Is Christmas "too crowded" to enjoy??

[WildernessBride]

Anyone have WL Christmas pics????

 

[DWDude]

The WL is so beautiful at that time of year. I don’t' have any pics to post but I tried to book our trip this Dec. there but wasn't able to get a good deal. I'm not too upset as we are staying in my favorite resort, the POLY.
As you've read in many posts, you MUST get up early and enjoy those first few hours riding the most popular rides. We found that park hopping works well during this time of year. Hit the MK early then move onto another park when the crowds get overwhelming, around 10 to 11am.
We love going during Christmas. We tried it once and every trip since then we've gone during Dec.
Have fun and HO HO HO!

 

[zummi525]

ok im starting to get a little nervous I will be going 12/14-12/23
I have tgm and was thinking it wouldnt be that bad however now after seeing this thread i am a little nervous

hopefully we will miss most of the crowds I believe that the only really scary day will be 12/22 which is the first saturday before christmas hopefully though the other days will be fine and we will be able to just have one bad day

thanks so much for all your advice

 

[WildernessBride]

ok im starting to get a little nervous I will be going 12/14-12/23
I have tgm and was thinking it wouldnt be that bad however now after seeing this thread i am a little nervous

hopefully we will miss most of the crowds I believe that the only really scary day will be 12/22 which is the first saturday before christmas hopefully though the other days will be fine and we will be able to just have one bad day

thanks so much for all your advice

Good luck and when you get back I would love to hear about your experiences. I wish my trip wasn't 15 months away!!!!!

 

[Disneynut4ever]

Our dates are December 23 to 31, 2008....the most crowded time on earth, unfortunately I am tied to school schedules DH is a high school teacher!!!! I would love to go early in December. Weather also worries me, 45 degrees sounds a might chilly for what I would expect in Florida, even in December.

I wouldn't go at that time, but then again, TGMike does have some great strategies that we have never tried in December.

 

[robinb]

I may be alone in this, actually I've been in the closet about it until this moment, but it feels good to get it off my chest.

No, you are not alone. We are not Christian, but we love to spend NYE at WDW. I don't mind the decorations half as much as the music. By the time the they cut back over to the regular soundtrack at the end of the first week of January I am more than ready! There is no different music for each park/area ... it seems to be all the same Christmas carols. There really is only so many times you can hear "Sleigh ride".

 

[ScottNBecky]

Wilderness Bride I sent you an email about some info for you. Hopefully it went through. We are also going this Dec. 21-30. You will love it.

 

[micmacmissy]

ok im starting to get a little nervous I will be going 12/14-12/23
I have tgm and was thinking it wouldnt be that bad however now after seeing this thread i am a little nervous

hopefully we will miss most of the crowds I believe that the only really scary day will be 12/22 which is the first saturday before christmas hopefully though the other days will be fine and we will be able to just have one bad day

thanks so much for all your advice

Zummi, according to the unofficial guide calendar, crowds will be extremely LIGHT from 12/14 until 12/22...it isn't until 12/23 that the crowds peak, according to them! So don't worry....it will be GREAT! I would avoid Magic Kingdom on 12/22, other than that, you'll be fine!

 

[micmacmissy]

I have a weird perspective about the holiday atmosphere at WDW. I'm not too fond of it.

I feel the same way!!! For me, Christmas is only Christmas if I'm at home with my family. Decorations anywhere other than my home just don't do it for me. I could care less seeing everything decorated and I agree, I would prefer "plain" WDW over Christmas WDW!

Honestly, though, I've never come across anyone else with my same attitude, so it's interesting!

This year we're going Jan. 5th...think the decorations will be down by then? Here's hoping!

 

[canron]

big time yesssssssssssss

 

[Tink415]

I love "decorated" Disney World And I love being on vacation there over Christmas! We live several hours from extended family, so its either traveling 4+ hours on Christmas day or staying at the Holiday Inn in our hometown for a few days, or going to Disney. We rotate between the 3, but my favorite is being at Disney because of the decorations The rest of my familiy prefers staying at the hometown Holiday Inn or traveling !!!

