Just booked Christmas now scaring myself

[4DisneyNUTS]

Ok I just booked from Dec 22nd to Jan 3rd and made the mistake of googling Christmas at Disney to see all these horror stories. Anyone have any tips on how we can make this enjoyable? and another thing we plan on staying at SSR and driving over to Universal a lot because DS 5 is a super hero nut and has never been there before. Another issue is DS is 13 and has special needs kinda like autism (he is classified as autistic but its from a stroke in utero). he has been to WDW and DL a lot in his life so he travels ok BUT if things are way too out of the ordinary I am worried. If I didn't see the horrors on google I wouldnt be so worried.
Cast DH 44
me 42
DS 13
DS 5
Staying SSR and planing on buying the 14 day Universal flex ticket. It includes wet and wild but we will most likely not go there because it will be too cold. At this time we have no plans on going into the Disney parks.

So any help or suggestions on how to make this a great trip would be really appreciated

 

[WolfpackFan]

I can't imagine what kind of horror stories you are googling. We've been to WDW many times at Christmas and love it.

 

[TSMMANIAC]

We often go at New Years. My advice have realistic expectations, be at the parks at opening , enjoy all the decorations and special Christmas entertainment and make use of FP. It's a wonderful time of the year to be at Disney. My family loves it!

 

[4DisneyNUTS]

You have both just made me feel better. I wasnt expecting to see such negative stuff in the top two google results. I was like EEEKKKK !!! LOL I know that it will be super insanely busy. I am most likely going to try and stay out of any parks on Christmas day and make it a family day. Since we are going to be there for a fairly long time is there anything outside of the parks you suggest I look into?

 

[4DisneyNUTS]

Also is swimming totally out of the question? I have been in Dec before and can not remember if we swam.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I don't know about universal, but we had a great time at MK Christmas day a few years ago. We left at around noon having done practically everything we wanted to do, including all the major headliners. I'm thinking universal would be the same way on Christmas day.

Sent from my phone using DISBoards Ap, please excuse any typos and autocorrect mistakes.

 

[chalee94]

Also is swimming totally out of the question? I have been in Dec before and can not remember if we swam.

nothing is impossible with FL weather, but i remember a few years ago needing a coat as it was in the 40s when i was watching illuminations.

it's not usually great weather for swimming but i like the mid-70s. i love going during nov and dec, but i admit, i wouldn't go during christmas week if it were my call...

but here's a good thread with pics from someone who was ar wdw during christmas week:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2855462

 

[bobbiwoz]

Also is swimming totally out of the question? I have been in Dec before and can not remember if we swam.

It really depends. Some years it has been too cold for me to even go in the hot tub, and some years, even going in pools is fine. Be prepared for both kinds of weather!

Find out Santa's schedule at each resort. I think visiting the best themed resorts and looking for hidden Mickeys in the Gingerbread Displays may be things your children could enjoy. The lobbies are busy, maybe less so in the early afternoons. I would visit the GF, BW, BC for sure, and if you like WL & Contemporary.

One thing we always try to do is ride bikes around FW because the campers do awesome decorating. Is bike riding an option for you? Or they also rent the multi people bike/carriage which certainly are heavy to use! Eating the buffet dinner at Trails End is another must do for our family. I think it may be worth looking into a horse drawn carriage ride at FW as well.

I have never been to Universal at that time of the year. However because of the benefits they afford people who stay on their property, can you adjust your dates to include some nights there?

Have a great time!

 

[pieface]

Expect the crowd but enjoy what is around you. Get the park hopper options if the one park is crazy hop over to a other park. Use the fast past they work, open the park it is far less crowded and when that park gets crazy either hop to another park or go back to the hotel and chill. Adapt and conquer.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

We go during that time every year and the key is getting into the parks early and/or going back late at night. It is insanely busy yet magical at the same time.

 

[Countryrunner262]

We were there in December 3 years ago. It was FREEZING! They were actually breaking record lows. We flew out of Chicago, so thankfully we all had our winter coats. Our last day it did warm up into the 70's. it's beautiful there during Christmas. ENJOY!

 

[Deb & Bill]

It can be 80 degrees and great swimming weather or 40 degrees and not so great swimming weather. We were in WDW in early January for the marathon and we went swimming nearly every day because the temperatures were in the 80's.

You will have crowds for every day of your stay. MK and Epcot will probably close every morning around 10 or 10:30AM from Dec 24 through the end of your stay. So if you plan to go to the Disney parks, I'd hit them early in the day. I have no idea how crowded Universal will be. But I can't imagine that it will be less crowded.

