Holidays, ADR and Park Hopping?

[jaulty]

I'm starting to plan a Christmas 2014 trip to WDW but after reading and reading and reading multiple books and forums I still cannot figure out how to possibly eat dinner at a theme park during the holidays with a 2 yr old that I know will need an afternoon nap. Everything I have found says check crowd calendars, get in the park early before capacity is reached, and stay there. How on earth is that done with small children? Do you just pray that they will sleep in the stroller or do you leave mid-day for a nap and pray you can get back in for dinner? Or do you do dinner at a resort so you don't have to worry about getting back in the parks? Also, is park hopping even possible during holidays? Please help! I don't want this to be a complete disaster!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm starting to plan a Christmas 2014 trip to WDW but after reading and reading and reading multiple books and forums I still cannot figure out how to possibly eat dinner at a theme park during the holidays with a 2 yr old that I know will need an afternoon nap. Everything I have found says check crowd calendars, get in the park early before capacity is reached, and stay there. How on earth is that done with small children? Do you just pray that they will sleep in the stroller or do you leave mid-day for a nap and pray you can get back in for dinner? Or do you do dinner at a resort so you don't have to worry about getting back in the parks? Also, is park hopping even possible during holidays? Please help! I don't want this to be a complete disaster!

The problem with Christmas week is park closures. Expect MK to close every day, at least once if not twice a day. Epcot and DHS might also close. But the worst thing is wall to wall people which makes it hard to move a stroller through the crowds. And you do need to be there when the park opens each day if you have early ADRs. If the park does close, resort guests, ADR holders are the last closed out of the park, so you might be okay to go back to BLT for a nap.

But if you want to see the decorations and do the holiday events, I'd go either the week before or two weeks before Christmas to avoid the crowds. Plus it will take fewer points for your DVC resort during those week versus Christmas week.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Since this thread is about visiting WDW with a two year old, I've moved it to the Disney for Families board.

 

[jimandami]

Honestly, I would never, ever consider taking a 2 year-old to WDW Christmas week! Just seeing pics of the crowds was enough for me. As the PP said, can you go the first or second week of December? You still get decorations, MVMCP, and that jazz without the stress.

 

[jaulty]

Yea I know we could go in early December but we don't have a lot of vacation, but we do have Christmas Eve to New Years day off of work so that time really works best for our careers. We've been thinking of just hitting the parks in the AM and then relaxing the rest of the day. I think we'll try out resort restaurants or even use the kitchen in our villa.

 

[MSSANDRA]

That is what I would do. Be at the EMH park about 30-45 minutes before rope drop. Do all your must sees using FP or FP plus as needed. When crowds start to get crazy, get out of there!!! Head back to the resort to hang out and rest and if the weather is good, to swim. I would make reservations at resorts ASAP. There are some character meals at resorts but they fill fast. You could always try to go to a park after dinner, most will open back up as the day progresses, but it will be wall to wall people!

 

[ChitownFamily]

Yea I know we could go in early December but we don't have a lot of vacation, but we do have Christmas Eve to New Years day off of work so that time really works best for our careers. We've been thinking of just hitting the parks in the AM and then relaxing the rest of the day. I think we'll try out resort restaurants or even use the kitchen in our villa.

Just my opinion, I would take a 3-4 day DW vacation, during a slow time over a 5-7 day vacation over the busiest time of year. I think during a slow time , even just over 3 days, you could get done as much (if not more) then the full 7 days between Christmas & New Years.

Now I'm totally bias, after doing a Christmas to New Years week with just my husband- you couldn't pay me enough money to ever go that week again. I have discovered- lower crowds are a big part of the Disney magic for me. I know other people feel different. Just wanted to share a different perspective.
Enjoy the trip planning!

 

[jaulty]

That is what I would do. Be at the EMH park about 30-45 minutes before rope drop. Do all your must sees using FP or FP plus as needed. When crowds start to get crazy, get out of there!!! Head back to the resort to hang out and rest and if the weather is good, to swim. I would make reservations at resorts ASAP. There are some character meals at resorts but they fill fast. You could always try to go to a park after dinner, most will open back up as the day progresses, but it will be wall to wall people!

Thanks! That is what I was kinda thinking. This won't be our first or last time visiting, so we have no need to fit everything in or make sure we stay in a park all day. We are planning for Christmas 2014, so I don't have to worry about ADR's quite yet, but I will be ready at 180 days!

 

[aubriee]

Honestly, I would never, ever consider taking a 2 year-old to WDW Christmas week! Just seeing pics of the crowds was enough for me. As the PP said, can you go the first or second week of December? You still get decorations, MVMCP, and that jazz without the stress.

Same here! No way could they pay me enough to go during the week between Christmas and New Years. Now I have never been during that week. As an annual passholder I try to make 4-6 trips a year down there, but also try to avoid the busiest seasons. My Dec trips are always the first or second week of Dec. In fact, we'll be there this year Dec 6th-16th.

Two years ago I found out a coworker was planning their first ever trip to WDW during the week between Christmas and New Years. When she asked me for advice, I told her the first thing I would do is change my dates as she was going during the busiest week of the year. She said they specifically chose that week because they thought the parks would be empty as everybody else would be at home celebrating Christmas with their families. She then wanted to change, but the niece she was going with just kept insisting I was wrong and the parks would be empty. I went that same year the second week of Dec and had a great time. A few weeks later when she came back, she said didn't understand why I went to WDW so much and that they would never go back as it was wall to wall people all week, they couldn't ride hardly any rides, and had a pretty miserable time with three teenagers who wanted to ride rides. She said they spend the last half of the trip just hanging around the resort, because the parks were just too crowded. I told to bring pictures from her trip to work the next night and I would bring pictures from mine to compare the crowds in the backgrounds. We did and she could not believe the difference. At the same time, even though I had read about how crowded that week was, I just could not believe the massive crowds in her pictures. They were just unreal. During the second week of Dec when I was there, most rides were a walk on. Two weeks later when she was there, the waits were over two hours for the same rides I had walked on two weeks before. Her pictures just showed massive crowds everywhere. People could barely move at a snails pace.

 

[laughinplace199]

Yea I know we could go in early December but we don't have a lot of vacation, but we do have Christmas Eve to New Years day off of work so that time really works best for our careers. We've been thinking of just hitting the parks in the AM and then relaxing the rest of the day. I think we'll try out resort restaurants or even use the kitchen in our villa.

I would hit the parks in the morning and see if your little one will sleep in the stroller (you may be surprised - my 5 yr old slept in the stroller and he never napped at home at that age).

If your little one will sleep in the stroller, you'd be able to have a little extra park time, but if not, head back to the resort for a nap.

If you'll have a car, I'd make some dinner ADR's at other resorts. I love seeing the Christmas decorations at the different resorts.