December 20 - 24

[avincent]

How crazy do you think it will be? We have been Dec 15-20 in the past and spring break last year. How do you think the crowds will compare?

 

[Alesia]

It will be noticeably busier than both of those.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

We did a Christmas week trip last year and it is busy. We had been prepared for wall-to-wall people and long lines for everything including the bathroom - then it wasn't quite that bad... We did go to different parks that most folks (avoided MK on Christmas), used morning EMH then park-hopped, avoided parks in the crowded afternoon, and made TS ADRs for lunches and dinners within a couple days and on Christmas. All of this avoided the worst of the crowds and allowed us to escape the crowds as much as possible. We also assumed an attitude that we were there to enjoy the holiday magic rather than try to ride and see what we normally would during other less-crowded times. It worked for us, but if we had not changed our mind-set and planning for this trip; we would likely have been very frustrated with crowds. Just sharing our experience...YMMV

 

[J and R's mom]

According to Touring Plans 2015 Crowd Calendar from LAST year, this is how those two weeks compared (I used their "actual" instead of their predicted):

Dec.15th 4 out of 10
Dec.16th 5 out of 10
Dec.17th 6 out of 10
Dec.18th 5 out of 10
Dec.19th 10 out of 10
Dec.20th 10 out of 10
Dec.21st 10 out of 10
Dec.22nd 10 out of 10
Dec.23rd 10 out of 10
Dec.24th 10 out of 10

It appears that there was quite a difference in crowd levels between the two weeks.

According to Touring Plans 2016 Crowd Calendar (these are their current predictions):

Dec.15th 3 out of 10
Dec.16th 5 out of 10
Dec.17th 7 out of 10
Dec.18th 8 out of 10
Dec.19th 9 out of 10
Dec.20th 9 out of 10
Dec.21st 9 out of 10
Dec.22nd 9 out of 10
Dec.23rd 9 out of 10
Dec.24th 10 out of 10

Just to give you an idea of how the two weeks would compare to each other this year. It appears that the increase will be quite significant. But knowing that ahead of time can be advantageous. Like to previous poster mentioned, change the mindset and plan for the crowds. It can still be an enjoyable time.

 

[avincent]

According to Touring Plans 2015 Crowd Calendar from LAST year, this is how those two weeks compared (I used their "actual" instead of their predicted):

Dec.15th 4 out of 10
Dec.16th 5 out of 10
Dec.17th 6 out of 10
Dec.18th 5 out of 10
Dec.19th 10 out of 10
Dec.20th 10 out of 10
Dec.21st 10 out of 10
Dec.22nd 10 out of 10
Dec.23rd 10 out of 10
Dec.24th 10 out of 10

It appears that there was quite a difference in crowd levels between the two weeks.

According to Touring Plans 2016 Crowd Calendar (these are their current predictions):

Dec.15th 3 out of 10
Dec.16th 5 out of 10
Dec.17th 7 out of 10
Dec.18th 8 out of 10
Dec.19th 9 out of 10
Dec.20th 9 out of 10
Dec.21st 9 out of 10
Dec.22nd 9 out of 10
Dec.23rd 9 out of 10
Dec.24th 10 out of 10

Just to give you an idea of how the two weeks would compare to each other this year. It appears that the increase will be quite significant. But knowing that ahead of time can be advantageous. Like to previous poster mentioned, change the mindset and plan for the crowds. It can still be an enjoyable time.

Thanks! We last went in December 16 - 21 the year the new Fantasyland opened (2012 maybe?) and we noticed it to be way more crowded that year than the 2 years prior. We went next over Halloween and honestly those first few days in November were the lowest crowds I had ever seen. Last year we went mid March which was our spring break and the predicted 7-8 but it ended up being like a 9. We decided we could handle the crowds but the unexpected heat (90's) and millions of groups of teenagers made us long for December!

