Doing Christmas Week...I know it's crowded, I'm crazy & it's expensive...now help me out.

[ErinC]

We will be there December 20-27th. We have done Christmas before, but most recently it's been easter trips which I consider to be just as bad crowd wise. I'm hoping to hit the parks hard and heavy the first few days because I know the crowds will just get heavier as the week goes on. I plan to make more ADRs than usual so that we can enjoy some break time from the crowds. I know everyone says be there for rope drop, but because we have three teenage daughters, we are on school break, and we live in a different time zone, rope drop doesn't happen for us. we do love those really late hours at the park though and your kids will probably be old enough to enjoy those too. There is nothing like walking around the MK at 1:00 a.m. We go to WDW yearly so I just remember that if we can't do it all we'll catch it next time. I'll bring Christmas decor for our room too. My girls have super memories of our last Christmas trip at WL, and we are going for a repeat of that this year. It will be a little easier on me this time because we don't have any more Santa believers in the house.

 

[Julie Montoya]

I agree with the advice to manage your expectations.

 

[Rosebud123]

Good friends of mine went that week and had a blast The advice they'd give is to get to the parks at RD each day, even if it's 7:00 a.m. And I agree with another poster about your dates (at least the first 1/2) not being that bad. I think it's Christmas - New Year's that's the real beast.

Have fun.

 

[Disneylover99]

We were there last year Dec. 20-30. This is going to sound strange to most/all of you, but the crowds add to the magic at Christmas.

We went to Osbourne Festival of Lights twice. One night it was crowded and one night is was not. We actually preferred the crowded night. There was a great/festive energy in those crowds. The less crowded night was beautiful of course with the lights, but not the same feeling.

 

[upbeatred]

I've been at that time period before and it really was not that bad. First of all it is not too hot. Secondly the crowds as most folks have said really pick up from Christmas to New Years. Finally Disney is just plain pretty crowded most of the time anyway, so why not enjoy all the holiday goodies. It sounds like your kids are plenty old enough to deal with the crowds and I think the more crowded times are harder with very little children who don't understand if they can not see their favorite character or ride a certain ride. We always plan time to do a resort tour. It is really fun to stop in the lobbies of all the resorts and see the beautiful Christmas decorations. I think the suggestion to get advanced ADRs is also great as well as considering a meal or two or at least a little break from the actual Disney property. Maybe look into one afternoon or day shopping or somewhere off campus for dinner. Finally I went when my kids were about that age and we packed a small christmas tree, stocking and some of their presents. It was very fun to decorate the room and really they still expected something on Christmas morning. Also we gave them a Disney gift card so they could buy something on Christmas day.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Our family has been away from the Kingdom for 6 years. But we've finally got a schedule together that will work (yeah!!!), bad news is it's December 19th through December 26.

We're not newbies, so I already know some will say "it will be crowded, full of fussy people, impatient families all of the great unwashed masses". I already know that many on this board will be quick to tell they would never go during this time if there life depended on it.

No offense, but if you fall into this category, don't reply. I won't read it.

I'm not on this board asking for a critique, I'm looking for advise from those who've lived through the battle and have survived. I'm looking for advise from that special individual who can turn lemons into lemonade.

Help me out with advise, tricks, special family customs, fun things, super events and a great way to spend some precious time with my family.

Thanks for all your help.

I have never been during that time as I hate it when it is that crowded but from reading the boards that day (Christmas) I would say the truth then is the same for any day but more important when it's this crowded. Especially if you go Christmas Day get there at rope drop. You will find it much less (comparatively) crowded than it will be later on. And they often reach capacity on Christmas Day so if you arrive after noon you might get turned away.

 

[think-like-tink]

Great Post. We are checking on the 19th-22nd. I am expecting high crowds.

 

[sharonped]

Great Post. We are checking on the 19th-22nd. I am expecting high crowds.

Oops - sorry didn't mean to quote this.

It *can* get cold that time of year.

 

[robinb]

I forgot one thing ... the weather can strange. It can be shorts and tank top weather in the middle of the day, but pants and jackets weather at night. The key is to layer and to bring those knit stretchy gloves for when it gets cold. I can be comfortable with jeans, a sweatshirt or fleece, a windbreaker type jacket and my stretchy gloves all the way down into the 30's. If it's supposed to be warm, I'll start the day with shorts/capris and a fleece and then stuff the fleece into my bag once it warms up. We always take a mid-day break so I always change into pants for the evenings.

