New year in Disneyworld

[rosita40]

Has anyone had bad experience in Disney world after xmas up to 1st week of the new year? I am travelling with kids and seniors. Is it really busy and hell as I hear? Went in Aug. 2002 found it extremely hot and uncomfortable.
How is the weather in December, is it good for swimming at night?
Thank you for comments in advance.

 

[NancyK]

We went right after Christmas 2 years ago. Yup - it was very busy and Magic Kingdom was insane. We enjoyed the trip, but we were 4 adults and we've been often so we didn't need to stand in line for anything.
The weather in December can range from cold to shorts & t-shirt weather. The Christmas decorations etc. are absolutely breathtaking. If you have the choice, I would go mid-December.

 

[Charleyann]

That week is absolutely horrible to get around and wait. Especially for small children, wheelchairs and seniors. The rides are long, long waiting times. Fastpasses are hard to get. Dining is more expensive.

New Years Eve was a nightmare for us with my son using a wheelchair. People kept walking in front of us and would fall on him. There was too many people! We had to leave the park and needed seciruty to escort us out as people would not move and my son was getting hurt in his wheelchair!

We went back to Hotel (Mighty Ducks) and were able to watch fireworks on our balcony! There were fireworks on all sides of us. We spoke to people at Magic Kingdom who stayed for the fireworks and they said it was 2:30 am before they got back from the park. There were accidents and not enough buses. Disney even chartered buses for the night!

Parks closed because of crowds. Magic Kingdom early in the day Christmas Morning and then a couple of more days that week.

Disney is beautiful at Christmas with decoration and such! This year we are going Dec 6th -Dec 15th/08.....


Charleyann

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

We too were at WDW for Christmas and NewYears.....we stayed at POR. I agree the crowds were insane during this time but we made use of the extra magic hours at night - on December 23 we stayed in the Magic Kingdom until 3 am and were able to walk on all the rides....it was great and not very crowded at all....We saw the Magic Kingdom New Years Eve fireworks on December 30 (they do the NYE fireworks for a couple of nights prior) and spent NYE in MGM....we did not actually make it to the fireworks at midnight because it was cold and rainy but we could see the crowds starting to pick up at 9 pm.

The crowds started to thin out after January 2 but picked up again for marathon weekend. The parks are usually decorated for Christmas from just after American Thanksgiving to approximately Janaury 6.

The decorations at WDW are incredible to see and the lights on the castle this year were breathtaking. I would highly recommend a trip during December to see the decorations but if you plan your trip for the beginning of December just watch when it is POP Warner week....they have cheerleading championships at WDW usually at the beginning of December and it can be very busy and at times noisy (they seem to practice their cheers while walking through the parks).

As for the weather.....most days I was able to wear a tank top and shorts during the day but by evening I was in capris and a light jacket. We did see many people in the pool swimming at night when we returned to the resort...I can't personally comment because I never actually went swimming this trip.

 

[mindy6540]

We were in the parks on New Years Day , it was my daughters birthday so we wanted to spend it in the park and have dinner. Now we arrive Jan 1 or 2nd and stay that week, the crowds are much better and we see the Christmas decorations before they take them down. I love Jan. though, it can be cold but coming from Canada anything is better than the snow!!! lol People spot us as Canadians because the locals are wearing hats and gloves and my kids are in sweatshirts!

 

[Disney Brat]

I grew up going to the parks at first in October but then we always went over Christmas/New Years. (Only child, with no family in Canada ) Chistmas time is crazy, but there is nothing else like it.....the decorations, and just the whole Disney feel added to the Christmas feel was amazing. New Years was a blast. As the first week passed in January, the crowds do calm a bit. We were there December 06 from the 8-18, we had to go during dh's reading week at University. The crowds were not too bad at all at that time, it did start to get busy around the 15th though. We are planning to spend Christmas 09 there. Hope that helps!

 

[Lillian68]

I was there from the 30th to the 6th and it was really busy.

A helpful hint would include going the extra magic a.m., but especially p.m. hours if you are resort guests. Though they closed the MK at noon, I phoned over at 9:30 p.m. from my room, and they said they had been letting people in for the last hour and a half, so I went to MK at 10:30 p.m. on 31st and was able to ride Buzz Lightyear twice, before making my way to the railroad end of Main Street and found a spot to wait for the fireworks. It was PACKED, but very festive and very worth it. Left the park after that, and was in my room at SS by 1 a.m., and that was with my mom using a rented ECV from an outside company.

Well worth trying to go to MK on NYE. It was my first, and the fireworks were THE best I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot. They had them at both sides of Main Street, and when the countdown began, each number was a firework in the sky. The then did fireworks at all clock points surrounding the guests to the song "Auld Lang Syne". Fortunately (and I'm not sure if they do this every year) but on the 30th when I was doing the Extra Magic hours from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. (was able to walk right on to any ride I wanted), they had the same fireworks (with the countdown, "Auld") the night before. I was able to see them twice!!

Weather is not guaranteed (it was cold the week I was there, with a windchill in the minus celcius at night), though it was nice the week before I was there, and was going to be nice the week after.

With seniors who have ECVs, sometimes you don't have to wait in lines as long (depending on the attraction). If you have kids and do the EM hours, then obviously naps are in order. Allow yourself a couple of days at home before going back to work/school. You'll need to get caught up on your sleep.

 

[rosita40]

I appreciate the suggestions you have given us. We will take our changes planning on going starting on our Daughters Birthday Dec. 29 for a week.
Would like to experience WDW in this Festivity.

 

[wee-haggis]

We've been twice through Xmas and New Years.
On the days leading up to Xmas (up to the 19th or 20th Dec ...its quite quiet,then it starts to get busy through Xmas Day (as is the case with other busy times of year,,,,plan to go early morning for opening,its then quite manageable....but if you wait until 10 or 11am...its a zoo. After Jan 2nd it starts to quieten down again to similar levels as Mid December.