Disneyland at Christmas crazy or no?

[Twice_as_Nice]

We are contemplating taking our trip to Disneyland over Christmas, so being at the actual park from Dec 22 - Dec 26. This will be our first and likely only trip to Disneyland, would it be crazy to go during this time crowd wise? We were also thinking of going Dec 20-24 would that be better, not being there for actual Christmas day?

3 kids age 10, 9 and 4 and 2 adults.

 

[chickapin parterre]

attending those dates is not visiting Disneyland. Instead, you are attending a traditional, spectacular Christmas gala unlike any event in the world open to a paying public sponsored by the Disney corporation. And it is a HUGE PAYING PUBLIC. Yes, it is crazy to venture into the Disneyland......but people are also signing up to travel to Mars and never return.

 

[Malcon10t]

We go every year from the 20-Jan 3rd. Those dates are great as long as you go in realizing it will be the busiest days of the year. Go in expecting turnstiles to close daily from the 24th on. The 20-24 will be better, but still very very busy. The 26th will be over the top crowded.

 

[figment_jii]

I agree with Malcon10t that the December 20-24th will likely be a little better better than December 22-26, but it'll still be very busy. If you do decide to go during the Christmas/Holiday season, I highly recommend checking out the Christmas/Holiday SuperThread.

 

[lovebug33]

We went once on Christmas and the day after. Never again. And that was 8 years ago when everybody still hated CA and you could dive in there for a respite. No way would I ever go on Christmas again.

 

[cheekybulldog]

We general go around Christmas, because we are passholders and don't mind if we can't ride much, but if I were just coming for a short trip I would probably come earlier in the Christmas season. This year we went on Christmas day and it was busier than I've ever seen it. They stopped letting people in around 2ish that didn't have a hand stamp, even passholders. It opened back up to everyone I think around 5pm. So if you do come that close to the holiday just know you may not get to see everything that you'd like too.

 

[goldmay]

I went last year a few days before Christmas and I'm definitely not doing that again. I can tolerate long lines, but the walkways were crowded too. You can't get around freely, everyone kind of just shuffles along.

 

[mirage0306]

We've gone this past Christmas and the year before. In 2013 we were there from Dec. 13-17 (so not exactly Christmas) and it was ok. Not too crowded. In 2014 we went closer to Christmas--Dec. 19-23--and the difference was remarkable. The last couple of days were REALLY crowded. Really, really crowded. It's still fun, of course, but it's definitely one of the busiest times of the year.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Hhmmm....Now I am starting to rethink it. We are planning on going from 20-26 and spending the first few days doing other things in the area then doing Disney from 23-26. I am wondering if we should do Disney first and then others things after that.

 

[engo]

Maybe we're crazy too ...
We'll be there between 19 and 27 ... expect it'll be crowded.

 

[Diznygrl]

Well it's your funeral, but personally you couldn't pay me to go during Christmas week again. I did it once, and this was many years ago when crowds in general weren't nearly as bad as they've become in the past several years, and it was still awful. I don't even want to know what Christmas week is like now. Good luck.

 

[Congo Queen]

Well I hate to pile on, but I went on December 20-21st 2014 - after not having gone at Christmas time for probably a decade. It was rough. While I loved seeing all the decorations and the special programs like Viva Navidad (which was terrific), the crowds were murder. My family goes every year in the summer for a week and so we were (I thought) fairly well-versed in how to handle a crowded park. But Christmas crowds are an entirely different beast than summer crowds IMHO. Wall to wall people - could not even move at some points in the evening on Main Street and around the hub. The first two hours of the park were OK as we got there at park opening but from about noon onward it was oppressive. Don't plan on going at Christmas time again any time soon (unless we could go early Dec on a week day when most people's kids are still in school.)

 

[DahliaRW]

We went the 12th-16th of December and it was NUTS. I can't even imagine closer to Christmas.

 

[cherice95403]

Christmas week is INSANE busy. Earlier is better, but be prepared.

 

[tarheelalum]

This past year we went on the 25th-27th. We had never been before during the holidays and we were very excited about it. But honestly the crowds really did kind if ruin it. I had never seen 10 minute waits for the men's restroom or the park shutting down due to overcrowding. At one point it seemed everything had over an hour wait and some had two hour waits.

If you are coming for your first visit I would not suggest coming at Christmas time. Maybe a week or even better two weeks before Christmas would be a lot more fun than the crowds you will encounter during Christmas.