Crowds week before Christmas

[bsmandi]

I need some help from the experienced Disney go-ers! We are planning a trip from December 18-24. I have read the week before Christmas is not as busy as the week after, but I am still worried! We really want to experience Christmas at Disney but I am a teacher and cannot go any earlier in December. With most schools letting out around the 19th, do you think the busy time will begin earlier or still be between Christmas and New Years? I am not expecting low crowds, but just wanted advice from those who know more than I do!! Thanks!

 

[JPN4265]

Here is our thought.... We changed our dates from the 17th - 24 because that is the week that school will be letting out for the Christmas Holiday for most schools. We are anticipating a large crowd during that week and beyound. We have moved our visit to the Week of the 9th in hopes of missing the crowds. Don't know if this is correct, but only time will tell. I would say that if nothing else, for the 22nd on, should be very crowded. Hope you have a great Christmas Holiday.

 

[blessedby3]

We are going the 16-23 and I am hoping for low crowds, but I wont hold my breath. My sis went during this week in 2003 and said there were low crowds, but I think it has just gotten busier with each passing year. Oh well, at least Ill be in Disney instead of my house!!

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Last year we went from the 13-21. The crowds were the lowestest I have ever seen for the first four days. When the weekend hit and each subsequent day the crowds grew. We were happy we got in as much as we did on the first days. We are going again this year from the 12-20 so hopefully we can have relatively the same crowd levels. Use fastpass to it's best advantage when it gets busy.

 

[snowiit]

We are going to be there from the 17-22nd. I know the crowds won't be low but I'm sure that not every school will be off that week. I work for a school district in the midwest and the kids go the whole week, getting off early the 22nd. I'm not expecting empty parks either... but on the half full view, I know it won't be near as busy as the days following!

Nancy

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We were there last year from the 17th-26th. The crowds, IMHO, were low. We pretty much walked on everything. We did one EMH at MK on the 23rd, which is my birthday. I couldn't believe that there was hardly anyone there for EMH at MK on a Friday! The crowds did start to pick up on Christmas Eve. We stayed out of the parks on Christmas day.

 

[Keacc]

We have been there 3 times during that same time frame and will be there this year from December 16th-23rd. The weekends are very crowded. The week days are very managable. Get to the parks early and take advantage of Fastpass! The crowds will get larger towards the end of the week but will not start peaking until December 23rd. From there on out it is sooooo crowded.

 

[tmt martins]

Don't really know but we will be there from the 18th-22nd. But we normally go at the end of June so we are use to the crowds.

 

[bsmandi]

We are going to be there from the 17-22nd. I know the crowds won't be low but I'm sure that not every school will be off that week. I work for a school district in the midwest and the kids go the whole week, getting off early the 22nd. I'm not expecting empty parks either... but on the half full view, I know it won't be near as busy as the days following!

Nancy

I work as a teacher in Illinois too! Our last day is the 19th, but I am taking a personal day so we can hopefully have an extra day on the 18th with lower crowds!! Thanks everyone for your input!! I feel a little better about the crowds and have decided not to worry....like someone else said~we will be at Disney!!

 

[jbird327]

I was there last Dec 16-23 and did not find it too overly crowded. I scheduled each of the parks for the first four days of the trip and then did a tour and had some down time towards the end. We started each day early. I am use to the January crowd levels, but this was not too bad.

 

[bsmandi]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I have finished my planning each day, so maybe we will be ok even if it is busy!!

 

[skuttle]

We were there last year Dec. 16-24 and didn't find it bad at all. We did use fast pass for the big rides, but other than that the waits weren't bad at all. DH and I did EMH at night at MK one night and it was empty!! We did the last MVMCP and I didn't find that too crowded either. This year we're going the week After New Year's due to DH's school schedule (he's a teacher) so I'm hoping it's not too bad!