If your son doesn't do well in crowds, you might have problems.

 

[RSWA2]

At this time we have no plans on going into the Disney parks.

So any help or suggestions on how to make this a great trip would be really appreciated

If you don't plan to go into the Disney parks, then I would say that the horror stories that you may be reading about don't apply. I would look up stuff related to Universal or perhaps, post on the Universal board, you would probably get better answers since you will be going there. You may have some travel issues due to the amount of travelers and winter weather across the USA that could alter flights.

It is an enjoyable time with all the decorations and the Christmas feel to everything, so I think it would be good. How has your son handled mall crowds during the holiday season? It would probably be similar to what you would probably experience at a non-Disney park location like DTD.

 

[disneynutz]

Ok I just booked from Dec 22nd to Jan 3rd and made the mistake of googling Christmas at Disney to see all these horror stories. Anyone have any tips on how we can make this enjoyable? and another thing we plan on staying at SSR and driving over to Universal a lot because DS 5 is a super hero nut and has never been there before. Another issue is DS is 13 and has special needs kinda like autism (he is classified as autistic but its from a stroke in utero). he has been to WDW and DL a lot in his life so he travels ok BUT if things are way too out of the ordinary I am worried. If I didn't see the horrors on google I wouldnt be so worried.
Cast DH 44
me 42
DS 13
DS 5
Staying SSR and planing on buying the 14 day Universal flex ticket. It includes wet and wild but we will most likely not go there because it will be too cold. At this time we have no plans on going into the Disney parks.

So any help or suggestions on how to make this a great trip would be really appreciated

Have you thought about a split stay, WDW and Universal. Less travel and 2 vacations in 1.

Bill

 

[rock_doctor]

Do some searching on here and you will see tons of threads on techniques we use over the super insane peak times. Over those dates you will see all of the parks close nearly ever day. So make sure to make use of morning magic hours and plan to be done with your rides by noon. You can then either look around or go back to the resort for pool time. Do not expect to get on every ride. Once you hit 10am or maybe 11am expect ride wait times to be pushing 45min to an hour. For the new section of Fantasyland expect an hour and half or more. Just remember there is so much more you can do outside the parks. They really are only a small part of Disney. You can go fishing, horseback riding, miniature golfing, learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and so on. We go the same exact time of year and over the two weeks we go into the parks maybe once or twice...maybe not at all. The rest of the time is spent relaxing and visiting the other resorts. Plan to do the welcome home Wednesday get together once and visit DTD and so on. Since you have a car you can also make use of the local golden corrals. Three can eat for $25 and the food is pretty good. On the way back from the walmart on vineland rd you pass a shopping center with a Disney character store (disney discount store). You can get cheaper Disney official merch for a nice discount. If you have any questions ask. As we get closer somebody will start a "who is going" thread. So you will know which DIS'rs will be on property at the same time. Lastly, don't worry it is an awesome time to go. We go every year at this time since Disney opened (give or take a year or two). You will be fine and will have a great time.

 

[iluveeyore]

It's a wonderful experience at Christmas! I'm sorry you won't be seeing the Disney parks - we went in 2010 from Dec 14 to Jan 1 and had a wonderful trip. We did in fact spend one day at Universal (I had free tickets from work) and my kids (who were 15, 18 and 20 at the time) all loved the big rollercoasters, and we just wanted to see Harry Potter section, which was insanely busy. We wandered both parks at universal by lunch time, did exactly two attractions, left the kids with their uncle who enjoyed big rides, and ran back to WDW. We really enjoyed our time at our DVC villa (we were in a 2 bedroom at OKW). I had packed a small prelit 3 ft tree that fit in my suitcase, along with some Disney decorations and others that weren't breakable, and packed our stockings, some garland, some window decals I put on the mirrors, whatever I could fit to make our room festive. We had a rental car, so we got lots of groceries to avoid busy restaurants, and had a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner for 14 with my sister and her family at our villa with all the trimmings - leftovers on Christmas day. On Christmas Day, we didn't go to the parks, but it was finally warm enough to spend the afternoon by the pool (it had been 35-50 degrees the rest of the time, pack for all seasons). We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the parks to see the Christmas things going on - Osborne lights at HS, Candlelight processional at Epcot, etc., plus all the decorations at each park, and also at all the resorts we visited. It was busy most of the time, but we didn't notice because we were too exited being at WDW for Christmas instead of at home shoveling snow! If you're going to Universal every day, it might be busier for you just in the travel aspect, as you'll be leaving Disney property and dealing with holiday traffic on the highways, so give yourselves lots of time for that. Universal had a lot of decorations up, so that was nice. Personally, there isn't enough to do there for even two days for our family. Even the older kids were tired of it after one day, and enjoyed the four Disney parks much more. But I'm sure your boys will enjoy whatever you do, and it will be fun waking up Christmas morning at your resort.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

