first holiday/christmas trip to wdw!

[dizfam04]

My DD 7, DD 12, DH and myself will be at WDW Dec 20-24 and can't wait! It is going to be surprise for the girls and DH and I can barely contain ourselves!

We are a little concerned about the crowds after reading some of these posts, especially since one of my co-workers went Dec 20-24 last year and said it wasn't crowded...

Does anyone out there have any words of advice/reassurance for us?!
THANK YOU!

 

[domestic goddess]

WDW at Christmas is just magical!! We have been over Christmas before and will be there again this year Dec. 19-29. It will be crowded but isn't usually too crowded until the 24th. You should be fine. My best advice is to pick out the things that you really want to do at each park that you are going to in advance, and concentrate on doing those things first. Then, after those are done, you can do whatever else you can do. Make sure to use fastpass and early entry(if you are staying onsite) and remember to ENJOY YOURSELF! I find that if you go with the right expectations, you can have a great time no matter what time of year.

Be sure to check out the decorations and special shows. The holidays are so much fun and there seems to be even more magic at WDW at that time of year.

Have a GREAT Holiday!!

 

[msr709]

Definitely take a 1/2 day or night to go see the resorts, they are all beautiful and you won't regret it. When I went in 2002 we put a whole day aside just to resort hop and take pictures, it was one of the most fun days we had. MVMCP was also a lot of fun, if you can make it. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[CamColt]

We were there last year from 12/20-12/29. We didnt see any big crowds until the 25th and after. In fact we were able to get a lot more done than we had planned those first few days so that made it easier for us to take it easy toward the end of the trip.
Another thing that saved us time was we are used to taking a midday break to swim and shower. Since it was so cold we didnt swim for most of those days(only once) so a short break was all we really needed, giving us more park time that we are used to in the summer.
As always if you are concerned about crowds get to the parks early, about 15 minutes before opening seems to work well for us, use EE when you can, and dont forget to always have a FP in hand.

 

[Harligirl]

Make sure you make a trip over to the GF to see the gingerbread house....The smell is amazing when you walk in! It's really beautiful!

Have a great time and be prepared for crowds so if it is "slow" you will be pleasantly surprised! Don't rush, just enjoy and savor your time together at Disney!

Lisa

 

[MamaQuack]

We went last year for our first "Christmas visit". We were there 12/16-12/23. I agree with all of the above posts - it will be crowded but nothing awful or unmanageable. When we left on the 23rd it was beginning to get crowded. Otherwise, if you plan to do what you like and stay flexible you will have a magical time. The lights, decorations, parades and characters in holiday clothes are wonderful. We too found with the cold weather we had lots more time than we do during our May visits.

Enjoy!!!!

 

[Grumpy92]

Make sure you make a PS for xmas eve & xmas day, especially if you want to do a sit down or character meal those days.
I would recommend doing is asap.

Suggestions:
1. MK Tree lighting - Each day at 5pm they have a wonderful flag ceromony in Main St Sq followed by a cute show and the lighting of the MK Xmas tree.

2. Visit the resorts. The decorations are themed to the hotel, each one is different. You might want to take a hayride thru FW as many of the campers go all out decorating their campsites. GF has a huge gingerbread house in their lobby where you can get delectable treats. In the evening enjoy cm carolers and the band who play all the holiday tunes.

3. Candlelight Processional- This is one of the best shows at WDW. A celebrity narrator reads the first xmas while a large choir and full orchestra join in. If you are not in the xmas mood at the end of this show nothing will get you there. I would suggest the CP Dinner Pkg, as it includes reserved seating. The lines are lengthy otherwise.

4. Xmas morning visit Santa. He visits each resort and this is a wonderful photo op. You can also find him in the American Pav at EC.

5. Osbourne Lights-We have done this on xmas eve. We dine at one of the Studios restaurants then meander down the street view the millions of xmas lights and displays. Love this!

You will have a wonderful time. The holidays make WDW extra magical.

 

[dizfam04]

Thank You all for the great info-you have set our minds at ease sooo much!

Now I have another question-
what is the weather generally like in Orlando in December? Warm enough to swim? We are coming down from Wisconsin, remember, where it will probably 10 degrees when we get on the plane! Do you wear shorts, capris, jackets? Parkas? Sweatshirts? I desperately need advice about packing!
Thanks Again!
You guys rock!

 

[crow11ad]

We too are going for the 1st time in December. We are going 12-4-04 - 12-10-04 simply because we did the crowd thing the week before Easter this past April. We will be doing the resort hopping. We cannot wait to see the AKL as we will be having breakfast at bohmas. The GF as my dw is getting a massage. And from what I hear the WL is going to be great. I am just so thankful that we are staying there. Now no one take our spots for the water parade.

 

[domestic goddess]

disfam04:
The weather in Dec. can be tricky. We have been the beginning of Dec. and over Christmas and it is usually warm enough for us northerners to wear shorts and t-shirts during the day(with maybe a light jacket or sweatshirt in the morning). However, you will need jeans or pants and sweatshirts or jackets in the evenings. Be prepared for cooler weather as well. One year our boys were scheduled to take the pirate cruise and it was cancelled because it was forecast to be 31 degrees that morning. We have also been to MVMCP where we have worn our winter jackets and gloves. Keep an eye on weather.com and their 10 forecast to get an idea as you are packing.

Even if it is cooler, we still enjoy it because we don't have the snow and it's Disney! We still try to swim at least once and take the boats out on the lake. We will definitely be swimming this trip because we are staying the first 3 days at the BCV just to try SAB!

We can't wait, only 37 more days until we leave!!!!

 

[rkmassa]

We were there last year too. It got really crowded the 25th. We watched the parade on the 24th with no crowd at all. We were in Frontier Land. The weather was perfect. A bit chilly in the morning. I wore capris and took a jacket. In the afternoon it really warmed up. I took a pair of denim shorts to change into each day. While the sun was up and the day was warm I would wear the shorts. I would then change back in the evening to the capris. My DH didn't bring shorts and had to break down and buy some. Became a very expensive souvenir for him. My kids swam, but I did not. I like warm water and hot weather to swim. Wasn't quite hot enough for me, but my kids loved it. We are from Kansas, so we loved the warm weather.