Have you spent Christmas in WDW?

[TinkerbellMama]

We're considering spending Christmas 2008 in WDW. Can't do it next year because we're having my (September) birthday celebration there (free dining would be a nice bonus, but we won't count on it). So, what are the pros and cons?
The only cons I can think of are that my husband's family may not all be with us (which isn't a big deal since we spend EVERY Christmas with them) and that it might feel "weird" or untraditional.
Pros: my whole family could be there (all live in Orlando except for one brother and nephew), it would be easier in terms of not having to prepare our own food, and we could greatly simplify gift-giving since the trip would be magical enough. My mom and especially MIL always stress themselves WAYYYYYYYYYY out with the gifts, so that would be nice.
Dh's family can afford to go along if they so choose, and they'd have two years' notice. I think that is fair enough. Like I said, we've spent the past 5 Christmases with them (since dh and I have been married) and none in Florida with my family (although they came up to New England for our son's first Christmas).
I have read somewhere on the boards that you can order a Christmas tree to be delivered to your room, and I was thinking we could look into a villa for the week. I'm sure they have special Christmas dinners, too.
I'd appreciate comments and insights from those who have BTDT. BTW, we are none of us very religious people...meaning that worship on Christmas would not be an issue for us. Thanks for the input!

 

[kaelarad]

WDW is decorated beutifully at Christmas! MY DH and I have spent the last several Christmas holidays there. We see my Family in Boston at Thanksgiving and my DH has no family. We use to live in ORland0 and can think of no other place we would rather spend Christmas. We drive and bring a small tree we got at Target with us. Friends always fedex their tree down.

 

[GSLand]

we would not do it again. It was waaay too crowded.
We also spent time at Universal - which was not quiet as bad because we had "front of the line" passes.

 

[Eoywin]

The last time I was at WDW was when I was 16, and we went over Christmas. We actually got there on Christmas Day, and left right before New Year's.

I don't remember it being that crowded, and we got to see everything we wanted to see (except for the Little Mermaid show at MGM). And the parks were decorated beautifully!

I'm not sure I'd do it again, but it was a great experience

 

[wkrider]

My DW and I have not spent Christmas at WDW but we spent 2004 Christmas at DisneyLand. It was a great experience. The decorations were great and really kept us in the spirit. It was crowded but we knew it was going to be so we did not mind. The nice thing was waking up and having our Christmas then going to the park and having a Disney Christmas. Just realize that it will be crowded but it is still a great place to go for the holidays. I would do it again in a heartbeat, except next time it will be at WDW. ::cop:

 

[ndelaware]

The week of Christmas is the busiest week of the year at WDW.

The tree you order from Disney is small ( less than 4 feet tall and only about 12 inches wide ) and has no special Disney related items on it other than a stuffed Mickey Mouse tied to it. We expected for it to have all Disney ornaments on it, but it only had plain red and gold balls on it. It is also expensive, like $225 or $250.

We went in early December when the crowds are really low and all of the parks and resorts are beautifully decorated. It was our best trip ever.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

The week of Christmas is the busiest week of the year at WDW.

The tree you order from Disney is small ( less than 4 feet tall and only about 12 inches wide ) and has no special Disney related items on it other than a stuffed Mickey Mouse tied to it. We expected for it to have all Disney ornaments on it, but it only had plain red and gold balls on it. It is also expensive, like $225 or $250.

We went in early December when the crowds are really low and all of the parks and resorts are beautifully decorated. It was our best trip ever.

Thanks for the replies so far. I don't know if the following information is helpful, but I will add it so you know where we are coming from. My family has annual passes (and dh and I will also have them at that point) so they really don't care about the crowds so much...if it's really that bad, we'll just leave the parks for the day and check out something else. We're not looking for commando touring 24/7. Just a relaxing time at the resort and a fun time in the parks. We don't mind the lines...we follow a lot of the TGM advice and zig when others zag, which I'm sure would help somewhat even during Christmas. We have also considered going the week before Christmas and having Christmas Day be our last day of WDW to avoid the majority of the SUPER bad crowds between Christmas and New Year's Eve. We went the weekend after Thanksgiving/first week of December last year and it was fun. We are just looking for a little more magic by spending Christmas IN WDW!
Another point to consider is that as locals (I also used to live in FL, but no more, wah!), my family has lots of other places to escape to if need be. It's not like we'd be stranded at our resort with no knowledge of the outside world. I'm sure that will help, too.
Any other tips?

 

[CamColt]

We went over Christmas in 2003 and are going again this year. While I did feel weird not being with my family on Christmas and not doing our traditional things, it was definitely a magical time. I wouldn't do it every year, but once in a while is nice.

As noted above it is crowded, but we went with the same attitude you seem to have, we didnt need to do it all. If this was a once in a life time trip, I would advise to avoid Christmas week, but since it's not, I say go for it.

 

[p2oh]

We left on Christmas day in 2004. It was the best present ever to wake up in WDW. I shipped a little tree down before we left and completely decorated our room. We were there the week leading up to Christmas and it was empty. But the lobby was packed when we checked out. The coolest thing ever was waking up to a present from Disney outside our door, granted it was just candy but it was still so cool!

 

[disnut8]

We've been there the past two Christmases. First one was a family thing with our son and his wife and stepdaughter plus my in-laws. Second one, we met my sister and her family. First time, we stayed onsite at All Star Music, second time was offsite. Both were magical for different reasons.

The second one was great just being with my sister. We don't get those chances too often. The first was great and my son and his new family were there for a full week. Even with a six year old, we never set foot in the Magic Kingdom. It was too crowded. But the granddaughter didn't care. She sucked the life out of MGM, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. All of us had little joys in just doing things as they came along. Nothing was planned except one dinner for everyone. I will never forget New Year's Eve. We all heard some noises at midnight and went outside our simple rooms at the All Stars. We could easily see the Magic Kingdom fireworks going off. No music but it was awesome.

Your one con can easily be taken care of. Just tell your husband's family what you are doing and do it. We alternate Thanksgiving between Disney World and my in-laws. This year it's Disney World and nothing is stopping us. The Disney World fix has to be taken care of every once in a while.

 

[dnoyes]

FYI. if you check in before Dec 19th you can save a bunch of $$$ (still offseason) We have been twice in Dec. Love it