Christmas week - what is realistic?

[Disneylover99]

Two other things I highly recommend are to make sure you have a TS ADR for each day you're visiting the parks, and to use mobile ordering whenever you can for your QS meals. The TS ADR guarantees you a place to sit and time off your feet, and the mobile ordering could save you 20-30 minutes of standing in line. I was astonished last year at the number of people who didn't use it...whereas we would place our order as we were leaving a ride, tap "I'm here" when we were about 2 minutes away, and then have our food within 5 minutes. I felt so badly for all the people standing in the long lines!

Did you use mobile ordering during peak lunch/dinner times? Were you able to get a seat?

The one thing we noticed last year over Christmas, is that Disney is really cranking out the trays of food since more and more people are using mobile ordering, but now there’s more and more frustrated people walking around with trays of food and nowhere to sit. I expect that this will be even more problematic this year as mobile ordering continues to catch on.

 

[reluctantredhead]

Did you use mobile ordering during peak lunch/dinner times? Were you able to get a seat?

The one thing we noticed last year over Christmas, is that Disney is really cranking out the trays of food since more and more people are using mobile ordering, but now there’s more and more frustrated people walking around with trays of food and nowhere to sit. I expect that this will be even more problematic this year as mobile ordering continues to catch on.

We used it during both peak and off-peak times. Admittedly it could be a challenge finding a table, but we were lucky in that we are a party of 3 with no small children to worry about (those days when our D was little were much harder!), so typically two of us would go stand and wait for the food while the other would search for a table. I do remember that the hardest time we had finding a table was on the day after Christmas -- we ate breakfast at Woody's lunchbox, and we had to settle for one of those standing tables if I recall correctly. But you are definitely right that you run the risk of not being able to find a place to sit, which is why I recommended that OP get an ADR for each day of his/her trip, because then you have at least one meal a day where finding somewhere to sit isn't a struggle. I'm not certain whether the mobile ordering has added to the problem or not...it certainly appears as though there are more people hanging around trying to find a seat! But I remember QS being a problem during peak periods/holidays in the past as well, way before mobile ordering began (we've been going to WDW since 1994, and at least once a year nearly every year since 1999).

 

[Disneylover99]

We used it during both peak and off-peak times. Admittedly it could be a challenge finding a table, but we were lucky in that we are a party of 3 with no small children to worry about (those days when our D was little were much harder!), so typically two of us would go stand and wait for the food while the other would search for a table. I do remember that the hardest time we had finding a table was on the day after Christmas -- we ate breakfast at Woody's lunchbox, and we had to settle for one of those standing tables if I recall correctly. But you are definitely right that you run the risk of not being able to find a place to sit, which is why I recommended that OP get an ADR for each day of his/her trip, because then you have at least one meal a day where finding somewhere to sit isn't a struggle. I'm not certain whether the mobile ordering has added to the problem or not...it certainly appears as though there are more people hanging around trying to find a seat! But I remember QS being a problem during peak periods/holidays in the past as well, way before mobile ordering began (we've been going to WDW since 1994, and at least once a year nearly every year since 1999).

Last year was the first year over Christmas/New Years where I didn't see any CM's policing the tables at any of the counter service locations as well. I just don't think they can do it anymore with the advent of mobile ordering. It's not an issue for us anyways, as we typically eat counter service during non peak times. I just remember walking through Pecos Bill last year on a few occasions at lunchtime thinking holy mother of trays.

 

[kcamozzi]

We went December 22-27 last year (Saturday to Thursday) as a party of 3. I was only able to get SDD on the 27th (60+6). However, we surprisingly got FOP at 60+1. We had no trouble getting 7D or Space. We had 6 day park hoppers. While we were very happy with our trip last year, we did purposely book bounceback for WL CL in order to take advantage of CLFP this year Dec. 21-27.

Seems like it's been a toss up between SDD and FOP that are the hardest to get - We are avoiding Hollywood Studios this trip because I'm thinking it will be too crowded with Rise of Resistance just opening in December. I'm glad to hear you had no troubles getting 7DMT and Space - I'd be happy with that

 

[kcamozzi]

We were there last year December 20-27 as a party of 3, and we had a fantastic time. (We've been during the same week twice before, but that was 9/10 years ago, so not as comparable.) . We did have the CLPF+ so we started each day with 6 FP+, but honestly we were able to get way beyond our 3 free FP+ by "refreshing" throughout the day...we fairly easily got at least 8 free FP+ per day, including all headliners (FOP, SDD, 7DMT, Space, etc), just by refreshing, and we never stood in a standby line with the exception of once for Muppets 3D (and that was very short). If you look at last year's threads for that week, several of us on the DIS were posting and commenting about how easily we were able to obtain extra FP+ despite the crowds. The standby lines were incredibly long indeed, but again, we didn't stand in any of them because we were able to constantly get new FP+ (and we aren't rope droppers or morning people...we usually don't get to the parks until between 10 and 11 am). I would definitely (if you haven't already) read the threads about how to refresh and how to start moving up your prebooked FP+ as soon as you tap in at your first FP ride...a surprising number of people don't know that they can or should do that, and it can make a HUGE difference.

Two other things I highly recommend are to make sure you have a TS ADR for each day you're visiting the parks, and to use mobile ordering whenever you can for your QS meals. The TS ADR guarantees you a place to sit and time off your feet, and the mobile ordering could save you 20-30 minutes of standing in line. I was astonished last year at the number of people who didn't use it...whereas we would place our order as we were leaving a ride, tap "I'm here" when we were about 2 minutes away, and then have our food within 5 minutes. I felt so badly for all the people standing in the long lines!

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas trip last year...so much that we rebooked for the same dates this year, and we can't wait! Don't be afraid -- as long as you go into the trip with a good plan, and knowing that it will be crowded, you will be ok. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful trip!

Thanks! I'm going to go back and make sure I really understand the whole refresh thing... I'm also planning on doing mobile ordering for sure! Our TS ADR are usually at the various resorts and I slotted them in for a time that I figure we would be leaving the parks at. It gives us an excuse to check out the Christmas atmosphere at the resorts as well

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

My advice might not be worth a lot since it's been 4 years since we did a trip at Xmas and so much has changed, but we're going this year, same week as you. I think the decision to hit MK early in your trip and do AK and Epcot later that week is smart. We did rope drop every day and were surprised at the low crowds in the mornings. And the cooler temps were nice too. FOP was new then so it was my first FP+ priority, followed by FEA at Epcot. I think hitting RD, taking a midday break and then enjoying a TS meal and holiday atmosphere/fireworks is a great way to tour during the holiday week.

 

[kcamozzi]

My advice might not be worth a lot since it's been 4 years since we did a trip at Xmas and so much has changed, but we're going this year, same week as you. I think the decision to hit MK early in your trip and do AK and Epcot later that week is smart. We did rope drop every day and were surprised at the low crowds in the mornings. And the cooler temps were nice too. FOP was new then so it was my first FP+ priority, followed by FEA at Epcot. I think hitting RD, taking a midday break and then enjoying a TS meal and holiday atmosphere/fireworks is a great way to tour during the holiday week.

Thanks! It's good to know that I'm on the right track. Christmas at WDW is so new to me that I just wanted to get some advice from others who had been there done that I hope you enjoy your Christmas trip! I'm looking forward to ours!