Momof2Disneyboys
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
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Here are Anita Answer's (from All Ears) Holiday (Nov, Dec, Jan) crowd predictions ~
"It's that time of year again when just about every other question I get has to do with the winter holiday crowds. As I do every year, I've borrowed Madame Leota's crystal ball to get some idea of what the holiday crowds will be like. This year's world-wide economic crisis may make for slightly smaller crowds; however, many people made their holiday reservations and paid for them well in advance of the current crisis, so I'm not expecting it to have as much of an impact until after the first part of January 2009. Always keep in mind that crowds ebb and flow depending on many factors, so your actual experience may vary, and as is the case every year, all indications are that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are shaping up to be the busiest weeks of the year.
Here are Anita's Annual Holiday Crowd Predictions for late 2008 and early 2009:
Early November will be very manageable with moderate crowds. Crowds will begin to pick up toward the end of New Jersey Week (11/2 - 11/9) to the high end of moderate, but with the end of the Food and Wine Festival (11/9) crowds will drop off to moderate. The very last ABC Super Soap Weekend (11/15 - 11/16) will likely be on the high end of moderate. Stay away from the Studios if you're not interested in the Soap festivities, and you'll be fine. The following week, crowds will temporarily drop back to moderate, but beginning on 11/22, crowds will begin to rise again for Thanksgiving Week. Though it may be a bit slower than past years, expect the parks to be fairly busy until the Sunday after Thanksgiving (11/30) when crowds will taper off to the low end of moderate.
This year, early December will have low to moderate-sized crowds, and will remain that way until Christmas Week begins on 12/20. While the crowds will be much lower than they'll be later in the month, it's good to remember that the World is never completely quiet anymore due to all the special events like MouseFest, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and the Candlelight Processional. My gut feeling is that this year, we'll see slightly lower crowds than we have in the last several years, but we'll have to wait and see, because the word is certainly out that early December is a great time to visit the World!
On Sunday, December 21, we'll begin to see a marked increase in crowds as guests arrive for Christmas Week. The crowds will build steadily, almost reaching peak levels. The crowds will remain at that very high level all week until Sunday the 28th, when the crowds will increase again to reach the highest levels of the year, or the "This is Nutz" level, as the Answer Family likes to call it. On January 1, the crowds will taper off slightly, and then on January 2 we'll see a significant drop back to moderate levels as guests leave to get their kids back to school.
The first weeks of January had traditionally been one of the slowest times of the year at the World, but not in the last couple of years. Changes in school vacation times plus the WDW Marathon have made early January a much busier time than it used to be, so plan accordingly for the possibility of moderately high crowds on certain days. On February 1, the Superbowl will be held in Tampa, FL and this will have an impact on crowds at that time as well.
For tips on how to survive the busiest of times at the World, please read Anita's Advice for First Timers. Although you may not be a first time visitor to the World and some tips are for summer, you'll find some valuable advice there for surviving any "This is Nutz!" time at the World."
"It's that time of year again when just about every other question I get has to do with the winter holiday crowds. As I do every year, I've borrowed Madame Leota's crystal ball to get some idea of what the holiday crowds will be like. This year's world-wide economic crisis may make for slightly smaller crowds; however, many people made their holiday reservations and paid for them well in advance of the current crisis, so I'm not expecting it to have as much of an impact until after the first part of January 2009. Always keep in mind that crowds ebb and flow depending on many factors, so your actual experience may vary, and as is the case every year, all indications are that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are shaping up to be the busiest weeks of the year.
Here are Anita's Annual Holiday Crowd Predictions for late 2008 and early 2009:
Early November will be very manageable with moderate crowds. Crowds will begin to pick up toward the end of New Jersey Week (11/2 - 11/9) to the high end of moderate, but with the end of the Food and Wine Festival (11/9) crowds will drop off to moderate. The very last ABC Super Soap Weekend (11/15 - 11/16) will likely be on the high end of moderate. Stay away from the Studios if you're not interested in the Soap festivities, and you'll be fine. The following week, crowds will temporarily drop back to moderate, but beginning on 11/22, crowds will begin to rise again for Thanksgiving Week. Though it may be a bit slower than past years, expect the parks to be fairly busy until the Sunday after Thanksgiving (11/30) when crowds will taper off to the low end of moderate.
This year, early December will have low to moderate-sized crowds, and will remain that way until Christmas Week begins on 12/20. While the crowds will be much lower than they'll be later in the month, it's good to remember that the World is never completely quiet anymore due to all the special events like MouseFest, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and the Candlelight Processional. My gut feeling is that this year, we'll see slightly lower crowds than we have in the last several years, but we'll have to wait and see, because the word is certainly out that early December is a great time to visit the World!
On Sunday, December 21, we'll begin to see a marked increase in crowds as guests arrive for Christmas Week. The crowds will build steadily, almost reaching peak levels. The crowds will remain at that very high level all week until Sunday the 28th, when the crowds will increase again to reach the highest levels of the year, or the "This is Nutz" level, as the Answer Family likes to call it. On January 1, the crowds will taper off slightly, and then on January 2 we'll see a significant drop back to moderate levels as guests leave to get their kids back to school.
The first weeks of January had traditionally been one of the slowest times of the year at the World, but not in the last couple of years. Changes in school vacation times plus the WDW Marathon have made early January a much busier time than it used to be, so plan accordingly for the possibility of moderately high crowds on certain days. On February 1, the Superbowl will be held in Tampa, FL and this will have an impact on crowds at that time as well.
For tips on how to survive the busiest of times at the World, please read Anita's Advice for First Timers. Although you may not be a first time visitor to the World and some tips are for summer, you'll find some valuable advice there for surviving any "This is Nutz!" time at the World."
my Unofficial Guide too! I had the 2007 and 2008 from the library, but bought the 2009 edition.
Happy Birthday to Dancergrl's little Princess
I have a mental image of you kissing some big security guy at the airport...oh and the look on his face!
We picked January to avoid teh crowds. Oh, well.
I decided (well, my DH kind of pushed me that way, after talking to - apparently! - every woman he knows about what's going on with me) to take the afternoon off, after the appointment. With my luck, it'll be this no big deal test and I'll wonder why I wasted four hours sick time! But whatever, I guess. Better safe than sorry?!
I just picked up McDonald's for breakfast...love me some Egg McMuffin! Then I'm going to work on our countdown calendar (even though it's not a calendar), and I'm excited about that. Last but not least, I'm ordering some new eyeliner in a few minutes. It's always fun to get something new, and this one comes with a new brush that looks promising (yes, I put eyeliner on with a brush). 
