Christmas weekend vs New years weekend

[spgoad]

Hi all. My DW and I are considering a short trip to DLR on one of the long Holiday weekends this December. We would arrive on a Friday evening and leave Tuesday or Wednesday. We know it will be jam packed, but our primary reason for going would be to see the parks Christmas atmosphere and to see Cars Land.

Does anyone have any thoughts on which weekend they would choose to go? Anyone think one is significantly more magical/nostalgic than the other?

Thanks!

 

[Malcon10t]

Hi all. My DW and I are considering a short trip to DLR on one of the long Holiday weekends this December. We would arrive on a Friday evening and leave Tuesday or Wednesday. We know it will be jam packed, but our primary reason for going would be to see the parks Christmas atmosphere and to see Cars Land.

Does anyone have any thoughts on which weekend they would choose to go? Anyone think one is significantly more magical/nostalgic than the other?

Thanks!

The crowds will be slightly lower for Christmas.

 

[spgoad]

I forgot to mention that it appears hotels are significantly cheaper Christmas weekend, which struck me as odd. I don't know if they are expecting lower crowds or what. Seems like they should be roughly the same cost to me.

 

[Sherry E]

Christmas is on a Tuesday this year - so you'd be arriving on the Friday before that, correct?

I definitely vote for Christmas weekend. Yes, it will be crowded but, as Malcon10t said, the crowds may be ever so slightly lower. There is a chance that some folks will stay home or go elsewhere to visit family for the actual holiday, but after Christmas and up to New Year's lots more people are available to visit DLR, armed with gift money to spend!

Plus - and this would be a big determining factor for me because I am a huge fan of Christmas time and would want to soak up as much as I can at Disneyland Resort - if you go while it is still before Christmas, you will get to experience extra little things. For example - Santa is at the 3 Disney hotels (there is a great photo spot with Santa by the large Christmas tree at the Grand Californian) and Dickens carolers perform at the hotels as well. The hotel Santas and the carolers clear out of the hotels sometime after Christmas and before New Year's rolls around.

You will also get to see the cute Christmas Eve Goodnight with the characters (some of whom are dressed in pajamas) in Town Square on 12/24. (Malcon10t can probably explain a bit better about that, as I'm sure she has seen it many times.) You may get to enjoy some special menu items at a few restaurants that will be there for Christmas and not for New Year's weekend.

The bottom line is, unless you just really want to ring in the New Year at Disneyland Resort (and many people do), I would stick with Christmas weekend because it will keep your holiday options open a bit more.

 

[rokstedy]

count me in for Christmas as well. New Years eve is one of my few times of the year I choose to stay away from the park.

 

[DisneytheKid]

My wife and I are going for New Years this year. We know that it is going to be super crowded but are going in with properly aligned expectations and look forward to doing the countdown in DLR. Have a fun time, whichever date you choose

 

[Disney Dreams]

Hi all. My DW and I are considering a short trip to DLR on one of the long Holiday weekends this December. We would arrive on a Friday evening and leave Tuesday or Wednesday. We know it will be jam packed, but our primary reason for going would be to see the parks Christmas atmosphere and to see Cars Land.

Does anyone have any thoughts on which weekend they would choose to go? Anyone think one is significantly more magical/nostalgic than the other?

Thanks!

Okay, New Years Eve is on Monday.

Christmas is on a Tuesday.

So... if you go Christmas, will you be leaving on Christmas morning?
And if you go NYE, will you leave New Year's Day?

Here's how it plays out (generally speaking):

Christmas Eve: busy
Christmas Day: empty in the morning, builds during the day, busy by afternoon
Post Christmas: Builds each day from busy to very busy until insane busy on NYE. No, not what you are thinking. Busier than that.
New Years Day: starts out slow and builds, generally busy from afternoon on.
January 2 forward: not too busy, but busy still. Still lots of people on vacation and trying to see the decorations before they go away on January. 6th.

Hope this helps,
Dreams

 

[DisneyMomma81]

You can see the parks all decked out for the Holidays & Cars Land anytime from mid Nov. on, can you go earlier in December or even November?

 

[KalamityJane]

We went mid Nov last year and it was AWESOME - we walked onto just about everything.

 

[spgoad]

Thanks all. Sounds like Christmas weekend is the general consensus between the two. We can't go earlier in Dec. or Nov. because my DW is a teacher... that limits our travel schedule pretty well. Otherwise we'd definitely try to be traveling more during off season.

Dreams - Yes, we'd probably leave Christmas Day (probably late afternoon) or New Years day. Though we may decide to add the extra day to get a full day of Disney Christmas magic if we go with Christmas.