How Crowded Will It Be?

[pistonfan32]

I have many posts about the crowds between Christmas and NYE. I need to hear from people who have been to DW during this time period and tell me about the crowds at the parks. Don't care about the crowded hotels or restaurants. We would like to spend time at least once at DW around X-mas and NYE. Looking at going from 12/28/08-1/2/09. How bad will it be? We are going two weeks from now when the crowds are very low and I know that is unusual. I just don't want to wait it line for 2 hours for Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. We will have children ranging from 4 to 14 years old with us. Thanks for your help.

 

[wilde_oscar]

it is crowded during the holidays.... it was crowded last year, it was crowded this year, it will be crowded next year, and the year after.

Expect 2 hour wait times for most attractions.

 

[rstamm]

I was just amazed by the amount of people coming through the gates at the Magic Kingdom at 10:00, it was a wall of people.

It really is amazing how many people will be in the parks, if you haven't experienced it there is just no way to describe it, except packed! packed! packed!

 

[Robo]

I just don't want to wait it line for 2 hours for Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. We will have children ranging from 4 to 14 years old with us. Thanks for your help.

Well, if ever there is a time that this would happen the most often, it's during the week between Christmas and New Years.

Sorry.

 

[Teacher510]

Not surprisingly when we were there at that time this year MK was where the crowds were the worst. We made good use of morning EMH on the 27th. We returned that evening to see the castle lights and the crowds were quite thick. Trying to exit the park during Spectromagic was a nightmare! The other parks were not really a problem for us. We spent more time in WS in Epcot which is less roomy than Futureworld but it wasn't too bad. We made sure to stay out of the parks on NYE. We mini golfed and visited resorts to see decorations that day and watched Christmas Wishes during dinner at Ohana's. We just considered any attractions we got to as a bonus.

 

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

Just returned 1/2. Arrived at WDW on 12/29 and went to MK that night. Crowds didn't seem that bad at all and I expected lots worse. I would use the am EMH to be able to get on the rides you want to ride, otherwise, you'll experience LONG lines. I would also suggest the use of Fast Pass on as many rides as you can. On NYE this year it was nothing for the major rides to have waiting times of 2 1/2 hours (some a little more). We were able to get a good seat to see the fireworks that night and were able to see the band from the side as well.

Also, if you want to eat at any certain table service restaurant, I would suggest ADR's as soon as the reservation window opens up, otherwise you'll be out of luck. I heard many grumblings of people who couldn't get a table.

IMO, I felt MGM was the least crowded, then next would be EPCOT. The worst area in EPCOT would have to be at the UK pavilion at WS. It seemed to just bottle neck in that area.

This was our first time at the World in that time frame and we just thoroughly enjoyed walking around taking in all the decorations and atmosphere. I can't imagine not enjoying it, even though there were lots more people to maneuver around. I have pics but have to figure out to post them.

I would definitely return if I can only convince DH that the crowds are worth it!

Hope this helps.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

We have been at Christmas last year and this as well as many Easter weeks and in June. Christmas is by far the worst in terms of crowds. If you get there at opening, use fastpasses effectively, have a plan, eat at 11:00/11:15 or 2:00ish (unless you have ADR's then whenever you can get them), you will be able to have a good time. Also it is a good time to do some things you don't normally do - we will also include COP, TTA, Tiki Room, Woody's Roundup, Riverboat, etc that we may not do or do as often when there are fewer people there. The decorations and themed parades and shows are absolutely wonderful. Just keep in mind walking down Main Street at 11:00 is virtually impossible and leaving after a parade or the fireworks is a chore. Plan ahead, relax and enjoy. You can be miserable elsewhere.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I've been twice on Christmas Week. I'm a commando tourer. I get to the park 45 minutes before rope-drop. I get everything done just fine, with lots of griping on the part of the family (who hate commando touring). They keep up, because they know the alternative is to NOT see/ride all the attractions they want. If parks/rides are not a priority, there's so much fun to be had outside of the parks...we saw Cirque du Soleil, took an IllumiNations cruise, ate at CRT, Hoop Dee Doo, the luau, took fishing cruises, booked spa appts, toured resorts, rented water mice, played at the Boardwalk, ate at the finest venues, saw all the fireworks (although we deliberately skipped New Years completely, spending in our SSR room and watched fireworks from the balcony). It's all in how you plan and prioritize, and what's important to you.

Oh, by the way, we would leave the parks every single day by 11am, because they just got too crowded. If you don't want 2 hour lines, get there at opening, and leave early.