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Does anybody have photos of the crowds during Christmas?

Here are some of the Wilderness Lodge decorated for the holidays from Allearsnet:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/wl17.jpg
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/wl15.jpg

 

[mickeysgal]

I haven't read through all the pages of responses, but we did go to WDW twice during the Christmas season. Once just after Christmas and stayed through New Year's and once before Christmas and stayed for Christmas. I would say the crowds before Christmas were better than the week between Christmas and New Years.

We found the best way to cope with the sometimes shoulder to shoulder (I mean it) crowds was to go to the parks when they open and stay maybe until lunch. We then went back to the room and hung out and would only return to the park after dark. At one point I commented that we were like vampires, only coming out in the dark. We would get more done in the 10pm to 12am time slot than any other time of the day. Far less miserable and stressful as well.

Its certainly worth seeing, but not for the novice or first time vacationer.

 

[mickeysgal]

Are there really 30-minute long bathroom lines??? I'm dying to know if that is really true!

I've seen long bathroom waits on New Years Eve but not on any other day, including Christmas. New Years Eve - Epcot to be exact - but not all bathroom, mostly those in the World Showcase.

Remember on this day it is usually wall to wall people...sometimes shoulder to shoulder.

 

[Alltiggeredout]

ok im starting to get a little nervous I will be going 12/14-12/23
I have tgm and was thinking it wouldnt be that bad however now after seeing this thread i am a little nervous

hopefully we will miss most of the crowds I believe that the only really scary day will be 12/22 which is the first saturday before christmas hopefully though the other days will be fine and we will be able to just have one bad day

thanks so much for all your advice

We are there on those dates and our plan is to do all the rides we want whilst the parks are quieter(hopefully)and then try and relax more when the crowds arrive.See the decs at the resorts etc.

 

[mill4023]

ok im starting to get a little nervous I will be going 12/14-12/23
I have tgm and was thinking it wouldnt be that bad however now after seeing this thread i am a little nervous

hopefully we will miss most of the crowds I believe that the only really scary day will be 12/22 which is the first saturday before christmas hopefully though the other days will be fine and we will be able to just have one bad day

thanks so much for all your advice

The crowds will probably start to come in the last couple days, but the 14th to the 21st should be great. We were there last year from the 16th to the 22nd. Crowds weren't bad at all and the weather was great. Mostly shorts and t-shirts with a jacket or sweatshirt for the mornings and evenings.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

When we were there in 2005 (12/17-12/24), it didn't really start to get crowded until Christmas Eve. We went to MK for morning EMH on my birthday (12/23) and there was hardly anyone there. I was truly surprised. We did not go to the parks on Christmas Day, but went by MK on our way to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast. Let me just say that my family was very happy that we weren't going into the MK that day. It was extremely crowded.

I just booked us for 12/20-12/26 for this year and have a feeling that it may be a little more crowded this year than what we experienced in 2005. It will probably start getting crowded by 12/23. I will be at MK that day for my birthday, which is probably where everyone else will be, too!

 

[Alltiggeredout]

On the 23rd we'll be at MGM so thats 3 you won't have to worry about.

 

[flea1267]

I have been over the week of Christmas, and it was really really crowded. That being said, we still had a good time. My daughter's birthday is the 27th of December and I remember standing outside the rock and roll coaster and my son refused to wait standby in the 2 hour wait to ride. I told him that if we didn't stand in any lines we would never ride any rides and we might as well just stand in line and enjoy it the best we can. A CM overheard this conversation, waved us over and escorted us to the front of the line!! This made our day!!

Christmas at Disney really is magical!

Tammy Alphabet, my b-day is the 27th also We'll be down there on my 40th! yikes! But I figured I can't be upset about 40 since I'll be at WDW

 

[robinb]

I've seen long bathroom waits on New Years Eve but not on any other day, including Christmas. New Years Eve - Epcot to be exact - but not all bathroom, mostly those in the World Showcase.

Remember on this day it is usually wall to wall people...sometimes shoulder to shoulder.

Yes it is! Here is are some pictures from The Land on 12/31/06 at about noon: