December 2020 advice needed

[bardays]

Happy almost New Year! We are planning a trip for Christmas 2020 but I am getting pretty scared about crowd size especially since they were at capacity yesterday!
We have flexibility as nobody is in school but really have our hearts set on Dec 25 IN the park. Is is it traditionally less crowded the week before Christmas? I am aware the entire season will be busy. We have done Spring Break and Halloween and are pretty used to crowds and are Max Pass pros.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I've never been during the holidays, so I'm far from an expert, but I am planning a trip for next Christmas too, so I've put a lot of research into it. The days before Christmas are far less busy than the days between Christmas and New year's. When I say less busy, they are still busy, but not oppressively crowded. This year, the crazy crowds arrived on the 27th. I watched the app closely from the 18th on, and the 27th seemed to be when things got intense. There were several rainy days leading up to Christmas, so that may have played into things this year. If you want to be in the parks on Christmas, I would plan the majority of your park days before the 25th.

 

[SeeDisney]

Happy almost New Year! We are planning a trip for Christmas 2020 but I am getting pretty scared about crowd size especially since they were at capacity yesterday!
We have flexibility as nobody is in school but really have our hearts set on Dec 25 IN the park. Is is it traditionally less crowded the week before Christmas? I am aware the entire season will be busy. We have done Spring Break and Halloween and are pretty used to crowds and are Max Pass pros.

I know it...Me too, I am watching the wait times on the my disney experience and it's sickening to see the high wait times. I never been in Chritmas. I want to take my older children in December 2020 during their long break. I want to read a report that this has worked for other families. We will be staying at Shades of Green.

 

[limace]

I know it...Me too, I am watching the wait times on the my disney experience and it's sickening to see the high wait times. I never been in Chritmas. I want to take my older children in December 2020 during their long break. I want to read a report that this has worked for other families. We will be staying at Shades of Green.

This thread is specific to Disneyland, not world, though I’m sure then crowds were similar there this week!

 

[disneylover102]

I think the week before Christmas is less crowded than the week after Christmas. I went December 28 and 29 in 2016. Of course it was fun (Disneyland is always fun!) but when I look back on it, it was one of the least enjoyable Disneyland trips I’ve been on. The Christmas decorations were absolutely amazing though so I would recommend going earlier in December or maybe in November when the Christmas decorations are up but the crowds aren’t insane.

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

My wife and I have been on multiple occasions in early-mid December and have had friends be there on Christmas. As you'll already know as a Disneyland veteran, as a result of it being such a "locals" park, all of December is very crowded, especially when kids get off for winter break. The week before Christmas is generally one of the most crowded times of the year there as a result. Is it as crowded as Christmas Day? Probably not...but you're talking about arguably the most crowded day to attend a Disney park anywhere (Christmas), so the answer will always be "it's less crowded" some other time. On the whole though, that week before is still very crowded.

My honest advice: if you have your heart set on being in Disneyland on Christmas Day, then go for it! Make it fun, plan for it and just realize that it won't be the same as other trips because of the crowds, so maybe focus on other stuff you haven't done or that isn't attraction-oriented. If it's really more about just experiencing the Christmas decorations and the "sense" of Christmas while in the parks, then consider going the week before or as early in December as possible.

Hope that helps!