Do some searching on here and you will see tons of threads on techniques we use over the super insane peak times. Over those dates you will see all of the parks close nearly ever day. So make sure to make use of morning magic hours and plan to be done with your rides by noon. You can then either look around or go back to the resort for pool time. Do not expect to get on every ride. Once you hit 10am or maybe 11am expect ride wait times to be pushing 45min to an hour. For the new section of Fantasyland expect an hour and half or more. Just remember there is so much more you can do outside the parks. They really are only a small part of Disney. You can go fishing, horseback riding, miniature golfing, learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and so on. We go the same exact time of year and over the two weeks we go into the parks maybe once or twice...maybe not at all. The rest of the time is spent relaxing and visiting the other resorts. Plan to do the welcome home Wednesday get together once and visit DTD and so on. Since you have a car you can also make use of the local golden corrals. Three can eat for $25 and the food is pretty good. On the way back from the walmart on vineland rd you pass a shopping center with a Disney character store (disney discount store). You can get cheaper Disney official merch for a nice discount. If you have any questions ask. As we get closer somebody will start a "who is going" thread. So you will know which DIS'rs will be on property at the same time. Lastly, don't worry it is an awesome time to go. We go every year at this time since Disney opened (give or take a year or two). You will be fine and will have a great time.

Where can you learn to shoot a bow and arrow? That is something we have not yet done.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Since you have a car you can also make use of the local golden corrals. Three can eat for $25 and the food is pretty good. ...

No, don't eat at Golden Corral.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Where can you learn to shoot a bow and arrow? That is something we have not yet done.

Fort Wilderness and Campground! It's fun, especially when the kids see, us adults, have issues just releasing the arrow! We did it when my son was 9-10yrs old!

The vacation will be what "you" choose to make of it! Sure, you're going at peak time but that does not mean that you have to stay at the parks 24/7. The best part of DVC, going back to the resort when you've had enough and enjoying the pools, and other amenities! Love SSR, taking the boat to DTD for dinner or just ice cream is fun. You can go to OKW next door and rent paddle boats, 2 person racers etc. So you have options if/when you're son has had enough of the parks.

As far as Universal, as busy as Disney gets, Universal will be worse. I've found the lines there to be more congested than at Disney. I suffest you get there at opening, to give you an example, this summer it still took 2 hours to be able to enter Harry Potter and the roller Coasters, had over an hour wait!

As Disneybitz suggested, staying on-site for those Universal days is a great idea!

Disney during peak time, we attack it this way: morning EHM for those things we really want to do, back to the resort by 2pm. The DTD, maybe dinner and an evening movie at the dine in theater! Evening EHM, for MK, Space mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyears no wait at midnight, you can sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast! We like to fit in a trip to the Orlando outlet Mall, it's close by. There's many diffirent restaurants, Bahama Breeze, Chick-Fil-A, high end, fast food, to choose from!

Don't make yourself crazy, set the tone of the trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

and another thing we plan on staying at SSR and driving over to Universal a lot because DS 5 is a super hero nut and has never been there before.

Since you've never been there before, you have a child who has a hard time in some situations, and you're going at pretty much the busiest time to take an Orlando vacation, I STRONGLY recommend that the SSR plans go away and you stay onsite at Universal. The perks are FAR too good to pass up. I won't pass them up, and we go at quiet times of the year.

Early Entrance to Wizarding World EVERY day.
Unlimited Express Pass EVERY day; works on all attractions but Pteranodon Flyers, Forbidden Journey, and Ollivander's wand shop. It's as close to "front of the line" as you can get, really.
Sending packages back to *the room*. Not to Bell Services or the resort's gift shop, but to the ROOM.
Gorgeous grounds.
Pool hopping is encouraged.


At a busybusy time of year, I would stay at Universal. Here is the best site for booking. If you have AAA, though, you have to either call Loews or book through the AAA site.