Christmas Holiday at Disney

[ftmyersgirl]

Ok. Planned one trip to Disney in May with your help. Thank you!

Need to plan second.

Is the Magic Kingdom open Christmas Day? If so

Which is a good restaurant for Xmas eve and Xmas Day dinner with a toddler.

What does the Magic Kingdom or Epcot do for New Years Eve?

Have not been to Disney in years. Now I am hooked on Disney vacations. I think the grandson has something to do with it.

Thank you.

 

[Liv2CdWorld]

We were there during Christmas in 2001. First, I must say that my DS4 (then 3) birthday is on Christmas day. So we based our meals strickly on him - being his birthday and all.

Christmas morning we went to MK and had a late breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. When I made PS arrangements, I let them know of the birthday. When we arrived, Pooh gave DS a birthday card signed by all the characters.

For dinner, we ate at Whispering Canyon (we were staying at the WL). We did this because my son likes the atmosphere and wanted to be a part of the "races".

The food here was really quite good - it was traditional Christmas dinner served family style - all you can eat.

 

[ChibiJones]

Be prepared for crowds. The week between Christmas & New Year's historically has the largest crowds. When we were there a couple of years ago, we purposefully avoided MK on Christmas Day. MK was closed to off-site guests by noon because the park was at capacity. We went to AK that day instead. We got there in the afternoon (late flight night before) & the longest wait we saw was 40 min. for Dinosaur.

We had our "Christmas" dinner the next day at Le Cellier as part of the Candlelight Processional dinner package.

We were at MK later in the week for the Keys to the Kingdom Tour & the crowds were still pretty bad by the afternoon. The tour let out around 3pm & we hightailed it out of MK.

If your grandson is old enough, go to the parks later & stay until closing, 11pm or midnight. The families with young kids are all gone by then so the lines at MK & MGM were much shorter. If he's too young for that, plan to be at the parks at opening & hit your must-do's first.

 

[ftmyersgirl]

I guess you could go to epcott and take transportation over if the park is closed. Am I correct?

 

[Piglet203]

I'm so glad that someone posted these questions because I am now thinking about going to WDW for Christmas and New Years!!! I've always wanted to go and I decided I should give it a shot. I figured it will be crowded. DO they do early entry during this time of year and e-nights? What about the hours....are they usually open late during this time? Any and all info about this time of year would be great! One more thing....how early would I need to book???

 

[dvc guy]

We were at WDW last year 12/23-12/27. Yes the parks will be crowded, but you can survive( and enjoy) with a good game plan.

All the parks except AK will be open late starting on the 24/25. We took advantage of EE at the MK and it was great, you could walk on all the rides.

With the longer hours last year EE at MK was 7 AM. It was a trick to drag the kids(10 & 6) out of bed, but it was worth it. I would agree with the poster to avoid MK on Christmas day. We did EPCOT and while busy was not wall to wall. Most days we slept latter and hit the parks between 10 and 11. If your children are the late night type MK will start to empty out after dinner and this is a great time to hit the rides.

Understand going in that you will not see everthing, and slow down to enjoy the festive holiday decorations and shows.

Make PS early or you will eat at 4 or 10 PM.

We have been at WDW 4 times over the christmas holiday and will be back this year 12/28-1/2. PM me if you have any questions. Have a great trip

 

[WhispyPixie]

dvc guy is right..MK..is not a good park to attend on Christmas Day. I remember one December 25th..where the park was closed before 10:30 for maximum occupancy! EPCOT is FANTASTIC on this day as is MGM. If you can do MK late then do it, for it WILL clear out. Make your PS's early, enjoy the Christmas festivities around you. Ohana's at the Poly is a GREAT place for any holiday meals! OUR FAVORITE holiday eating location. Good Luck!

 

[CamColt]

Heres our plan for this years holiday. If it works out is anyones guess, but it seems doable right now.
Christmas Eve we plan to visit Epcot. We will do the Candle Light Processional Package, having dinner at Le Cellier. This will be our big holiday dinner.
At home we always go to my parents house for a big breakfast on Christmas morning, so we decided we want to do Chef Mickeys breakfast on Christmas Day. I also wanted to go to MK for a while on Christmas, just to say I was there. My DU agent suggested we do EE at MK, stay for a while and then do a late breakfast at CMs. Then after breakfast we plan to avoid the parks, and resort hop to check out all the decorations. We will probably just pick up counter service/food court food since we wont be too hungry after Chef Mickeys. Either that or Im also considering something like Beaches & Cream or ESPN(No PSs) for a burger or something small like that.

 

[caskar]

We will be there December 29 - Jan. 2 staying at BCV. We have been to WDW every year for the last 15 but have never been there during the holidays. Where should we go New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? We have 2 daughters 12 and 9. Thanks!

 

[ftmyersgirl]

How do you get information about the Candlelight Processional and when do you book it?

DVC guy, do you stay in one of the villas during Christmas?

Which restaurant has the most traditonal decorations for Christmas lunch or dinner?

I did not realize it was so crowded at Christmas. I did not even know the park was open when I posted.

I am learning something every day.

 

[PamOKW]

I did not even know the park was open when I posted.

I chuckled when I read that. It's not an uncommon perception but Christmas is probably one of the most crowded days of the year. NYE is absolutely jam packed!

Piglet, there are no E-nights because the parks are all open the latest hours of the year. MK usually closes at 11:00 or midnight all week. NYE all the parks (except AK) stay open to either 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. (they have varied the hours the last few years). There is special entertainment in all the parks. Epcot is a big party. At midnight, everyone has super fireworks.

 

[Piglet203]

Thanks everyone for your help. Pam, thanks for the info on hours during Christmas time. I didn't even think that hours would run so late, but it makes sense. Where would you recommend spending New Years Eve? How early do you have to go to wherever you are spending the night. Also, WDW has a Christmas parade on that day right? Is it impossible to line up and see it? Just going to WDW is great enough but going during the holidays sounds so great. I hope I like it
Fill me in on anything else / tips for the time of year. I've been to WDW 9 times and am pretty much a pro, but have never visited during this time. That's why I have no clue how to go about vacationing during this time. THanks again!!!

 

[dvc guy]

ftmyersgirl We are DVC members and stay at OKW. Everything is decked out for the holidays, the resorts have some real cool stuff.

If anyone has a game plan for NYE, would love to hear it. We have been to WDW many times over the holidays , but never stayed for NYE.