December-busiest time to go?

[Redbunny]

Looking at planning next trip in Dec 2010(probably week before Christmas)-was told that December is one of busiest times to go-have only been in Sept (was busy then). Just wondering what your experiences have been. Thanks

DHMEDD8DD5

 

[CarolMN]

It's a popular time for DVC members to go, so plan to reserve at 11 months. The DVC resorts tend to fill quickly for that time of the year.

Although the first few weeks of December is busier in the parks than it used to be, it is still a relatively uncrowded time to visit. It will be more crowded than September, but less crowded than spring break time or summertime.

 

[Granny]

December really is the busiest month of the year for DVC booking. Lower point schedules coupled with holiday decorations and attractions make this a high demand period.

For DVC owners, booking exactly at the 11 month window is highly advised.

Edit to add: I see that Carol posted at the same time I was responding. She makes a good point in that just because DVC books quickly it doesn't mean the parks are all that crowded until you get close to Christmas. The week between Christmas & New Years is extremely crowded in the parks.

Also, the OP mentions that they found September to be busy. In general, I think September is one of the slowest months of the year for both WDW attendance and DVC bookings.

 

[puente0629]

I've been to Disney at the beginning of December...crowd level is low, the weather is great, low per point stay and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is going on. The resort the books up very quickly usually in December is Wilderness Lodge but every other hotel is pretty much available. WDW during Christmas time will be hectic, high per point stays and high crowds.

Hope this helps...

 

[jekjones1558]

The resort the books up very quickly usually in December is Wilderness Lodge but every other hotel is pretty much available.

I have to disagree with you on this one. The first week of December is tough at a lot of DVC resorts. The large resorts may be easier to get but VWL, BWV and BCV are all very popular at that time. There are many folks on the waitlist (myself included) who have been waiting since just past the 11 month window. In fact the only other date all year that might be as tough as the first week of December is NYE.

 

[luvdisney2006]

I have been to Disney the first week of Decemer and did not find it that crowded. The week after Christmas is quite crowded especially on New Year's Eve but I would say Spring Break Week (last week of March) was even busier than the week after Christmas.

 

[pvalues]

Last three trips to WDW was middle of December (2nd week of December in 2006) the parks themselves were dead and the weather was fabulous (70's in the day, 50's at night). We didn't wait more than 5 minutes on any attraction, even Rock N Rollercoaster which is one of our favorites.

Last year we went the 3rd week of September thinking the kids would be back in school and the parks were pretty croweded (in comparison to our December trip of 2006). The weather was much more hot and we had to use Fastpass on all the popular rides. We will not go in September again.

This year we are going the middle of November 15th to 20th so we'll see how it goes.

We don't do the summer months, sooooo hot and crowded. I can't speak to the DVC resorts when booking through DVC, but we never had any issues getting lodging in the middle of December or our last year September trip even booking only about 60 days out in both cases. Of course we had to pay higher prices though.

Anyway those are my reports from our last two trips, with the 3rd coming up in 23 days.

Dave