Is Disney really worth going during the holidays?Why?

[swilshire]

We've done it and will be there again this year. There is no doubt that the crowds are horrendous. DH got scared for the safety of the children near It's a Small World because the crowds were so bad.

I would never recommend going Christmas week if you expected to ride rides and all that. But just to soak up the atmosphere, it's not so bad. Just realize if you're staying off-site you might not gain entry, so go early in the day.

And take warm clothes. We were also there the year the record cold temps were set.

Sheila

 

[DWGal210]

Loved it and are going again, in about 3 weeks!

I completely agree with other posters; if this is your 1st Disney trip, I wouldn't suggest that week, simply because it is crowded and you probably won't get to do all you want to do. But in our case, we've been lucky enough to go before and God willing, we'll be going again, so we're not in the mindset that we have to do everything this trip. More than likely, we'll go to a park in the morning, then lounge around in the afternoon, go to DTD, etc.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

Would anyone that has been during Christmas/New Years week like to say that they enjoyed it...please?? LOL

I have gone during Christmas week, and yes its crazy and busy but I LOVED it. Spend New Years eve right in front of the castle saw the fireworks. I am going next year at that time.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

It is magical we took my Neice and Nephew last year the week before Christmas. With that being said I can tell you it is NOT worth it . I would never do it again ! It was the 1st and last time I had been in Disney World for the Christmas holidays .
Long lines , crowds....... just bad

 

[zalansky]

Yes! Two words. Candlelight Processional! We're going for our 6th annual trip this weekend. We're lucky to live close so it doesn't involve heavy and expensive travel and we have annual passes. But every year we book the CP dinner package and its our way of starting the holidays off right. We LOVE the atmosphere during Christmas, the music, the lights, the decor! All of it. It wouldn't be Xmas without Disney for our family.

Of course for the CP show you must love the Xmas carols and the Christmas story. It brings back lots of memories from my childhood, which is why I love it so much.

 

[kawing123]

We would be leaving mid Dec and return around
Dec 22. Would it still be unbelievable crowded or will we miss the madness?

 

[TammyAlphabet]

We've done Disney for Christmas the past 4 years and have LOVED it! The atmosphere is just...so magical. It's almost completely different from the way it is during the rest of the year.

Yes the crowds are ungodly huge. Yes, it is priced very high. Yes, the wait times can be insane if you don't plan (I've seen a 190 minute wait for Soarin'). And this is why if it's your first visit to WDW I strongly suggest NOT going at Christmas. My family has been to WDW so many times that we're not so concerned with getting on the rides as we are experiencing the Christmas atmosphere.

I have to agree with this 100 percent. I am doing my first NYE trip this year and I am not planning on riding alot of rides, just having a good time with friends and enjoying the lights.

 

[EthansMom]

Still debating whether to head out to the world for the holidays. Is it really magical or is simply another light display?

First week of December... well, worth it! Decorations are up, the holiday parade is being taped, Christmas music is playing everywhere.

No way you could pay for my trip during Christmas break and get me to go. Often, the parks close to new guests pretty soon after opening; wall to wall crowds; long waits for basically everything... UGH!

 

[disney1990]

Still debating whether to head out to the world for the holidays. Is it really magical or is simply another light display?

I would absolutely NOT recommend that somebody go to Disney during Christmas if it is their first visit or maybe even their second or third visit.

However, I absolutely LOVE Disney during Christmas. I would go every year and be their on Christmas morning if I could. But, I wouldn't be worried about riding Dumbo or Space Mountain. I wouldn't care if I rode anything at all.

I would spend my time seeing Candlelight and the Osborne Lights at the Studios. I would visit the GF and see the giant Gingerbread house. I would see the carousel made of Gingerbread at the Beach Club.

If you want to see just how wonderful Disney is at Christmas, search on HGTV and look for Behind the Magic - Disney Holidays. I recorded it the other night so that I can watch it again and again and remember just how much I love Disney at Christmas.

 

[sl_underwood]

We are thinking of going next year from the 19th-26th. Is it still insane the week before or is it primarily the week between Christmas and New Years?

 

[forthofer]

I would stay away. It's beautiful and the weather is usually perfect, but the lines are crazy so your really just paying to walk around somewhere nice and wait in lines. Now, if it's just you and your spouse or something then it can be a great time, but we always love epcot in that case.

 

[3dog2kidmom]

Would anyone that has been during Christmas/New Years week like to say that they enjoyed it...please?? LOL

We did! First time ever was Christmas day in 2005 for 4 nights. We're going back this year Christmas eve for 4 nights. I'd go every year at Christmas if I could. It is absolutely magical. I was suffering some major holiday blues and Disney revived me. Now even my non-Disney Christmases are full of Disney memories.

Could anyone share why they did dislike Christmas week so much? Like, please describe the insanity, crowds, ride wait times, etc.! I am also considering Christmas/New Years and have been told "never again" by so many people. I guess I just need a better picture of the craziness of it before I can give up going during that time(the only time during the holidays that we can go). There are other times during the year that we can go, but only during the "crazy" week for the holidays. Tell me your horror stories...or your wonderful ones!!

Horror: none really... yes, there are shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, rude people cutting off half your family when trying to make your way through the crowds, 2 hour waits for rides that you aren't fastpassing

Wonderful: waking the kids up on Christmas morning and saying, "get dressed... we're going to Disney World... RIGHT NOW!!;" Christmas dinner with Chef Mickey; sitting in the stadium waiting for Fantasmic to start and your 5-year-old daughter declares "this is the BEST Christmas EVER"; being totally immersed in Disney's version of Christmas magic; and of course the perfect weather.

