Disney for Christmas

[Princess_Aurora]

My plan is to pack the kids' suitcases, wrap them up and put a note on top of their clothes that says "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD" (Their ages will be 4 and 8) So I'm looking at going Dec 26 to Jan 1. I thought about leaving on Christmas day but I figure giving the kids a day to process that information might be better. We tried surprising my daughter a couple of years ago and told her we were going to Memphis. For some reason she was really mad. I'd love to magically end up at WDW out of the blue!

Another plus is my DD's birthday Dec. 29, so she would get to spend her birthday there.

I've been the first week of Dec. but we've never been there during the holiday season. DD will be in 3rd grade and that's when it starts getting too hard to take them out of school for trips, so you have to kinda conform to the peak season.

Finally here comes my question...Exactly how crowded will it be? The reason I like going during Value Season is because I hate to go through the stress of rushing...especially with young kids. So ultimately I'm thinking if it's gonna be incredibly packed the entire time, it might not turn out to be the best Christmas present. I can almost hear the complaining and whining now. Is Christmas just as crowded as summer or more crowded. I've never been in the summer, but my MIL took my DD when she was 5 and she seemed to handle it well then. I'm just kinda building this idea up in my head and I don't want it to turn into a desaster.

Thanks

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

Unfortunately, yes---it will be incredibly packed the whole time. Christmas week is more crowded than the whole summer with the possible exception of July 4 weekend.

The MK will often close due to the crowds, especially on New Year's Eve.

Having said that, tens of thousands of people go every year and have a great time.


Bob

 

[moniot]

We went this year at Christmas. We arrived on the 27th and stayed until the 6th. I can't believe how many people can pack into the parks. Our kids are 11 and 12. We got to the parks as close to opening as we could and it got so busy we left the parks before noon. It didn't get any better the week after new years either with the marathon. As pretty as the decorations were (We loved Osbourne lights!!!) I don't think we will ever go back over the holidays. I am glad we went once though. If you plan on it being busy and don't plan on trying to do everything and if you are relaxed and can go with the flow it will be fine. My husband was ready to scream and pull out his hair while we were there and he LOVES Disney.

 

[BlindTyldak]

You know, you might have a better trip (and DEFINITELY surprise the kids!) if you wake them up two weeks early with an early gift from Santa because he knew the parks would be busy right at Christmas time, and of course you'd still get all the parades, the christmas party, the lights, everything at Epcot, etc.

 

[darlene9947]

I'm going from the 29th to Jan. 2nd and fully expect it to be busier than a one-armed wallpaperer!!

However, I'm bring TourGuideMike with me and I know we'll be OK!!!

Mike went with me on my 2 trips last year and I'll never go back without him!! Sign up and start planning!!

 

[rkmassa]

Went once over the Christmas break--NEVER again. We leave before the 25th now, or stay out of the parks after the 25th and enjoy the resorts. Just too crowded to pay that much money and not enjoy our time.

 

[disnut8]

We went last year for the same time period with our son, daughter-in-law, and six year old granddaughter. They arrived December 26 and left on January 2. After a disasterous flight down, they had a great time! Believe it or not, we never set foot into Magic Kingdom. We had such a blast at the other three parks and I'm not even sure the granddaughter realizes she missed the Magic Kingdom (she's been once before and didn't really have that great of a time there). She loved Epcot and wanted to go back there over and over again. We just took our time and knew that some things would be packed and planned on either avoiding those things or getting FastPasses when needed.

Make sure you have seatings for dinner (or lunch) for your daughter's birthday and also for New Year's Eve. There are a ton of people who are stuck because they don't have any arrangements. We only did one seating - all the rest were counter service. Not a problem at all. Just ate at non-normal times.

Go for it and make the most of it. Keep a positive attitude and your kids will as well.

 

[Princess_Aurora]

Upon further investigation, it seems like the week before Christmas might be better. Heck, I even priced a 10-day vacation (from Dec 19 - Dec. 28) and it was even cheaper than the week-long vacation (from Dec. 26-Jan 1) Seems like even if crowds are still pretty bad the week before Christmas, we've got like 3 extra days to do everything. Plus airfare is cheaper. I noticed if you book a flight the day before or the day after Christmas you get this insanely expensive rate.

I'd still like to incorporate the surprise though...I'm thinking maybe Santa could make an early trip out on Thanksgiving and give them the surprise on that day.

