Christmas time?

[misandrog]

OK-

I posted a thread somewhere else and don't seem to be getting any help so I though I would try here. My DH and I are planning a surprise trip for DS (6) and DD (10 days shy of her 4th b-day). We went May of 2005 and the kids had a blast. Of course!

I have never been at Christmas time ever and I've been at least 4 time in my life and not once at Christmas. I want to experience the Magic.

My question is am I crazy to go over Christmas week? DS starts 1st grade in the fall and I don't really want to pull him out. Also, would it be more beneficial for us to stay on site or off. We stayed on site at ASM in May and the kids loved it. I am also a AAA member and they booked our last trip. Are there any other discounts I should know about for that time of year?

I am prepared for lots of crowds...and to be honest...I'm ok with that. The only other times I have gone are in the summer(crowded!!) and last May(not so bad).

Any insite/advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Momto8]

The week between Christmas and New Years is the most crowded week of the year. It is much worse than the summer crowds (we've gone every year in the summer for the last 10 years so I can compare). However, we've gone several times during Christmas week and the parks are open late to handle the large crowds. If you go there knowing that you won't get to ride a lot of the rides and knowing that it will be very crowded, you should be fine. Plan on going to a lot of shows and also use fast pass when you can. Get there early - at least 30 minutes before opening.

It is a great time to go since they have a lot of shows and all of the decorations are up. Make sure to go to the Candlelight Processional at Epcot. That show is awesome. We did the dinner package last year and saw Gary Sinise. They will not have MVMCP as those parties are held prior to Christmas, but they will have the Christmas Parade every night in the MK. That is my favorite parade. I just love the March of the Toy Soldiers.

It would be better if you could go before Christmas. However, I know that it's hard to take kids out of school as we've had that problem also.

I would definitely stay on site as the parks tend to close early to outside guests if the parking lot fills to capacity. This way you are guaranteed getting in. If the parks fill to capacity, then you won't get in at all whether you stay on site or off. But they will redirect you to another park. However, I've seen them close to outside guests many times, but I've never not been able to go to a park when we've stayed on site. I'm not saying it won't happen - I've just never had it happen to us and we've gone several times during this week. If you stay off site, you will have to also deal with the traffic. We stayed one time 2 nights of our stay off site to save money, and my DH said never again. It wasn't worth the hassle with all of the traffic during this week.

We have gotten AP discounts on our resort stay during this week. However, we've had to check in by a certain date in order to take advantage of them. Sometimes we had to check in by 12/25 and other times by 12/26, but the discount carried through our stay. That being said, there is no guarantee that they will offer them this year. I'm not sure if AAA discounts are available during that week as we're not members, but it's worth a try. I would book what you can afford and then hope for the best.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

[misandrog]

Thank you for your help!!!

We are still deciding at this point, and your advice helped.