overcrowed parks in December

[maretta29]

I am planning a trip this December and was told if we didn't stay on property we may not get into the parks due to overcrowding. Is this true?

 

[HannaBelle]

I have not been in December, but I am going this December so I have been read/watching what ppl are posting about crowd levels.

The crowds will depend heavily on what time of the month you will be there. Apparently early December will be quite pleasant whereas late December through New Year's will be very crowded.

Here is a "chart" that I found somewhere that explains park closures...

There are four stages to park closing:

Stage 1 - The parking lot entrance is closed. You can only access the park if you are using Disney Transportation.

Stage 2 - The ticket windows are all closed (and the automated Ticket Vending Machines are turned off). Unless you already have a ticket you cannot get in.

Stage 3 - Only people with Annual Passes or current Resort IDs will be allowed in.

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

Note - having restaurant reservations in a park, even with written proof, will not override a state closing for you.

Also, someone else recommended calling WDW Information at 407-824-2222 and supposedly they will have a recording that lists which parks are closed.

I have gotten the impression that the only day during that time frame that is really bad is New Year's Eve. According to what I have read on the boards, if you want to be in a park for NYE...arrive by noon and plan to spend the day in shoulder to shoulder crowds!

 

[lovetoscrap]

HannahBelle's chart must be top secret! (you can also drag your mouse over the text in her post and "highlight it" to read it)

Here is what it says:

There are four stages to park closing:

Stage 1 - The parking lot entrance is closed. You can only access the park if you are using Disney Transportation.

Stage 2 - The ticket windows are all closed (and the automated Ticket Vending Machines are turned off). Unless you already have a ticket you cannot get in.

Stage 3 - Only people with Annual Passes or current Resort IDs will be allowed in.

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

Note - having restaurant reservations in a park, even with written proof, will not override a state closing for you.

Also, someone else recommended calling WDW Information at 407-824-2222 and supposedly they will have a recording that lists which parks are closed.

I have gotten the impression that the only day during that time frame that is really bad is New Year's Eve. According to what I have read on the boards, if you want to be in a park for NYE...arrive by noon and plan to spend the day in shoulder to shoulder crowds!

 

[pepe of ohio]

What I read in these forums I take with a grain of salt. I've read posts of Seotember being crowded etc, we just returned from 9 nights the 17th, and our first day in the MK was the 15th, park was empty, all walk ons, we rode things we could never get too before. Peter Pan, Snow White, Flying Carpets, in and out twice of the Pirates, I was afraid the parks would be nuts but for the whole 10 days very manageable, seems like the main mass, rather small anyway, would get to the parks around 11 am, by 1 pm we had our fill and the sun was hot so back to the resort for our swim going back out in the evenings to the later parks.

We encounter no wait lines except EMH at the MK one evening, that was crazy so we left, morning EMH were of the very few in people, very manageable once everyone filed through the ticket gate and spread out, we always head straight to Adventureland and it takes the masses 3 hours to get there. We've been in the first 2 weeks of December and they were very reasonable crowd wise, stay away from the xmas and New Year weeks though.

 

[JohnathanS]

The only time you would have to worry about park closings due to capacity in December would be from Christmas Eve through New Years Day. Other than that, December is a very nice time to visit...not as slow as it used to be, but still very comfortable crowd-wise.

If you are going during Christmas week and staying offsite, I would recommend getting to the parks early. That way you will be in before the staging starts. Staging is just to keep anymore incoming guests out; it doesn't affect guests already in the park.

Have fun!

 

[Jill in Chicago]

From what I have read as long as you get there at rope drop there will not be a problem. The issue is for people who arrive later in the day. Then there is the possibility of the park closing. So head out early.

 

[ntsammy5]

The only time you would have to worry about park closings due to capacity in December would be from Christmas Eve through New Years Day. Other than that, December is a very nice time to visit...

We've been going in early December for years! It's GREAT then! You shouldn't have any problems except during Christmas week as OP said.

 

[ldo]

I have never heard of the closing before 10 AM. But, least EAster week, MK closed one day by 11AM.
As many have said, it's a good idea to go early anyway, b/c on peak days, the lines are 1+ hours for everything by noon.

 

[rockwallmommy]

Thanks for the headsup, we are going Dec 13-16th and we can't wait, this will be the first trip to disney and our 1st family vacation!

 

[ntsammy5]

Removed

 

[HannaBelle]

LOL lovetoscrap, I could not figure out why you are saying it is top secret...but then I realized that everyone has the ability to choose their own "skin" for the message boards. Mine is a dark blue, so all of the text is white..

I know sometimes I have to hightlight different colored text to read it too...very funnny...

/lurks around like a secrect spy...

 

[girli565]

I went on NYE in 2001/2002 and it was soooo crowded. We stayed at Caribbean beach and took the bus to MK for rope drop. Not too crowded at 8am but when 12pm rolled around my parents were on the bus to get to MK because they slept in and the busses were announcing that unless you had a valid/current resort ID and ticket you would not be let into the park. It was wall to wall people there that night. I was at MK from 8am to 1:30 that night. I was ready to pass out by the time we got back to CB resort.

 

[ntsammy5]

I was at MK from 8am to 1:30 that night. I was ready to pass out by the time we got back to CB resort.

But did you have fun?

 

[girli565]

By the time 10pm rolled around I was ready to leave. People were rude, everyone was tired, and the holiday spirit was not alive anymore, lol. You knew who had been there since rope drop because those people looked so haggard and worn out. I must admit that I really would not go back for NYE no matter what anyone said... even if it was free. But don't let me sway you from experiencing it yourself, everyone had a different experience. What's not for me could be perfect for you!

 

[jgallant]

We are planning a second christmas trip...and we know what we may be up against. so we plan on staying at a monorail resort so that we can really enjoy the resort as well, staying at the GF.

Our very first trip to dis was christmas 2005, we stayed oof-site and would never stay off site again....and would never recommend Christmas to be a first time trip ever ever ever!

That being said if you can...go anytime in Dec from the 1- 20...I went last dec from the 15-17 and it was so so...if you want to get on lots of rides expect a chance of waiting....( at that time- plus it was a weekend trip )
but you can get the exact same feel and experience anytime of the month you don't have to stay Dec 24 th -on to get the magical christmas feel...in fact if vacation time allowed we would go earlier but we can't.

LASTLY....when we wre in Dis at Christmas 2005...it rained all day Christmas Day (boo hoo- it was cold and we were soaked!- we rode the monorail just to try to dry off-_ it was VERY VERY VERY busy. it was gridlock people and they closed Magic Kingdom at 10 am and it was only open to resort guests-my guess is we only got in b/c we were on the Poly , GF, MK monorail??? I do not know or really remember- ) I just remember it was a love hate vacation.
I loved that is was a very beautiful time of year to visit...but I hated that the rain had ruined it- I would take the crowds over cold wet rain in December any day.... and dumb dumb us...first timers...we thought that the BIG Disney Christmas Day Parade was actually on Christmas Day....DUmb Canadians!!! lol- oh well....like i said we had no clue what disney was really about it was our first stab at it!

Now we are braving the elements and going again December 23-29....not brave enough to stay for New Years....that too may change though?
We wanted to go last year and thought hey lets do a last minute trip and go we had two weeks off and thought we could pack up and drive there for christmas for a few days, but there wasn't a room to be found- except the two-three thousand dollar a night kind! CHOKE CHOKE!!! so....today I just booked GF YIPPEE