Everything you need to know about WDW Christmas- Tips & Secrets

[julluvsdisney]

love the thread

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

Thanks for the advice! It really is a tough decision. I really want to do MVMCP... can I buy tickets now?

Yep Here's the link

http://tickets.disney.go.com/buy/Ti...SeHlgbQPpYGNvi9UJoR9epVAb/SCA==&drnid=4057273

 

[Scrappy Tink]

Went last year at Christmas time going again 12/5-12/13 It is just an added magical time with all the Christmas magic added to the already magical place! There are trees everywhere, lamp post decorated. main street with garland, Store windows with Christmas scenes THe castle with all its lights is truely breathtaking. It has a lighting ceremony I think around 5 or 5:30 it is a must. We went to MVMCP we had fun but there is just too much to do in 2 hours I will not do it again, we got to see 2 shows, parade, eat free cookies and drink hot chocolate, see Stitch, Donald, and Mickey and Minnie in Christmas costumes and that is it ! just not enough time for the money spent, I am glad we did it but would not do it again. Osborne lights is amazing, a real highlight. Loved going to GF too see big tree and lifesize gingerbread house. We watched a Samantha Brown special on Disney Christmas a new one usually airs around Thanksgiving or so and it highlights all the neat things there are alot of neat displays at the different hotels we want to catch some of those this year. We wore Christmas hats and decorated our windows with Christmas disney clings it was so fun cant wait for this year!

 

[skier_pete]

I haven't seen mention of the Gingerbread carousel at Beach Club - this is supposed to be pretty neat. (We are going for the first time this year, too.)

Also, someone mentioned they were told by CRO that CP dining package would book at 90-days out...this in NOT what happened in the past - at least last year - the window was 180 days, but they opened up all the dates for the CP dining package at the same time. This occurred sometime in August. I don't yet know when they will do this, but they will probably only give a few days notice.

Here's a couple of question that I can't seem to get answers to:

I know at some point in the holiday season, they start doing the christmas parade in place of the regular parade...when does this happen? The last MVMCP is on Friday, December 18th. Will they start doing the christmas parade on December 19th or not until closer to the 25th? Will the Christmas Wishes also start on December 19th. (We are on a budget, and are skipping MVMCP based on some reviews we have heard.)

But, we are thinking of having dinner at the CG at the Contemporary the same night as MVMCP - will we still be able to watch the Christmas fireworks with the music piped in? Has anyone done this?

TIA,
SkierPete

 

[floridascgirl]

Love this thread. I'm so excited about our upcoming trip, but since it's a surprise for our DS11, I'm having to be very stealthy. I keep trying to whisper plans to my DH and he keeps shhhshing me. At least I can quietly read with others who are excited, too!

 

[mollyhan]

Still nervous about the crowds at Christmas. We always go at our Mardi Gras break and the crowds have never been awful even when it was during President's Week, but I am so nervous about the parks closing. We are going from 12/28 until 1/1 and I know we would like to go and eat and then go back to the parks but are they going to be closed when we get back.

 

[wendyt_ca]

It's just me (21) and my mom (she'd rather not say ). We have two whole days at the park so we were trying to pick two. Our favorite park is Epcot, but we heard that the light show at DHS is not to be missed. Thanks for your help Disney Mommy!

Why don't you get tickets to MVMCP and go to another park that day then go to MVMCP cause you then have until midnight. And then that would give you another day for a 3rd park.

 

[kellieb71]

LTT has an all you can eat Dinner served family style w/ Turkey, Ham and roast beef w/ all of the trimmings. Not the same without the characters but we still love the food!

Rumor has it that Mickey and friends will be back at LTT for Dinner!

 

[cab0ad]

Love this thread. I'm so excited about our upcoming trip, but since it's a surprise for our DS11, I'm having to be very stealthy. I keep trying to whisper plans to my DH and he keeps shhhshing me. At least I can quietly read with others who are excited, too!

Our trip is a surprise too for our 9 and 2 year old...we've slipped a few times talking about room ressies and stuff...we eventually told our son that we made ressies for next summer so we can talk about it out loud. When December comes we'll surprise him as we leave for FL instead of go home! Just have to be very careful about talking about Christmas things now...

