Halloween or Christmas at Disney?

[DizneyNutz]

Thanks for all the responses. I am still undecided, but leaning toward my original choice and go at Christmas . My family and I are from Wisconsin, so anything warmer than 40's is good, prefer the mid to upper 70's though.

As I stated earlier, we love Dec. the most. You do have to prepare for both extremes however. Last trip we arrived there leaving 32 degree home temps and it ended up being unseasonably hot and getting into the 80s. We left there and it was 34 degrees that morning, but a balmy 19 degrees at home where we were headed. We carried a light jacket/pullover on almost every day while wearing shorts and got tired of carrying them around and not needing them. Our last night there DW said she was not toting a jacket around all day and I agreed. THAT was the night the "cold front" arrived. It was very chilly that night at the MK, but certainly not unbearable for anyone accustomed to living with cold weather. So we experienced unseasonably warm to unseasonably cold over the span of our trip. I will say that an average of all of our Dec trips have required nothing more than shorts and a light jacket if at all.

 

[GF23]

I have never been during Halloween. I did go during Christmas and stayed at the GF and got upgraded to Sugar Loaf which was awesome and would definately do it again.
My birthday is October 23!

 

[britt54311]

I have never been during Halloween. I did go during Christmas and stayed at the GF and got upgraded to Sugar Loaf which was awesome and would definately do it again.
My birthday is October 23!

Hey GF23, October 23 is the same day as my son's birthday.

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

we were deciding if we could go this halloween , we have never been. it is my dh birthday. so he keeps wanting to go then. now our anniv. is dec 6 , i would love to go to see the xmas dec. but i know now that is around pop warner, but maybe next year we will make it in dec.

 

[stitch and co]

Have done both. I love Christmas for the decorations and music, but Halloween has the edge. I liked MNSSHP better and the weather was nice and a little more stable than in December, not to hot or cold. Both are great times to go IMHO.

 

[Doc CW]

It depends on what you want out of the experience like if you want to ride alot of rides and dont like crowds go during Halloween, if you love the x-mas atmosphere and the pure joy and magic of WDW during X-mas go during X-mas.

 

[KingdomHearts]

This is coming from a Halloween Queen! I totally loved MVMCP ten times more then MNSSHP. THe MNSSHP is really cute and a def must do, but I would choose MVMCP first! It is just so magical!

 

[lovedisney99]

Halloween is fun with the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, but Christmas is the best! The decorations are beautiful, plus it's always warm in Orlando. You can't go wrong either way.

 

[steven_&_daniel]

How does the Food & Wine Festival affect a Halloween visit? I've read some negative posts about excessive drinking and crowds. We've enjoyed October trips to Disney World in the past, but that was before they did Halloween stuff or the F&W Festival.

Thanks!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

They actually had snow in FL one night in Dec last year. Not just the stuff on Main St, either.

Not in Orlando did they? We live an hour south of WDW in Tampa, & haven't approached anything close to snow in the 10 years we've lived here. Most of our DS's friends have never seen snow. That would be really exciting though.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

OP,
While I love the F&W Festival & MNSSHP is cute, I also think the Christmas season is the best time of year at WDW. I'm sure that would depend on how into Christmas you are though. The Epcot WS presentations are my favorite activity, closely followed by CP & Osborne Lights. We've had mixed results with MVMCP. IMHO, it's just not the same since they starting selling more tickets per party.

 

[britt54311]

Thank you to all how responded. I've pretty much decided on Dec . We will arrive Dec. 10 and leave Dec. 19, 08. Now I just have to decide if we want to take our new travel trailer down there and stay at Fort Wilderness or stay at the POP (which my kids enjoyed the last time we were there).

 

[lizanne]

We've done both and prefer early December.

I'm really glad we did Halloween, some of the costumes are amazing and I felt like a kid (which I'm not) going trick or treating, but I really prefer Christmastime.

 

[REW91599]

We have visited both times and in my opinion both seasons have there perks. October has nice weather and lighter crowds. December has nice weather and the holiday decorations are amazing!!! Both have the parties if that is an interest (MNSSHP AND MVMCP) If I had to choose I would probably choose December because I LOVE holiday decorations. There is the Osborne lights and the countries in Epcot. Either time would be an amazing Disney adventure!!!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thank you to all how responded. I've pretty much decided on Dec . We will arrive Dec. 10 and leave Dec. 19, 08. Now I just have to decide if we want to take our new travel trailer down there and stay at Fort Wilderness or stay at the POP (which my kids enjoyed the last time we were there).

You guys will have a great trip. When we owned our RV, we loved FW. It's especially nice around Christmas time. Campers decorate their individual sites, along with FW decorations. You're also a quick boat ride away from the Christmas festivities at MK, WL & CR. Ride the monorail from CR to tour GF & Poly. Plan to take a sleigh ride at FW or WL. I don't know if you've taken your TT to FW before. If not, try to budget for a golf cart. You can decorate that with lights, ornaments, etc. to get you even more into the holiday spirit.

 

[britt54311]

You guys will have a great trip. When we owned our RV, we loved FW. It's especially nice around Christmas time. Campers decorate their individual sites, along with FW decorations. You're also a quick boat ride away from the Christmas festivities at MK, WL & CR. Ride the monorail from CR to tour GF & Poly. Plan to take a sleigh ride at FW or WL. I don't know if you've taken your TT to FW before. If not, try to budget for a golf cart. You can decorate that with lights, ornaments, etc. to get you even more into the holiday spirit.

How much does it cost to rent a golf cart? Thanks

 

[tarheelmjfan]

How much does it cost to rent a golf cart? Thanks

Sorry, I don't know for sure. It's been a few years, since we sold our RV. I thinks it's around $47 +/- per day. You could ask here on the Camping board. I'm sure they're up on the current charges. Happy planning!

 

[princessesrule4]

We love both times so we alternate !! This year its Christmas and we can't wait!

 

[steven_&_daniel]

I still can't decide which time to visit next year. We've visited in October in the past (before the F&W festival and Halloween stuff were started) and enjoyed it very much (great weather, fewer crowds). I love Christmas but am concerned about the weather in early December. I realize that it can vary and change unexpectedly, however, overall how was the weather for you Christmas visitors in early December? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[glennsgirl762]

subscribing. We are thinking of possibly changing our anniversary trip in Sept. to Oct of next year so we could visit for the Food & Wine festival and Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party. We've never been at those times of the year, Dh would like to go for Christmas so we can't decide either. Decisions, decisions.