How crazy are the parks during Christmas break?

[stevehudd]

We go every year before actual christmas. Crowds arent bad and weather is less taxing. The crowd calendars are accurate and should be referenced. Crowds ramp up leading into Christmas. Insanity occurs after the 25th. We were at Hollywood studios last Christmas during a 10/10 day (Dec 18th 2023) and it wasn't that bad IMO. It was the last AP day of 2023. The parks are the worst during busy periods without AP blackout dates. Annual pass holders are savvy park goers and know how to do everything correctly.

 

[drusba]

As to what the crowds can be like, see my post, #7,with a picture taken at MK during Christmas week https://www.disboards.com/threads/xmas-week.3779182/#post-61267733

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe stating the obvious, but I’d also add that if you do end up at a park for NYE, Disney transportation after midnight is a mess (can’t speak to the boats to CCV or BRV). Definitely need to pack your patience

Yes, on our one Epcot NYE visit, staying at BWV was the best thing we could have done! We left Epcot after lunch because there was no way to ride anything, then returned for our Biergarten ADR and left immediately after that. The walk from Germany to the IG was like walking down Royal Street on Mardi Gras - our feet almost didn’t touch the ground. We were happy to greet the New Year from our villa!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Yes, on our one Epcot NYE visit, staying at BWV was the best thing we could have done! We left Epcot after lunch because there was no way to ride anything, then returned for our Biergarten ADR and left immediately after that. The walk from Germany to the IG was like walking down Royal Street on Mardi Gras - our feet almost didn’t touch the ground. We were happy to greet the New Year from our villa!

Yep, that sounds exactly right!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Yes, on our one Epcot NYE visit, staying at BWV was the best thing we could have done! We left Epcot after lunch because there was no way to ride anything, then returned for our Biergarten ADR and left immediately after that. The walk from Germany to the IG was like walking down Royal Street on Mardi Gras - our feet almost didn’t touch the ground. We were happy to greet the New Year from our villa!

We were at EPCOT last NYE and it was not quite that bad…but it was close… by 10pm when we left to take our fireworks cruise it was so packed around world showcase my husband was afraid of losing our elementary school aged kids and made them hold a parent’s hand.

 

[davidhr]

My favorite time is the first two weeks of December, but have been there during the Christmas break.

While it’s not me preferred time, I’m ok going during that time if it’s not a park focused trip. If you want to spend the full day at the parks and ride “everything”, it’s going to be a frustrating trip.

 

[tgropp]

We visited Christmas/NYE week from 1999 to 2018. It is CRAZY nuts, but we loved it. The keys are:

1. Expect it to be unbelievably busy.
2. Take advantage of early theme park entry or deluxe hours if they are available. The extra 30 minutes for EMH is still worth it.
3. Take a mid-day break. It's way too crazy busy to be in a park all day. Especially when the MK is open from 7:30 am - 1:00 am.
4. OTOH, try not to burn the candles at both ends. Follow up a really late night with a later start.
5. Arrive the Wed or Thurs before Christmas if you can. Those first couple of days will seem blissfully quiet later on.
6. Make ADRs for Christmas day and/or NYE
7. Make an ADR for the dessert party at the MK if you can to have a safe place to watch the fireworks outside of the mass of humanity.
8. Take full advantage of the new Plan Ahead LL Entry (MultiPass or whatever they are calling it) and ILL$. By the time you go all the VLoggers and fellow DISers will have it figured out for you.
9. If you're planning to go to a Christmas party, get those tickets ASAP.
10. Don't spend all your time in lines. Enjoy the entertainment and holiday charm.

I read this and could have swore that I wrote this. Very wise advice and it’s everything that we do. It’s the most wonderful time of the year

 

[robinb]

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

You are not buying the desserts. You are buying the safe space to watch the fireworks.

