Going Dec 17th - 23rd. Thinking of not going ... too crowded?

[wdwobsessed]

First let me say ... I hate crowds and so does my husband. He will be a miserable griping mess if it's wall to wall people.

My kids don't get out until Dec 23rd so I figured I would be gettin' out of dodge just before the big crowds hit for Christmas week.

My birthday is on December 18th so I wanted to be there then.

Do you think it will be miserable?

Thanks

WDWO

 

[melagan]

bump as i would like to know also

 

[DiznEeyore]

The Unofficial Guide crowd predictor has levels set at a 6 (out of 10) those days.

http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm

 

[thptrek]

We have gone around those dates in the past and the crowds are not bad. The trick is to leave as the Christmas crowds are coming in.

 

[Disneyrsh]

We also obsessively avoid crowds (hello, third week in January, we love it!) and made the mistake of being at MGM this year on labor day weekend. It sucked! Fantasmic was a boiling mass of people. Never, ever again will we do it.

Y'know, and I say this because we're thinking of doing it, the last week of school before christmas vacation is usually a wash; they're doing christmas parties, hanukah parties, holiday parties, wrapping stuff up, the teachers have already mentally started their vacation-can you try for that week instead?

What we're thinking is to leave friday night the 16th, stay in Disney until the 21st, go home, and have the kids catch the last day or two of school before the holidays. That way we can also do the MVMCP too.

We've been during the first three weeks of Christmas; it's AWESOME! No crowds, fabulous decorations, wonderful christmas spirit!

 

[wdwobsessed]

That is pretty much when we are going. The 17th - 23rd. We will leave EARLY on the 23rd ... our last day in the parks will be the 22nd.

My kids are big time night owls so we can take advantage of EMH that are in the evenings as well. I have not been since this change ... we always did the Early Entry hours and loved it.

Are the late EMH as good as the old EE hour was? Little crowds?

Thanks

WDWO

 

[CinderellaIam]

I went those exact dates last year and it was great. Not crowded at the beginning of the week, but you could see and feel the crowds growing as the week went on. All in all though I thought it was a great week to go and we didn't wait more than 15 or 20 minutes for anything.

 

[MICKEEP]

I went those exact dates last year and it was great. Not crowded at the beginning of the week, but you could see and feel the crowds growing as the week went on. All in all though I thought it was a great week to go and we didn't wait more than 15 or 20 minutes for anything.

Thats so good to hear...... We are going to be there the 17th thru the 26th.

We are going into this thing not expecting to do too much, as far as attractions go, on the last couple of days.

But it is good to hear about the crowds earlier in the week.

 

[mmcguire]

We don't like huge crowds, either (who does?), and this year will be our fourth trip during the timeframe you mentioned. I say go for it. In our past experience, the crowds aren't terribly heavy until Dec 22/23, depending how the days of the week fall. Even then, if you take advantage of EMH, get an early start and use Fast Passes, you should be able to do plenty without terribly long waits.

We're going Dec 16-23 and taking DS (11) out of school for 5 days, as we have in the past. My b-day is Dec 20, so I can also relate to wanting to spend it there!

Just a friendly tip -- if you do decide to go and want to have any sit-down meals in the parks, you probably should make your advanced dining reservations (ADRs) ASAP. People seem to have gotten much more savvy about ADRs this year, and you might have a harder time walking into sit-down places than in the past.

Best of luck!

 

[hncg57c]

We have gone twice the week before Christmas. The crowds weren't too bad. We got Fast Passes for the popular rides and were able to get on other rides without waiting long. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more crowded it gets.