For those who visited Dec 10-20.......

[SnowWitch]

how were the crowds this past year?

 

[Chuck S]

We were there the 9th to the 18th. Crowds were light in the morning, heavier in the afternoon. We were able to get around and do what we wanted to just fine. I'd recommend a CP Dinner Pkg. Abd while we did HAVE to have a MVMCP ticket, it sure was fun !!

 

[Efastpitch]

We were their from the 19th to the 24th. Crowds were not bad until the afternoon of the 23rd.

 

[Bete]

each day you could see it was going to get busier as you got closer to Christmas week. Last year we did Christmas week and New Year's week and that is very crowded. I felt the greatest difference starting around Dec. 14.

We like the weeks before alot more then Christmas week. The only thing you miss out on is the daytime Christmas parade because that starts on Dec. 20 usually. Even so, if you go to MVMCP you get the Christmas parade at night. Also, you may see the daytime parade for the TV Christmas parade, anyway. This year it was like Dec. 5, 6, and 7 but extremely crowded at MK those days.

We don't go during crowded times usually and I think early December is a good time if you want to avoid crowds but still get the Christmas magic.

 

[sandygirl]

We were in WDW 12/13 - 12/20. I thought the crowds were very manageable. On the morning of the 15th we literally walked on Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear, and in the afternoon we walked onto It's A Small World. If I changed my week it may be to go one week sooner. Not necessarily because of the crowds but because it may have been warmer. We were ver-r-r-ry cold.

 

[coliebird]

We were there from 12/6 - 12/13. Our longest waits were 20 minutes for The Great Movie Ride and 20 minutes for Star Tours. Everything else was pretty much a walk on. Even the MVMCP on the 11th wasn't bad. I would definitely go this time of year again.

 

[Cinderella37]

We were there 12/12 - 12/16 and were surprised by the crowds. We go every July and are used to crowds, but all we kept hearing was how low the crowds were during early to mid December. On the evening of the 13th, the MK was more crowded than during our usual trips (always over the 4th except this year). You literally could not move on Main Street.

We went to MVMCP on 12/12 and 12/14. The Friday night party was packed (which we expected), but Sunday night was more manageable. Don't get me wrong - the crowds weren't terrible, just don't expect to walk on every attraction and have the parks to yourself as some sites/books imply. On 12/15, the wait for Dinosaur was 70 minutes and we waited for RNRC for almost an hour (we had Fastpass for TOT twice and the second time the ride broke - the standby line was well over an hour).

I'm assuming this is the time that many locals visit, due to the Christmas festivities. The concierge at the BWI told us that the resort wasn't that busy while we were there and our bellman told us that the days of low crowds between Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas are over.

 

[SnowWitch]

Wow sounds like it was alittle more crowded this past year than in previous years. This has always been the week we go in Dec but due to my school schedule this past Dec we were unable to go. I love this time of year and this trip will be my nephew's first so I'm hoping the attendance is what I'm accostumed to for this time of year. I'll love it no matter what!

 

[hannahryan]

Originally posted by Cinderella37
We were there 12/12 - 12/16 and were surprised by the crowds. We go every July and are used to crowds, but all we kept hearing was how low the crowds were during early to mid December. On the evening of the 13th, the MK was more crowded than during our usual trips (always over the 4th except this year). You literally could not move on Main Street.

We were there 12/16-12/24 and experienced virtually no lines 12/16-12/19. We sat down right on the curb of main street 5 minutes before the spectromagic parade started! Saturday, December 20th was another story...crowded! It seems the December crowds before Christmas are a lot of locals on the weekends. I guess when we go again in December, we will try to avoid the weekends.

 

[goofy4tink]

We've traveling to WDW in late Oct, early Nov, late Aug and mid Dec. Mid Dec this past Dec was from 12-17. It wasn't as crowded as Aug was, but I think Aug was so crowded due to the FTP. It certainly wasn't wall to wall people in Dec. But, would I travel at this time of year again? No. It was just way too cold for me. I'm from the NE and don't want to have to wear mittens in WDW!! I would probably go again the first week in Dec or last week in Nov if I wanted to enjoy the holiday stuff. But, with a 10 y/o I think we'll stick to summer time travel for awhile now.

 

[angey77]

Crowds? What crowds?
We were there 12/13-12/20 and the longest we waited for anything was 15 minutes (we do make ample use of FP too). We got to Fantasmic a half hour before hand and sat front and center, and we lined up for Spectro about 20 minutes prior and got to sit on the curb on Main Street.
Here are my secrets to less crowds:
- even if you are staying on grounds, stay away from Extra Magic Hour parks
- stay away from MK and MGM on weekends

 

[bunnyfoo]

We were there Dec 8-16 and found the crowds fairly light on the weekdays. We walked onto most rides and if we had to wait in line it was never more than 5-10 minutes. We used fastpasses for rides that had really long lines (ie. Test Track or Peter Pan). We went to the park one Saturday when Enrique was there taping for the TV special... The park was quite busy that day!

We went to MVMCP on Dec 9 and there were no lines for the rides. The only line we waited in was for the family photos but even that was only 5 minutes It was pretty easy to get a spot for Wishes and the parades too ... there were lots of spaces around the park.