Christmas to New Years - Share your tales!

[glamdring269]

We're looking to book a trip for December 2017 and unfortunately the only real free time we have will put at least half of our trip into Christmas week. As of now I'm looking at something along the lines of 6 nights (12/22 - 12/27). Not sure when the madness will start but I assume Christmas day will be the beginning for sure if it hasn't already begun.

Have you visited DW during this time before? Would you do it again? I'm kind of torn because we haven't been in a couple of years and this is the most opportune time for us. We also have DVC at Wilderness Lodge so at least from a resort perspective I know we'll be in a good spot in terms of Christmas decor. I just know the crowds are going to be a lot different than our past visits (first week Oct, food and wine).

FYI, 2 adults, no kids, rope drop world champions, etc. Our high level game plan would be to take advantage of EMH and hammer the parks up until lunch. Escape back to the resort in the afternoon for some r&r before returning to one of the parks at night for evening entertainment.

 

[Klayfish]

We did it in 2015 and are doing it again in 2017, and I absolutely can't wait!!! It is so much fun. We've got 3 kids, and we stay off site...so no EMH, nor do we have any interest in doing rope drops. We get to the parks around 10am, give or take. Even with that, we had no trouble getting on a lot of rides. Yes, it's busy, but we got a nice pick of FP+ and did standby for the typically less crowded ones. People are still in the holiday spirit, decorations are out. It's just a lot of fun. A very busy week without a doubt, but have patience, be in the holiday spirit and you'll love it.

 

[StanH]

We have done it a few times, all staying on site. Needless to say, at that time of year we took advantage of the EMH morning entrances. A must do.
Book early fast passes, eat lunch early, get out of the park by 1pm or so. Come back later if you want. If you want a table service meal, you must book an ADR.
It will be crowded, especially the closer to lunch time you get. Past lunch time, it is butts to b@lls.....I'm just saying.

All that said, it is our favorite time to visit, but you have got to put a plan together and stick to it. Otherwise, you need to be ready to deal with the consequences.

I would not go to a park on New Years Eve again, unless it was AK. I would not go to a park on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve or New Years Day if I was driving my own vehicle.

But we love going during the Christmas holidays!!!!

Plan ahead, follow your plan, go see the Candlelight Processional if that is something that means something to you. It is fantastic and inspiring.

 

[nursejackie]

We have been the last 7 years in December (10-26th). By 22nd December it is very crowded, especially at MK. Last year we exited around 1pm on 23rd and the queue for security went all the way back up the monorail ramp. In short, it was chaos. As you are staying on-site I would advice you taking advantage of the early morning EMH. MK opens at 7am everyday from around 18th December, and HS opens for EMH at 7.30am nearer to Christmas. We have park hopper tickets so leave when the chaos becomes unbearable for us and head to a quieter park (they're all busy but just not as bad) or to the water park/resort pool.

Having said all that, it's amazing during the holidays. We always visit other resorts to see the decorations and eat all the special holiday treats on offer. We can't imagine spending Christmas anywhere else now. 10 months and counting...................

 

[Spunky946]

We've done it once in dec of 2011 and I'd never do it again. The year we went mk was closed multiple days and one day ak, dhs and mk all had phased closures.

We've done Christmas and August and we much prefer August to Christmas week.

 

[Klayfish]

As I've said in other similar threads, I also think it has a lot to do with crowd tolerance. I normally don't like crowds, but at WDW they don't bother me much. Yes, Christmas Day itself at MK was insane, but I'm glad I got to experience it. Outside of that, I didn't find it to be horrendous, especially at non-MK parks.

 

[constanze]

We're also going during that time! See you there!
Are dessert parties available during this week as well?

 

[Jenny Sanders]

You couldn't pay me to go that week, just sayin"...

 

[dan40]

Gosh, this is a loaded question for me. There isn't much we DIDN'T do, but we were at WDW over Christmas and New Years a couple of years ago, and loved every minute of it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We were watching Holiday Wishes right in front of Cinderella's Castle in a perfect spot at a few minutes before midnight on NYE, and it was body to body, and fireworks were going on all around us (not just behind the castle!) and the crowd was so well behaved and the music was blaring and it was music we all knew, and then at a few seconds before midnight, you hear Mickey and the gang going "Ten, nine, eight..." and this rush of adrenaline goes through your body and then "...three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and then everyone went wild and cheered for a minute or so, and I hugged and kissed my partner, and then the characters and everyone sang "Auld Lang Syne".

Now THAT was MAGICAL! Probably one of the most magical moments I've ever had at WDW.

 

[justme0729]

We're looking to book a trip for December 2017 and unfortunately the only real free time we have will put at least half of our trip into Christmas week. As of now I'm looking at something along the lines of 6 nights (12/22 - 12/27). Not sure when the madness will start but I assume Christmas day will be the beginning for sure if it hasn't already begun.

Have you visited DW during this time before? Would you do it again? I'm kind of torn because we haven't been in a couple of years and this is the most opportune time for us. We also have DVC at Wilderness Lodge so at least from a resort perspective I know we'll be in a good spot in terms of Christmas decor. I just know the crowds are going to be a lot different than our past visits (first week Oct, food and wine).

FYI, 2 adults, no kids, rope drop world champions, etc. Our high level game plan would be to take advantage of EMH and hammer the parks up until lunch. Escape back to the resort in the afternoon for some r&r before returning to one of the parks at night for evening entertainment.

