Is the holiday season just INSANE?

[05ChristmasSurprise]

We're thinking of taking DSD when she's out of school, after the 23rd.
Are we nuts?
Is there any time during the Christmas break that is reasonable, as far as crowds go?

 

[danny1649]

The busiest week of the year at WDW.It is a special time to visit but you will encounter huge crowds.If you go plan on arriving early and use fast pass.

 

[Puffy2]

ditto. the largest crowds of the entire year - Chirstmas through New Years.

Also, I went prior to Christmas last year and I found it to be "over the top"...Disney is "exciting" enough all by itself without throwing Christmas into the mix. I felt like I was in "holly, jolly, jingle, jolly, hell". Many, many will disagree but that's just another perspective on it. Disney is best enjoyed in the off season, in mild weather.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Darn.
That's what I was afraid of.

I'm not sure yet what we'll do. I mean, I think that with a bit of planning, some fast passes, and historic crowd levels we *could* potentially deal with it.

At least while waiting in lines it wouldn't be 130 degrees with the heat index, yk?

We've been in a couple different seasons now, and although we're going soon-ish for MNSSHP, I think my favorite time thus far has been early December. I'd love to do it again, but her mom won't let her out of school for it (not that we asked, she just said no way she's going until she's off).

 

[shelly3girls]

We have not been there during the holidays but we have been there during Easter break. I think anything is manageable as long as you plan. We went to the parks early and stayed until lunch. By then the lines were unbareble so we ate lunch (with PS which are a must for any TS). We tried to go back to the crowds in the evening but they were usually still pretty crowded. It was not my favorite time to go but if it was my only option I would definitely do it again b/c we still had a fabulous time.

 

[robinb]

I go for Christmas/New Years every year and we have a blast. As long as this isn't your one-and-only-trip-of-a-lifetime you should be fine. The standard advise holds true: get to the park before rope drop. use Fast Pass, make AR's for sit-down restaurants (on Chistmas, ASAP), skip most EMHs. Don't expect to ride any attaction after mid-day if you don't have a FP for it. Even Small World can have a 40 minute wait or more! Plan on doing the "A" and "B" rides instead: the Carousel, Country Bears, the Tiki Room, etc in every park. Better yet, take a break at around 2PM and feel sorry for all the people just arriving as you are leaving. Go back to your resort and have a swim/nap and return to the park of your choice for dinner and fireworks.

As long as you don't expect May crowds and walk-on rides after 9:00 or 10:00 AM you'll also have a blast!

 

[stitchluva22]

it is better to go in the summer because all the kids are out a christmas break and it is terrible. i went in june last year and it was not that bad

 

[DISUNC]

We're thinking of taking DSD when she's out of school, after the 23rd.
Are we nuts?
Is there any time during the Christmas break that is reasonable, as far as crowds go?

Keep in mind that they have CLOSED the PARKS (at the parking lots) to NON Resort staying guest during this week. So if you are a resort guest, you will get in..if not...it might be tough.

 

[jdonat]

I go for Christmas/New Years every year and we have a blast. As long as this isn't your one-and-only-trip-of-a-lifetime you should be fine. The standard advise holds true: get to the park before rope drop. use Fast Pass, make AR's for sit-down restaurants (on Chistmas, ASAP), skip most EMHs. Don't expect to ride any attaction after mid-day if you don't have a FP for it. Even Small World can have a 40 minute wait or more! Plan on doing the "A" and "B" rides instead: the Carousel, Country Bears, the Tiki Room, etc in every park. Better yet, take a break at around 2PM and feel sorry for all the people just arriving as you are leaving. Go back to your resort and have a swim/nap and return to the park of your choice for dinner and fireworks.

As long as you don't expect May crowds and walk-on rides after 9:00 or 10:00 AM you'll also have a blast!

We've been meeting robinb for the last 3 or 4 years or so, and one important
point she didn't make. Stay onsite! Stay onsite! Stay onsite! Quite often,
the parks will be closed except for resort guests. We've heard dire warnings
about leaving a park on New Year's Eve and wanting to come back for
a AR for dinner... we've NEVER had a problem, and we've gone down for
NYE every year since 1992/1993 except for the Millenium year celebration.
We've got great pictures from the last 2 New Year's Eve celebrations showing
the ride board, and the ride times are incredible!!! most of them were over 2hrs, and the only reason they weren't longer according to the CM was that
he didn't have numbers bigger than that!
If you go down for this time, plan for strange weather... everything from
cooold (lows below freezing in the evening) to hot.. 80's during the day
and 60's at night... Watch the Weather Channel and check accuweather online
before you go.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Take her out of school a week earlier - it's one of the SLOWEST times of the year.

You would have to give me a free vacation and pay me big bucks to even go near WDW anytime after the 23rd.