 

[Joie]

we were at disney for new years 12/30-1/5 we spent nye at epcot they said that all parks were at capacity by noon and closed as for riding rides at epcot we stood in line for 2 1/2 hours and the ride at norway for 1 1/2 hours not bad concidering we didn't think we'd ride anything. as for eating make sure you adr's because they were booked solid the whole day we had lunch reservations but no dinner reservations so we just ate quick service meals which weren't bad because we were stuffed from lunch. my suggestion...plan early,get to park early, make adr's. crowds were pretty heavy but should be expected since it is nye.i'm make plans already for next nye i enjoyed it i loved being at epcot but maybe will try a differrent park for nye 2009

 

[DOOM1001]

I did Magic Kingdom one time for New Year's eve around 8-9 years ago.all I will say is that I waited 3 1/2 hours for Splash Mountain.I go very often to WDW but haven't been back during the week between Christmas and New Year's.If I were to go back during this time frame it would be mostly to simply be there and soak up the atmosphere,shows and parades.as far as ride I would just ride whatever I could get a FP for and if I were to find a line for 30 minutes or less.I would also imagine if you're claustrophobic you should spend more time in EPCOT as it has more space to deal with the crowds,at MK you feel like a sardine in a can.

 

[brooker]

Boy...I can't imagine 2-2/12 hours for a ride. We were there two times. Dec and early May, and the wait times weren't usually too bad. The longest was maybe an hour with no fastpass. I wouldn't be able to put up with that long of a wait knowing your vacation is wasting away while you have to stand in a lineup.

 

[ahowanitz]

We just got back from our trip. We were there from 12/27 until 1/3. I knew from reading these boards that it was going to bad, but I guess I didn't prepare myself well enough. It was absolutely INSANE! I enjoyed seeing the holiday stuff, but I would never ever go back during that week. MK closed, lines were up to 4 or 5 hours long, you couldn't even move because it was arm to arm with people (and with the unusually high temps that they had that week it was hard to breathe even). We tried going during the day the first 2 days and only got on 3 or so rides in about 7 hours. When that happened, and we saw how exhausted we were, we wised up. We started taking advantage of the evening EMHs at the parks. We went in around 10 or so and stayed until close most nights (2 or 3am). That was a lifesaver! Even then there were a lot of people, but it was SOOOO much better. The temps were perfect then too. I highly recommend doing this if you are going during that week in the future.

 

[Allison]

This is a copy of a previous post of mine. We had a great time.

We were there from December 25-January 3 and had a great time. We got to do everything we wanted to do at the parks and that was plenty of things. We didn't wait in any long lines and used FP as much as possible. We got there early in the morning (not always right at park opening) and got our touring done and then relaxed by the pool at the resort in the afternoons. I would go again this time of year without hesitation.We didn't feel exhausted or wiped out at the end of the day and it was great to not deal with the heat and humidity we have had on our June trips. The weather was beautiful.

We did have one 30 minute wait. After Wishes, the kids wanted to do Splash Mountain so we waited 30 minutes for that. Otherwise, we used fastpass or did the attractions in the morning and walked on or just waited for the next show to start or were in a short line that was constantly moving along.


Here are some of the things we did. We had seven days in the parks(not long days) and one day we didn't go to a park.

Epcot:
Soarin' (3 times)
saw the World Showcase Players (walked up as they started and got a seat on the sidewalk to watch them)
Canada Santa storyteller(sat down front row about 2 minutes before it started)
Miyuki
walked around several countries
tree lighting ceremony
Figment-3 times
Nemo-twice
Mexico boat ride
Illuminations-twice
Test Track-twice
Character Connection-Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Goofy, Pluto-without a line
Spaceship Earth-twice
LeCellier
Teppan Edo
Tutto Italia
Imagination Station at Figment ride
sitting and enjoying the atmosphere

MGM (this is our least favorite park so we didn't have a lot we wanted to do here and we took it very easy):
Beauty and the Beast
Tower of Terror
Indiana Jones
MuppetVision 3D
Parade (had a wonderful seat to watch this)
shopping
face painting
Hollywood & Vine
Narnia
Walt Disney One Man's Dream
Fantasmic
Osborne Lights

Animal Kingdom:
Safari Breakfast
Kilimanjaro Safari (3 times)
Kali River Rapids (twice)
Primeval Whirl
TriceraTop Spin
Bugs Life
Nemo the Musical
Festival of the Lion King
character meeting for Donald
character meeting for Goofy
Pangani Trail
Birds of Wonder
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Jingle Jungle Parade
shopped

Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Lightyear (3 times)
TTA
Laugh Factory
Pooh (twice)
Peter Pan (twice)
It's a Small World
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Goofy's Barnstormer (4 times)
WDW railroad
Magic Carpets of Aladdin (twice)
Pirates of the Caribbean (3 times)
Enchanted Tiki Room
Christmas parade
Holiday Wishes
Spectromagic
shopping
Indy Speedway

Other things:
Chef Mickey
'Ohana
sleigh ride at Wilderness Lodge
Whispering Canyon
lots of swimming at the resort
shopping at Downtown Disney
explored other resorts Christmas decorations-Boardwalk, Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, POR, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian
rode the monorail
kids spent time in the arcade

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

This is a copy of a previous post of mine. We had a great time.