 

[kboo]

We visited Christmas/NYE week from 1999 to 2018. It is CRAZY nuts, but we loved it. The keys are:

1. Expect it to be unbelievably busy.
2. Take advantage of early theme park entry or deluxe hours if they are available. The extra 30 minutes for EMH is still worth it.
3. Take a mid-day break. It's way too crazy busy to be in a park all day. Especially when the MK is open from 7:30 am - 1:00 am.
4. OTOH, try not to burn the candles at both ends. Follow up a really late night with a later start.
5. Arrive the Wed or Thurs before Christmas if you can. Those first couple of days will seem blissfully quiet later on.
6. Make ADRs for Christmas day and/or NYE
7. Make an ADR for the dessert party at the MK if you can to have a safe place to watch the fireworks outside of the mass of humanity.
8. Take full advantage of the new Plan Ahead LL Entry (MultiPass or whatever they are calling it) and ILL$. By the time you go all the VLoggers and fellow DISers will have it figured out for you.
9. If you're planning to go to a Christmas party, get those tickets ASAP.
10. Don't spend all your time in lines. Enjoy the entertainment and holiday charm.

I could have written this too! We have gone in 2019, 2020, (that didn't really count, it was so different), and 2021. We got more rides done in the days before 12/24 than expected, freeing us up the rest of the week to do more holiday things. 1-2 mornings in 2019 (the most packed I've ever seen the parks) my ODD and I knocked out pretty much everything in an hour in the morning EMH at MK that made it much easier to take a breath and enjoy the scenery and vibe.

Depending where you are staying, the MVMCP fireworks may be viewable from your resort. They're pretty amazing.

With little kids in 2019, we had dinner at Akershus on 12/31 around 5pm. We counted down the New Year in Norway (6pm?) and then made our slow way through all the people to hang out on the boardwalk from around 7-9pm and then took the SKyliner to Riviera. We had a view of MK fireworks and maybe also Epcot, in PJs? Can't remember. Back in 2019 MK used to do NYE on 12/30 and 12/31, so we went on 12/30* to "avoid the crowds." Had an ADR at Skipper Canteen after 6:30 pm fireworks (spectacular) we rode a few rides w FP(ILL). It was incredibly hard to walk around the park, although it was well lit and well directed (think of the crowds leaving after fireworks, but it's everywhere) The rest of the night there was a DJ in the hub and we just danced and hung out and it was probably the most fun I've ever had on "NYE." Great energy, international families face timing their relatives, etc.

*edited: we had already moved to riviera a few days before, the bus to MK was PACKED but super cheerful but crowds were such that we were trying to make the 6:30 fireworks, got on a bus around 5/5:30 and barely made it into the park to see the fireworks around the flagpole at the base of main st. It was still awesome, but just plan to take a lot of extra time to go anywhere. Leaving Epcot around 7pm was like a salmon swimming upstream but then the Boardwalk area was festive and uncrowded. DD1 wanted to ride a surrey bike, DD2 fell asleep in her stroller.

We were staying at VGF-RIV, when we were at VGF we had dinner at/visited all the MK resorts and took pictures with all the decorations.

Also: rope drop Xmas morning is great...

That year we made sure we had ADRs around 10pm at Le Creperie to get inside from the cold and away from the crowds—but it took over 45m to be seated and there were a LOT of irate people fighting with French CMs while we waited to be seated—Quel Dommage!

We had ADRs at LaCreperie right around when Remy opened and a late evening ADR was ROUGH. There were several families (including us) sitting on the floor along the entryway and it was similarly about 45m to be seated. We looked for something else but we were like 2nd "in line" (of check in and ADR time). I hope it's gotten better.

 

[Judique]

First trip in 1988 was during the Xmas/NY time period. After that, into the 90ties to 2010, Xmas, Easter and Spring break were our trips because of the school calendar, and sometimes we did up to 5 trips per year to include summer (July) and food and wine in October.

2010 was high school graduation for the last DD and after that she came when it didn't interfere with her school or job. So, a couple of times. I gave up actual Xmas trips and shifted it to early December after retirement. My first Easter trip post 2014 was this year and I didn't find it too much more crowded than my February trip this year. But it was a little warm for me. I like the cooler months and the Easter holiday was a last minute accommodation for the grands and 2 DD's who both work in education. I'm guessing it may happen again as DS is married to an educator. I just can't completely get away from that school schedule which pushes you to high demand times.

