Seriously...Is Early December Really That Busy?

[starling72]

My family is booked into an offsite location for December 3-10 (arrive in the area on 12/1, but not heading into Orlando/WDW until the 3rd). I've been to WDW several times before, both during the Spring Break timeframe, mid-summer and also during the dead of Winter (late January into early February).

How does the first week of December compare to those times in the park? I thought I had it figured out, but some folks are making me nervous that we're in for a "summertime" experience rather than somewhere in between. Can someone give me some ?

 

[Daryl]

I think early Dec. is the perfect time to go! There is no comparison to spring break. I not saying the parks will be empty, but compared to spring break the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are very manageable crowd wise. No matter when you go be sure to get started early

 

[tink2020]

I totally agree! It won't be QUITE as empty as January/February, but it will be close. We went during the first 2 weeks of December last year, and never waited more than 15 minutes for anything at all. With the holiday decorations, etc and the crowds almost at a minimum, it was definitely my favorite time of year to go! Have fun!

 

[Stitch's O'hana]

My mom and I will be down at Disney World the same time as you, we will be there Dec. 5-12( and it will be our first time going at Chrismas time)! We can't wait, not to much longer now!!!!

 

[Terk-1]

The crowds are pretty light during the week, but you will see more people in World Showcase in the late afternoon through the evening for the Candlelight Processional, as well as in the evening at MGM for the Osborne Lights. The Magic Kingdom will be more crowded on Saturday & Sunday with more locals, as well as the filming of the Christmas Parade during December 1-3. Main Street is PACKED while it's taping, but the rest of the park is not so bad. It's taped in segments and is a LONG process. Again, I find it busier on the weekends. Finally, December 3-10 is when Pop Warner Football & Cheerleading will be at the WWoS for their competitions. Usually, they are at all of the values and the overflow is at the moderates (typically CBR).

 

[ntsammy5]

Great time to go --- my favorite. Like OP says though MGM & World Showcase get a little crowded due to special programming/events. You'll absolutely love the decorations and music. be sure to make an ADR for Candlelight Processional.

 

[cobbler]

However, if you notice all the resorts are pretty booked up this first week due to POP Warner and Mousefest.

While it is still a good time to go, every year we see it becoming more and more busy.

You probably won't be in for summertime busy but I have a feeling this year it's going to be a lot busier than most anticipate.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm going Dec. 8-16th. Crowds shouldn't be too bad. It may be busier than last year or year before that, but not by too much. Crowds should be ok.

 

[Kycha]

Finally, December 3-10 is when Pop Warner Football & Cheerleading will be at the WWoS for their competitions. Usually, they are at all of the values and the overflow is at the moderates (typically CBR).

Right. And the parks are not really affected by the Pop Warner crowd. We were there from Dec 4 - Dec 18 in 2004 and the only time we saw Pop Warner folk in the parks was at MGM one night and it was crowded. We waited 50 minutes for Rock n Roller Coaster. I just think it was bad timing for us because we had no problems the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I think the secret has gotten out about the first few weeks of December being no/low crowds. More and more people are going at that time of year, so it will be more crowded than when we went 10 years ago, but certainly nowhere near peak spring break time.

 

[starling72]

Whew...thanks for easing my mind a little.

We cannot wait! It's been a couple of years since we've been to WDW and our 4 (going on 5) year old son is dancing around in anticipation. Just grabbed my MVMCP tickets for Tuesday, December 5th. Sounds fantastic if you're in the right frame of mind!

Good to know it should be better than April and hopefully only slightly worse crowds than January and February. Now I can relax and try to find the patience to wait for that November 15th mousesavers newsletter to arrive in my inbox so I can book our park hoppers.

 

[Mo-Yo]

We went last year 11/30-12/8...and we didn't find the crowds bad at all. We always arrived early and avoided EMH days in the parks. Most rides were walk-ons or short waits.

I agree with the OP, Epcot got busy at night. Our worst night, however, was our last one. We went to an evening EMH for a last taste of the MK. It was like a mosh pit...and when it rained, the lines for the buses were up to 90 minutes. I can tell you - with three tired kids, ages 5, 7, and 9 - there was nothing magical about that.

