Christmastime or Spring break

[west texas]

I have my ressies and ADR's for dec 26-08 thru 1-2-09. but now am considering cancelling and rescheduling for Spring break, maybe, would be 2nd or 3rd week of march. I can get full refund, and easily plan another christmas trip.

when I planned, I did not realize this was the busiest time, and am reading horror stories about how crowded it is at christmas and new years??

advice?
thaks

 

[nurse.darcy]

I would think that spring break would be just as crowded, if not worse. . .but not an expert at WDW. . .

 

[kevingg]

I too am interested in what the opinions are. I am in the same dilemma. I can't decide between going Dec. 27 - Jan. 10 or feb 21 - march 7. I don't know which will be better based on cost, crowds and weather. I too would like to see the x-mas decorations.

Thanks in advance

 

[west texas]

My kids are 6th,7th,10th grade, and do athletics, so I can't pull them out of school, now that they are older.
I will not go during the summer, I get enough hot where I live!!!
when I booked this trip, I did not know this was the busiest time!!! think I'll try to re schedule for spring break, that is our only other time slot

 

[raven69david]

Go during Christmas time; hands down winner in my book. This is when we go and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year - especially at Disney. It is crowded during both times, but you also need to deal with warmer weather in March (albeit not that bad for Florida) plus the large crowd of kids during Spring Break. At least during Christmas time the crowds aren't as large as Spring Break IMO due to families wanting to spend time at home with their families. This is why we go 2nd week of December and not during Christmas itself. I feel like many others think the same way, however i know it is still crowded in December.

 

[manhattan]

I say go at Christmas time. The parks and resorts are soooo beautiful all decorated. I love the coolness that settles in at night and the days are perfect for walking around the parks. To me the crowds are more manageable with the holiday spirit all around you, but during spring break, its just crowds.

 

[pixiemagic30]

Personally, if I had the choice of spring break or Christmas, I would go at Christmas hands down! If I am going to have to deal with crowds, I want to deal with them at Christmas! Why? Because I love all the Christmas decorations, the Candlelight Processional, and the magic of seeing the characters in holiday costumes. I have been to WDW at various times throughout the year, but I have fallen in love with the mouse at Christmas!

We were there Christmas '07 and found the crowds manageable. Yes, it was crowded. Yes, FastPasses went quick. But overall, the only time we really felt the crowds were at the parades and nightly fireworks. We planned the trip 3 months out and were able to get all the ADRs that I wanted, though it did take several phone calls, but I never gave up!

 

[Teacher510]

We were also there this past Christmas week and it was MUCH more crowded than it was when we first went that week in 1989. We went knowing it would be that way and planned accordingly. We used AM EMH and did other things besides park attractions in the afternoon and evening. Of course, we had to see the parks at night but, be prepared, it is really crowded.
All that being said, we loved it and any WDW fan who can, should do Christmas at least once.

 

[spiceycat]

spring break.

yes it can be crowded. but the parks are open later.

besides everything is blossuming and it looks pretty wonderful.

now the christmas decorations are great and I do love Dec - but early Dec - less crowded - not near Christmas.

the weather temperature wise is pretty even - dec can be a little colder - but march is still a great time to visit WDW.

just look at the local counties - Osceola, Orange, Lake, and another one kept forgetting. don't go when Osceola or Orange has off.

 

[chickie]

I have to agree with Spring Break. It sounds like your break will be about the same time as ours. If it was the week before or after Easter, I'd have to say no. But this should be a few weeks before Easter this year. Everyone's spring break is a little different, so this means that the crowds are be spread out over a month or so, during March and April.
Although Christmas time is nice, I'd have to go with smaller crowds.
Good luck with your decision!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have my ressies and ADR's for dec 26-08 thru 1-2-09. but now am considering cancelling and rescheduling for Spring break, maybe, would be 2nd or 3rd week of march. I can get full refund, and easily plan another christmas trip.

when I planned, I did not realize this was the busiest time, and am reading horror stories about how crowded it is at christmas and new years??

advice?
thaks

I would choose the 2nd week of March over Christmas week. I know that I could not tolerate the wall-to-wall people and the parks closing by noon due to crowds being at capacity. Just the thought of it makes my feel claustrophobic! That's why we are exiting the parks by December 21, before the really crazy crowds get there. Easter is the second Sunday in April this year, so the earlier in March you can go the better. It will still be crowded, but not Christmastime crowded and the weather should be really nice.