If you're from the Northern climes, you can even swim. the pools are heated and it's just cold getting from your room to the pool.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

You guys are making me want to go at this time of year!

 

[akaDaddy]

I just wanted to say great title . Hope you have a great trip. Post your survival story!!

Thank you

 

[Narnia_girl]

Our family's very first trip was between Christmas and New Year's Day. Because we had prepared for "the worst" our expectations were low--but it was totally awesome and wonderful. Maybe because we had never been before we had nothing to compare it too. We loved every minute! We tried to strategies to minimize crowd times, and there were only a couple of times over the week that we truly felt cramped. I hope you love it just as much as we did!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We were there 12/20 - 12/27/14 and had a blast! It was definitely crowded but we still had a great time. We had our FP+ reservations for those rides that we HAD to do and went with the flow from there. We NEVER made it to rope drop (we're just not a RD family) and we still managed to ride everything we wanted to over the course of the week including all headliners except Space Mtn (because we chose not to -- too jerky). We usually visited DHS, EP and AK early in the day, took a break and got to MK between 5-7 each day and waited for the crowds to clear out after the first nighttime parade and fireworks. MK was open very late.

We had such a good time that we'll be there again this year the same dates as you - 12/19 to 12/26. Hoping for another amazing Christmas at WDW.

 

[dae3dae3]

We went the week of Christmas last year. Here is my advice.

1. Rely on rope drop. If you think you're going to sleep in and roll on into the park at 10 AM then you're going to miss out on 80% of what you could have done. We did at least 80% of our headliner rides before 10 with the rest of the day filled will smaller rides and our FP+ and ADR and just taking it easy enjoying ourselves.
2. Make all your reservations in advance. FP+ and ADR. If something you want isn't available then keep checking back. Especially when the cutoffs for when people will have to pay cancellation penalties are. There wasn't a single thing that I really wanted that I wasn't able to get into or onto. Even the things that people say are really hard to get. Remember that the times posted are Eastern so if you are in a different time zone you may need to start checking before the posted time. Do not wait until the next day. Do not sleep in. They will be gone and then you will have to start a long process of checking over and over again to try to catch cancellations.
3. Don't rely on Disney Transportation to get you to the Magic Kingdom for 7 AM rope drop. We stayed on property and gave up and drove to finally get to see the rope drop ceremony after missing it twice because the buses couldn't get us there on time because they were late. We still almost missed it because the monorail stopped half way around the loop for about 10 minutes. Fortunately we had this option because we had driven. I still don't know how the big crowds were managing to get there before us because there were 16 cars in the parking lot when we got there and we still almost missed the rope drop ceremony. Where do these people come from? Parachute in?
4. On Christmas day just prepare to relax. We made two table service reservations plus our fast passes so that we had guaranteed things to do knowing that it was going to be ridiculously busy. We took it easy and enjoyed ourselves. Who wants to run around like crazy on Christmas? This was the one day we didn't rope drop because we let our girls open presents before heading to Magic Kingdom. Some people will say they wouldn't go near MK on Christmas because of the crowds. I said the heck with it. I'm already an idiot for going to Disney World during Christmas week. I might as well go all the way. If you're going to be at Disney World on Christmas day of course you want to be in Magic Kingdom. You just have to set your expectations properly to not expect to be walking onto any rides after 10 AM without a FP+ unless it isn't a headliner. Of course, I enjoy the old rides that people here make fun of so that helps us out.

 

[tinkermom_of_two]

Our family went two years ago over Christmas, and are going back again this year over Christmas as well. The main things we learned from that trip include:
-Crowd pictures cannot explain crowds...were there times that were incredibly packed? Yes! But I would take incredibly packed and cooler, over packed and July hot...December crowds are more bearable to the nose
-Use those EMH at night at MK if you can...my kids still talk about the emptiest times at the park we have ever seen were from 2 to 3 am over Christmas week...they ran through BTMRR at least 5 times back to back before we made them stop for the night
-Don't overdo it. While the crowds are manageable if you plan around them, they, and the incredibly long park hours, do take a bit out of you. We made the mistake of not planning for enough down time, and started to feel pretty run down after a few days.
-Use this time to branch out to do the things you might not otherwise make the time to do. Christmas was a great time to make first visits to Country Bear Jamboree and the Hall of Presidents, and we also decided to check out the SOTMK and pirate map games.
-Plan ahead where you can. We felt bad for the people searching for TS walk ups at meal times at the busiest time of the year.

Most of all, have fun! We made some wonderful memories over our last trip, and cannot wait to do it again!

