Down to 2 weeks - now which one?

[uhdwsso]

Hello all! New to this board and it looks like we are traveling to Disney with our friends this year. We are looking at 2 specific weeks to choose from. I've been reading the threads but wanted to confirm what I've read. Would you please share the pros and cons of each of these weeks?

Looking specifically for info. on crowds, which is the more economical week, weather, etc...

Thank you!

August 14 - we are in Texas so the heat does not bother us, found hotel discounts and free kids tickets packages, water parks (are they worth it?), crowds?

December 18 - cold weather?, crowds?, not able to go to water parks, not sure of any package deals

 

[Metro West]

 

[MiceFan]

Welcome! According to TouringPlans, the crowds would be similar on both weeks, so it would just be an issue of which park(s) to visit on which days.

We went December 18-23 this past year. I loved it! It was crowded at times, but nothing that ruined my trip. Our worst wait was when my husband and daughter went into the Test Track line. It was marked 30 minutes and they waited an hour before having to leave the line to make a dining reservation. Other than that, maybe two or three 20-30 minute waits and everything else was 15 or so, usually less.

Be sure to get there early and utilize the fastpass system. It will make or break your vacation.

Also, if money isn't too tight, park hoppers are awesome! Dec was our first trip to have them and they made a huge difference for us getting to do (almost) everything we wanted.

I hope you have fun planning your trip and that the vacation is magical!

 

[MiceFan]

You had a few more questions in there that I may be able to answer...
We are in Texas too! We have never done the water parks, but my girls are old enough that we may try them on our next WDW trip. One of the water parks will be open in December, but it was so cold this trip, I don't think we could have stood it. We did spend about an hour in our resort pool, at Coronado Springs. It was nice in the heated pool, but my teeth were chattering as soon as I got out of the water! I managed one ride down the jaguar slide and couldn't stand the thought of getting out to do it again! It was a l-o-n-g walk back to the room.
As for discounts, we did have free dining (thank you disboards!) which we upgraded to the deluxe dining plan. A lot of people will point out that when you get "free" dining, you pay that much more for your room, but we were thrilled to get it!
Once you book, just keep an eye on here and you will find out about any specials, you can call and ask about getting them added to your reservation, often you can, even after you have booked.

 

[DizGirl20]

This is a helpful website. Ranks all the weeks in order:

http://**************.net/2009/11/20/2011-weeks-to-visit-walt-disney-world-ranked-in-order/

 

[prattpak]

Hello all! New to this board and it looks like we are traveling to Disney with our friends this year. We are looking at 2 specific weeks to choose from. I've been reading the threads but wanted to confirm what I've read. Would you please share the pros and cons of each of these weeks?

Looking specifically for info. on crowds, which is the more economical week, weather, etc...

Thank you!

August 14 - we are in Texas so the heat does not bother us, found hotel discounts and free kids tickets packages, water parks (are they worth it?), crowds?

December 18 - cold weather?, crowds?, not able to go to water parks, not sure of any package deals

I can only speak of December. We just got back from a Dec 11-18th trip and Ill tell you....NEVER AGIAN!!!!. It was the coldest I have ever seen it at WDW. Im from Denver and I know what cold is...or I thought. We ended up buying the kids hat, scarves, and gloves just to be able to try and enjoy the trip. Never again in December!!!

 

[Moira222]

We did spend about an hour in our resort pool, at Coronado Springs. It was nice in the heated pool, but my teeth were chattering as soon as I got out of the water! I managed one ride down the jaguar slide and couldn't stand the thought of getting out to do it again! It was a l-o-n-g walk back to the room.

LOL that sounds like our January 09 trip -- our DD INSISTED that it was warm enough to swim but our teeth were chattering!

The past few months have had a lot of unusually cold weather in FL but I think 70's are the norm for December. Our January 2007 trip we had some beautiful 80's during our week. If you are hot weather folks, that may be too cold for you. (We are PA people, so anything above 70 is good, and 60's are fine for our DD!)