I could have written this too! We have gone in 2019, 2020, (that didn't really count, it was so different), and 2021. We got more rides done in the days before 12/24 than expected, freeing us up the rest of the week to do more holiday things. 1-2 mornings in 2019 (the most packed I've ever seen the parks) my ODD and I knocked out pretty much everything in an hour in the morning EMH at MK that made it much easier to take a breath and enjoy the scenery and vibe.

Depending where you are staying, the MVMCP fireworks may be viewable from your resort. They're pretty amazing.

With little kids in 2019, we had dinner at Akershus on 12/31 around 5pm. We counted down the New Year in Norway (6pm?) and then made our slow way through all the people to hang out on the boardwalk from around 7-9pm and then took the SKyliner to Riviera. We had a view of MK fireworks and maybe also Epcot, in PJs? Can't remember. Back in 2019 MK used to do NYE on 12/30 and 12/31, so we went on 12/30* to "avoid the crowds." Had an ADR at Skipper Canteen after 6:30 pm fireworks (spectacular) we rode a few rides w FP(ILL). It was incredibly hard to walk around the park, although it was well lit and well directed (think of the crowds leaving after fireworks, but it's everywhere) The rest of the night there was a DJ in the hub and we just danced and hung out and it was probably the most fun I've ever had on "NYE." Great energy, international families face timing their relatives, etc.

*edited: we had already moved to riviera a few days before, the bus to MK was PACKED but super cheerful but crowds were such that we were trying to make the 6:30 fireworks, got on a bus around 5/5:30 and barely made it into the park to see the fireworks around the flagpole at the base of main st. It was still awesome, but just plan to take a lot of extra time to go anywhere. Leaving Epcot around 7pm was like a salmon swimming upstream but then the Boardwalk area was festive and uncrowded. DD1 wanted to ride a surrey bike, DD2 fell asleep in her stroller.

We were staying at VGF-RIV, when we were at VGF we had dinner at/visited all the MK resorts and took pictures with all the decorations.

Also: rope drop Xmas morning is great...


We had ADRs at LaCreperie right around when Remy opened and a late evening ADR was ROUGH. There were several families (including us) sitting on the floor along the entryway and it was similarly about 45m to be seated. We looked for something else but we were like 2nd "in line" (of check in and ADR time). I hope it's gotten better.

I'll have to try La Creperie. I make my own but like to be served on occasion.

 

[DisTravels]

considered going to WDW during the Christmas break.

Assuming Jedi-level planning was involved, with proper ADR and LL reservations in place, can you still manage to have enjoyable experience?

I think it is largely dependent on your expectations and mindset going in.

Sounds like you already know how crowded and long lines are, and if you welcome/come to terms with it and can enjoy other aspects and/or like crowds - then you should have a wonderful time.

Planning and expectations will be key.

 

[princesswahooey]

We've been a few times at Christmas, the most recent one in 2021 at the height of Covid pent-up revenge travel. Disney wasn't quite up to its pre-Covid capacity but still had pre-covid crowd levels. (At the time our family of 4 included 2 teens.) I'm not sure I'd enjoy the crowds with super young kids or with a bigger group. We were an agile, experienced small team and we had a blast. Easily one of the most magical and memorable trips we've ever done. Even with the crazy crowds, we never felt like we were standing in line or wasting time. We rode tons of rides and still had plenty of time to smell the roses, eat long and enjoyable meals, and take in the Christmas wonder. I think there were several reasons for this, and most had to do with:

1- Preplanning. We had a longer stay (10 days) so we were able to snag good ADRs. Topolinos breakfast, Space 220, Cinderella, etc. (We had 3 of us booking at 7am at our 60 days and still had to put a few on dining alert programs to get everything we wanted, including a Candlelight Processional package & fireworks dinner in Epcot.) But ultimately we had it nailed down ahead of time.

2- We had 4 very tech-savvy people on our phones at 7am with different jobs: Securing virtual Q, securing Genie+ picks, securing ILLS, backup Virtual Q. Sometimes we did this while standing in the rope drop lines!