The Pop Warner kids were clogging up the cafeteria in the morning and late evening at POR later in our trip, but mostly they had no effect in the parks that I could tell.

We avoided the parade taping.

I though it was a great time to go - managable crowds, good weather, nice decorations.

Though I'll say that as a Yankee, it was tough to get a true Christamas feeling with the warm weather. Nonetheless, it was an awesome trip...Have fun.

 

[mydisneykids]

We went last year right after the first weekend. It was wonderful. We walked on everthing. The longest line we had was about 10min. The only time we saw crowds was the MVMCP. And the weekend at the MK.
Enjoy!! We will be there from the 10-16 and can't wait.

 

[masterslacker]

The crowds are pretty light during the week, but you will see more people in World Showcase in the late afternoon through the evening for the Candlelight Processional, as well as in the evening at MGM for the Osborne Lights. The Magic Kingdom will be more crowded on Saturday & Sunday with more locals, as well as the filming of the Christmas Parade during December 1-3. Main Street is PACKED while it's taping, but the rest of the park is not so bad. It's taped in segments and is a LONG process. Again, I find it busier on the weekends. Finally, December 3-10 is when Pop Warner Football & Cheerleading will be at the WWoS for their competitions. Usually, they are at all of the values and the overflow is at the moderates (typically CBR).

Uh-oh...this Parade taping has got me scared as our first MK day will be on the Dec. 2nd? Is there some info someone can point me to in order to get "around" this while in park that day?

Thx.

 

[hauntedcity]

Back in December 04, the only time that crowds got really bad for us was for the Osborne Lights at Disney/MGM. We were there on the 1st or 2nd weekend, and the whole surrounding area was PACKED. Other than that, it was wonderful.

 

[back2WDW]

However, if you notice all the resorts are pretty booked up this first week due to POP Warner and Mousefest.

While it is still a good time to go, every year we see it becoming more and more busy.

You probably won't be in for summertime busy but I have a feeling this year it's going to be a lot busier than most anticipate.

Besides the resorts, restaurnats are pretty booked up also (We're going 12/08 thru 12/17) Just made my ADR's this weekend, and couldn't make for tea in GF, for example; no schedule available for Wishes in California Grill, etc.

So, seems yeah, it will be more crowded this year than last one.

But hey! it's still the World!

 

[MouseyMin]

It's worse than it used to be, but it's nothing like a Holiday week. I think the reason the hotels are filled up is because of Pop Warner and because most of the people coming this time of year are Disney savvy and want to stay on-site. I'll bet most of the off-site hotels are pretty empty. I agree with the other posters - the weekends will be crowded because of the locals coming to see the MGM light show as well as the holiday decorations.

 

[gbrogers]

Uh-oh...this Parade taping has got me scared as our first MK day will be on the Dec. 2nd? Is there some info someone can point me to in order to get "around" this while in park that day?

Thx.

That will be our last weekend in the park. Our plan is to jump on the train to avoid the Main Street crowd altogether.

 

[jenfur]

That will be our last weekend in the park. Our plan is to jump on the train to avoid the Main Street crowd altogether.

Thanks so much!!! Our last days at MK will be Dec. 1 and 2 and I was wondering how we would get around the parade. I had never thought of using the train before.

 

[philliplc]

Back in December 04, the only time that crowds got really bad for us was for the Osborne Lights at Disney/MGM. We were there on the 1st or 2nd weekend, and the whole surrounding area was PACKED. Other than that, it was wonderful.

lol thanks for bringing up the memory. we were at MGM on Sat. Dec 11, 2004. It wasn't that bad during the day, but in late afternoon/evening it got so bad you could barely walk. Not sure what was going on, but as late as 7 PM there were literally thousands of people still coming IN to see the lights. Took us 45 minutes just to get out of the parking lot.

i guess moral is avoid MGM on sat night when the lights are up

 

[liznboys]

We went on three trips in 2005: Feb for 12 nights, May for 5 nights and early December for 7 nights. And December was the least busy. Sure, there are specific times/parks that are crowded for events or something special. But overall I think early December is still "lower" crowds.