Help with 2006 Christmas trip...PLEASE

[tinksmomce]

We are planning our first ever Family Christmas trip 2006. We have been to Disney 3 times, but not at Christmas. Everything I have read talks about how extremely busy Disney is at Christmas. My question is, is it worth going at this time of the year or would we be better suited to try a different time? I know the pricing is higher, but we are willing to spend the extra, I just want to make certain that we enjoy our time there.

Any help, suggestions, and ideas are greatly appreciated

 

[MommaluvsDis]

tinksmomce,

I'm going Dec 18-22 with some friends for a "girls only" trip. We're looking forward to seeing the Christmas decorations and that is our main reason for going that time of the year.

I've been in June, July, and April. All were busy times but with planning and ADRs you can have a great and beautiful time! We're taking one day to go to each resort and see the decorations!

 

[disney_me]

My family went for Christmas 05 (Dec 21-28) I knew it would be crowded but I never expected that many people The days before and after Christmas were fine. MK on Christmas day, I'll never do again.

 

[wildernessfamily]

You just have to know it will be busy, but fast pass helps some. Don't plan on trying to do everything but do what your family really wants to. Make your reservations ahead(90 days) for any meals you plan to have in the park. If you are staying on disney property you can send room decorations ahead in a box so your family may feel a little more at home. The parks are always beautiful but especially this time of the year. IT really is something to see at least once in your many trips to disney.

 

[cstraub]

We have been there over Christmas time for the last two years. I'm almost at the point that I don't want to go unless it's Christmastime! We LOVE it- crowds and all. If you have been three other times then you have probably already ridden most of the major atractions so it won't be a big deal if you get to do them again or not. That's my feeling on it.

Just make your ADR's in advance and buy tickets for MVMCP for sure- you'll have the park to tourself.

It's such a magical time. I love just walking through the crowds- everyone is in such a cheerful mood. Of all the times I have been most trips kind of blend together. The Christmas trips are the ones that stand out most.

Have fun! I hope you will try it once.

 

[mom2cookies]

It is definitely crowded, but well worth it. The decorations are beautiful! Do make your dining ressies ahead of time. New Year's EVE 2004 people were being turned away from TS restaurants because there weren't any tables left. Overheard 1 Cm tell a group that there weren't any tables in any of the parks. They would have to do CS. This was later in the evening. So, definitely make your dining plans ahead of time.

 

[cheerbop]

Re you going before, during, after Christmas? We were there around mid Dec (11-18th) this past year. It was fine until about the 17th/18th..then it got ssoooo crazy busy that we were going nuts. We don't really like crowds....

We really enjoyed the MVMCP and the Candlelight Processional. The decors are deautiful. You have to decide when is best for you and prepare for crowds if you really want to be there right at Christmas time.

 

[becfehr]

We went Dec 6-8 2005. It wasn't crowded. The Christmas decorations were up though! The longest we stayed in line was about 30 minutes for anything... some stuff was walk ons!

 

[Taqwus]

On thing to remember about giong there during that time is there are 2 big football games that are going to be going on near WDW at that time, do not go to magic kindom during the day right after the game. I was there from teh 21st to the 30th and the 3 days it was packed.
The best places to go these day would be animal kingdom or one of the other smaller parks

 

[Fargo]

I thought I new it all, (ten trips or so) but I said what the heck, I'll give Tour guide Mike a try for this past 2005 x-mas week vacation. I passed up a few other trips for x-mas week because of the crowds. But I must say the touring advice from his site was worth the money spent. Sign up now and read as much as you can for this past x-mas, and just move your dates around for this x-mas (2006)
you will get so much information, just for the week you go. you can get bits and pieces of information from sites like this, or tons of it from Mike's site.

Travel dates were from Dec 23- Jan 2 2005.

Have a Great Trip!

 

[TSM1993]

WDW was very crowded most of those days in fact from what we heard they actually shut the park down several times during those days because it had reached capacity. Lines were long. It was only me and my boyfriend and not my son thank god because we didnt get to do many rides during those days but managed to get all but 1 of the rides done we wanted to do. Space MT standby line was upto 90mins buzz lightyear the same.

New Years Eve picked out a spot for the first fireworks at MK and was basically stuck in that spot for 5 hrs. Lucky we had a blanket and was near a CS restaurant and a bathroom. Put the blanket down to save room for the both of us and saved spots no problem with out people crowding us to much. So we didnt sweat someone taking each others spot if one had to go to get a drink or food or to the bathroom.

New Years day at Epcot was a far cry from the other days not crowded at all.

 

[maddhatir]

Was in Diney for christmas through new years 2x-- and NEVER again! I am not a crowd person.

we have been to disney 3x after that in december- and the decorations are up and just as beautiful! i would perfer to see the decorations w/o the crowds .......personally!

if you dont like crowds-- xmas- new years......not the time to go!

maddhatir

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We were there 12/17-12/26 and it really didn't get crowded until Christmas eve. We got to the parks early and were able to ride everything we wanted to ride, including the major rides. We did not go to the parks on Christmas day.

 

[Mousemom]

Our family, along with some friends and SIL, husband, and her 3 kids, went December 11 - 21, 05. We absolutely loved every minute of being there at Chirstmas. The weather varied but was never really cold. During the day was light jacket or just t-shirt weather, the evenings got chilly a couple of times and I was glad I had my ski jacket. We did have one day where it hit low 80's and we went swimming. The decorations and perades were awesome. Crowd level up until the weekend before Chirstmas was low. Wait times for rides was no longer than 10 minutes. Once the weekend hit waits could be up to an hour or longer. Fast passes were a must. We have decided that we will try to go at Chirstmas again, but try to make it so we leave before the Chirstmas rush starts. We stayed at ASmusic and AKL. Both places were decorated and really beautiful. You are going to love the holidays at WDW!!

 

[mortimor]

If you are familiar with the parks and what you want to go on you should have no problem. We were there this last Christmas and I thought it was less busy than previous holiday trips. Just plan on being at the park before opening time, head straight to the most popular rides, use fastpass for others and keep moving from ride to ride. We (3 adults one young child) covered everything we wanted to ride by mid morning, took a nap, returned to parks for shows/parades etc in the pm. Stay onsite, use busses and extended hours. Mornings were great for the rides, evenings were good for shows, except for Animal Kingdom where Dinosaur was walk on one night right at normal park closing and I went on it 3X as fast as you could walk around front to get back in. Here's an example of what we did the am of Dec 24th. Space Mtn, Buzz 2X, Indy Speedway, Pooh, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Snow White, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder 2X, Pirates, Jungle Cruise and at least a half dozen photo's w/characters. I don't recall what time we were done, but it was well before noon and I remember thinking the morning wasn't even over and we were leaving to head back to the resort for a break. One advantage of going during the busy season is the rides are normally running at full capacity right away in the morning so it will save you even more time. Space and Big Thunder had both sides running and moving the people through as fast as they came in.