First DVC Trip - Dec 14-22 - Too close to Xmas?

[malonefamily]

First, I want to thank you all for some interesting discussions (I read many old posts on this board when deciding whether to join DVC). Learned a lot!

I'm confused about what to expect with our first DVC vacation-- we've just joined this month, and have already reserved a 2BR at Saratoga Springs from Wed. Dec. 14th - Thurs. Dec. 22nd.

I keep reading that early Dec is fantastic and that Christmas itself is chaos (a good Disney version of chaos though of course). What should we expect with these dates? Partial excerpt from Intercot:

BEST TIME TO VISIT: January / September
THE NEXT BEST TIME TO VISIT: Week before Christmas
A GOOD TIME TO GO: First two weeks of December

I thought it would get busy by the 22nd, but it's implied otherwise above...

We just came back from our first ever Disney World trip (not DVC), where we stayed from 6/30-7/6 and we had fun, but we were so hot, and the parks so crowded that it did cut into our enjoyment. I think we can count on it being much cooler, but will we find 12/14 - 12/22 MUCH less crowded?

Thanks for the wisdom! I was surprised almost that we were able to find 2BR units on those dates in SSR and also at OKW, they may have had other choices but those were the two I asked about; maybe it is slower this far into December after all...

 

[NE14DisneyWorld?]

No advice - we are also planning our first visit for the Christmas holidays this year. We will be at SSR from December 16 - 23 in a one bedroom unit.

Just wanted to say WELCOME HOME!!

 

[AFMom]

I know the first 2 weeks of Dec are usually uncrowded, however - as soon as kids get out for X-Mas break the crowds start up again. I don't think it gets crazy until right up to X-Mas though, and the week between X-Mas and New Years is actually worse - so you'll proabably be fine!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Welcome Home!

We celebrated a Grand Gathering for mom's 85th birthday during that time period last year. One thing I distinctly remember is that we were cold at night, not just chilly. We went to the Candlelight Processional on the 19th and people who had ear muffs had them, we're from Ohio, most of rest of family was from NJ.

We stayed in SSR one night and walked to DTD and enjoyed local groups who sang Christmas songs, there were a variety of groups and songs presented. It wasn't that cold that we didn't buy Gharidelli's Ice Cream.

The pool at Congress hall was a very comfortable temperature, we enjoyed our SSR stay, and then were at BWV for 4 nights.

Be sure to visit all of the resorts to see the Christmas decorations, especially the GF and WL.

The weekdays were less crowded than the weekends, I think you're going to be happy with the crowd size.

Bobbi

 

[gjw007]

No, it is not too close to Xmas. It does get busier as it gets closer to Xmas but its still not bad. It really starts to get crazy busy around Xmas eve through New Years. I'm going in the same time period that you are. I have been going the week before Xmas since about 1996. I have a lot less fun when I've gone in the middle of the summer where it is hot, crowded, and in my opinion, unenjoyable. Xmas and WDW are great! You will love it.

 

[JoEllen]

We will be staying at the BWV Dec 17 - 23 and don't expect things to be too crazy yet. We were a week earlier last year and had quite a mix of warm and cold weather. Bring layers!

Are you flying out on Alaska's nonstop? We are trying it out this trip and look farward to a direct flight from Seatac.

Have Fun!

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

I had heard that that was a good time to go. It will be beautiful.

 

[DemoBri1]

Personally, we've never been down the week leading up to Christmas, but I would imagine it would be similar to the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Normally the early part of the week will be fairly good crowd wise. You won't have long waits, or FP will be bearable. As you start approaching Christmas it will get progressively more and more crowded.

With your dates you should be fine crowd wise. Might get somewhat busy closer to you end date, but the real crowds probably won't be showing up until 23, 24, 25th somewhere in there.

Of course this is just guess work on my part. Take it for what it's worth. JMHO.

Brian

 

[malonefamily]

Are you flying out on Alaska's nonstop? We are trying it out this trip and look farward to a direct flight from Seatac.

Flights were part of the reason we decided to try a Christmas season visit. I just discovered that Travelocity lets me search by "flexible dates." I started with anytime in December, it told me to pick an airline from the list of several that were offering fares of about $260! (from Seattle to Orlando, that sounds cheap to me, we paid about $450 for our trip earlier this month, though didn't shop).

After picking the fare, we had to choose from the available departure dates (some were blocked out) and then find an acceptable return date. We ended up with 12/14-12/22 because our kids start their Christmas break early this year, and they'll only have to miss 2 days of school for the 9 day trip. We chose Delta because Magical Express works with them for return check-in service at the resorts, and got this:

Flight: Delta Air Lines flight 9123 operated by ALASKA AIRLINES (Non-Stop)
Depart: Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA) - Wed, Dec 14 at 8:50am
Arrive: Orlando, FL (MCO) - Wed, Dec 14 at 5:06pm
Seats: Boeing 737-400 Jet

Coming back to Seattle we're on a "real" Delta flight, but change planes in Salt Lake City, UT. I liked the 3:25pm departure time, gives us a chance to pop into the Magic Kingdom and say goodbye before leaving.

We did take the Alaska flight both ways this month and it was okay... good travel time, but not the most luxurious aircraft I've ever been aboard by a long shot!

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts on the crowds. Hopefully, with us leaving right after lunch on the Thursday before Christmas, we'll beat the rush of people arriving Friday and Saturday for the Christmas through New Years mayhem.

 

[MicNut713]

DW,DS,DD, myself and my parents went last year during the same week you are going. I was not crowded at all. They only thing was that it was cold at night. It is hit or miss with the weather during DEc and Jan. The week before we went it was in the 80's and warm at night. So here is some pixie dust for warm weather have a blast. All the X-mas decorations are great. Set some time aside to see the other hotels lobbies.

 

[JoEllen]

Flights were part of the reason we decided to try a Christmas season visit. I just discovered that Travelocity lets me search by "flexible dates."

Thank you for the tip on flexible dates. I'm going to check that out. Very interesting that you have a Delta outbound flight operated by Alaska!

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[Gail & Joe]

We will be going 12/11 - 12/22 and have been going at this time of year for the past 6 years. We have noticed that the parks are a bit more crowded then when we first started going but nothing like in the summer months. This is our favorite time of the year to visit. Like everyone else has said, pack for warm and cold weather. You will love it. Have a great time.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

You will absolutely loooooove it! The weather is hit or miss. Fortunately, if you do hit a cold snap, it's over in a couple of days.

Disney knows how to do it up right for the holidays!

Enjoy,
Tom