 

[robinb]

We went the week of Christmas last year. Here is my advice.

1. 
   
2. Don't rely on Disney Transportation to get you to the Magic Kingdom for 7 AM rope drop. We stayed on property and gave up and drove to finally get to see the rope drop ceremony after missing it twice because the buses couldn't get us there on time because they were late. We still almost missed it because the monorail stopped half way around the loop for about 10 minutes. Fortunately we had this option because we had driven. I still don't know how the big crowds were managing to get there before us because there were 16 cars in the parking lot when we got there and we still almost missed the rope drop ceremony. Where do these people come from? Parachute in?

Hmmm ... how did you get on the Monorail from the TTC? I stayed offsite once Christmas and the monorail was not running in the AM. Only the ferry and the resort monorail. Do they allow onsite guests on the resort monorail?

 

[labdogs42]

I have done it and I loved it! My suggestions are --

go to Epcot on Christmas Day because it can handle the crowds (really, any park but MK is probably a good bet on Dec 25)
go expecting insane crowds and you may just be pleasantly surprised that they aren't as bad as you thought they would be
make those ADR's ASAP (like any trip)
visit the resorts to look at the holiday decorations when the parks start to feel too crowded
make sure to meet as many of the Santas/storytellers in epcot as you can. They were some of our favorite "characters" during that trip.

You will have a magical time. I usually try to avoid crowds at all costs -- we usually visit Disney during hurricane season, February, etc. Any time that is "low crowds" and yet, we survived Christmas week just fine. We would do it again! It is all about expectations.

 

[si-am]

We have frequently been during that time period, and you can have a great trip! The crowds will really start picking up around the 23rd. Try to schedule important park days before that date, and schedule some "off days" around Christmas Day.

Use rope drop.

If you go to a park on the 25th, do Animal Kingdom. It will be empty before noon. Otherwise, maybe try something fun like mini-golf or bowling at Splitsville.

Relax, and enjoy the decorations and ambiance!

 

[bababear_50]

Our family has been away from the Kingdom for 6 years. But we've finally got a schedule together that will work (yeah!!!), bad news is it's December 19th through December 26.

We're not newbies, so I already know some will say "it will be crowded, full of fussy people, impatient families all of the great unwashed masses". I already know that many on this board will be quick to tell they would never go during this time if there life depended on it.

No offense, but if you fall into this category, don't reply. I won't read it.

I'm not on this board asking for a critique, I'm looking for advise from those who've lived through the battle and have survived. I'm looking for advise from that special individual who can turn lemons into lemonade.

Help me out with advise, tricks, special family customs, fun things, super events and a great way to spend some precious time with my family.

Thanks for all your help.

Hi
I love your positive attitude
I have lots of ideas.
I am one of the DIsigners down on the creative DIS forum.
I am taking a break from DISigning tll July 15 (son's wedding) but when I get back I would be more than willing to whip up some things to make the season a bit more Jolly.
examples
Santa Mickey Key note
Tink and friends pillow notes
Treat Coupons
Christmas autograph pages
Have a look at my coupons in my Photobucket
link in my signature

Here is an example of a Christmas coupon

My family spent Christmas at Disney a few years ago and we had a Blast-but I did plan lots of things.

Pack a small tree and send everyone on a treasure hunt to find something to decorate it with. My one son came back with straws and lifesavers.
Pop Popcorn and make Hot chocolate and decorate the tree.

Yes my family even dragged our air blown Canadian Polar Bear all the way from Canada and put him on our Balcony.

Tie your stockings on the room door handles.

Decorate the windows with Christmas window clings. They look good on the mirrors in the room also.

Hand out small candy canes to CMs.

Go Christmas shopping in DTD , we bought our stocking candy treats at Goofy's Candy Shop.
Don't forget to drop by and see Santa Claus.

Get those Santa hats at the dollar tree store and hot glue some large black pom- poms on them.
Tye Dye some red and green t shirts.

Pack wrapping paper, bags, tape,tags and ribbons from home,,Disney does not have much of any of this.

Being festive in attitude and spirit will make your Family Holiday even more special.

Have fun planning
Hugs Mel

 

[geek+nerd]

We have done 2 Christmas trips and are going for our third this year. My advice is stay away from MK on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Other than that, it's totally manageable. AK is our go-to park for Christmas Day. We've done it both times and have been able to walk on Everest or wait for little. Crowds there were low.

Last year we did the Yuletide Fantasy tour. DH and I both really enjoyed it and recommend it.