Crowds in early December

[MMgranny]

We plan to go the first week of December. What kind of crowds should we expect?

 

[threeblessings]

I haven't been to WDW since childhood, but from everything I have read, that is one of the best weeks of the entire year in terms of crowds and costs.

 

[carlbarry]

I've been there twice in early December, the second time this past December. Crowds were minimal. I went on Kali River Rapids 4 times in a row!

 

[dvcHammer]

Early December is one of the lowest crowd times. Most everything in all the parks was a walk -on. Except Soarin' and Test Rack, those never seem to have a short line!

 

[OKW Lover]

As the PP have said, crowds in early December are very manageable. We've been going at that time of year for over 20 years and while the trend is towards becoming more crowded, its really not an issue.

 

[mickey50]

YOu should be good. Just stay away during the week of christmas and news years. Very busy!!! Have fun. :

 

[disneygirlinnh]

There are absolutely no crowds during this time of year. I still had to get a fast pass for some of the most popular rides, but the stand-by wait times were always less then 10 minutes in any park. It's a great time to go to WDW!!

 

[NJFireman22]

Over the past 15 years or so we have found that the first week of Dec. is the best time to go to the "World". No crowds at all. And as a bonus most of the holiday decorations are up too.

 

[Tuliplvr]

We've been twice the first week of Dec and it has been fantastic! Low crowds!

 

[Mrs.Bungle]

I wouldn't worry about the crowd levels at all - but you will find several areas decorated for the holidays that get a little crowded at times (like the lighting of the castle or the Osborne Lights Spectacle)

The weather is a different story. You'll need to take a range of temperature clothing to cover all the possible weather. DH and I broke out the snow jackets, beanies and gloves one night for a sleigh ride (being from CA, anything under 40 is bone chilling for us)

 

[Leigha&Phillip]

We are spending our Disney Honeymoon there the third week of December! I keep hearing that the first three weeks are the best time of the year to go because of the minimal crowds So I think both of us will be good!
Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

We always go the same week in December and 2010 was SOOOOO crowded!!!
To fill the parks and hotels they have all the POP Warner games as well as cheer leading championships.


We were there last week and the crowds were very low

 

[Missytara]

I have to say I have done the week after Thanksgiving, which would be the week before, almost every year since 2000 and it has been getting busier and busier each year.

This past year with the monster pin code and the extension of free dining, the resorts were practically booked. I was lucky that I made my ADR's as soon as I could, because not long after that, they announced the extension of free dining.

It also doesn't help that the Travel Channel put out a show a few years ago called "Disney on a Dime" and declared that week the best time to go to get the best bang for your buck.

While it isn't nearly as crowded as Thanksgiving week, it has certainly picked up in popularity.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I'm sorry, but I'm wondering if the some of the people on this thread have been to WDW during the first two weeks of December RECENTLY? Early December used to have very low crowds, but the secret is out and has been out for a few years. The crowds are still better than busy times like Christmas week and summer, but the crowds are not that low, more medium to medium-high. The first week of December, last year, was even blocked out for discount codes because the resorts were full - due in part to the yearly Christmas Parade taping and the ever popular Pop Warner football and cheerleading crowds.

Not trying to put a damper on your planning OP, and I'm sure you will have a wonderful time - we have been during that time frame three times - but I just wanted you to be prepared and have realistic crowd expectations.

 

[Glenn&Sharon]

We were in WDW Dec 4 - 10 this past year. It seemed uncrowded to me, except the places like TSM. Even Soarin' was a walk on in the morning. The longest we waited in any line was 20 minutes for Dumbo. As usual, mornings were best, and crowds built in the afternoon.



It was cold, though. Bring layers!

 

[Ro Z]

We were there Nov. 30-Dec 9. It was way more crowded than I expected. But it was not crazy busy. We usually go the week or 2 before Thanksgiving and I was expecting no crowds from what I read. We still did everything we wanted to do(we did have 10 days)but if it was our first time I would have been disappointed with the waits. We got to Toy Story at 8:30am and the FP return was 2:30. At least we got one I think WDW offered so many discounts during that time it brought the crowds. It was freezing so maybe that was why a PP got on Kali so many times. Even tho it was busier than I expected we loved it. It was beautiful and won't stop us from going the same time again.

 

[cutie_dinokun]

We were there Nov. 30-Dec 9. It was way more crowded than I expected. But it was not crazy busy. We usually go the week or 2 before Thanksgiving and I was expecting no crowds from what I read. We still did everything we wanted to do(we did have 10 days)but if it was our first time I would have been disappointed with the waits. We got to Toy Story at 8:30am and the FP return was 2:30. At least we got one I think WDW offered so many discounts during that time it brought the crowds. It was freezing so maybe that was why a PP got on Kali so many times. Even tho it was busier than I expected we loved it. It was beautiful and won't stop us from going the same time again.

same here..........we thought it won't be crowded so we went from Dec 1-13. We were greeted by long wait times in MK for 3 separate days (e.g. at least 45 mins of Small World ride and it took us almost 1.5 hours to wait for Winnie the Pooh ride)...and then we had to wait almost 2 hrs for the toy story ride in Hollywood Studio cuz we couldn't get the fast pass (all gone by 12:30pm)

 

[robinsegg]

This is when we went. The only crowds we encountered were:
1. DHS for Toy Story Midway Mania (we ended up skipping this ride).
2. The week after Thanksgiving they apparently tape the Electrical Parade, causing *everyone and his brother's uncle's cousin* to go and try to get their 15 minutes of fame. If I had realized this would happen Thurs, Fri & Sat, we would have waited another day to go to MK.

 

[Susiesnowflake]

We've been going late Nov into Dec for 15 years or more. The crowds have become progressively larger. You'll notice that for 2011 that Disney doesn't even consider that time period value season anymore. For 2011, they have a value season and a value season 2. The late Nov-partial Dec time frame is now considered "Fall." Rates are higher than the 2 different value seasons. I assume because more people are visiting.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

This is when we went. The only crowds we encountered were:
1. DHS for Toy Story Midway Mania (we ended up skipping this ride).
2. The week after Thanksgiving they apparently tape the Electrical Parade, causing *everyone and his brother's uncle's cousin* to go and try to get their 15 minutes of fame. If I had realized this would happen Thurs, Fri & Sat, we would have waited another day to go to MK.

They do not tape the "electrical parade." The first weekend in December is when they tape the ABC Christmas Day parade, that is usually hosted by Regis and Kelly, and airs on Christmas Day. And, yes, those parade taping days are usually a mad house at MK.