Is there any "best" time to go Christmas time?

[MaC410]

My wife and I really want to visit around Christmas time since we have never been and love the idea of seeing and taking part in all the Christmas activities at Disney World. Obviously there is never a non-busy time for Disney, especially when special events are taking place. Are there any weeks though during the Christmas festivities where you have found the crowd levels to not be too crazy?

 

[sharonabe]

Everything Christmas is up and going the day after Thanksgiving, so if you can go during the first two weeks of Dec, crowd levels will still be low. The closer you get to Christmas, the higher the levels will go. If you can only go the week of Christmas, then just take a deep breath, and go enjoy!

 

[dburg30]

If they still do pop warner, the week after that was normally the best IIRC.

 

[MaC410]

Everything Christmas is up and going the day after Thanksgiving, so if you can go during the first two weeks of Dec, crowd levels will still be low. The closer you get to Christmas, the higher the levels will go. If you can only go the week of Christmas, then just take a deep breath, and go enjoy!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party says it starts November 7th this year. Does that mean the Christmas events start before the parks are decked out in Christmas decorations?

 

[sharonabe]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party says it starts November 7th this year. Does that mean the Christmas events start before the parks are decked out in Christmas decorations?

MK will be decked out in November, but all the resorts and the other parks are not complete until Thanksgiving. And the EP Christmas offerings of Candlelight Processional and Holiday Storytellers don't start until the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We went for actual Christmas last year. We had planned 10 days just before Christmas then on DCL for a 4 night cruise starting Christmas Eve. Thinking we would get out of the madness and crowds at the peak. But due to my ill health we had to cancel the cruise part. Which meant we were on world at the busy time! We already had flights from the UK booked so we just booked extra nights at a Disney hotel. I have to say we were dreading the 4 days over Christmas but it was one of the most magical experiences of my life! I am so glad we did it, MK on Christmas morning took my breath away. No words to describe. We ate a quiet Christmas dinner at Olivia's at OKW which was delightful. I would do it again in a heartbeat. A memory for life. We did not find the crowds ruined it only added to the excitement and atmosphere.

 

[kittyab]

On our first visit we went the second week of November, we saw a lot of decorations.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

GENERALLY the "least busy" time is the first 2 weeks in December.

I've been several times during that time including last year and most attractions have been close to walk on.

 

[spidet1964]

The week after thanksgiving is awesome, weather and crowd wise

 

[MaC410]

We were leaning towards the first two weeks in December. I'm very happy to hear its a good time to go! Thanks all!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I've been a few times the first week of December and it's been awesome. Relatively low crowds and all the Christmas decorations and special events are happening and they're lovely.

Pop Warner is usually the first week of December also so there can be large groups of minimally-supervised children at some resorts. Notably the All Stars. They don't affect the parks too much. However, if memory serves, it was during that time when there were obnoxious groups of unsupervised girls in certain ride queues who were screaming and squealing just to hear themselves scream and squeal. Don't know what it is about getting three or more teenage girls together that seems to result in this behavior...

 

[ws1995]

The week after thanksgiving is awesome, weather and crowd wise

Did this week last year.Turned out to be our best Disney trip ever!

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

The week after Thanksgiving is great. We like to arrive on Saturday but we don't do a park until Sunday. On Saturday afternoon the resort is full Sunday morning everyone is clearing out.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have enjoyed three Holiday trips and found that until the week before Christmas, December is a great time to visit. We have arrived on Thanksgiving day and stayed until DEcember 5th, The weekend is BUSY, but it slows down after that. I have also been there from the 10th ( for some reason, I like arriving around that time) and stayed until the Sunday prior to CHristmas. This timeframe is my favorite time to visit. I have found that for me, it is so festive, folks are gearing up for CHristmas, the parks are not crowded unless you want to hit the MK on a non party night.

