Help Picking Days of Trip!!!

[CJJenkins]

So a little about me... Been around the Dis for a long time. Been to WDW 12 times. Used to go at least once a year when I was single and in law school. Once I got married and my wife and I adopted our daughter, my wife said no going back till she is 5, so it's been a long exile. I just got the go ahead that we can go back over Christmas once my baby girl is in Kindergarten. Granted, this trip is still 27 months out, but I can FINALLY start planning a trip back home! I'm a big time planner. I make all the ADRs at the 180 day mark. I have planned what days we will be at certain parks, usually according to EMH. I make spreadsheets to keep track of Fast Passes and ADRs and out of park activities like Yehaa Bob that can only be done on certain days... I'm a little OCD when it comes to planning a Disney trip, but I want to get the most out of my time there!

Anyway, we will be going for 9 nights in December of 2021. The dates I have picked right now are 12/17-12/26 or 12/18-12/27. These dates are based on the children's school schedule, the fact that courts rarely schedule much stuff the last two weeks of the year, and the last several years, Free Dining has been available until the 23rd of December. I have never been at Disney on Christmas day and thought it would be a magical thing to try with the little one. I want any input on the advantages or disadvantages of these dates/days. We will either leave on Friday and come back on Sunday or leave on Saturday and come back on Monday. Work and school are not concerns, as the kids will be out and I will be using vacation days either way. I am strictly thinking about advantages or disadvantages as it related to Disney or traveling.

So far, some of my thoughts are as follows:
12/17-12/26
Pros - Travel on Friday. Might be less traffic on the Friday be fore Christmas than on the Saturday.
Get home on Sunday. Start a fresh week the next day.

Cons - Last day in park is Christmas Day. Might put a damper on a magical day knowing we are leaving the next morning.


12/18-12/27
Pros - Christmas day in the park isn't our last day. Don't have to worry about packing when we get back to the room.

Cons - Travel on the Saturday before Christmas might be CRAZY!
Go home on a Monday. Everyone already hates Mondays. We will hate this one even more!

I want input to help me see if one way would definitely be better than the other. Maybe there is something I'm not considering...

 

[Wild4Walt]

I'd probably opt for option 1 ( starting on the 17th ) - I think Friday will be a slightly better travel day but you will be dealing with business people traveling that day too so I would recommend scheduling a flight earlier vs. later. If you are driving, I'd head out around 10a right after rush hour ends. Also, the parks get busier the closer you get to New Years Eve - just a thought as you're deciding when to go.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

I'd pick option 2 even with a worse travel day getting there. Travel days suck period so extremely sucky isn't too far off from pretty much sucky.

However, Christmas Day, for me, is not to be messed with in any way. Having to pack up on Christmas sounds like such a bummer. Having to do it cause it's the end of Disney trip sounds worse. Those last few hours in the parks is always a little sad and off-kilter anyway, knowing it's all coming to an end. You get that Magical Express paperwork delivered that day and it feels like bad news. I'd not want to feel that on Christmas Day!

So I'd pick option 2 to avoid it!

 

[Ksquared]

I'd pick option 2 if only for the reason that Christmas day in the parks is extremely busy so I'm not sure that I'd want my last day in the parks to be Christmas Day, that's the one day we avoided the parks when we went in '17

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would go before she starts school. December 2020 and avoid Xmas week or anytime the year before. The best part of doing Disney before the kids were in school is being able to go during slower times and avoiding summer heat. I would Disney at Xmas by any means necessary.

 

[CJJenkins]

We have to go when school is not in. We have older children also, and I'm not willing to go to Disney for less than a week, so the times we can go are limited. Gone are the days of 16 day long trips in the middle of October

 

[sharonabe]

So far, some of my thoughts are as follows:
12/17-12/26
Pros - Travel on Friday. Might be less traffic on the Friday be fore Christmas than on the Saturday.
Get home on Sunday. Start a fresh week the next day.

Cons - Last day in park is Christmas Day. Might put a damper on a magical day knowing we are leaving the next morning.


12/18-12/27
Pros - Christmas day in the park isn't our last day. Don't have to worry about packing when we get back to the room.

Cons - Travel on the Saturday before Christmas might be CRAZY!
Go home on a Monday. Everyone already hates Mondays. We will hate this one even more!

While the 17th might be a better travel day than the 18th, the 26th will be worse than the 27th. I'd rather end my trip with a better travel day than begin it, so I pick Option 2.

As for some of your other planning, you have the advantage of watching this year and next year for park hours and wait times. I'd be checking things daily to help me plan. MK normally has EMH every day during the week of Christmas, so you'll want to watch for those too.