3- We are rope-drop/afternoon-hotel-break/close-the-park people, so we really maximized rides with that strategy, riding early, stacking G+ during our breaks as we sat poolside. We bought ILLS, so we were able to rope drop AND reride things like FoP & RotR. So, often 2 rides per day on headliners. We also had park hoppers, which allowed even more rides with G+ and refreshing. Always refresh! (After we arrived my husband was having fomo when he saw people with lightsabres, but of course reservations were long gone. I was actually able to refresh in secret during the day & snagged 2 reservations to build sabres on Christmas Day and surprised him & my son!)

4- We spent money. Like I said: we paid for G+ and ILLS, Candlelight Package, Fireworks package, did the Mickeys Very Merry Christmas party on our arrival day, stayed at the Riviera (Deluxe resort gives you extra magic evening hours, plus being on the Skyliner saved time on transportation). Be prepared to fork out some money. If you're trying to do a budget trip, Christmas is not your time.

Overall, I think Christmas at Disney is not for the faint of heart or for the inexperienced, but it can be completely magical!

 

[StarCruzer]

It seems almost silly to me that Disney doesn't try to quell the holiday crowds a bit by having more events at the resorts themselves. I keep thinking back to our visit to The Inn at Christmas Place in Tenessee and how they had a Santa Claus sing-along in the lobby.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

As to what the crowds can be like, see my post, #7,with a picture taken at MK during Christmas week https://www.disboards.com/threads/xmas-week.3779182/#post-61267733

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Oh HELL no!

 

[DonMacGregor]

The parks are extremely busy during Christmas break. There's 5 reasons DVC members book early December instead and are some of the most coveted times to go.

1. Low crowds
2. Holiday decorations
3. Good weather
4. Cheap point charts
5. The sorcerer pass is still good through the second week of December.

Going during Christmas week the crowds are significantly worse, point charts are at their worst and the sorcerer pass is not valid during that time.

This right here. We’re booked for our 2BR at BRV 12/1-12/7. Basically locked it on on New Year’s. It’s our one “annual” trip (everything else is much more fluid).

 

[katied]

We’ve done it at Christmas one year, and another year over NYE. We are going back a third time for NYE. And, we don’t like crowds, but with high school age kids and schedules, it works for us right now. I would not do it with small kids. After fireworks, yes, wall to wall people and you cannot get through the park as a group. You will be separated… not a concern with teens, they can manage themselves. Stroller or little ones would be a concern with that kind of crowd.

We go… we get to the parks early, take breaks in the afternoon, and then may go back in the evening. We pay for Genie plus and lightening lanes, and use it carefully to stack for the second park of the day.

Overall, it works for us, but you do have to manage expectations.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

JMO, but for us, it was a waste of $$ and this was back when it was only $90. We can do soooo much more with that $$. Now if this was a 1 time trip and the castle show was super important and you had to be in the front, then I would budget for it. We were in Frontier land and totally enjoyed the fireworks from there. Also it gets pretty full inside the VIP area as well, not shoulder to shoulder, and you still have to deal with parents putting their child on their shoulders

How are the crowds NYE thru the 1st week of January??

 

[Cybertruck]

We did Christmas week pre-covid once with the kids it was a challenge but we had fun. Unique things like Osborne lights made it memorable for sure. But even the kids said never again. Now we do a resort only stay at Christmas and have all the magic without the stress.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

JMO, but for us, it was a waste of $$ and this was back when it was only $90. We can do soooo much more with that $$. Now if this was a 1 time trip and the castle show was super important and you had to be in the front, then I would budget for it. We were in Frontier land and totally enjoyed the fireworks from there. Also it gets pretty full inside the VIP area as well, not shoulder to shoulder, and you still have to deal with parents putting their child on their shoulders

How are the crowds NYE thru the 1st week of January??

Yeah, the one time we did a fireworks VIP party we had to go to the hub for the actual show (I think it was Enchantment) and it was still fairly crowded without great lines of sight for the shorter members of our party).

Re: your last question— it’s going to depend on when Christmas falls and how many schools have the first week of January off. It’s often at least a little better than the last week between Christmas and NYE, but it seems like Jan 1-3 is almost always more packed that the days leading up to Christmas.