 

[TeamH5]

I have enjoyed three Holiday trips and found that until the week before Christmas, December is a great time to visit. We have arrived on Thanksgiving day and stayed until DEcember 5th, The weekend is BUSY, but it slows down after that. I have also been there from the 10th ( for some reason, I like arriving around that time) and stayed until the Sunday prior to CHristmas. This timeframe is my favorite time to visit. I have found that for me, it is so festive, folks are gearing up for CHristmas, the parks are not crowded unless you want to hit the MK on a non party night.

SOOO Happy to hear this! We're headed there the 10-17 of Dec, sounds like we picked THE perfect time! AND doing MK on party night, so hopefully not to crowded.. Also doing 1 non-party night at MK, but prob won't stay late since we're doing the party.

 

[Nancyg56]

SOOO Happy to hear this! We're headed there the 10-17 of Dec, sounds like we picked THE perfect time! AND doing MK on party night, so hopefully not to crowded.. Also doing 1 non-party night at MK, but prob won't stay late since we're doing the party.

We are there the 10th thru the 16th.

If you hit the MK early on the party night you can get a lot done in a relaxed manner. Since you are going to the party, you will see Christmas Wishes, which is lovely. I like going on the non party evenings becuase even though it is wicked crowde, it is a different experience, I enjoy the traditional CTM show and WIUshes from inside the park.

One thing I suggest, plan your FP well that night and if possible plan one for the Jingle Cruise. It is a lot of fun in teh evening. Also, a ride on the People Mover at night is one of my favorite activities. There are "sneak peeks" at the Castle that for some reason make me very happy.

I also suggest that you plan to see Illuminations in Epcot. The Holiday addition at the end is a favorite of mine as well.

 

[meaganmusing]

Great info! We were supposed to be there this weekend, but we've already rescheduled for Dec. 10-15 thanks to Hurricane Matthew. I'm super excited about the Christmas decorations and the party! Didn't know about Jingle Cruise - that sounds cute!

 

[TeamH5]

We are there the 10th thru the 16th.

If you hit the MK early on the party night you can get a lot done in a relaxed manner. Since you are going to the party, you will see Christmas Wishes, which is lovely. I like going on the non party evenings becuase even though it is wicked crowde, it is a different experience, I enjoy the traditional CTM show and WIUshes from inside the park.

One thing I suggest, plan your FP well that night and if possible plan one for the Jingle Cruise. It is a lot of fun in teh evening. Also, a ride on the People Mover at night is one of my favorite activities. There are "sneak peeks" at the Castle that for some reason make me very happy.

I also suggest that you plan to see Illuminations in Epcot. The Holiday addition at the end is a favorite of mine as well.

What's the jingle cruise? Is in MK or AK? People mover I know is in MK. Illuminations do we have to get tickets to that orbit it just shown every night at Epcot?
Thanks for the tips! I'll try
To schedule a FP, but I can't stand having to schedule out every min just to hit rides at certain times.. we may get there and everyone decides to go towards Future land instead of where I initially planned... lol

 

[Nancyg56]

What's the jingle cruise? Is in MK or AK? People mover I know is in MK. Illuminations do we have to get tickets to that orbit it just shown every night at Epcot?
Thanks for the tips! I'll try
To schedule a FP, but I can't stand having to schedule out every min just to hit rides at certain times.. we may get there and everyone decides to go towards Future land instead of where I initially planned... lol

The Jingle Cruise is the Christmas Layover of the Jungle Cruise attraction in the Magic Kingdom. It is wicked cute. The attraction is littered with hysterical holiday decorations and the captains add holiday jokes to their repertoire. I think it is well worth using a FP on. I like it at night but I think it would be fun during the day as well.

 

[Corbinator]

My first trip ever was the first week of December. The decor was lovely, the crowds were 'walk right on' low, plenty of availability for eating, and weather was jacket in the morning/shorts all afternoon. We even swam twice. The sun can still be strong then so don't be surprised if you get a little burned. Be careful. Have fun!!