N.E.D.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

While I understand where some of the points are coming from, I also think that our particular group translates to a different park experience than the "average family". Our kids are young - most of them too young to ride the big rides, and those who are able to don't want to. So, in that sense, it's not a huge deal if we don't get to the "top" rides. We tend to take a very low-key approach to our vacations - we've pretty much seen all the attractions we wanted to see our first trip, so after that it was just cheese for us. We were only at the parks about three hours each day this past trip, then an additional two meals per day at parks or resorts. With little ones and naps and such, we'd head to the park early in the morning, do what we really wanted to do...we didn't do many rides without fast passes, and then sit down for an early lunch. (Because FL time is an hour ahead of us we were hungry early and able to sit down for lunch pretty early).

I think as long as we kept this in mind, it wouldn't be too bad.
Though, the advise to stay onsite is TREMENDOUSLY helpful. I never would have considered the fact that offsite guests couldn't get in. Good to know!

As for the "go in June" because the kids are out of school the week of Christmas - aren't they also out of school in June? I mean, I understand that it's crowded...but summer is HOT and crowded...winter is just crowded, kwim? We can deal with comfortable and crowded a lot better

We loved our December trip, and doubt we'd go again in the spring just because of the heat. We really loved MVMCP and the whole holiday vibe. And we were there during the taping of the christmas parade, so it was a little crowded then...I'm hoping that as long as we plan well, we'll still have a great time - just knowing what to expect is half the battle.

(And we can't take her out of school - her Mom said no way)

 

[NMAmy]

I mean, I understand that it's crowded...but summer is HOT and crowded...winter is just crowded, kwim? We can deal with comfortable and crowded a lot better

Just be aware that last Christmas was COLD and crowded. I mean--I live in Michigan and we spent some mornings and evenings huddled in gift shops bundled up in heavy coats and gloves because it was just so freaking cold! I kind of prefer to go to Florida when it's hot or at least warmer than Michigan.

And when people say crowded they mean CROWDED. I literally made DH and my 14 yo DD hold my hand when we were trying to get out of MK one day the week of Christmas because I was afraid I would lose them. I can only imagine trying to keep track of little ones.

We went for 2 weeks and that was fine--we were able to go in the mornings and not have to worry about not seeing everything and spend more time at the hotels. It was great for Christmas but DD has requested that we not go again at Christmas time because the crowds freak her out.

By all means, give it a try (I'm glad we did but never again) but I thought I was prepared but I was still freaked out by the crowds. There were days when we literally felt like we could not move--it was just this mass of humanity. Just be sure to make PS's for every day you're there. We saw a ton of people being turned away from every restaurant we went to because they did not have a PS. My family usually mocks me for my obsessive planning but they did love the fact that we had one sitdown meal every day guaranteed.

 

[jdonat]

Just be aware that last Christmas was COLD and crowded. I mean--I live in Michigan and we spent some mornings and evenings huddled in gift shops bundled up in heavy coats and gloves because it was just so freaking cold! I kind of prefer to go to Florida when it's hot or at least warmer than Michigan.

And when people say crowded they mean CROWDED. I literally made DH and my 14 yo DD hold my hand when we were trying to get out of MK one day the week of Christmas because I was afraid I would lose them. I can only imagine trying to keep track of little ones.


.

I remember Christmas being cold -we were at my parents in Palm Coast,
and we were putting plastic over the sensitive plants. By the time we got
to WDW (12/28) it was back to shorts weather! We had a wonderful week..
in the pools all week, and not lots of heavy clothes... Be warned, we had
1 year 1998/1999 that New Year's Eve day was colder in WDW than Chicago!
We take clothes for every weather... we have the cold weather stuff to
travel in, and pack shorts and light sweatshirts.

As far as keeping track of little ones -or DD's have used FRS/GMRS radios
for about 6 years or so. When it gets busy, it's worth their weight in gold.
They do work pretty well in the parks, better than I would have thought.

 

[dvcgirl]

Just be aware that last Christmas was COLD and crowded. I mean--I live in Michigan and we spent some mornings and evenings huddled in gift shops bundled up in heavy coats and gloves because it was just so freaking cold! I kind of prefer to go to Florida when it's hot or at least warmer than Michigan.

And when people say crowded they mean CROWDED. I literally made DH and my 14 yo DD hold my hand when we were trying to get out of MK one day the week of Christmas because I was afraid I would lose them. I can only imagine trying to keep track of little ones.

We went for 2 weeks and that was fine--we were able to go in the mornings and not have to worry about not seeing everything and spend more time at the hotels. It was great for Christmas but DD has requested that we not go again at Christmas time because the crowds freak her out.

By all means, give it a try (I'm glad we did but never again) but I thought I was prepared but I was still freaked out by the crowds. There were days when we literally felt like we could not move--it was just this mass of humanity. Just be sure to make PS's for every day you're there. We saw a ton of people being turned away from every restaurant we went to because they did not have a PS. My family usually mocks me for my obsessive planning but they did love the fact that we had one sitdown meal every day guaranteed.

Yes, this past Christmas Day was awful weather-wise down here. I think it was one of the few times during the year that our high only hit in the high 40s and was lightly misting all day.

Personally, I always advise people not to go that week, only because it's incredibly busy...the busiest week of the year. Not just long line busy, difficult to walk busy. Someone mentioned early June and Christmas week. Not even close....