Christmas question

[casjen]

So excited to finally be headed to Disney over Christmas. I know it will be crazy crowded. My boys are 11 and 13. They can do a pretty long park day but I think hours will be from crack of dawn to middle of the night. We have been many times before, this is a "bucket list" christmas trip. Here are my questions:

1. If we schedule FP+ for later in the day can we skip rope drop? Knowing we would most likely only get on those rides and then wing it.

2. MK is a non-negotiable rope drop during this week right? (12/23-12/30)

3. Should we save HS and AK for later in the afternoon with FP+ as we really only need half a day there.

I know we'll want to be there some nights to see the lights and evening shows. I can't see us staying in the park until 11pm and rope dropping at 7am the next morning. We could do it, but we wouldn't last the week on that schedule.

Thanks for any pointers/tips etc

 

[IrishNYC]

I would do AK in the morning in a day when you're doing the party at night if you only want to make it a half day, since it closes before sundown. I don't know the winter hours, but I would think it closes at 5.

Do AK in the morning, take a break at your hotel, then hit the party that night.

 

[Disneylover99]

With older kids, I would do a few days of rope drop, a few late nights, and a few anytime days.
That's pretty much what we did last Christmas and it worked out well.

Yes, if you arrive later in the day, you're looking at just using your 3 fast passes, but there will still be a few secondary attractions with little to no wait depending on your park.

Most people head to Fantasyland at rope drop. Head to Tomorrowland and ride Space multiple times if you want, then head to BTMR and Splash when it opens at 8.

 

[Disneylover99]

I would do AK in the morning in a day when you're doing the party at night if you only want to make it a half day, since it closes before sundown. I don't know the winter hours, but I would think it closes at 5.

Do AK in the morning, take a break at your hotel, then hit the party that night.

No party that week.

 

[IrishNYC]

No party that week.

Ah ok. I thought OP mentioned party. My advice still stands though. I wouldn't save AK for "later in the afternoon" because of closing time.

 

[Disneylover99]

Ah ok. I thought OP mentioned party. My advice still stands though. I wouldn't save AK for "later in the afternoon" because of closing time.

Last year during that week AK was open everyday until 8pm or 9pm. Some people love it there at night. Not me. I find the pathways too dark and confusing.

 

[Lucius Best]

There was another thread about Christmas recently, I remember MK typically has morning EMH at 7am every day of the week, and AK is actually open until 8pm most evenings?! We like AK in the dark.

My advice in that thread, based on what I would do, would be rope drop absolutely every day. Nap/pool/relax afternoons. Then hit the parks again evenings for dinner. But you could certainly come up with a schedule where the late MK nights are not followed
by rope drop the next day. I don't know if I would want to skip rope drop at AK or HS. I assume it will be so busy, that in the afternoons even the secondary rides have lengthy lines.

Without knowing recommended parks or EMH days or when exactly you are arriving/departing, here's what my schedule might look like if I was at the park those days:
Dec23: MK 7am, maybe food/pool break, MK late.
Dec24: HS rope drop 9am, half day. Chill out afternoon, dinner at a different resort somewhere.
Dec25: AK rope drop, food/pool break, back to AK until 8pm closing.
Dec26: MK 7am, food/pool break, MK late.
Dec27: Sleep in, late breakfast somewhere, then Epcot afternoon, dinner Epcot.
Dec28: HS rope drop, half day, pool afternoon
Dec29: MK rope drop, hop Epcot, dinner Epcot, MK late
Dec30: Sleep in, AK when get up FP+ in afternoon

 

[pad406]

Are you staying on site? If yes, then late nights are your friend Personally I think much better than rope drop. Last Christmas we did multiple rides multiple times late at night. On Christmas eve (or maybe 23rd, can't remember for sure) we did BTMR 4 times in a row, twice we didn't even have to get off, even did SDMT 3 times in less than 45m. 26/12, sorry 12/26,must do rope drop, that and new years day,were the 2 best mornings we ever had over that period. Practically empty parks, but is may mean you have to sacrifice the night before a little bit

 

[danny1649]

Are you staying on site? If yes, then late nights are your friend Personally I think much better than rope drop. Last Christmas we did multiple rides multiple times late at night. On Christmas eve (or maybe 23rd, can't remember for sure) we did BTMR 4 times in a row, twice we didn't even have to get off, even did SDMT 3 times in less than 45m. 26/12, sorry 12/26,must do rope drop, that and new years day,were the 2 best mornings we ever had over that period. Practically empty parks, but is may mean you have to sacrifice the night before a little bit

 

[danny1649]

My wife and I have been twice on Christmas day, both times at certain times park was closed because it reached capacity of park.So it is something to think about and it was so crowded you could hardly move.We had a great time both times just being in MK on that special day was great for us.Whatever you do I wish you the best and have a great time. Danny