Disney at Christmas

[rkmassa]

My boss did it once about four years ago.

Did they have a good time? Yes
Did they get to everything they had marginally hoped for? Yes
Did they have overly high expectations? No

Would they ever do it again? Not in a million years.

Ditto!

 

[jessica52877]

We leave in 2 days to do exactly what you are talking about only DS's birthday is the 27th. This is probably his one and only actualy on his birthday trip. We have gone several times in December and it does get more crowded the closer you get to Christmas. I have low expectations and can't wait!

 

[DemoBri1]

My oldest daughter will be turning 13 next December and has always wanted to spend her birthday in Disney-we usually go in September. I have never been there at that time and have no idea what to expect in terms of crowds, weather etc. Can any of you December experts help me out? I think that we'd look to go 12/26-1/2. Her birthday is the 28th. Thanks!!

The week between Christmas and New Year's is traditionally one of the three busiest weeks of the year at WDW. If you can swing it, one of the best times in my opionion is the week after Thanksgiving through the first week of December. The holiday season though is getting busier and busier now even outside the busy week between Christmas and New Year.

Weather can be variable at best. We've had days in the mid-upper 70s and days where it barely reached 60. Definitely make sure you pack for either extreme. That being said there is no better time than the parks and resorts during the holidays. While some of the decorations have been cut there is still a magical feeling about the parks during the holiday season. Definitely make sure you catch the Osborne Lights and DHS and if you can swing the extra budget $$ attend the Christmas Party at MK.

 

[katieam1]

My oldest daughter will be turning 13 next December and has always wanted to spend her birthday in Disney-we usually go in September. I have never been there at that time and have no idea what to expect in terms of crowds, weather etc. Can any of you December experts help me out? I think that we'd look to go 12/26-1/2. Her birthday is the 28th. Thanks!!

Happy Birthday to your daughter today!! we went last year for the last week of November first week of December it was busy all the parties were sold out but it was fun. I personally would not go the week between Christmas and New Years because the cast members while we were there were telling us how at like 10-11 oclock in the am they hit capacity and can not let people in even if they have a reservation for dinner so with that info and the fact we HATE crowds we are planning our next Christmas trip for the second week of December. Celebrate a bit early go before it is crowded and is a more value rate. Maybe even catch the parade taping (which was a lot of fun we thought). My cousins used to leave the day after Christmas and stay to the day after new years but last year was there first after Thanksgiving into the first week of December and now they are only going to go that week because of how much they enjoyed being able to see all the decorations with out the crowds.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

You will be let in for your dinner reservations. I have only seen MK closed during my visits there at Christmas time, and even then at some point when guests leave, they reopen the gates again. Remember to get to the parks early and go back to swim/rest in the afternoon. It gets very busy.

That's incorrect. If a park has been closed, due to being at capacity, they will NOT let you in for a dinner reservation, whether you are a Disney resort guest or not. It would be illegal, against fire codes, for them to allow entrance to a park that is closed for capacity crowds.

But, with saying that, Epcot is so large it doesn't really get shut down like MK, DHS or AK - all of which have been known to be shut down by noon during Christmas/New Year's week due to capacity crowds.

 

[no capes darling]

Happy birthday to your daughter! My own will be turning 13 on our upcoming trip. We've been going the first week of January for years- timed with the marathon. The Christmas decorations are still up and the crowds feel managable. It might not be ON her birthday that she celebrates there, but could you pull off a surprise trip for the week after her birthday, with the reveal the day of?

 

[Seahunt]

OP - watch this from local news re the capacity closures and crowds

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Or...uests/-/1637132/7116446/-/jher1z/-/index.html

http://www.wftv.com/gallery/news/lo...-crowd-islands-adventure-disney-/gJ8J/#976498

If you aren't scared off by that, then you'll do fine

 

[MHTeacher]

My oldest daughter will be turning 13 next December and has always wanted to spend her birthday in Disney-we usually go in September. I have never been there at that time and have no idea what to expect in terms of crowds, weather etc. Can any of you December experts help me out? I think that we'd look to go 12/26-1/2. Her birthday is the 28th. Thanks!!

