Early Dec Crowds

[princess jackson]

What are the crowds like in Dec, the frist 2 weeks, i have been informed they are least crowed.

What does this mean, 5-10 min wait for popular rides or longer.

Will be able to arrive at the park when it is open, or will we have to get they before the parks open like in the summer.

Did anyone go last Dec, just to get idea on park hours.

 

[tyke]

Hi

We were in Orlando for the first 2 weeks of December last year.....we are also going again this year !

The park attendances were very low - wait times for the more popular rides and attractions were 10 mins max - most were straight walk-ons.

The park hours are shorter than during the summer - however we arrived at the parks within 1 hour after they had opened and had no problems fitting in all we wanted to do.

Early December is a fantastic time of year to visit WDW - you get to experience all the 'holiday festivities' without the masses that swarm to Orlando during the christmas/new year weeks.

The one downside of December is that the weather can be unpredictable - most of the days were very warm but we did have a couple of cold snaps especially in the early morning/evenings - tip: pack some layers for your days out - stick them in a locker at the park - then if the temperature drops you can easily cover up and continue havin fun !

Have you booked for the MVMCP at the Magic Kingdom - it was one of the highlights of our holiday last year - the shows and parades were amazing and the atmosphere throughout the park was awesome - tip: the official start time is 7pm however they do start to let MVMCP ticket holders into the park around 4pm - gives you even more time to enjoy MK !

tyke

 

[princess jackson]

Thanks for the info

 

[Miffy2003]

We were also there in early Dec 04 and I fully agree with all that tyke says

Very very quiet but also very cold sometimes.

 

[hanncam]

I was wandering around and peeked over to the UK boards and found this thread. My family and I have been going to disney at least twice a year for the past 10 years.

Last year was the first time we went in December. We were there the second week and at one point near the pirates of the carribean ride we were the ONLY ones on the street. Never waited in line once, rode everything at least twice and really enjoyed the free hot cocoa. You really should consider paying to go to the Mickey Christmas party. They actually pump real snow over the buildings in Main street in MK from 7pm to 12 midnight. If you pay for the Christmas party you actually can go to the park at 4pm that day. And while the regular crowds have to leave, you get a wristband allowing you to stay. It was 70 degrees at night and around 50 degrees at 8 or 9 in the morning. So we wore pants and T-shirts with those flimsy coats that you can tie around your waist. I can honestly say there is nothing like it. It was fabulous and I am trying to convince my husband that we need to go this year too.

Even the parades at the other parks like MGM dressed up their cars with fake snow and garland and everything. Usually the first 2 weeks are NEVER crowded....

Hope this helps

 

[Spondishy]

I've been twice in December. 2001 was lovely and warm, 2003 like October in the UK (pretty cold nights).

Every where was pretty quiet (no queues), but there seemed to be a lot of school trips at Magic Kingdom.

 

[princess jackson]

Great, i like the no queues part LOL.

Means less queues in the shops, DH wont get frustrated whilst waiting LOL

Think we can cope with the weather, we tend to have cold weather in Dec.

So will be warmer LOL

 

[leise]

Hi Princess Jackson!

We went last December, first two weeks. It was very quiet, I can't remember having to queue long for anything. But people on these boards at the time were saying it was busier than usual because of the knock on effects of last year's hurricanes causing people to re-schedule their holidays.
We also went off-site, to Seaworld, and that felt like we were the only people there!

The weather was cold for Florida, specially in the second week. It was sunny but the wind felt like it was coming straight down from the North Pole. If you were out of the wind it was lovely. We needed to wear long sleeves, I had a wooly cardigan on most of the time, not coats though.
I remember one day in the second week it was about in the 70's (f), and we went to Blizzard Beach. It was lovely and warm but the only other people there were other hardy Brits....

MVMCP was brilliant, we went twice , and the second time was a colder day, and we joked that the snow in main street was real...we had the boys in a buggy with a blanket on them, and they were lovely and snug.
Would love to go again at that time of year but with both boys in school now we've had our cards marked on that one.
Hope you have a great time.
Leise

 

[tyke]

I remember one day in the second week it was about in the 70's (f), and we went to Blizzard Beach. It was lovely and warm but the only other people there were other hardy Brits.....

I recall lounging by the pool at the RPR, sunbathing and enjoyin' a few cold beers while listening to the christmas music piped through the speakers - my wife and I were the only one's there - the 'locals' were walking past in coats and hats glancing over to us as though we were mad.....

The weather is far better over there in December than it is at home.....I know where i'd rather be !

tyke

 

[Scottish-Helen]

I've been a couple of times in early December and it's a great time to go because of the low crowds and Christmas decorations. Last year I flew out on the 4th December and when we arrived it was only 13 degrees celcius the same as when we left Manchester. The rest of the week it warmed up nicely and was in the 80's farenheit

I was on a travel agents trip so was in the parks a little less than usual but we had no problem fitting in the rides and very rarely had to use fastpass.

The one thing that could affect your trip is Pop Warner which is a youth football and cheerleading group and the value resorts at Disney (All stars and Pop Century) will be full of teenagers so might be a little noisier than usual. We did not notice them too much in the parks though.

It's a fantastic time of year to go. Have a great trip

 

[Jack Splat]

It's one of the best times of the year to go, if not thee best, crowd-wise. In my experience, most of the attractions are walk-ons (no lines). That time of the year (amongst others) is when I like to plan on going because of the big lack of crowds. I always do and I've never yet been disappointed.