Just back from WDW

[kaffinito]

Our trip was from 12/28 - 12/31. The parks were crazy crowded, with some of them closing while we were there.

We went to EPCOT on the 28th and had dinner at Bistro de Paris. The corwds were really light that night. We didn't stay and do anything else, since DH wanted to enjoy the BWI more.

That night I went to DHS after the start of Fantasmic, and getting in was no problem. I saw the Muppet's 3D movie with no wait after seeing the Osbourne Lights. Boy that right there was worth the whole trip. The lights and the music are really beautiful.

AK on the 29th was hugely crowded - with elbow to elbow traffic. I've seen it bad before but this was ridiculous! We were there for the Wildlife Discovery Tour, so that's all we ended up doing. It was just too crowded to do anything else. The regular Safari line stared at the Harambi bar, and then twisted and doubled towards the ride entrance.

MK on the 30th had a heavy crowd that thinned out a bit after the 10:30 showing of Spectro. During Wishes we went on POTC with a 30 minute wait and IASW with a 20 minute wait. I saw Mickey's Philharmagic after Spectro, with no wait, and then saw the NYE preview fireworks at 11:50. Those fireworks truly are spectacular!

The trip was a success over all, but only because we had a really small list of "must do's". We walked around WS on our last day, and had a good time there too - even with the crowds. We did a walk up lunch at Rose and Crown, with no wait, and did a bit of shopping.

I think if we had planned more rides/shows, it would have been tough to get it all done.

 

[poohmomof3]

Glad you had a great time!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the post. Glad to read that you were still able to have a good time even though it was crowded.

 

[taymaesmom]

We were also there the 28- Jan 1st. We also did HS on the 28th, we went just to see Osborne lights, our first time, we didnt get there til about 8 pm and it was wonderful, not crowded and the lights were amazing! We ate at the commisary and then went back to the resort, we had just checked in after a 14 hour drive. We saw no wait for Muppets and a 10 min wait for Star Tours!


We did MK on the 29th, we got there for 7am EMH and managed to get PP, Phillharmagic, HM, Splash, Pirates, TTA, Tomorrowland race cars, and Buzz all done before 11am. Our longest wait was at Buzz and its was only 20 min. We got FP for BTMRR which was down all morning and for Space before we left. We ate lunch at Cosmic rays at 11 and then left the park. Came back at 5 pm and did BTMRR and Space, some shopping but left before fireworks due to dd having a burst eardrum.

We HS on the 30, crowded but we did our favorites and then left for the day, saw Avatar 3D at DTD that night.

On the 31 we did AK, got there at 7 and were able to ride Primeval Whirl x 2, Dinosaur, EE (5 min wait, rode twice), Kali, Safari, Bugs Life all before 9:30, it was dead. We ate at Yak and Yeti at 10 and headed out, crowds were pouring in then, and a sign by the gate said MK was closed to capacity already!

Jan 1 we did Epcot. got there for 8am opening (I checked the times guide 2 times) but it didnt open til 9am, people were super mad, finally at 8:15 management came out and apologized for the mistake and took everyone at the gates to Soarin for an early morning ride, by the time we were done it was 9, we rode the ball and shopped, hit ice station cool and left to come home.

Great trip! We loved the cool temps and want to come back for Christmas again!

 

[MHTeacher]

Our trip was from 12/28 - 12/31. The parks were crazy crowded, with some of them closing while we were there.


MK on the 30th had a heavy crowd that thinned out a bit after the 10:30 showing of Spectro. During Wishes we went on POTC with a 30 minute wait and IASW with a 20 minute wait. I saw Mickey's Philharmagic after Spectro, with no wait, and then saw the NYE preview fireworks at 11:50. Those fireworks truly are spectacular!

.

We were also at WDW Dec 29-Jan.1. We went to MK on the 30th to celebrate my DD's 16th birthday. We went in the park around 7:15 am (park opened at 7 that day). It was great. After watching the Christmas parade at noon, everything was in deadlocked traffic. It was crazy. We decided to return to our hotel. Later, I heard that MK had closed (what level I don't know). We had no problem getting back in though, around 6:15pm. Stayed til about 2am.

I have to agree ---the NYE preview fireworks were amazing! I just watched my dvd again and still couldn't believe it!