Looks as if I'm in the minority here......Our oldest daughter's birthday is December 30, and we went a few years ago to celebrate her 16th birthday. It DEFINITELY was crowded, but we all agreed that it was one of our favorite trips to WDW. (There's a trip report in my sig line!)

From your sig line, it looks as if you've been to Disney more than a few times, just like us. So, for us, it wasn't about riding all the rides or seeing all the shows. We took in the holiday sights and enjoyed celebrating. We would do it all again!

 

[minniebride]

We just returned home from our very first Christmas trip and, aside from the high prices, we thought it was wonderful!! The weather was unseasonable warm, but December weather is very unpredictable in WDW. We did not understand the hype about the crowds-we thought they were fine. But maybe that is because we are early risers and made it to the parks by 9:30 at the latest every day. We even went to MK on Christmas Day & we thought it was no busier than a typical Saturday night crowd.

 

[dulbricht]

I just returned from visiting Disney over Christmas. My advice to anyone thinking of a Christmas visit---THINK AGAIN. Many on these boards have mentioned the huge crowds and long wait times. I will add one more consideration...safety. Disney does a terrible job of managing these crowds. We were caught in near-riot conditions on Christmas eve at Magic Kingdom when the fireworks show wrapped up. Tens of thousands of people began pushing toward the few exit points past Main Street. Disney's solution? Dim th lights and repeat the shows on the castle wall. No security presence whatsoever. people pushing, shoving. My wife was run over by one of the zillion and a half electric scooters running around the place. In short, while we did take some happy memories from the trip, it was far from the magical experience that so many people gush over when they talk about Disney.

 

[SouthernSoprano]

Well, for someone who was coming here to ask about this same thing, I guess I found my answer(s)!

We are planning a Christmas trip to the World in 2012. We're DIS Vets, have been multiple times in different times of the year, so there aren't many things that faze us. But going in December will be a first for us. My husband and I will have a 9yr old daughter and 7yr old son at the time.

So the question is: Do you think the 2nd week of December will be too terribly bad?

 

[MHTeacher]

Well, for someone who was coming here to ask about this same thing, I guess I found my answer(s)!

We are planning a Christmas trip to the World in 2012. We're DIS Vets, have been multiple times in different times of the year, so there aren't many things that faze us. But going in December will be a first for us. My husband and I will have a 9yr old daughter and 7yr old son at the time.

So the question is: Do you think the 2nd week of December will be too terribly bad?

to the DIS! The second week of December shouldn't be too bad. Check on the Pop Warner week though--I think it's usually the first week of December, but double check me on that.

If you've been multiple times, I think you'll be fine during a December trip. Use good touring plans, use your fastpasses, hit the parks early---you know the drill! If you keep in mind that you've seen it before, ridden it during a previous trip, and can just enjoy seeing the parks decorated for the holidays, you'll have a great trip!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Well, for someone who was coming here to ask about this same thing, I guess I found my answer(s)!

We are planning a Christmas trip to the World in 2012. We're DIS Vets, have been multiple times in different times of the year, so there aren't many things that faze us. But going in December will be a first for us. My husband and I will have a 9yr old daughter and 7yr old son at the time.

So the question is: Do you think the 2nd week of December will be too terribly bad?

We have been at a few different times in December, and for us, we like December 14 - 21st the best - the CRAZY Christmas crowds don't really start rolling in until after the 21st. The crowds are low and the resort prices are low and they have had a Free Dining discount during that timeframe for the last few years. The pre-taping of the ABC Christmas Parade and the Pop Warner events bring in a good bit of crowds during the first two weeks (but nothing like Christmas/New Year's week) and have also caused some of those dates to be blacked out for discounts.