We were there from December 25-January 3 and had a great time. We got to do everything we wanted to do at the parks and that was plenty of things. We didn't wait in any long lines and used FP as much as possible. We got there early in the morning (not always right at park opening) and got our touring done and then relaxed by the pool at the resort in the afternoons. I would go again this time of year without hesitation.We didn't feel exhausted or wiped out at the end of the day and it was great to not deal with the heat and humidity we have had on our June trips. The weather was beautiful.

We did have one 30 minute wait. After Wishes, the kids wanted to do Splash Mountain so we waited 30 minutes for that. Otherwise, we used fastpass or did the attractions in the morning and walked on or just waited for the next show to start or were in a short line that was constantly moving along.


Here are some of the things we did. We had seven days in the parks(not long days) and one day we didn't go to a park.

Epcot:
Soarin' (3 times)
saw the World Showcase Players (walked up as they started and got a seat on the sidewalk to watch them)
Canada Santa storyteller(sat down front row about 2 minutes before it started)
Miyuki
walked around several countries
tree lighting ceremony
Figment-3 times
Nemo-twice
Mexico boat ride
Illuminations-twice
Test Track-twice
Character Connection-Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Goofy, Pluto-without a line
Spaceship Earth-twice
LeCellier
Teppan Edo
Tutto Italia
Imagination Station at Figment ride
sitting and enjoying the atmosphere

MGM (this is our least favorite park so we didn't have a lot we wanted to do here and we took it very easy):
Beauty and the Beast
Tower of Terror
Indiana Jones
MuppetVision 3D
Parade (had a wonderful seat to watch this)
shopping
face painting
Hollywood & Vine
Narnia
Walt Disney One Man's Dream
Fantasmic
Osborne Lights

Animal Kingdom:
Safari Breakfast
Kilimanjaro Safari (3 times)
Kali River Rapids (twice)
Primeval Whirl
TriceraTop Spin
Bugs Life
Nemo the Musical
Festival of the Lion King
character meeting for Donald
character meeting for Goofy
Pangani Trail
Birds of Wonder
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Jingle Jungle Parade
shopped

Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Lightyear (3 times)
TTA
Laugh Factory
Pooh (twice)
Peter Pan (twice)
It's a Small World
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Goofy's Barnstormer (4 times)
WDW railroad
Magic Carpets of Aladdin (twice)
Pirates of the Caribbean (3 times)
Enchanted Tiki Room
Christmas parade
Holiday Wishes
Spectromagic
shopping
Indy Speedway

Other things:
Chef Mickey
'Ohana
sleigh ride at Wilderness Lodge
Whispering Canyon
lots of swimming at the resort
shopping at Downtown Disney
explored other resorts Christmas decorations-Boardwalk, Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, POR, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian
rode the monorail
kids spent time in the arcade

did you do all of this this year? did you park hop? did you have a plan or pay for a plan? thanks

 

[Allison]

did you do all of this this year? did you park hop? did you have a plan or pay for a plan? thanks

Yes, we just returned on Thursday. Yes, we did some park-hopping. Yes, I'm a TGM member.

 

[MinnieFan]

We just returned after spending 12/26/07 - 1/5/08 at WDW. We kept the kids out of school 3 extra days, hoping for reduced crowds after 1/1/08. That never happened - it was insanely crowded the entire time. Even some CM's we spoke to were surprised - they expected the crowds to dwindle by the end of the week. However, we had a great time in spite of the crowds. As long as you plan ahead (especially ADRs), get to the parks early and use FastPass, you can do just about everything you want to do. We did most of our "riding" early in the day, and just used our FastPass returns later on when the wait times were huge. Sorry, I won't wait in line 1-1/12 or 2 hours for anything, even my favorites. And as some others have said, it's a good idea to stay away from the parks on NYE. We went to Downtown Disney for a while that day, went back to the room to rest up (weather was not good so no swimming that day), and had dinner at Narcoosee's followed by a great view of the MK fireworks at midnight. If you don't get stressed out by the crowds you can have a wonderful trip.

 

[laxcdn]

How are the crowds now? We go in 2 weeks.

