How crowded is Christmas vacation week?

[dreaminboutdisney]

Family members are thinking about spending the Christmas vacation together at WDW. We would be arriving the day after christmas. Exactly how crowded are the parks (ex. wait times)? We would be staying on site. Are there usually any discounts available at the resorts? Can you call ahead reserve seating for dinner at parks?

 

[emmabelle]

We just went Christmas week, Dec 27-Jan 2. The mornings were crowded but we still were able to do most of what we wanted. It was very crowded in the afternoons and evenings. The parks opened at 8:00am and didn't get really crowded until between 11:00am-12:00pm. New Years Eve was packed at Epcot, we had to hold hands not to lose each other in the crowds. New Years Day was great, I think most people had left to go home, the parks were much more doable that day.

I made most of my reservations for lunch and dinner two months before and got what I wanted. We had the longest wait to be seated at Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern (about 30 minutes after our ps time). We also ate at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian and those resorts weren't crowded at all for meals.

We were able to get a code rate for the Boardwalk Inn for $209, the last day of the code was December 25, as long as you checked in on that day the code was good for the length of your stay. We actually arrived two days late for our vacation because we were supposed to fly on Comair, which had cancelled all their flights for days. Disney reservations was very accommodating and they changed our ressies and honored the code. Thank god!

 

[princess lovers mom]

It is the busiest week of the year...go if you want, but expect long waits and make plans accordingly

 

[rkmassa]

Unbelievably crowded all the time. The lines are long. I mean wait times over an hour for popular rides. Peter Pan was at 110 minutes. Who waits that long for Peter Pan? Test Track, Mission Space, Tower of Terror, and the likes were the same. FPs were gone in the late afternoon. You definitely will need to use FP all the time, provided you can get them. Long lines for bathrooms. Plan to go 20 minutes before you really need to or prepare to wait. You will have to have PS for most of the restaurants. The traffic coming in to Disney was bumper to bumper-at a standstill on the highway on the 26th. Nuts. I was just shocked to see the crowds pour in. We had been there the week before, and I am glad. We got a chance to do almost everything before the masses showed up. Discounts usually end on the 24th or 25th. We had value season because we checked in on the 18th. The peak prices after that would have made it impossible to stay as long as we did. We will absolutely never, ever go again at that time. I would rather face the heat and crowds in the summer.

 

[henrylovespooh]

I have not been there at that time, but my neighbor went last year, arriving the day after Christmas and staying a week.

She said that MK was so packed and impossible to maneuver that she complained to the Info desk on Main Street that it was unsafe. She said she will never go to MK at Christmas again.

She said that after leaving MK they went to MGM and it was better, but she would still not recommend a Christmas trip again.

 

[Connears]

We have been there that week for the past 3 years and plan to return next holiday season. Yes it is crowded...very crowded. but if you go with the right frame of mine..its wonderful. The decorations and shows, parades are worth it..amazing! CP is inspirational! We use fp and have great time touring even at MK(which is always crowded). We have been so many times that if waits are prohibitive, we just skip it or try another day. You must make ps for dinners and character meals for that week at 90 days, although this year we got ps at Kona at last minute from WDWdining from our room at BCV the morning of the dinner. If you make ps for christmas eve, christmas or NYE, your cc will be charged because its a holiday. Just go and have a wonderful holiday.
Connears