Christmas...but Christmas Day is somehow more magical.

MK is good for getting 4th FP+ (Mountains are rare), even on peak days. But its best to do a lot of CoP/Peoplemover/Country Bears type “breaks”.

 

[Klayfish]

That’s our thought exactly! As long as we set our expectations right. We’ve done MK July 4th, can you speak to if it’s similar in crowd craziness

We've done 4th of July week for the past 4 years straight, and I think 7 total since 2008. I would say MK during the evening of July 4th itself is fairly comparable to MK on Xmas Day. The big difference, IMO, is that on 4th of July, the crowd builds later...the morning isn't so bad. On Xmas Day, it's packed by 10am or so. I'd bet statistically MK has more people in it on Xmas Day than July 4th, but at that point it's academic...it's packed no matter what.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

I never had the courage to do the MK on Christmas, be we did do EPCOT on Christmas day in 2013.

Got there 2 hours before rope drop, and they let the first 100 or so people in about an hour before RD to line up for Soarin!!

It was awesome!!

Keep an open mind and realize none of your plans will go as you anticipate. It's going to be busy as busy gets. But it's also going to be beautiful and magical. Take that in and have a good time.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We’ve been on Christmas Day a few years ago and we will be there again this year!
Love it! There is know other place I want to be.

Get to your bus stop before 6am. to stay ahead of the crowds. We head to Tomorrowland for the 7am, while just about everyone else heads to Fantasyland. We had the place to ourselves for the first hour or so. Crowds really started to pour in at about 9-10am. We had an early lunch reservation at LTT and headed back to our resort. Main Street and the hub were packed at that point with people still streaming in.

We headed back for fireworks after dinner at our resort. It was wonderful! We’re hoping to keep this same plan this year.

Yes to all of this. Traffic will be quite bad that day, so, if taking the bus, be at the bus stop before 6 am. The earlier you can get to MK, the better. Based on our experience, crowds will be wall-to-wall by 10 am. If you plan on staying in MK through lunch time, make a TS reservation (anywhere, even Tony's!). QS lines were out the door when we were there and there was nowhere to sit (even with mobile ordering, seating will be an issue). If you can't take the crowds anymore, take a mid-day break or hop to another park (we found EP to be quite doable over Christmas week). If you come back in for the fireworks, consider splurging for the dessert party if spots are still available.

 

[ninafeliz]

I was the exact some in 2016. I just wanted to be in the MK on Christmas Day, and was going to do it no matter what just to be there! We also didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn to get there at 7 AM because we wanted to have a Christmas Morning with our young kids. So we stayed at the CR, had a small tree with a few presents from Santa, and walked to the MK around 9:30-10 AM. There was no wait at bag check for us, and they had a ton of extras set up that they didn't need right at that moment (bag check locations have changed since then). We did our 3 FP rides, rode the teacups, watched the Christmas parade, ate at the Crystal Palace for lunch with our ADR, and got some photopass photos taken. Then we went back to the CR to swim (it was in the high 80's our entire trip that year - so lucky!) and had a chef Mickey evening ADR. It was a perfect Christmas Day, I couldn't have asked for better. Yes, it was crowded, but honestly I had expected worse. We didn't expect to do much, just wanted to be there, and it was amazing! That and swimming on Christmas eve and Day with the CR looming over us were amazing experiences that I will never forget, I am so glad we did it! Have appropriate expectations, make your 3 FPs and an ADR or 2, and have fun!

 

[disEAR]

Appreciate everyone's thoughts and suggestions!

We'll be staying on-site BWV's, and plan on taking whatever the first bus will be that morning.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best spot for the Parade??

 

[fla4fun]

Appreciate everyone's thoughts and suggestions!

We'll be staying on-site BWV's, and plan on taking whatever the first bus will be that morning.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best spot for the Parade??

When it’s really busy I prefer to watch the parade from Frontierland or Liberty Square. The crowds seem to disburse more quickly and you are closer to attractions to get on with your day.

 

[djc9699]

Great advice! Appreciate it We plan on waking up majorly early!



That’s our thought exactly! As long as we set our expectations right. We’ve done MK July 4th, can you speak to if it’s similar in crowd craziness


LOL you’re too funny! I’m sure it’ll be something crazy. But hopefully memorable!



Sounds lovely! Hoping we have a similar experience.


Well that gives us some hope!

We’re expecting the ultimate craziness in crowds. Not really anticipating we’ll get to do many rides outside of our initial FP+. We have ADR’s set up throughout the day, and the Dessert Party booked for fireworks viewing.

We haven’t figured out the parade yet. I’ll bet people start camping out for that the moment the park opens. Maybe ADRs at Tony’s and we request the balcony seating?

Any other advice or stories of experience??

Thanks again everyone!

If they open it up, I would suggest the parade package at Tony's. We did that last year for Christmas Eve and sat in the reserved spot that we walked into 15 minutes before the parade started. I have been trying to book it again, but so far it is not available. We did not eat the food (it was horrible), but we were on the dining plan and just picked up a snack and then had LTT reserved for an early dinner.