Help! MK on Sat or Thu in December?

[widallas]

Been doing lots of research on the internet about Disney, and am so happy to have found the forums. There is so much information! (After about 20 minutes I do start to feel a little dizzy from info overload..... )

We are planning a surprise trip for our sons -- 7 & 4 -- to Disney December 12-17th. FIRST time to go, and first time in a long time to have a big family vacation....plus, the grandparents are joining us the second day there. The kids don't know ANYTHING -- we are packing their bags, picking them up from school, and driving the 4 hours to Orlando to stay off-site without letting them know what's up. They won't know until the next morning what's happening. We are SO excited to surprise them -- this is their Christmas present, and I think they will be BEYOND happy.

Our schedule is this:
T: Arrive early evening, stay off-site
W: Check in @ All-Star Music (family suite), head to AK for the day, lunch at Rainforest and extra p.m. hours
T: Grandparents will have arrived the night before (another surprise), off to MK for the WHOLE day
F: Day off to explore, hits the pools and relax
S: MGM, lunch at Sci-Fi, and end the evening with Fantasmic (?)

My question is this...should we keep the MK on Thursday for lower crowds and more rides? (Looking at the crowd calendar, it rates that day as a 4 but says to avoid MK, I'm guessing because of the Christmas parade.) Should we add on the parade for Thursday, or switch MK to Saturday and do Spectromagic? (Saturday the crowd level is listed as a 6.)

My kids are little, and I'm not sure if they'll make it for the late-evening shows after a full day of running around. But, I also am wondering if it isn't better to end off the week at Disney rather than MGM...my concern is that the crowds may be bigger and we'll be waiting forever in line. Any advice from families with kids of similar ages? Do you think more people will do the Christmas parade, and Saturday will be a better bet with Spectromagic in the evening? And how helpful are the crowd calendars?

Thanks so much for your help for a Disney newbie!!!

 

[OHIODISNEYFAMILY]

Now, when you say "Christmas Parade", are you saying that you will buy tickets to Mickey's Christmas party for the evening of the day you choose MK? That is the only way you'll see a Christmas parade at MK - during the party, which is not part of a regular day ticket. Which you probably understand, but I'm not 100% sure.

I've been with kids of all ages now, and mine always prefer to end with MK. Having said that....they sure wouldn't mind ending with Fantasmic! You really can't go wrong either way. My kids have never had trouble with the evening activities, and especially in December since the closing times of the parks are earlier.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. What a great surprise for your kids! They are lucky.

Laurie in OH, mom to

Alex, 11 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10 years old
Audrey, 2 years old

WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005!
Currently planning a December 9-16, 2006 trip!

 

[widallas]

Thanks for the feedback. If it were just the four of us, we would be doing the parade to end off the week...but my MIL and FIL are joining us, and they are opposed to spending ANY extra money on ANYTHING. Very annoying. They are also bucking to take a break day on friday, but I think the kids are going to want to go to MK that day....that would probably be our best best, AK on Wed, MGM on TH and MK on Friday. Wish me luck, and thanks again for all of the great info on these boards!

 

[Brise Nannie]

What's a "crowd calendar?"

 

[phisigprincess]

As a rule, I always try to avoid the MK on the weekends. It's always nuts. Personally, I'd go on the Thursday.

 

[OHIODISNEYFAMILY]

There are charts out on the internet (if you do a search, you will surely find one!) that show the attendance averages for certain times of the year and certain weekdays.

Laurie in OH, mom to

Alex, 11 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10 years old
Audrey, 2 years old

WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005!
Currently planning a December 9-16, 2006 trip!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

my vote is for thursday. saturday will have bigger crowds. its normal that way.

 

[KittyKitty]

I vote for Thursday also, if you plan to go to EMH that morning. That would give you more time.

If not going early, then go early on Saturday, tho no EMH.

Have a great time!

 

[Brise Nannie]

There are charts out on the internet (if you do a search, you will surely find one!) that show the attendance averages for certain times of the year and certain weekdays.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Karnak]

Given the length of your stay, there's no way I would take Friday off, and not visit a park. I noticed that you have not planned any time at Epcot. Methinks that's a mistake.

Also, I would recomend not visiting the Magic Kindgom on a Saturday. Go to the Christmas Party one week day evening.

And, finally, I would also recommend making dinner reservations in the park of the day for every evening.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[widallas]

I'm making an executive decision -- AK on Wed (just the 4 of us), MGM on Thursday and MK on friday with MIL & FIL. I'm also going to get tickets to the parade. Heck, we can all sleep in on Saturday, and we'll probably only do this together once..... Plus, on Saturday when the parks are jammed, we can relax and hit the pools, downtown Disney and International Drive.

We're skipping Epcot this year, because we're planning on making another trip within the next two years, and my youngest will be 7 then and much more able to enjoy Epcot. If it were just me and the kids, we'd pack it in...DH is the one who wants a break! (And because he's such a great guy, we'll cut him some slack for some deserved relaxation.)

THANKS SO MUCH for helping -- who better to turn to for Disney advice than a bunch of self-proclaimed Disney addicts?!?!?