Crowds New Years week (2nd-5th), which Defcon level???

[Shane0724]

Looking to surprise the family with 3 full days at parks (park hopping) Jan 2(Fri)/3 (Sat)/4 (Sun), are crowds worse than thanksgiving and xmas? We plan on rope dropping most days and using early and extended hours for sure. I know it will be crowded but just curious your experience and what to actually prepare for. I assume LL is a must for this time of year? Thanks in advance.

 

[scrappinginontario]

There are no crowds that are more crowded than Christmas (and Thanksgiving). Christmas Day MK will likely fill to capacity. That sometimes happens at Thanksgiving too.

Your dates will be high crowds but I would anticipate they will lessen with each day as many schools are either back in session or return to session on Mon, Jan 5th. Your dates are also before the first 2026 marathon so some will have arrived by then but the following weekend will be busier.

Personally, I think you will hit the sweet spot during a busy time of year. There will still be a lot of people but less than the weeks before or the week after I believe.

 

[Disneylover99]

Looking to surprise the family with 3 full days at parks (park hopping) Jan 2(Fri)/3 (Sat)/4 (Sun), are crowds worse than thanksgiving and xmas? We plan on rope dropping most days and using early and extended hours for sure. I know it will be crowded but just curious your experience and what to actually prepare for. I assume LL is a must for this time of year? Thanks in advance.

Not worse, but not that much better.

A lot of the holiday/new years crowds will extend into the weekend and a couple of the Florida resident annual passes will be back in play.

 

[lorimt]

It will still be pretty crazy. We did those dates in 2023 and 2025 and I'm not sure that we will do it again but those low point DVC nights keep sucking me back in! Every day will get a little better but HS in particular feels insane. Long lines and little to no LL availability after your first three. As long as you pack your patience and anticipate crowds, it can still be great. Rope dropping will help a lot. As my kids get older, I struggle to get the teens out of bed in the mornings and we always miss those low line times.