We have been twice and it's not that bad except on New Years Eve. Just plan on your 3 fastpasses

 

[Disneylover99]

We've been that week the last three years. Love it! Sounds like you've got a good plan.
Rope drop, leave by noon and return at night.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Your plan is a good one. Go at rope drop, have lunch, get out! LOL! We've done Dec. 25 - Dec. 30, 2015 and Dec. 16 - Dec. 21, 2016. The Dec. 16 was SO MUCH more doable! In fact, I really didn't find the crowds to be bad at all until our very last day. MK will always be the most crowded that week. My advice, find some non-park (and non-DS!) things to do. Go on a fireworks cruise, do Wild Africa Trek, tour all of the deluxe resorts, do a monorail crawl (we did Trader Sam's to the GF gingerbread house to Cali Grill to the Wishes dessert party - SO fun!). Avoid EP WS around Candlelight Processional time. Use UBER instead of the buses! If it gets too crowded - get out!

 

[glamdring269]

Appreciate all of the advice and positive vibes. Ended up just going ahead and booking 12/22 - 12/28! Honestly any time we've been in the past our plan has always been the same. EMH, ride as much as possible without fast pass, consume the fast passes, determine 'unbearable point', get out! Definitely agree with the non-park stuff. We really like to check out the different DVC resorts for future stays and we really want to see what they've done with the Disney Springs area over the last couple of years. Enjoy walking around the world at Epcot, etc.

By the way, one factor that helped make the decision was announcement that Avatar Land (or whatever it's called) will be open this year. Can't wait!

 

[TiffanyA]

My family and I always go right around Xmas and wouldn't have it any other way. My least favorite time is actually September - we've been several times for my son's September birthday and its just miserable with the heat and I honestly didn't think it was that much less crowded. Everyone thinks August is the hottest month, but take it from a Miami native - September is worse. Xmas on the other hand has wonderful weather and is so festive! As long as you plan appropriately (and it sounds like you will), you can do everything you want! We always do TS dinner because after a day of walking through crowds, a reprieve of good food is always appreciated!

 

[Klayfish]

You couldn't pay me to go that week, just sayin"...

Awesome. More room for us!

 

[Dashcomplete]

We went this past year: Wednesday 12/28/16 to Sunday 1/1/17 and had a great time but can see how it is not for everyone.
If you prioritize rides on your trips (like we do), I would recommend doing touring before 10am and after the evening fireworks (where parks were surprisingly empty). Avoid the parks during the middle of the day.
The key for us was rope dropping EMH (which started at 7am). This meant setting alarms for 5:30am and leaving the room by 6am (when it was still dark).
Some notable great touring times were
12/29 MK EMH rope drop: 7am to ~11am when we headed back to the resort. When we were leaving we saw a very long line for the people mover.
12/30 HS after Star Wars Fireworks (Launch Bay was empty: no wait for Kylo Ren or Chewbacca, walked on TSMM)
12/31 AK EMH drop drop: we walked on to pretty much everything standby since we had saved our FP for Epcot later in the day.
The worst time we experienced was Epcot during the early afternoon on New Years Eve Day. You can pretty much forget to do anything other then your fastpasses (even then wait times were around 30 min @ TT and Character Spot). For the actual fireworks we did the La Hacienda de San Angel prix fixe New Years Eve dinner ($200/person). It was nice to be away from the crowds and we did have a nice view of the fireworks but it was very pricey. Without that, I'm not sure how fun it would have been to try and see Illuminations with all the crowds.
If we were to go back, I'd probably have a more laid back approach with low expectations for touring.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We've been several times over the holidays and always have a great time. It all boils down to expectations. We're happy to be there enjoying the atmosphere and beautiful weather, so the rides we're able to do are just a bonus. We make our 3 FP+ reservations each day and do standby on the others we want to do. We stay offsite and NEVER rope drop, preferring to get there later in the afternoon and staying until closing. Seeing the NYE fireworks at MK and EPCOT was amazing and definitely something we look forward to every year. It is WALL TO WALL people on NYE but amazing nonetheless. You sound like you have reasonable expectations, so you'll have a great time. Enjoy!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Honestly, we've been to WDW probably every month of the year over the course of our many visits. Low times, holiday times, you name it and we've enjoyed them all! As Gr8t Fan says, it boils down to expectations. If you know going in, it's going to be crowded, you've already set your expectations and you do what you need to do to plan a trip that you will enjoy even if that means less park time and more other stuff time!

 

[Redarrow5150]

Done it twice. First measure your expectations of how many rides you will go on and yes the excessive crowds. Yes take advantage of EM and hit them hard when doing so. Since you're here...plan, plan, plan and then plan. Yes have a game plan but be flexible when it comes to your own schedule.

 

[DisneyMim]

We have gone between Christmas and new year's for ten years and will be there again this year!! It is a magical time to go albeit very busy. We go ar least twice a year so rides are not really important to us. My husband is a teacher and both our adult children are teachers too so we have always gone during peak seasons. We are not rope drop people, never have been, but I can see the wisdom of this especially if you have not been to WDW very much. My advice is to make any reservations for lunch and or dinner as soon as you can. If you go with a "go with the flow" attitude you will be fine. Also make any fast passes as soon as you can. This past year we had one, yes just one, fp ahead of time. I can almost hear the gasping. No it is not for everyone but we always have a wonderful time. In fact it is my daughter's favorite time to visit and she has been going since she was very little. To me the Christmas season is Disney at it's best. The parks and resorts are beautiful!! Take some time to visit some if the resorts. We had a wonderful time this year visiting bars and lounges at some of the resorts. It was so nice for me to just have the family together sharing time and memories. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Everyone is so much in a hurry running from ride to ride that they miss so much. Christmas time somewhat forces you to slow down. And yes our vacations are relaxing. It can be done!! I would never recommend a first time visitor to go during this time and not even an occasional visitor, but if you are a veteran (and we are, I have lost track of the number of times! Lol!!) I can honestly say that Christmas is a wonderful, magical time to go!

Enjoy The Magic!!