Realize that it is crazy busy and be prepared to just soak up the atmosphere and maybe do a few attractions -- with fastpasses of course. Anything over that is a bonus. Also, ADRs are a must. In fact, it's really difficult to even get into CS places during lunch. We've planned our CS' for breakfasts mostly and will share at TS' and have a few OOP TS' even though we're on the Dining Plan.

This is the only time we can go during the holidays too. I don't like the heat so we either go Christmas or Spring Break when the kids are off school. Just do your homework and you will have a magical time.

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

We spent last Christmas at WDW, for the sole purpose of celebrating DD's 5th birthday (Christmas Day!) with the princesses. Yes, I agree, the crowds were insane. In fact, I have described DHS like this: When you're leaving a concert, and there are huge wall to wall crowds of people, THAT is what it was like in parts of DHS! I booked my ADRs in June so we did actually have her birthday lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. She got the royal treatment everywhere we went. It was a fantastic birthday for her. However, we didn't get to do probably 3/4 of what we were able to do the previous July (we thought fourth of July week was busy--oi!)

But, I can't even begin to explain the feeling I had when we came out into the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights---the look of wonder and excitement on my kids' faces almost made me cry. DS ran through the streets of America trying to find all the Hidden Mickeys.

The decorations were unreal---so many, so beautiful! I have a memory card full of just pictures of decorations. The kids swam on Christmas Eve at Pop Century. We had just left about a foot and a half of snow in Michigan the day before, so they were so thrilled to be swimming! It was definitely a trip to remember. And keep in mind, even the busiest times and craziest days at Disney are a thousand times better than a slow, calm day at home.

 

[disneybound31]

What about right after Thanksgiving? Do they have decorations up and are the crowds too crazy? I guess, like right about now...Wondering if you left for WDW on Thanksgiving day (after eating, of course)and did a quick 2 or 3 night weekend trip just to do it ONCE to see the Christmas stuff and do the Osborne lights and the Candelight Processional?

 

[angeluna]

Disney states that they're decorated yearly by Thanksgiving.

Our last 4 trips have been in early Dec. We love it! Tried last year to change to Halloween time, but family said no way. Even the aloof teenager wanted to go at Christmas time. It's beautiful! We do love Christmas anyways though, so maybe that makes a difference. I will say that it has gotten more crowded each time we go. Planning is a necessity.

 

[Chicago526]

What about right after Thanksgiving? Do they have decorations up and are the crowds too crazy? I guess, like right about now...Wondering if you left for WDW on Thanksgiving day (after eating, of course)and did a quick 2 or 3 night weekend trip just to do it ONCE to see the Christmas stuff and do the Osborne lights and the Candelight Processional?

I think they set up for Christmas right before T-day. DH and I went the first week of December and it was all tricked out for Christmas. I wouldn't go over T-day itself, I'm sure it's crazy busy that weekend just like it is between Chirstmas and New Years. I think the crowds are light between just after T-day weekend to the start of the Christmas school break. The week we went we dang near walked on to all the rides, I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for anything.

 

[momx2]

Well, I hope it's worth it because I just booked!!! I just booked the Dolphin with Starwood points. So we are staying for free and driving. We are staying December 27- Jan 2. We've been in December and know it is beautiful, but never this week. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time! Wish us luck!!!

 

[SandrA9810]

We've gone Christmas Day to Epcot and New Years Eve to Magic Kingdom and Studios.

The crowds are huge, and I've seen people just sit on main street waiting for the parades/fireworks.

If you're going that week, you should be a seasoned Disney goer. Like you know every ride like the back of your hand, you know how to navigate the parks, you know where special things are going to be happening.

A couple years back, we went Christmas Day to see Gary Sinese at Epcot. I made my dinner package reservations the day they started taking them. We had a very early dinner at Garden Grill, and Dale made it that absolute best experience EVER, I will never forget it. We lined up at like 2 hrs prior to the last showing of the candlelight, even though we had reserved seating. And we were not the first in line. But we had our gameboys.

The sole purpose was to have dinner and go to the candlelight. So anything extra we did was a bonus, and we didn't do anything that had a long wait time.

When we went to studios, the crowds were huge, but again the only reason we went were for the fireworks and osborne lights. Anything else that happened was a bonus. We just took in all the sights and sounds. The worst part was the 2hr exiting out of the parking lot. And it was EMH for studios, so it was a ton of people there. Orange County cops did a great job of navigating every one out, but of course people had to stop and ask "how do i do...??" and when there's a 1,000 cars in front of you doing that, it really slow things down. But the way they had the parking lot exiting, it made it easy for us to get home.

We also like to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Poly, it makes the 360 fireworks look that much cooler.

Again, only seasoned Disney vets should tempt the last week of the year. Or else you will find it to be the most horrible thing ever. Of course we also like resort hopping to see the special stuff there. And this year at the Grand, they're selling gingerbread cookies in the shape of the shingles of the ginger bread house. I thought that was really cool.

 

[Schachteles]

We are thinking of going next year from the 19th-26th. Is it still insane the week before or is it primarily the week between Christmas and New Years?

Each day it gets closer to the holiday the crazier it will get. I would imagine that the 19th to the 26th would be BUSY because Christmas is on that Friday, but you could luck out and not have it too bad till like the 23rd.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

You guys have me so excited. I am wanting to book our trip for next Christmas and I am thinking of going the second week in Dec. to avoid some of the crowds. Can anyone tell me what this week is normally like?