Dec 11-19 Anniversary trip

[disneyfantotheend]

We will be at Disney December 11TH-19TH. Should we expect busy Christmas crowds from the start or should we get a few slower days prior to the real crunch? I do know it will be busy, because it always is anymore, but hoping to get a movable day or two before the shoulder to shoulder crowds come in.

 

[Stephy811]

We went this past December 13-18...it seemed really crowded. Before we went TP had predicted mostly 5/6’s. Almost all the days ended up being 7-9s. Wed/Thur were manageable but the weekend was packed...it didn’t help that the new Star Wars movie came out then...you couldn’t even walk at Disney Springs on Saturday night without pushing through people. With that said we still had a plan and accomplished everything we hoped to do.

 

[JCMCM]

YMMV, but we’ve been during the same time frame for the past two years. For us, it hasn’t seemed overly crowded at all, but we make it habit do all the usual crowd avoiding tricks — get into the parks early, take long midday breaks, spend some time resort hopping, enjoy restaurants at resorts instead of parks, etc. That suits our natural preferences but probably also makes a difference in how crowded it “feels” to us. In my experience, it starts to feel more unavoidably crowded around Dec 23 or so. In full disclosure, we’re a slave to the school calendar so we travel almost exclusively during high crowd times which probably makes our definition of “crowded” different than other folks.

Our anniversary is Dec 21! Hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[Hope Soda]

We were there Dec 9th-20th last year, and the 20th was the only day that was really bad for us (we went to MK just for the morning before departing FL, and were so glad we weren't staying for the day). Saturday the 16th, we were in Animal Kingdom, which was supposedly pretty crowded (morning EMH), but our plan allowed us to avoid most of the fuss. None of the other days even registered as crowded to us, at least for the parks we chose. Personally, I think it's a great time of year to go, but we have only been in December and March so far, and have nothing else to compare it with.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

We went in December once before, but earlier in the month. Loved it. It will just be hubby and I, so we can navigate crowds much better than when we go with everyone. We have had as many as 20 people. No matter what I like the cooler temperatures. I know it will be great. Thank you for your opinions.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We went Dec. 25 - Dec. 30 in 2015 and swore never again. In 2016 and 2017, we went the week before (last year we went Dec. 16 - Dec. 23) and it was a breathe of fresh air. Yes, it got busier as the week went on (the last night we were there, Dec. 22, it was NUTS!), but the parks were quite manageable. You will be there even earlier (lucky!), so I think it will be lovely. Lower crowds and the decorations and events are so wonderful!