 

[North of Mouse]

Dec. in FL can vary so much from sun-bathing weather to outright below freezing!! We went last year for the first time the 6th-15th and nearly froze - gloves, hats, coats and still for the Osbourne Lights we were miserable . But, this year was different, we hear, so who knows next year?? The decorations at the resorts were just fabulous, and we stayed in as much as possible. The other thing that was a "biggie" for us was the reduced hours of the parks. We love the freedom of long hours of summer - yes, even with the heat - because you can do so much more. So, it can be a trade-off and each family has different expectations. We, personally, would never go after Dec. 15th and the crowds get very bad, but to each his own . Have fun whatever you decide!

 

[PrincesaMama]

We just returned from our trip for our DD bday and Christmas. We were in the Contep. from Dec. 20-25. The crowds were ok until Christmas Eve. We are morning people so we were at the resorts at opening...rode just about everything we wanted...got fastpasses and took a break around lunch time (12 or 1 sometimes later depening on kids and crowds). I did character meals so we didn't waste time in lines to meet them. We decided to book same time next yr...but we will be checking out Christmas Eve..the day after DD bday.

 

[buzznina]

Here is an interesting post by an ex-CM about how WDW handles the very busy time(xmas to New Year) crowds.
"When I was a CM at MK, I was told by my managers that hitting capacity for MK is a several-stage process that really doesn't have any set hard numbers; there certainly are guidelines that Disney follows for each park, but it comes down to the decision of the park manager on-duty (which on those days tends to be *the* park manager, Phil Holmes), and the Reedy Creek Fire Marshal. When the park attendance gets very high (as I said, it's a decision so no exact hard number), the first step is to stop any new day guests from entering (or re-entering), but allowing resort guests and non-resort guests with annual passes to enter. The next step is stopping both day guests and non-resort guests with annual passes, but allowing resort guests to still enter. Finally, if the park attendance gets too high, that is when all guests are stopped from entering or re-entering until the park attendance goes down to an acceptable level (once again, at the discretion of the on-duty manager and the fire marshal). Days like those tend to be on Christmas Week. As an example, every Christmas I worked park attendance hit about 86,000 (we'd ask throughout the day just to see) and the turnstiles would be closed off to all guests at about 10:00am. I had heard from older CMs about times in the past when park attendance was over 90,000, and Disney scaled it back on their own because attendance that high proved to be just too much to handle without something going wrong."

 

[dlann03]

I have read this thread with great interest because we are also thinking about booking a Disney trip around Christmas in 2012. We have made many trips in the last 7 years, but all have been summer trips, with the exception of our first trip, a one-day trip to MK. We have done all the rides, etc in the past so that part could be skipped. My DS is 14 and really wants to experience the whole "Disney Christmas." Hopefully our school calendar will have a few days off before Christmas so we can get in and get out before Christmas Day. My question is, how early do I need to book a resort?

 

[mkoerner]

A suggestion I have is to go in earlier December to celebrate. My husband and I were there from Dec. 6-11 this year and had such a wonderful time, we decided that was our favorite time to visit. Weather was excellent, crowds were very light, except a bit higher on the weekend, and the whole Pop Warner thing didn't affect us at all. If you go while they are there, make sure to stay at a different resort.

 

[ongomom2]

We spent our 1st WDW Christmas vacation there Dec. 17th-22nd. Our family of 4 stayed at Pop. We arrived around 10:00am on the 17th and to our suprise our room was ready. I did notice quite a few families checking in and out. During our week there the resort and food court was not overly crowded.
The weather was fantastic it was between 74 and 81 and did not rain the entire time.
The parks were crowded but no more so than the times we've gone in mid June. The Decorations, music, and CMs were fantastic.
With all that said, there is another side to this 'coin'. In all my years of going to WDW, I have never encountered such rude people. People breaking in lines, people walking into others and pushing rather than saying a simple "excuse me".
Last but certainly not least. I am a mother of 2 with 2 grown bonus children. No matter how much we spent on a WDW vacation we have always taken breaks during the day for naps and down time. We have always left the park at a decent time to have the kids rested and ready for the next day. I was appauled to see so many parents with cranky kids expecting them to sleep in strollers, 11:00pm kids sleepy and cranky but parents not willing to leave and put them to bed.
I don't think that we'll do another Christmas WDW vacation, it's back to springbreak and summer time.