Looking for feedback re: Christmas & did we get a good deal?

[LynnA]

Hi There! Can you experts help me sort this out? We have 4 kids, ages 6-14. I booked a trip for my family for Dec 23-28 with Free Dining and staying at the Fort Wilderness Cabins (we have stayed there before and it was ok. Loved the area but a little too rustic for my vacation preferences) for the total cost of $6k, which seems amazing to me: lodging, food and park hopper passes all for $6,000??

Can you tell me:
1. Is this really a good deal and worth it?

2. Will we survive being there at Christmas? We are not fans of big crowds, HOWEVER, due to complicated family schedules, this is one of the only free weeks for our family that I could find.

3. I'm concerned that when we want to escape the madness at the parks, going back to our cabin will be a let-down, compared to when we stayed at Beach Club and CR, with their awesome pools. But can we swim at all at Christmas anyway?

4. If this isn't a great deal, please tell me so we don't go during this crazy busy time. It seemed almost too good to pass up.

Thank you SO MUCH, in advance, for any help you can give me. This will be our third visit--my DH and I had never been before we took our kids a couple years ago for the first time, so we are still technically newbies at this whole thing.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm assuming you've got the free quick service meals for that deal.

Rack rate for that room is $539 per night. You might want to consider getting two rooms at a Value that time of year. You'll be paying under $400 per night for two rooms for your dates if you go to a value, which is a significant savings over Fort Wilderness, especially if you don't love it there.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I hate to be a downer, but I wouldn't do it. Is it a good deal? Sure, that's a reasonable price, but if you don't like crowds, you will be sorely, sorely disappointed. And if you don't like the cabins, you are going to be stuck with big crowds everywhere and a resort you don't want to stay in.

We went from Dec. 25 - Dec. 30 in 2015 and the only saving grace of the trip was the fact that we stayed at the Boardwalk AND the weather WAS nice enough to swim. Disney transportation that week is a nightmare because there is traffic everywhere which affects the Disney buses big time. It took us so long to get to MK in the morning and then it was absolute wall-to-wall people there. Literally, we could barely move. At one point I took my DS to get his face painted in Tomorrowland because it was the only place I could find for him to sit! And forget getting QS. The lines were out the door. Thank goodness we stayed in the EP area because at least we could walk into EP and DHS and not rely on any transportation (the boats were crowded, too). And the Boardwalk area was super fun at night, so we could escape the parks and still have a good time at our resort (and find a variety of restaurants to get to by foot).

I will never go over Christmas week again. This past year, we went from Dec. 16 - Dec. 21 and it was perfect. Much lower crowds (and lower airfare for us, too). We will probably do the same dates this December as well.

IMHO, if you want to travel over Christmas week, I would take that $6000 and find an alternate destination OR price out two rooms at Swan/Dolphin (you would have to pay OOP for dining and find your own airport transfers). Even if Swan/Dolphin were a little more expensive, I would take that over Ft. W for location and the pool complex alone.

 

[Amanda999]

... if you don't like crowds, you will be sorely, sorely disappointed...

+1. You will be there at the single most crowded time of the year.

Do your kids have February school vacation week off? That's not that bad after Monday. I'd even go spring break (with a room only discount) over free dining at xmas week if I dreaded crowds. You could easily wait 30 minutes in a line to buy those free CS meals (and then stand around searching for a table to sit 6 people at).

The room only discount (Ok, AP rate but gen discount is probably close) late August is $250 plus 12.5% tax per night. The rack rates are much higher xmas time than most other times of the year. So with a room only discount you can cover the cost of the 'quick serve' food your family would actually eat.

(Note that unless you have a car, the 6 of you will have to walk to an internal bus stop, wait for that bus, take that bus to another bus stop or ferry port, then take the bus (ferry to MK IIRC is an option) to the park. Ugh.)

 

[Disneylover99]

We are going for our fourth Christmas week in a row. Yes, it will be crowded but it can be highly enjoyable.
Eat at quick service locations during off hours to avoid crowds.

We have found bus service to be excellent this time of year. They expect the crowds so there are an abundance of buses picking up/dropping off. There's lots to see and do over Christmas. It's amazing! If you are interested in the rides, rope drop every day.

 

[Kaytie]

1: $25 per person per night for lodging, meals, tickets looks like a good deal to me.

2: See easywdw or touringplans for help (possibly at a cost) setting up a p k an for avoiding crowds as much as possible

3: Depends where you're from. I'm in New England, I've swum at POR in February. Swimming is fine. Getting out of the pool maybe not so much.

4: Again ultimately only you can prevent forest fires determine if it's a good value.

 

[Lesverts]

You could get two rooms at Coronado for that price.

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

Hmm - I come up with $200.00 per day per person...seems like a good price but it is a lot of money overall to stay someplace you don't love and face the huge crowds that are at WDW that week. Have you checked out packages for other resorts - value or moderate?
Do you have flexibility for your travel dates?
Hang on to the package for now but maybe consider alternatives either for travel dates or lodging - good luck!

 

[jkh36619]

Such a difficult question to answer. Everyone does Disney different. My family of 3 does Disney for 4 weeks a year for around 5k. I eat and stay outside the bubble though. If you're looking for value, you can do much better than that. If you're looking for a special trip, its worth it.

 

[Amelia :)]

I'm not sure it could ever be a good deal if you are staying somewhere you don't like at a time of year that is too crowded for you.

 

[blessedby3]

We have been going to WDW for since it opened(I grew up in FL right outside the parks). Vacationing often as a family for the past 25 years. I would never go over the actual Christmas holiday. We have been at the first of December, but no way would I want to deal with park closures and off the chart crowds. I would be sick at spending so much money only to be frustrated at all the waiting and shoulder to shoulder crowds. If you do decide to go I would look at the AOA suites. You can get that of just a bit cheaper and have 2 bathrooms…or I would do 2 rooms at a value or mod.