how crowded dec 11-18

[exwdwcm]

we were there last year, Dec 10-20th. As other posters said, the christmas parade taping is not during that time- it is the first weekend of December. but i typically avoid that anyhow.

Crowds were moderate, with good planning, RD and FP, we never waited longer than 20 minutes for anything. It rained one day out of the 10 I think.
holiday decor is great- be sure to hit Osborne lights during the weekday- the weekends get more crowded with locals.

temps were great too- only one night did it seem really cold to us, of course it was the night we had the WISHES desert party and were freezing sitting there.

Free dining is being offered this week. It is NOT offered the week before, due to Pop Warner (would mess up their contracts I think with them-probably lose money etc.).

Crowds do start getting busy that Saturday though. it was funny, we hit the MK on that friday, december 18th and it was DEAD at the MK. it was rainy a bit, so maybe that drove folks away, not sure. By Saturday, December 19th, we noticed the difference for sure. especially that night. We had a nice dinner at O'hana and a few of us went to the MK for one last look and visit, as we were leaving very early the next day. We probably arrived at like 7ish and planned to just stay a couple of hours, but NO WAY. you could barely walk down main street. it was crazy busy, total turnaround from earlier in the week. We grabbed a dole whip, ate it and walked back out, struggling through the sea of people to get out. We didn't even try a ride, it was just too darn crowded. So that weekend before christmas is when the crowds will really start (when kids are out of school).

 

[skier_pete]

Crowds do start getting busy that Saturday though. it was funny, we hit the MK on that friday, december 18th and it was DEAD at the MK. it was rainy a bit, so maybe that drove folks away, not sure. By Saturday, December 19th, we noticed the difference for sure.

We were there at MK that Friday. Yeah, it started out a bit drizzly but cleared quickly, and it was completely DEAD until about the time of the 3 PM parade, when crowds picked up significantly. I talked to a CM, and they said it's common for MK to be slow on the morning before a MVMCP. I think that and the threat of rain kept the crowds down. That was one of the slowest mornings I've ever seen at MK. By the time we left the park around 6 PM, it had actually gotten pretty darn crowded.

Edited: Just stopped over at your TR...looks like we were @ Le Cellier together that night, too!

 

[wmharley]

I found mid October and Dec 11th of 09 the most busy the park has been for a while in those periods.. oh well.

 

[Vincent405]

Our first visit to WDW, so I was wondering on crowds at each park etc.

Wow, lurked for a while and here's my first post.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Quit telling everyone! This is the BEST week!!!

Still low crowds.... FULL Christmas spirit........... the LULL before the STORM of the true Christmas crowds.

The only down part is that any of the Christmas parties have the potential to sell out.

We are sneaking over for 1 day during our US trip and I was hoping to hear it was quiet. The quiet weeks get less and less quiet with the net spreading the word.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

We'll be there the 12th through the 22. I figured we'll get in as much as possible before the crowds start rolling in around the 18th, then we'll take it easy and just enjoy the surroundings, shows, and decorations. This will be our first time going at Christmas (and only our second trip overall). I am so excited!

 

[amberjack]

We will be there the 12-16. I am hoping for relatively low crowds. We were there last year just before Christmas (??-23) and it was CROWDED.

 

[patman2011]

11-18 are our dates as well, we are very excited as well as we are bringing our mil for her very first trip!!! any idea where we can find the data for the temps, we want to be able to have a better idea what the temps are. we are booked at AsMovies, first time for us, so are very excited!

 

[exwdwcm]

We were there at MK that Friday. Yeah, it started out a bit drizzly but cleared quickly, and it was completely DEAD until about the time of the 3 PM parade, when crowds picked up significantly. I talked to a CM, and they said it's common for MK to be slow on the morning before a MVMCP. I think that and the threat of rain kept the crowds down. That was one of the slowest mornings I've ever seen at MK. By the time we left the park around 6 PM, it had actually gotten pretty darn crowded.

Edited: Just stopped over at your TR...looks like we were @ Le Cellier together that night, too!

oh how funny- i see you on here a lot- too bad we didn't know and couldn't schedule a meet! we had a big party of us that night, sans kiddos, which was great! I couldn't believe how dead that MK was that am, it was really strange.

Our first visit to WDW, so I was wondering on crowds at each park etc.

Wow, lurked for a while and here's my first post.

Welcome!!!!

 

[joybeth]

This will be my third year going that same week. It will be great until the end of the week when it will start to pick up. Even those days won't be too bad, though. Last year we got fast passes that we never ended up using because most rides (except TSM!) were walk on when we returned. I came home with a stack of fast passes!

See you there!

jb