 

[sharonabe]

Christmas day being on Sunday is a bit of a wild card. My assumption is EVERYONE in the U.S. is out of school for those two weeks. So will that mean crowds for BOTH weeks are crazy, crazy busy or will that mean the crowds are somewhat dispersed over the two weeks? Don't get me wrong, both weeks will still probably be the two busiest weeks of the entire year, but it will be interesting to see what that busy looks like over the two.

 

[pmaurer74]

I was told by a CM that when the holidays fall on a weekend, the week in-between is crazy, when they fall on a week day, then the crowds are dispersed over two weeks. Our schools are not out until Dec. 23.

 

[sharonabe]

Our schools are not out until Dec. 23.

Really? That surprises me. So do you not get two full weeks? Well, I guess my earlier assumption is incorrect. That makes this year's Christmas/New Year's even harder to predict.

 

[Disneylover99]

I was told by a CM that when the holidays fall on a weekend, the week in-between is crazy, when they fall on a week day, then the crowds are dispersed over two weeks. Our schools are not out until Dec. 23.

Same here. School is not out til Dec. 23rd, which is unusually late. But we don't have to go back until Monday January 9th. Last year we were in the parks Dec. 19-24. Busy, but manageable. This year we are contemplating a new year's trip.

 

[avincent]

I was told by a CM that when the holidays fall on a weekend, the week in-between is crazy, when they fall on a week day, then the crowds are dispersed over two weeks. Our schools are not out until Dec. 23.

Our schools don't get out until the 21st which is atleast 4-5 days later this year hence the later vacation dates but our kids go back to school later in Jan so I thought of going that week after New Year but with the marathon it really didn't seem worth it to me.

 

[J and R's mom]

Our district will be out from Dec 19th-Jan 3rd. But if alot of districts across the U.S. are out later, it might make those earlier days that week slightly less crowded than later in the week.

 

[pmaurer74]

Really? That surprises me. So do you not get two full weeks? Well, I guess my earlier assumption is incorrect. That makes this year's Christmas/New Year's even harder to predict.

no, not this year, they go back I think Jan. 3. It really messed up our plans but we were already booked for Dec. 17-22 for a big family trip so they will be missing one week of school.

 

[glohoffman]

Our schools are getting out a week late too (last day is December 23rd). We had already booked our trip for Dec 15-23...so they will be missing that last week of school as well. Thankfully they are kindergarten and 2nd grade and they won't be missing much! Fingers crossed this means lighter crowds!

 

[pmaurer74]

Our schools are getting out a week late too (last day is December 23rd). We had already booked our trip for Dec 15-23...so they will be missing that last week of school as well. Thankfully they are kindergarten and 2nd grade and they won't be missing much! Fingers crossed this means lighter crowds!

we are doing the same Dec. 15-22, missing one week for 1st and 4th grade. We have missed that week before and they missed very little. 4th grade last year though had 5 tests the week before Christmas! I guess that will give us more time to study!

 

[glohoffman]

we are doing the same Dec. 15-22, missing one week for 1st and 4th grade. We have missed that week before and they missed very little. 4th grade last year though had 5 tests the week before Christmas! I guess that will give us more time to study!

We have never went during this time...may and September were our last trips...so I am preparing for the worst with crowds and hoping for the best! Yeah our school is wonderful about them missing...we create a "journal" during the trip and thru show it to their class and talk about what they learned (hall of presidents and Epcot world showcase come in handy here!).

 

[pmaurer74]

We have never went during this time...may and September were our last trips...so I am preparing for the worst with crowds and hoping for the best! Yeah our school is wonderful about them missing...we create a "journal" during the trip and thru show it to their class and talk about what they learned (hall of presidents and Epcot world showcase come in handy here!).

the crowd calendars I have seen so far have the crowds better than the trip I just took in June until Dec. 22.