 

[MICOL]

We were there 28th to 1st, crazy but fun. So many people there and so few spoke english? We hit the MK on the 29th and rode everything by 1pm and then it got crazy and we took a break and went back and it was still crazy. MGM was no problem on the 30th. Epcot on the 31st was insane, they estimated close to 90,000 people. We had a great dinner at Japan and got out after Illluminations and saw the fireworks at our hotel at the Poly, the 12pm fireworks were the best I have ever seen. We would never go again at that time period but we had to see Disney at Christmas and it was worth it.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Glad to hear everyone had a great time. I love to read post about people that have FUN despite crowds (I mean you have to expect it during the holidays). It is all in the attitude you bring with you. We will be making our first Christmas trip in 2010. We always go Easter week (again very crowded but AMAZING) and have a great time but after reading all the great x-mas posts I am already excited for x-mas 2010.

Thanks for bringing some postive holiday remarks to the boards.

 

[dthogue]

I have to agree ---the NYE preview fireworks were amazing! I just watched my dvd again and still couldn't believe it!

I assume the pre-NYE fireworks were on the 30th? But at which park?

Tammy

 

[Nicoleclaw]

Glad to hear everyone had a great time. I love to read post about people that have FUN despite crowds (I mean you have to expect it during the holidays). It is all in the attitude you bring with you. We will be making our first Christmas trip in 2010. We always go Easter week (again very crowded but AMAZING) and have a great time but after reading all the great x-mas posts I am already excited for x-mas 2010.

Thanks for bringing some postive holiday remarks to the boards.

Countless people told me not to go, and that they have gone for xmas and will never go again. It really was very easy with avoiding EMH parks, using fast pass and having a plan. How many times did we walk past people on line for something with an hour plus wait and get right on the ride? It was crazy! If we didn't have the stroller, and two heavy kids in it, it would have been so, so easy! When it did feel crowded, it didn't really feel any more crowded than when I have been in April or July. We walked on countless rides just by getting there at opening, getting a fastpass for a ride, then going on a couple rides that usually gets kinda busy, and going back to the fp ride. Repeat. lol

 

[MHTeacher]

I assume the pre-NYE fireworks were on the 30th? But at which park?

Tammy

We saw the preview NYE fireworks at MK on the 30th. They run a "dress rehearsal" of their NYE festivities.

Watched the actual NYE fireworks at the Studios and they were pretty great too.

I too have to echo the previous posters' sentiments. I was prepared for the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the week between Christmas and New Years is the busiest, and it WAS BUSY! But if you know what you're doing, it is manageable. It's definitely not the best time for a first timer to disney.

 

[MomPOM]

Sounds like you had a great time and had a good attitude to deal with it. I think it's hard to go at that time of year and not just accept that doing it all will be next to impossible and will quite likely ruin your trip in the effort to do so.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

We were there from 12/28 - 1/1 and as the trip got closer I began to think I was crazy for booking during Christmas. Most of the posts said it was going to be crazy crowded. Personally, other than a few times, I didn't feel it was any more crowded than when we go in the summer. I did some lmao planning but there were only a few times where it came close to my expectations . A few times the parks actually seemed pretty quiet. One day at AK and the 30th at MK were pretty crazy, but a lot of people left after the first wishes. Maybe I'm used to crowds because we go in the summer, but we rode everything we wanted and more.

 

[taymaesmom]

I agree we went expecting the worst and had a great time, the longest line we waited in all week was Buzz Lightyear and that was only a 25 min wait. We went early and were at the parks most days by 7 am and left by 1 pm, we would go back in the evening to finish up with FPs gotten earlier in the day. We didn't see any fireworks due to dd's eardrum bursting the morning we were to leave, the fireworks hurt her ear. We normally go Memorial Week and we much prefer Christmas with all the decorations and cooler weather.

 

[IZHAYMAMA]

We were there 26th-30th and were a large party of 16. We were expecting huge crowds and long waits but we are rope drop people and use fastpass all the time so we got to do everything we wanted with the exception of our day at AK. We didn't get there until after 10:30am because of our ADR's at Chef Mickey's that morning. But we still got to do a few things and it was a phase 2 closure, I believe. Our longest wait the whole time was 40 minutes for Astro Orbiter on the 30th in the afternoon at MK. I was expecting it to be at least an hour wait but was pleasantly surprised. It was difficult pushing my stroller through the crowds of people that day at MK who don't know what they are doing or don't know where they are going but that's always a problem. It was still magical to me. All the negativity here on the disboards made me skeptical of going during this time but I am glad I didn't let it get me down.