Pre-Christmas crowds?

[hipporina]

We booked for Dec 13-21 thinking that we would beat the Christmas crowds, but now I'm seeing crowd predictions of 7-9. I haven't been in December since 2013, so I don't really know what to expect. On our last trip, we had one really bad day on a weekend, but the rest of the time was manageable. I know it is all guesswork at this point, but I don't want to spend the money to go if it is going to be miserably crowded. Thoughts?

 

[wishuponastar1984]

Being miserable is a state of mind. Any trip that is planned well will be great. Just because the park is listed as a low crowd day doesn't automatically assume that the ride waits will be drastically lower. If lower attendance is anticipated then they may staff rides with fewer staff or less cars on a track and the parks may be open fewer hours. Disney increases hours, staffing, number of shows, additional entertainment all when crowds will be high.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It depends on what you define as "crowded". We went Christmas week 2015 (never again) and we went the week before Christmas in 2016 and 2017 (we will go that week again this year). It's night and day. We also, typically, go the last week in August, so compared to crowds that week, yes, the week before Christmas is more crowded (but the weather is nicer!). Crowds the week before Christmas are totally manageable, IMHO. We did absolutely everything we wanted to do and it was never shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. EP never felt crowded, AK a little bit, DHS, not at all (that might change this year with Toy Story) and MK, we only went on a MVMCP party day and then stayed for the party, so it didn't feel crowded at all. With a good touring strategy, that week is totally doable, IMHO. Make your must-do ADR's, make your FP+ and, you're good to go! Just expect the crowds to start picking up the Friday evening before Christmas (that's what we experienced anyway). We will be getting the heck out of dodge the Saturday morning before Christmas!

 

[hipporina]

Thank you! I hate when it is so crowded you feel like you can’t even move. I’m more worried about the things you can’t Fastpass - like park entry, bathrooms, and counter service - than the actual rides. We are definitely with you on the “get out of dodge” approach.

 

[pkpope]

I would say anything after the late teens is when the crowds get too big, atleast for my preference, but the 2 weeks before the week of christmas crowds tend to dip because many people will decide to go christmas-nye instead

 

[shanew21]

It will be very crowded, especially on non-Christmas party days at Magic Kingdom, but that doesn't mean you won't have a good time.

Christmas is a great time to go for the decorations, lack of ride refurbishments, and favorable weather. With good planning, you can have a great time. We didn't wait more than 30 minutes for any ride during our last trip.

 

[robinb]

I guess it depends on what you consider 'crowded'. We went to WDW between Christmas and NYE for close to 20 years. Every once in a while we would take our DD out of school a couple days early and go the Wednesday or Thursday before Christmas week. There was a marked difference between that Thursday and Friday and the next week. You will be out of WDW by the time most schools are out of session so it will be crowded but not super-duper crazy.

 

[StacyStrong]

I'm going December 4-10 during POP Warner so I'm a bit nervous as well. I'm not staying at an All-star though so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Aside from that, my friend and I are both 29, so other than a bunch of young kids in a group being slightly annoying and headache inducing, they won't bother me with their antics.

I just hope they don't affect wait times TOO much.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thank you! I hate when it is so crowded you feel like you can’t even move. I’m more worried about the things you can’t Fastpass - like park entry, bathrooms, and counter service - than the actual rides. We are definitely with you on the “get out of dodge” approach.

We used mobile ordering last year for QS restaurants and it's awesome! That should help cut down on waiting in lines at QS. The bathrooms never felt crowded. Park entry was fine - the biggest crowds were bag check and entry at EP FW. Otherwise, not a big deal.