 

[BroganMc]

Looking at going from 12/28/08-1/2/09. How bad will it be?

SNIP

We will have children ranging from 4 to 14 years old with us. Thanks for your help.

We just went Dec 30 - Jan 2 and plan to do the same this year. Our secret was to do the evening EMHs. Dec 30 (Sunday) Magic Kingdom had two spectromagics, two fireworks shows (including a preview of the NYE fireworks) and was open until 4am with EMH.

We started out for the parks around 5pm that day. Went to MGM first and saw Osborne Lights. Then we took in the GMR and hopped to MK. (Bus there only takes you to the TTC so we rode the ferry in.) We got a picnic spot before the castle, ate and watched the preview NYE fireworks. After we got our wristbands and went on the following rides: POTC, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Cindy's Carousel and Laugh Factory. (Coulda done Buzz but I didn't trust my aim at that point.)

NYE we went over to EPCOT for the early bird 7:30pm fireworks. Got our spot about 30-50 minutes before. Then after the crowd dispersed a bit we went for a walk around the world. Lots of parties and nightlife happening. We left for our resort and watched fireworks at DTD for midnight. Then hopped a bus to MGM for its late night EMH. Traffic was a nightmare so we didn't arrive until 1:30am. We did Star Tours, Muppets and toured an empty Osborne lights were we had a private photo shoot.

Jan 1 was the only day we actually set out during the day. Got to EPCOT around 3pm. All the fastpasses were gone and wait times in the 90-120 minute range. We did Figment then toured the countries (starting with Canada). We rode Maelstrom with about a 30 minute wait. Mexico had a short 10 wait. American Adventure was no wait for our show. By 8:30pm we were done the countries so opted out of Illuminations and headed for Soarin'. The posted wait time was 90 minutes, but we were in and out in an hour. Since that ride usually has a 60+ min wait when I visit in the off-season, I didn't find that too unusual.

So in 3 days we did 7 rides at MK, 4 attractions at MGM, 4 attractions at EPCOT, and saw fireworks three times.

We kept hearing it was monster crowded during the day but by the times we went it was hardly noticeable.

Now our schedule is not little kid friendly. A 4 year old can't handle 2am rides. So you'll want to do the early morning EMHs and FastPass. Stay out of the parks from noon-6pm. Stay far away from MK on NYE. It closes early due to capacity. Watch fireworks from your resort. They are everywhere.

 

[SarahKate]

Our close friends were just there 12/26-1/1 and they had a great time. They used the Unofficial Guide and had their days pretty well planned out. I know one day (I think 12/27) they got to MK at opening (it was morning EMH) and they rode a BUNCH of rides in a few short hours.

Their strategy was to get there early, do what they wanted to do and then left the parks around lunchtime when things got gridlocked.

I asked her if they would do Christmas week again and she said absolutely NOT! Even though they had a good time, by week's end they were really getting tired of the crowds and were very ready to come home.

Our family has gone 2x in February and it's GREAT. It can still get crowded later in the day, but still manageable. I would never, ever, ever want to go Christmas/New Year week. We are definitely looking into the first week of December this year....we'd love to see the decorations.

If you still go Christmas, my biggest advice would be to have a plan - use UG or TGM, and get there early. Go there expecting the worst crowds ever! I've read plenty of posts from people who had a really great time even w/ all the crowds so it is still possible to enjoy yourselves!

 

[mousiemom]

I have many posts about the crowds between Christmas and NYE. I need to hear from people who have been to DW during this time period and tell me about the crowds at the parks. Don't care about the crowded hotels or restaurants. We would like to spend time at least once at DW around X-mas and NYE. Looking at going from 12/28/08-1/2/09. How bad will it be? We are going two weeks from now when the crowds are very low and I know that is unusual. I just don't want to wait it line for 2 hours for Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. We will have children ranging from 4 to 14 years old with us. Thanks for your help.

we just got back 1/2-1/6. here are my thoughts on this:
we did a 5 night stay on each of these trips
-Jan. 12-21-not crowded, max wait time 20min(soarin), great weather, value season
-May 24-30-memorial day week, not too crowded, good weather
-Aug. 31-Sept 5-free dining trip, sorta crowded, hot weather but hey all the food was free
-Sept. 27-Oct. 2-went for halloween party, not crowded, good weather, love the party
-Dec. 14-19-christmas decorations, party, not crowded, good weather-love this time of the year.
-Jan. 2-6-VERY CROWDED, LINES WERE OVER 100MINS EVEN HAUNTED MANSION, NO FASTPASSES LEFT, COULDN'T HARDLY WALK WITHOUT BUMPING INTO PEOPLE, NOT WORTH IT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR!!!!
mousiemom