 

[kevingg]

Thanks for all the responses. I am just wondering though, How bad (crowds) is it compared to summer. I have been in all the months from May - Sept. We always find it crowded but we manage. SO are the crowds THAT MUCH worse at X-mas. We would still be there for another nine nights after New Years, so will the crowds thin out enough to make up for going at such a busy time .

 

[west texas]

if they close at noon due to capacity, what if you have an ADR, or do they just say no one else in??

 

[PrincessTiffany]

if they close at noon due to capacity, what if you have an ADR, or do they just say no one else in??

It doesn't matter if you are a resort guest, it doesn't matter if you have an ADR, it doesn't matter if you are the Queen of Sheeba (lol!!!) . . . if the park has been closed because it is at capacity, they will not let anymore guests in. There is a link here on the DIS somewhere that talks about the different stages of closing down the parks. I will try to find it and post it.

 

[mmmears]

Spring Break.

You said your Spring Break is in March, right?

The most crowded times include Spring Break around Easter, which is on April 12th in 2009. The week before and the week after Easter is usually busy like Xmas.

We'll be there around that time, and it will be crowded and expensive, but we dont have much choice.

March should be a better value and less crowded -- wish we had our Spring Break then!!!

 

[danceintherain]

I've been both times, and really can't remember a difference. However, those times were well spread a part so my memory might be a bit fuzzy. The crowds didn't really bother me that much, but I probably did opt to skip quite a few rides for the New Year's trip, because of line length. Magic Kingdom did close down on New Year's Eve, but we still managed to get in before it shut down completely. (my brother was in the parade that day with the school band, so we would have been really upset if we didn't get in)

I think Spring Break would probably be better if you're really worried about the horror stories. It will just be a more relaxing experience for you, if you're not trying to compare your experience to everybody else's. (good or bad)
Another thing you might consider is moving your trip back a couple days. You could still enjoy the festivities, but then stay a couple days after the crowds leave.
I don't know when your kids go back to school but if you went from the 28th-4th then you would get a couple more low key days before you left, but you would still get to enjoy the Christmas decor and New Year's celebration.

I'm going to be there from the 4th-13th, but I'm in college so school doesn't start up again until the 15th of January.

 

[danceintherain]

Oooh... also beginning the 1st of January you would drop down into Value Season rates (if the seasons stay the same) which means you would be paying close to half of what you'd be paying with the Holiday rate just about anywhere you stay.

Again... I don't know when your kids need to be back in school, so my advice might be useless.

 

[kevingg]

Thanks for the input. I am not really too worried about the crowds, especially since we will be there for two weeks (until Jan 10). We have three kids 6, 4 and 1 so we never really do any of the big headline rides anyway. We do all the smaller kids rides etc. Sometimes my DH or I will do a bigger ride but not usually.

 

[jls886]

We were just there for Christmas this past December. We arrived on the 19th and left on the 30th. We did definitely notice the crowds pick up on the 24th, but up until then there was hardly anyone there! Even though the crowds got heavier, we had our ADRs planned so we never had to worry about somewhere to eat. We also stayed at Boardwalk so it was easy to hop back to our room in the afternoon for a break. Basically, we went for a long enough time that we could take it easy and not worry if it was too crowded in a certain park that day, we would just go somewhere else and know we could come back tomorrow. And a bonus of being there the night of the 29th...we got to see a "practice" of their New Years fireworks and they were incredible!!

All in all, we would all recommend going at Christmas at least once. And make sure you do Candlelight Processional, it was the highlight of our trip!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Thanks for the input. I am not really too worried about the crowds, especially since we will be there for two weeks (until Jan 10). We have three kids 6, 4 and 1 so we never really do any of the big headline rides anyway. We do all the smaller kids rides etc. Sometimes my DH or I will do a bigger ride but not usually.

Our kids started riding the "headliner" rides at about 4 years of age. The 4 and 6 year old are probably big enough to ride just about everything. You and your DH can do rider swap with the baby and then your other two kids get to ride twice.