December Trip Planning

[1 goofy family]

I've spent the morning looking at the Disney website and I am getting EXCITED!!

We are looking at Dec. 17 (Wed) - Dec 20 (Sat) for our trip. I keep reading about the beginning of December being a low attendance period - are those dates considered the peak holiday time or are we still going to experience low crowds?

I know December park hours aren't posted yet, but historically speaking does the DL park open at 9:00 or 10:00?

We are considering staying at the GCH. I've read that there is DVC construction going on, does anyone know specifically where it is? Is it affecting any of the rooms or views?

If anyone has any info to share I'd appreciate it!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Based on last year, you're going during a peak time, but not the highest peak time. Last year, the 15th of December was the last day that CMs could get friends and family into the parks because crowds were expected to be very high after that date.

The good news is you're going to have weekdays in there, so the parks will be "less" crowded. Expect very large crowds on Friday evening and Saturday all day.

 

[pumpkin5156]

I would say you'll hit some major crowds. We always go the first or second week in Dec on weekdays only, and it's perfect. Once we threw a Sunday in (never again!) and it was awful. I just don't like dealing with all those people.

As far as the DVC construction, I am not sure. sorry. I would count on DL opening at 8am or 9am. DCA at 9am or 10am (usually an hour or two after DL opens up).

You will have an amazing time. DL is a wonderful place to be during the holidays.

 

[1 goofy family]

Thanks for the info. I really dislike huge crowds but oh well...the timing couldn't be helped. We'll just have to be more prepared!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

If you know what you're doing, huge crowds can be dealt with.

1. Early morning touring is your best friend. The parks are usually pretty empty first thing in the morning, so you can get a lot done if you're near the end of Main Street when Disneyland opens.

2. Know how to use FastPass. If the standby is 20 minutes long or so, get in and save that FastPass. The next FastPass window is either the FP return time or 2 hours later, whichever is earliest, so keep that in mind.

3. Lunch crowds are nuts, but if you can wait until after 2:00pm, they'll drop. So a big breakfast and/or lots of snacks can save time there.

4. When Disneyland gets really crowded, DCA is often quite empty.

5. (Maybe the hardest one). After 10:30pm, the crowds start to thin out, especially in Fantasyland. If your children aren't too little, this is a great time to do Fantasyland because it's a whole lot less crowded.

 

[1 goofy family]

If you know what you're doing, huge crowds can be dealt with.

1. Early morning touring is your best friend. The parks are usually pretty empty first thing in the morning, so you can get a lot done if you're near the end of Main Street when Disneyland opens.

2. Know how to use FastPass. If the standby is 20 minutes long or so, get in and save that FastPass. The next FastPass window is either the FP return time or 2 hours later, whichever is earliest, so keep that in mind.

3. Lunch crowds are nuts, but if you can wait until after 2:00pm, they'll drop. So a big breakfast and/or lots of snacks can save time there.

4. When Disneyland gets really crowded, DCA is often quite empty.

5. (Maybe the hardest one). After 10:30pm, the crowds start to thin out, especially in Fantasyland. If your children aren't too little, this is a great time to do Fantasyland because it's a whole lot less crowded.

Thanks again for the great tips. We're going to definitely be at the gate at opening and maybe even leave the park for lunch. I am hoping the Wed and Thursday will allow us to do enough so if we can't do much on Fri & Sat it won't be such a big deal. I've gone in what was supposedly "low attendance" time and boy, did it sure seem crowded to me! I'm trying to imagine the crowds during a peak travel time.
This trip is sure to be an adventure! Thanks again!!