Hey Disney Families!

[Victoriapeluso]

So this is an unconventional post and Im not sure where to put it, but I thought this would be a good place to start.

i had a HORRRRRRRRRIBLE Christmas. My father's new wife has yet again spoiled it for all of us. We are year 5/5 on this. I have two amazing kids who witnessed their mother VERY upset for 3 days crying etc. I snapped and decided to do Christmas in Disney World next year with just my husband and kids. Ive never felt so free.

Anyways I was wondering if anyone had spent ACTUAL christmas in dis, and if there is anything special that they do- like how do I get a tree? Special parades? just wondering

Any advice/help would be great!

Thanks!
V

 

[CarolynFH]

Yes, we've spent Christmas at Disney, although it's been a few years. We brought a tiny (tiny!) collapsible tree that we bought at a crafts store, but if you search the Resorts forum you'll find other ideas for trees and decorating. As far as special events, there's Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at MK, Jollywood Nights at DHS, and the Epcot Festival of the Holidays, which includes the Candlelight Processional. Some threads you might find useful are:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-2025-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party.3965460/

https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-jollywood-nights-2025.3970137/

https://www.disboards.com/threads/2025-epcot-festival-of-the-holidays.3970111/

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...essional-dining-packages-begin-10-14.3973127/

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Sorry to hear about the rough time over Christmas.

In addition to the ideas above, there is a Christmas golf cart parade at Ft. Wilderness, maybe on afternoon of Dec. 24. If not staying at Ft. Wilderness, you'll probably need to use Disney transportation to get there.

Many of the restaurants will have special menus for Christmas.

MK tends to be the most crowded park on Christmas day. You can do an MVMCP (as mentioned in above post) before that day.

 

[Victoriapeluso]

Maybe the answer is to do New years? Hmm, both would be fun- let's see how much I can swing- more time is more time!

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe the answer is to do New years? Hmm, both would be fun- let's see how much I can swing- more time is more time!

New Years Eve is crowded too, but can be fun if you’re prepared for that. FYI MK has its special fireworks show on both December 30 and 31 while Epcot’s is only on the 31, so many guests make MK their park for the 30 and Epcot’s for the 31. And one more thing - the ferry dock at the TTC is a great place to watch MK fireworks, if you don’t want to deal with the crowds inside MK and don’t mind missing the castle projections. And you can hop on the parking tram before the hordes descend from the monorail afterwards.

 

[liamthompson]

Hey there, would it make you feel better to know that every holiday season, the mom forums that I frequent are full of posts like yours? I think we hope for a christmas miracle that challenging family relationships will suddenly become generous and forgiving in the spirit of the season...but the reality is that people are the same as they always were.

One suggestion I see over and over again is to create your own traditions. Disney is fine if that's what you're really after. It's also OK to simply say "we're doing something different this year" and stay at home.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

So this is an unconventional post and Im not sure where to put it, but I thought this would be a good place to start.

i had a HORRRRRRRRRIBLE Christmas. My father's new wife has yet again spoiled it for all of us. We are year 5/5 on this. I have two amazing kids who witnessed their mother VERY upset for 3 days crying etc. I snapped and decided to do Christmas in Disney World next year with just my husband and kids. Ive never felt so free.

Anyways I was wondering if anyone had spent ACTUAL christmas in dis, and if there is anything special that they do- like how do I get a tree? Special parades? just wondering

Any advice/help would be great!

Thanks!
V

I'm sorry you're going through this.
If you're torn between escaping family drama and trying to still have a nice Christmas, how about staying home for Christmas morning then flying later that evening? You can still do gifts under the tree or make the trip their gift.
Personally, I'd do a Disney cruise to avoid the packed parks. USCG regulations prevent the ships from being overly crowded.
Then again, I'm biased.
However you do it, I hope you enjoy Christmas next year.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

My family of 8 spent Disney at Christmas in 2022 (Dec. 18-28). We elected to get a house off property. Paid $1,400 total out the door. Some of the party drove from DFW, so they could bring a tree. And we could decorate as we saw fit. We did Hollywood on Christmas Eve, and it was just normal as could be. We skipped a park on Christmas Day, but we went to Downtown Disney. It was super-duper packed, like shoulder to shoulder from about noon until dark. Otherwise, they didn't do anything special during those 10 days. Just the typical Holidays Around the World at Epcot, the Christmas party parade at MK instead of the regular 3 p.m. parade. Stuff like that.

 

[Victoriapeluso]

Hey there, would it make you feel better to know that every holiday season, the mom forums that I frequent are full of posts like yours? I think we hope for a christmas miracle that challenging family relationships will suddenly become generous and forgiving in the spirit of the season...but the reality is that people are the same as they always were.

One suggestion I see over and over again is to create your own traditions. Disney is fine if that's what you're really after. It's also OK to simply say "we're doing something different this year" and stay at home.

so true. We are a big disney fam and pay for DVC so we are inclined to use it haha but were also looking at other options too. Im dreaming of a fort wilderness Christmas where we have our own cabin and make our own new traditions there. Thank you for saying this becasue I feel really alone here- like Im the jerk, but after YEARS of trying to make holiday magic... it just aint gonna happen and I think its best for all of us to figure out something out that doesnt involve drama.

 

[Victoriapeluso]

I'm sorry you're going through this.
If you're torn between escaping family drama and trying to still have a nice Christmas, how about staying home for Christmas morning then flying later that evening? You can still do gifts under the tree or make the trip their gift.
Personally, I'd do a Disney cruise to avoid the packed parks. USCG regulations prevent the ships from being overly crowded.
Then again, I'm biased.
However you do it, I hope you enjoy Christmas next year.

THANK YOU! Maybe a cruise? hmm Id be down!