Christmas in the park advice

[JoniGirl]

We are planning on spending Christmas at Disney World. We can't afford to stay on property the whole trip, so we were thinking of booking Christmas Eve on property, and staying off the rest of the trip. We like Cypress Pointe, so we will probably stay there.

Does anyone have advice for Disney on Christmas? Is it crowded? Are there any special shows? Which resort should we stay at? Since it is only for one night (or two if they require it) we can spend more.

TIA!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

1. Where to stay - I would suggest the Swan or Dolphin. Not only are they beautifully decorated, they offer elf tuck-in on Christmas Eve (or at least they did last year). My kids were absolutely in awe when the elves came and brought them cookies, milk, a present, and a book, and read them 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Way too cool.

2. I would suggest buying TourGuideMiKE.com for your trip. We used it last year when it was very busy. We followed his suggestions as to which park would be the least busy and his touring plans. We had a ball, saw everything we wanted, and never waited more than 10 minutes in any line.

3. Go to the Candlelight Processional. We went on Christmas Eve last year and Gary Sinese was the narrator. It was just beautiful. We did purchase the dinner package so we had guaranteed seating.

4. Relax and have a great time.

 

[JoniGirl]

Thank you! I will look into the Swan and the Dolphin. They are on property I assume, so we will be eligible for the extended park hours etc... Right?

 

[DisneyaholicRaquel]

Yup, everything is the same EXCEPT you cannot charge items in the park to your room key! I'm staying there in July for the first time and asked all these questions!

 

[JoniGirl]

Thanks!

 

[EthansMom]

Is it crowded?

YES!!!!!!!!!! It's crowded enough that I wouldn't go to Disney World at Christmas even if someone else paid for the trip. It's the most crowded time of the entire year!

Are you certain I can't persuade you to wait until say Jan. 2 when both hotel prices and crowds drop considerably? Or even go early in Dec. when prices and crowds are more moderate and the decorations are already up. IMHO, you'll get much more bang for your buck at either of those times.

In the past, when we did a Jan. trip to WDW, most of our Christmas gifts were Disney-themed: Disney sweatshirts, etc.

Just a thought...

EthansMom (and Molly's too)

 

[JoniGirl]

Good idea. And that is a consideration if we run into sold out hotels, and really high prices. It is kind of a dream of DH to have his family at DW for Christmas - so we are giving it a shot. Thanks!

 

[mareed]

We spent XMAS 2004 at WDW with our extended family with a total of 12 people. Yes, it was very crowded. But we enjoyed it, and did say that the crowds were not enough to scare us off from going again at XMAS some day. I echo the recommendation to sign up for TourGuideMike. As you can see from my signature, we'd done several trips, but I was a bit nervous about going at XMAS. TourGuideMike offers a money back guarantee, so I felt I had nothing to lose by signing up. Let's just say that I didn't ask for my money back.

We stayed off-site in a pool home, and I think you'll be fine at Cypress Pointe. Absolutely make sure to be at the parks prior to opening time each morning. Also, make PS for your meals at the 90 day mark. We never waited more than 10-15 minutes for an attraction, but we did skip attractions when they were just too crowded. Go and have a great time! But do be realistic about the fact that it WILL be crowded.