 

[princesskimberella]

We did a Christmas week trip last year and it is busy. We had been prepared for wall-to-wall people and long lines for everything including the bathroom - then it wasn't quite that bad... We did go to different parks that most folks (avoided MK on Christmas), used morning EMH then park-hopped, avoided parks in the crowded afternoon, and made TS ADRs for lunches and dinners within a couple days and on Christmas. All of this avoided the worst of the crowds and allowed us to escape the crowds as much as possible. We also assumed an attitude that we were there to enjoy the holiday magic rather than try to ride and see what we normally would during other less-crowded times. It worked for us, but if we had not changed our mind-set and planning for this trip; we would likely have been very frustrated with crowds. Just sharing our experience...YMMV

We were there this last year from the 14th- 24th and we were pleasantly surprised by the crowds. We followed pretty much the same plan as above. Most day we were up early and out of the parks by noon, grabbing a bite to eat and relax by the pool then heading back out around 7 pm. Our last day there on the 23rd we slept in got all our stuff packed and ready for our flight out the next day. We got into the parks at 2:30 met up with family and had well planned fast passes and just watched wait times and had a great day. We closed the parks around 2am.
I think if you go with an open mind and can be flexible with fast passes and wait times you will find its not that bad

 

[merrick]

we went in 2014 from the 14 to 21 i think. the worst day was the first day we arrived, which was a saturday and we walked over to MK. i thought "this is horrible... i can't believe i am going to do this for a WEEK". turned out, we walked into to main street, in the middle of a parade. it was still busy but we had fast passes and just wondered around since we had never been before. we went back the sunday for another full day of MK. we got to epcot on monday (and the other parks over the remainder of the week), nothing seemed as busy as MK that first weekend.

it couldn't have been that bad, we booked pretty much the exact same week for this december! i hate heat and humidity. i embrace the idea of more people and line-ups in 23 degrees than 38 degrees.

 

[jvz82]

So we almost always go at Christmas time because my husband is a teacher and so is my mom and sister. Yes it can be very busy. However I have found that mornings are actually not bad at all!! We went on New Year's Eve day one year and we literally walked onto every single ride that morning without a line. But we went back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap and returned in late afternoon to an insane wall of people. I've actually never seen anything like it at Disney!! You literally could barely move all night and they had to open back alley areas normally reserved for cast members because of all the people. Fireworks at midnight were freakin amazing though. But I will never go back on New Year's Eve!!

Our schools are not out until December 23rd this year. I anticipate the week between Christmas and New Years to be craziest. It is more expensive that week too. We are pulling the kids from school and going the 18th through the 22nd, which I'm sure will be busy. But make it a priority to get there right away in the morning and take a break in the afternoon when it picks up, you'll be fine!

 

[avincent]

So we almost always go at Christmas time because my husband is a teacher and so is my mom and sister. Yes it can be very busy. However I have found that mornings are actually not bad at all!! We went on New Year's Eve day one year and we literally walked onto every single ride that morning without a line. But we went back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap and returned in late afternoon to an insane wall of people. I've actually never seen anything like it at Disney!! You literally could barely move all night and they had to open back alley areas normally reserved for cast members because of all the people. Fireworks at midnight were freakin amazing though. But I will never go back on New Year's Eve!!

Our schools are not out until December 23rd this year. I anticipate the week between Christmas and New Years to be craziest. It is more expensive that week too. We are pulling the kids from school and going the 18th through the 22nd, which I'm sure will be busy. But make it a priority to get there right away in the morning and take a break in the afternoon when it picks up, you'll be fine!

I think we have just decided to go with the flow, it is not our first trip so it is not like we have to see everything, and we realize we only have 3 days in the park but it was either these days or not go and my kids feel like it has been forever since we were there last spring break. To me spring break was wall to wall people (teenagers) which I could handle but it was in the 90's by the end of the week we were there and honestly the heat just zapped us and we could not go all day long like we had in Dec and Nov prior years. We think there is something extra special about being at Disney before Christmas but I am not sure I could handle New Years crazy!!! Lol