Crowd levels first week of December?

[pditullio]

We've never been in winter, only spring, summer or fall...

...but I'm contemplating taking my mother down for a few days next December for her 75th birthday. I was surprised to learn that it's the lowest point season -- is that because there's a lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Does anyone have any experience going during this time? Are all the decorations up, or does that happen later in the month? Thanks in advance.

 

[erionm]

They start with Christmas decorations right after Halloween. The MK will be decorated by early Nov for the first Very Merry Christmas Party. Most other decorations at the parks and resorts should be up before Thanksgiving.

 

[ccgirl]

We did the first week in December for the first time this year. I will say that the weekends were VERY busy. Much busier than anticipated. However, the mid week crowds were great. All the decorations were up, the party was in full swing, and the Candlelight processional was going on as well. We were also VERY surprised with how cold it was. Being from New England we thought we could take it no problem. Ummmm....30 degrees is freezing no matter where you are. Ended up spending $75 on hats, gloves, sweatshirts etc. There was only 1 day out of 10 that was warm enough to swim. We still had fun though.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've been doing early December for 20+ years now and while the crowd levels have grown, they are still nothing compared to summer or school vacation times. I believe that the slowest periods right now are January thru early February and September.

 

[tjcrockett]

Been going the first week of December for several years now. Crowds are far less than other times. Weather is the big unknown. It has never been cold for us but it was cool. We also don't go to the pools or waterparks. We figure we can do that at home. If those aren't a big deal to you then the first week of December is great. The Christmas decorations are amazing. Took my in-laws last time. Don't know who had a better time, them or the kids.

 

[ypv]

We went in early December for the first time this year. The crowds were very manageable. We used fast passes only for few of the rides (Toy Story Mania, Soarin, Peter Pan etc.) and never waited more than about 20 minutes to ride anything. I will say it was cooler than we were hoping (unseasonably cool). At times I wore a sweatshirt with a lightweight jacket and gloves. We're from the Midwest so we wouldn't rank the weather as "cold", but it was definitely cool in the morning and evening.

It was a great time of year to go. The decorations are wonderful, the Candlelight Processional was great, and Mickey's Christmas Party was a ton of fun. If it weren't for the kids school schedule, I'd do it again next year.

 

[Iris4474]

The first week of December is our favorite time to go. Crowds are much less than other peak Christmas days, no waiting on rides, etc. We have found it the most enjoyable time to do the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. Closer to Christmas, the more crowded it is. The weather is also pretty nice, maybe a little chilly in the evenings. Have a great time!

 

[Deb & Bill]

That first week of December is extremely popular with DVC members, so book your home resort at 11 months out. Then see if you can change to something else at 7 months out if you want to stay elsewhere.

 

[brenbrady]

We also went fist week in December this year for the first time. The parks and resorts were decorated beautifully. Hardly any wait time for the rides and the crowds were small. Weather was cooler that expected but it didn't hamper anything we had a great time. In fact we are already booked for 2011.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

In 2010 we did 11/30 - 12/5. The place was, for the most part, not very crowded and the weather was great. But the week of 12/6 - 12/12 was much colder.

The MK was SLAMMED crazy on the Saturday though.

Keep in mind that they will probably shoot the Christmas Day parade a couple of days that first week of December. Which means that main street during the day will be a mess as the parade elements go back and forth for the various shots.