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

Rumor has it that Mickey and friends will be back at LTT for Dinner!

I hope this is one of those rumors that becomes a truth!

 

[cab0ad]

Do characters "dress up" for the holidays? Like maybe scarves, santa hats, etc??? I'd really like "dressed up" characters!

Also, where can we meet santa for FREE? I head DD charges for it!

 

[Scrappy Tink]

Do characters "dress up" for the holidays? Like maybe scarves, santa hats, etc??? I'd really like "dressed up" characters!

Also, where can we meet santa for FREE? I head DD charges for it!

We saw santa for free at MVMCP I did not see him anywhere else in MK during our time there. I know there are many santas at epcot
NOt all characters we saw were dressed for christmas ... when we left animal kingdom there was goofy as santa, minnie and mickey and donald in christmas garb, there is a spot in mk by teacups that had some random characters during the day dressed up but like in judges tent it is regular clothes except during MVMCP I was hoping for more too.

 

[michaeldorn1]

Rumor has it that Mickey and friends will be back at LTT for Dinner!

I've heard the rumors, too. I would love to have dinner at LTT again if the
Characters are back. I may make a duplicate ADR at LTT for the evening we go to MVMCP just in case the Characters come back! But, I will believe the rumor only when I see it, so to speak. ;-)

 

[ilovejsparrow]

Why don't you get tickets to MVMCP and go to another park that day then go to MVMCP cause you then have until midnight. And then that would give you another day for a 3rd park.

Great idea! Thank you so much!

 

[Minniekins]

We just decided to go, now which would be better Dec. 4 through the 6, or Dec. 9 to the 13. Is either week better than the other? I am so excited! thanks for all your help.

I don't know if you've already decided, or even mentioned here in the thread, and if so I missed that, sorry! But, I thought it was less busy that second set of dates of yours. Plus, my vote either way would be for the 9th - 13th cause that's a longer time at WDW than the 4 - 6 dates, and more days is always better!

we're going over thanxgiving 11/26-11/30 all this stuff will be going on, right?!? just want to make sure, after reading all this I need to see it all!!!!

MVMCP is definitely, but Osborne light don't start till the 27th this year(they used to be early-mid Nov, but last year started after Thanksgving). We were sad to miss them on our Nov trip last year, they are awesome! I think some of the other stuff is still just getting started that first weekend after Thanksgiving.

I have a question: If the MVMCP only lasts through December 18th, does this mean there are no Christmas festivities after that date?

I know that after the 18th they will do the Christmas parade instead of the regular parade, but do they also do the fireworks from MVMCP instead of regular Wishes?

I thought after they ended the hard ticket Xmas party, they started having the things available during the party, such as the parade, the fireworks, the shows, available free for that week up through Xmas. Such as the parade, twice nightly at the party, is the 3pm parade in place of the regular one, Wishes fireworks are the XMas fireworks, and so on. Somewhere I read the parade goes up till NYE day, I was hoping it would go till the 3rd as we come on the 2nd!

For those heading down from "cooler" areas, who are feeling confident about the temperatures in Dec in Florida, I'll remind you to compare the humidity in FL versus your location as well.

We've gone down from Vermont in Jan 2008 and Jan 2009. Feeling all smug about how "warm" 40 degrees at night was going to be "for us" .

But it is much more humid and much more windy at the parks than it is at home. And 40 degrees "felt" a lot colder standing still waiting for Spectro, Wishes and Illuminations than 40 degrees does taking a walk after work at home.

We live near Chicago, and the last couple years in Nov we had temps from lows 40's - 60's, with lots of windy wind, and had our sweatshirts and coats and it was freezing!!

....
The other thing that is really great is the Yuletide Tour. It was amazing and it takes you to all of the different parks by bus. It was too cool being in Epcot before it was open and learning about Christmas traditions in several of the countries.

What exactly is the Yuletide Tour, I never heard of it? When/where/how often does it run? Is it fun to go on?

It's just me (21) and my mom (she'd rather not say ). We have two whole days at the park so we were trying to pick two. Our favorite park is Epcot, but we heard that the light show at DHS is not to be missed. Thanks for your help Disney Mommy!