 

[DisneyDotty]

I recommend before Christmas, too. We surprised our kids with an early Christmas present-trip to Disneyland this year--Dec. 18-23. They were so shocked and excited--only told them about the trip the night before--had them open early Christmas presents all of which were clues to Disneyland--and loved hearing them say for several days after, "I can't believe we're at Disneyland. I can't believe we're at Disneyland!"
The crowds at DL were quite manageable at first, but built steadily during the week. We left at a good time.
Have a great trip!
(PS--The hard part will be keeping it a surprise! THis is so fun!)

 

[AStamm]

We did Christmas Eve to New Year's Day two years ago and went with the understanding that it would be extremely busy. The only day it really bothered us was New Year's Eve at MK. They closed the gates around lunchtime, as they maxed out at 75,000 people (according to a CM we talked with). It was VERY difficult to walk anywhere and waits were 2 hours for some rides (people were even waiting 2 hours for Peter Pan!!!!!!!).

If you go with the understanding that you probably won't be able to do everything and look for some of the more offbeat attractions, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I do, however, think that the crowds are worse than 4th of July and the rest of the summer. The nice part is it isn't 100 degrees and the humidity isn't overwhelming.

Regardless of the crowds, I still loved going to WDW for Christmas. We've already booked our trip for this Christmas. You're right about the difference in room rates, though. My DH and DS are going to fly down on Tuesday, the 19th, the last day of value season. I won't get there until after work on the 22nd. Overall, we'll have the room for 12 nights and will be SAVING over $350 on the room versus the 9 night trip we originally priced with all of us arriving on the same date. In addition, the airfare was about $100 cheaper for DH and DS than I got. Not a bad deal for four extra days of magic!

 

[CheshireVal]

Hate to tell you, but that's absolutely the worst week of the year to go, crowdwise.

We always go the week *before* Christmas. Hardly any crowds at all!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

We are going at the exact same time! We are going with the Premium Plan and have the mentality of going on all of the new things (went in March of last year) and Christmas activities.

 

[liamsaunt]

My parents surprised us with a trip to Disney for Christmas once. (It was almost 20 years ago actually!) We came downstairs expecting presents and found nothing under the tree except for a sled for my brother. At first we were really disappointed, but then my parents told us to go pack because we were leaving for Disney the next morning. It was very exciting!

However, even back then, the parks were really, really crowded. I remember the MK parking lots being filled early in the day. Of course, there was just Epcot and MK back then. We had a good time despite the crowds, and I remember things really lightened up crowdwise right after January 1. We had a lot more fun at the end of the vacation, once the crowds let up (we were there through Jan. 6).

I'd go before Christmas if you can. It will be less crowded and you'll get to do more. They run the holiday parade in the afternoon the week before Christmas, so you don't have to buy MVMCP tickets to see it.

 

[HappyLawyer]

well, we only go in december, but we usually do disney before x mas and x mas and after at universal and bg, if you go and it's crowded make the most of it, it's vacation, have fun

 

[Scottish-Helen]

I'm going from the 29th to Jan. 2nd and fully expect it to be busier than a one-armed wallpaperer!!

However, I'm bring TourGuideMike with me and I know we'll be OK!!!

Mike went with me on my 2 trips last year and I'll never go back without him!! Sign up and start planning!!

I'm bringing TGM with me too for our trip December 26 - January 1st. I wouldn't dream of going at that time without him

 

[dvc guy]

Maybe I qualify as a Christmas expert. 7 trips in the last 7 years and this years trip is booked 12/28-1/1. Everything you have read and heard is true. You MUST have the mind set that you will not see everything. They have lots of really cool holiday stuff to see and do. The only day that bothers me after all these years in NYE. In order to do any rides at any park on NYE you need to be there at opening, problem is if you want to ring in the new year you will run out of steam, so something has to give.
Advise
Start early in the morning, at opening, last year we got to MK at 8 AM and were able to do all the mountains and Buzz before 10:30 AM
Pace yourself. and stop to smell the roses
Make ADR as soon as possible, if you don't if will be counter service, nothing will be available same day.
Be flexable, go with the flow
I love the energy, and excitement. Some how we are able to do 90% of what we want on each trip.
Only 304 days till Christmas

 

[james15]

Yes it will be packed.But we will be there from dec-28-jan 2.Are 3 time at christmas just a neat time to be part of the magic.where doing a week in the fla keys before hitting disney so we will have relaxation and the thrill of disney for the holidays.