Christmas week!!!!Help please

[Belle Belinda]

Hello all,

How are the crowds during christmas week??? My husband just decided that we will bring our children during that week, so I was wondering how long the park lines would be and the weather?? What type of clothing do I pack and have any diss members had the fortune of having great weather, I mean warm enough for the kids to use the pools?

thanks!

 

[Bob P]

Crowds are HUGE. It is the busiest week of the year.

Weather is completely unpredictable. You could have warm days in the 80s with cool mornings, or you could have mornings near freezing with afternoons in the 50s. The pools are heated though, and you will likely have at least a few warm days.

 

[Belle Belinda]

Crowds are HUGE. It is the busiest week of the year.

Weather is completely unpredictable. You could have warm days in the 80s with cool mornings, or you could have mornings near freezing with afternoons in the 50s. The pools are heated though, and you will likely have at least a few warm days.

Ohhhhhh my goodness, is it really that bad! The crowds i mean??

 

[Gymbomom]

Ohhhhhh my goodness, is it really that bad! The crowds i mean??

Pretty Much!!! The Magic Kingdom sometimes closes mid-day the closer it gets to Christmas. Is it still worth it??? Sure!!!! But, be prepared not to ride and do very many things.

 

[Gymbomom]

Oh and swimming, it all depends whether they had a cold front.
But, normally, your best swimming time is noon - 4pm, when the sun is at its warmest.

 

[Tigger79]

I had a girlfriend go to the MK on Christmas Day w/her husband and she never again! It was sooo crowded they hardly did anything at all. As for the weather we've been at WDW the three times the 1st part of December and one trip the weather felt like Ohio weather(where I'm from) and other trips the weather was in the 60s during the day and cool at night. Just keep up to date on the weather the closer you get to your trip. Have a wonderful time. The decorations are wonderful!

 

[JESW]

Which is worse - the week leading up to Christmas, or the week after leading up to New Years Eve?? Just wondering...

 

[disneymom2one]

Which is worse - the week leading up to Christmas, or the week after leading up to New Years Eve?? Just wondering...

It's absolutely the week after. We go every time at that year and crowds steadily build up. By Christmas it's pretty crazy. You really have to stay onsite, plan well, and really just try to not ride as much.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

The week between Christmas and New Year's is worse.

I don't have personal experience in WDW at that time, but I have been around here long enough to read many horror stories. I'll put it this way... my best friend (who knows I am a WDW nut) calls me this morning and asks what I thought about him springing a surprise trip on his family on Christmas morning. I told him that sounded like the most magical wonderful idea ever, and 200,000 other people were thinking the very same thing. I advised him to maybe tell them about the trip on Christmas, but take it some other time.

 

[Sunny37]

Hello all,

How are the crowds during christmas week??? My husband just decided that we will bring our children during that week, so I was wondering how long the park lines would be and the weather?? What type of clothing do I pack and have any diss members had the fortune of having great weather, I mean warm enough for the kids to use the pools?

thanks!

We've spent several Christmas holidays at WDW and every last one was great, regardless of crowd levels. It's a wonderful time to be at WDW. Just plan well, get to the parks early and plan on staying away from the MK on Christmas day...we usually go to Epcot on Christmas day. Last year, we arrived on the 18th and stayed through the 27th. The first few days weren't bad crowd-wise, but yes, it does build throughout the week. Just make sure you do everything you want to do at the MK BEFORE Christmas day! My kids swim at WDW no matter what the weather, because the pools are heated. Just watch the weather and see what the temps will be like...some years we take shorts, sometimes winter wear, sometimes both.

Have fun planning!

 

[Rella Bella]

The year we did the season we arrived the 26th. Magic Kingdom was busy but not unejoyable. The only day they closed a park was New Year's eve... MK closed close to noon. It was packed, unbelievable! Everyone wanted to see the fireworks. We just turned around and went to AK, and it was fine there. And after NYE the crowds shrunk considerably.

The weather was quite warm that year. Sweatshirts in the evening, plenty warm enough to swim during the day, DH & DS even went to a waterpark... but it can be anything. Last year we were there the first week of December and it was freezing! We wore coats, hats and gloves at night and were still chilled. Swimming was out of the question! That turned out to be the coldest week of the whole winter... you just never know so pack for anything! But warm, cold, or crowded we still had a wonderful time!

(FWIW, I packed one of those silver disposable blankets -- we used to call them 'space blankets' -- in my pack when we went last year. I didn't expect to use it and did think it would help much if I did but they take up almost no space so I brought it along. It was so cold one night I got it out, and boy did it help against the cold wind! We also put in between us and the cold sidewalk during the parade and it helped a lot! You can find them at Target, they are right next to the rain ponchos.)

 

[Becky521]

We went Christmas 2004 and are going again in 87 days for Christmas this year. WE were at the MK on Christmas and it was pretty crowded. However, it poured that day and by 4:00 the park was just about empty. We walked onto Splash Mountain 2 or 3 times in a row with absoulutely no wait. It was great - wet but we were in WDW on Christmas!!

When we were there it was "unseasonably cold temperatures". According to the weather beforehand it was supposed to be in the 70's. the day we got there it was 47 It didn't stop my daughter - it was 10 when we left our house and the pool was heated. We did have a couple warm days. I would go every year at Christmas if I could.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I would go every year at Christmas if I could.

We almost always do! It is the best time of the year. We have gone the week leading up to Christmas...the better of the two...and the week following Christmas...the more crowded of the two.

You really have to plan ahead a little. Get there early. Don't go to the extra-magic hour park on its day (unless you get there at EMH opening time and leave about lunch time when it starts getting really crowded), and don't go to MK on Christmas Day unless you are planning to spend only part of the day there. There are several days that MK in particular will close early. We have been when the Disney/MGM Studios closed before opening time because there were so many on-site guest already in the park for extra-magic hours. Same for MK.

But crowds will usually thin by mid afternoon and the evenings are a little less crowded especially after the afternoon parades (MGM & MK). Just remember the crowds will be heavy and don't expect to get to do everything you could do at another time of the year.

Also, bear in mind that everybody gets frustrated by the crowds so you will need to be patient with them and with your family and yourself. If you do you will enjoy yourself alot more.