Crowds end of December

[Suebie]

Hi All,

We'll be driving down to southern Florida for the last two weeks of December and thought we'd make a stop over at Disney World. Normally, we visit DW during the off-peak seasons so I'm a little hesitant to go this time of the year. Can anyone tell me if the crowds are worse right before Christmas or right after New Years Eve?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[coli]

Peak Season/Holiday season (i.e. highest number etc.) is the last week of DEcember through New YEar's Day....

But I'm going then..... madness - it'll be great...

 

[nataliesdaddy]

In 2001 we went from xmas eve to neaw years eve - it is a complete madhouse jam packed to the hilt - my mother felt she needed a wheelchair - BIG MISTAKE - there is squat for room to maneuver a wheelchair !!! and on one occasion we got just plain stuck due to it...!!! not a pleasant experience...

if we did not have mom along? well that would have worked out ok... but you for sure need a game plan for that week... or you will be swept up and away by the crowds.

 

[Suebie]

Thanks for the replies! I'm sure the crowds are enormous between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Has anyone been the few days immediately before Christmas Eve? Were the crowds as bad?

I've been to WDW the first 2 weeks of December, i.e., out of there at least a week before X-Mas. It is pretty empty at this time of the year and very nice. I'm just wondering exactly when the holiday crowds start arriving and when it goes from empty to a zoo!!!

Thanks again.

 

[becka]

I have never been at those times but based on past reports from about the 20th on you can expect steadily increasing crowds until by the 12/26 - 12/31 period it is a madhouse. Starting after 1/1 the parks really clear out.

We went in early January 2001 and it was dead which was great because we never had to wait in line.

If you can go for a few days after 1/1 then I would recommend that time frame.

 

[DemonLlama]

We were there Dec. 18-26 of this past Christmas and loved it.

We'd read all the horror stories and were just freaked out that we would be wasting our vacation on a madhouse, but it just wasn't that way for us.

We loved being there at that time, and were in the Magic Kingdom on Christmas morning and had a ball. (Kids rode Goofy's Barnstormer -- their favorite -- seven times without waiting that morning.)

Go early and break from the park after lunch to avoid the biggest crowds, that's my best advice, and have a great time!