Why don't you get tickets to MVMCP and go to another park that day then go to MVMCP cause you then have until midnight. And then that would give you another day for a 3rd park.

That's just what I was going to say! It's a perfect plan and it's a great way to use that Xmas party ticket as a sort of hopper so you can do MK at night and another park with your days ticket at another park you want to see!

Rumor has it that Mickey and friends will be back at LTT for Dinner!

Is this rumor speaking about the Christmas season only, or might characters be back all year?

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

Do you have to use park admission to MK the day you go to MVMCP or does the ticket entitle you to admission to the park?

TIA

 

[Minniekins]

Does anyone know how long they will do the holiday fireworks at MK, will they stop and go back to regular Wishes they day after NYE or do they go a bit longer?

Also, and most importantly, how long will they keep the icicle lights going on the castle? Do they stay up through January or do they stop them after NYE? The castle with those beautiful icicle lights is the most beautiful thing ever! I would be so, so sad if they are not going the week of Jan 2 - 10!

Anybody know how many/which Xmas type things keep going for a bit in to Jan, such as lights, parades, etc? I did see that Mickey's Jammin Jingle parade goes through the Jan 3rd.

 

[Minniekins]

Do you have to use park admission to MK the day you go to MVMCP or does the ticket entitle you to admission to the park?

TIA

No, the only ticket you need to use is your MVMCP hard ticket to enter MK if you go in at 4 pm or after! Then you have from 4 pm to midnight at MK. The party officially starts at 7pm, that's when the CM's are then dressed in XMasy clothes, there are Xmas banners and well, it's Xmas time! It's very cool cause you can then use a regular park ticket to go into another park earlier in the day if you want to, so it's sort of like hopping, without having to have hopper tickets! Or, for some people they can save that regular park ticket for for another day and just have light day prior to the MVMCP. Now, there are some rides not available during the party, just like with EMH hours, such as the Jungle Cruise. They run up til 7 pm, so you may want to use that time between 4 and 7 to take advantage of those rides.

 

[RMulieri]

I haven't seen mention of the Gingerbread carousel at Beach Club - this is supposed to be pretty neat. (We are going for the first time this year, too.)

Also, someone mentioned they were told by CRO that CP dining package would book at 90-days out...this in NOT what happened in the past - at least last year - the window was 180 days, but they opened up all the dates for the CP dining package at the same time. This occurred sometime in August. I don't yet know when they will do this, but they will probably only give a few days notice.

Here's a couple of question that I can't seem to get answers to:

I know at some point in the holiday season, they start doing the christmas parade in place of the regular parade...when does this happen? The last MVMCP is on Friday, December 18th. Will they start doing the christmas parade on December 19th or not until closer to the 25th? Will the Christmas Wishes also start on December 19th. (We are on a budget, and are skipping MVMCP based on some reviews we have heard.)

But, we are thinking of having dinner at the CG at the Contemporary the same night as MVMCP - will we still be able to watch the Christmas fireworks with the music piped in? Has anyone done this?

TIA,
SkierPete

With the CP pkg,No it is not how they did it in the past.But remember adrs were also 180 days out and they aren't anymore.I only know what the last 8 cms have told me , and the several have told my TA. 90 days.Some said 90 days, some said 90days like the rest of your adrs.My guess is if Disney isn't sticking to the 90 day rule like all adrs that they will release ALL CP pkgs at the 90 day mark which would be Mid to end of August

 

[hannah's dad]

Osbourne Lights' last night is Jan. 3. When we were there on January 6, the GF tree was down, but the gingerbread house was still there. Park lights and music were going until about the 5th. By the 8th, everything was down.

It seems like there is no one date when all of the resort-wide decorations come down. I noticed on allears that the EPCOT decorations, etc are done by December 30th.

We're coming for our first holiday-time trip from Dec 31 through Jan 5th and hope to see as many of the Christmas decorations as possible. My hope is that the monorail resorts are still decorated at that time - spending an afternoon riding the monorail and looking at each resort's decorations sounds like great fun!