Just how amazing are the christmas decorations at MK ?

[Luckybee]

Let me start this way.... I am not and never will be a big crowd person. I will cross hot coals to avoid days that are 7's or above. That said Im considering the following:

Dh and I are headed back to Aruba in November for 2 weeks right after US Thanksgiving. We may very well fly Southwest which means it would be super easy to add a couple of days in Orlando before we fly to Aruba but it would mean arriving in Orlando directly on Thanksgiving day. I've always wanted to see the castle and main street all decked out for Xmas so adding those days is appealing BUT ....we would only have the day after Thanksgiving for MK which is listed on TP as a "9". We wouldn't do a lot of rides since the purpose would be to see the xmas décor, BOG(which we have missed now over and over....lol) and perhaps the dessert party. I'm shuddering though at that "9". Will we even be able to move in crowds that large ? Will we even be able to see the lights, the castle etc. ?

Normally I wouldn't consider days this crowded but I also know that we wont likely ever do Disney at xmas preferring to be somewhere warm and sunny so that I know if we ever want to see the decorations we'll have to brave those kinds of crowds enroute to our destination. Are the decorations as amazing as they look on youtube ? Does the castle decked out give you goosebumps ? All opinions are welcomed. Thanks !

 

[Robo]

If you don't care about "rides," sure you can see everything MK offers in decorations on that day.
You can also ride over to the Grand Floridian and see the huge gingerbread house and giant tree in the atrium.

 

[Luckybee]

Thanks Robo...I think the problem Im having is trying to conceptualize what a "9" crowd looks like nowadays. It's been quite sometime since we've done anything other than the "off season". I guess Im imagining gridlock or some variation thereof...lol

 

[tomatecerise]

It's breathtaking! We were there november 9 to 19 and it Was fantastic!

 

[ArwenMarie]

9 is crowded. If you don't care about rides go for it. I would try to get an ADR if you want to eat in the park to avoid the QS lines. That will give you a breather from the crowds. Seeing the castle lit is worth it

 

[NeuroCindy]

We were there on days that were marked as 9s and I feel like it's not that bad. It's crowded, sure, but it's not unbearable.

 

[Linda T.]

Magic Kingdom at Christmas time is beautiful. I am not a big crowd person either but we went after Christmas, 2014 and the castle, decorations, and fireworks were absolutely breathtaking!!! Some day I hope we can go again during this time!!

 

[Keels]

You will love it! I would definitely add in some time to take the monorail and see the decor at the Grand Floridian, and even through EPCOT (the Christmas tree should definitely be up by then).

If you want to do park-hopper, it would definitely be worth it (in my opinion!) to hit EPCOT and experience all the holiday traditions around the World Showcase as well, and then return to MK at night. My perfect day would be a day at EPCOT with Holidays Around the World, Candlelight Processional and then an evening at MK with the castle all lit up.

 

[ols386]

Christmas decorations at MK are amazing. I've never seen such beautiful decorations anywhere else.

 

[cassie58]

The castle with icicle lights is absolutely stunning. It is the screen saver on my phone! The castle projection show before Wishes is amazing too, if you have never seen it, and they add a Christmas portion at that time, which makes the castle look like a gingerbread house and other things, and then Santa and his reindeer fly appear to fly across at the end - really cool. Main Street is very pretty with the garland and wreaths, really puts you in the Christmas spirit. I would go early at RD or try to get a PPO brft, so you could take in Main St. with less crowds, and go jump on a few rides. The Jungle Cruise becomes the Jingle Cruise, with Christmas jokes and decor, so you might want to do that if not a long wait. I would take a break at some pt. in the day and ride the monorail to GF to see the giant gingerbread house, as Robo mentioned - it is worth seeing, and you can buy a shingle to taste as well! They do a castle lighting each nt. around 6:00, which is neat to see it lit up. I would stake out a spot early in front of the castle somewhere to see the projection show and then Wishes, and you can grab a snack from Sleepy Hollow to eat as you wait. It will be crowded, but if you knew the park and have a plan of where to duck in and out, it will be workable. I think it is well worth the crowds if this is your only opportunity to see it at this time.

 

[GeneralTso]

You know.....one person's amazing is another person's meh.
My opinion--Disney does it up right. Really spectacular. I like it a lot, it wows me.
The crowds might be the problem for you though. It is crowded and you have to get kind of zen with it all.

 

[Luckybee]

Thanks for all the opinions. We're going to see how the SW flights out of Orlando to Aruba look when they come out on Thurs this week but right now our inclination is to add the Orlando portion.