So, for those who have recently returned from the World...

[wrldpossibility]

how would you rate the crowds this past Dec? We're going next Dec. 10-20. Are the crowds during that time really as low as Unofficial Guide says, or are they bigger? Hope you had a magical trip either way! Any Dec. tips?

 

[vicceja]

Hi!

This is our first December Trip and we loved it . We were there from December 8 - 14. Crowds were very minimal. Rides and attractions were basically walk on except for Soarin and Test Track which we fast passed. Weather fluctuated between mid 70's and low 60's. Good Luck!

 

[Tjaleks]

We were in the park 12/19-21.

12/19 AK was ok. We stayed from 8-5 and had a blast. We did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything.

12/20 MGM was alright. We utilized the FP system and again did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything, except Fantasmic However, around noon or so the park did appear to be much more crowded. Our family of 4 had to walk single file through some of the crowds. Several CM's told us they greatly underestimated there numbers for this park on this day and ended up doing 2 Fantasmics, though only one was scheduled.

12/21 MK was the most crowded of the three days we were day. Again we used the FP to our advantage and did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything we really wanted to do.

We did have ADR's for our trip, which was great because we saw many people turned away who did not. The longest we waited in line was for autographs for my boys.

Hope this helps.

 

[kaelarad]

We were there Dec 20-28 and the crowds were manageable until the 27 when it started getting packed. We were in WDW last year over new years and will never be there again. Too crowded. This year was a great week to be there and we plan to be there next year about the same time. You should be ok just beware of the Pop Warner event.

 

[paladin]

We were there from Dec. 4 to Dec. 17. We had no problem getting on to rides (even things that said 30 minutes were more like 10-15). Interestingly, I thought it looked busier in the parks than previous trips, but as I said, we had no problem getting on things.

 

[thatduffgirl]

We were there from 12/12-12/19. 12/18 MK was quite crowded, but it was a weekend and I am sure that factored in.

All in all I would say that the crowds were quite manageable. As long as we got to the parks relatively early, we didn't have waits of more than 20 minutes. Some parks were practically deserted, we went to AK on 12/15 and seemed to have the place to ourselves!

My best advice would be to make sure you get all of your dining reservations early. In trips past I would only fill up about half of our reservations, and then "wing it" when we got to the park. That really didn't work this time, everything that we didn't have a reservation for was full with long waits.

If you want to do Mickey's Christmas party (LOVED THIS, even though is was friggin' freezing the night we were there), or any other extras, try to book them as early on in your stay as possible. We went on the 14th and it wasn't crowded at all, but later on each of the rest of the Christmas parties sold out and were much more crowded.

The holiday decorations were beautiful, we really enjoyed our first December trip to the World.

Milette

10/93 offsite
9/99 Polynesian
1/00 WL
10/03 GF
12/05 WL

 

[dsneygirl]

We were there the 10-13 and I found the crowds moderate/manageable. We had made all ADRs before we went but were still able to switch a few when we arrived.

 

[kellyg403]

we were ther 12/16-12/23 for our first trip and we were quite surprised at the minimal crowd levels in the parks we went to. Just taking the advice on the dis and books we were able to beat alot of the crowds. We already are thinking that this is the time of year for us. The parks were decorated so nicely, the weather was cool but hey it was December and could have been worse!

Kelly

 

[raven69david]

We were there 12/11/05 through 12/17/05. The crowds were bigger than previous years. We have gone in December 02, 03 & now 05.

 

[Piecey]

We were in the park 12/19-21.

12/19 AK was ok. We stayed from 8-5 and had a blast. We did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything.

12/20 MGM was alright. We utilized the FP system and again did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything, except Fantasmic However, around noon or so the park did appear to be much more crowded. Our family of 4 had to walk single file through some of the crowds. Several CM's told us they greatly underestimated there numbers for this park on this day and ended up doing 2 Fantasmics, though only one was scheduled.

12/21 MK was the most crowded of the three days we were day. Again we used the FP to our advantage and did not wait more than 20 minutes for anything we really wanted to do.

We did have ADR's for our trip, which was great because we saw many people turned away who did not. The longest we waited in line was for autographs for my boys.

Hope this helps.

I was in MGM on the 20th, too!!
Saw the first Fantasmic and thought the amount of people waiting for the second as we walked out, was crazy! The first was jam packed, even standing room only was crammed.
We also heard CM's say they did it because of the park attendance numbers for the day. When we entered the amplitheater the CM told us there was another showing at 8:30, we'd probably be better to wait.

 

[deide71]

Our trip was 12/9-12/14. We found the crowds to be light to manageable on all of our park days.

I would definately go back this time of year again!

 

[boxer]

we were there the 2nd to the 12th, and the crowds were moderate, but busier than I had thought they'd be. The disappointing part of our trip was the weather----it was nice the first 2 days, then basically rained and was cloudy the rest of the trip. Our Feb '05 trip was MUCH better in terms of weather and crowds.

Although I wouldn't trade this past Dec trip, as everyone should see Disney at Christmas at least once.

 

[karenbaco]

We went the 8-17th. Thought the crowds were very low and only waited about 5-10 minutes for every ride except test track and soarin which we fast passed. It was great. I would definitely go again but i agree the MVMCP was good to do just once but i won't go again unless its free. The crowds were the most i had seen in a week on that night of the party on the 13th.
Karen

 

[phisigprincess]

We were in the parks the 28-30th and nothing I read could have prepared me for those crowds!!!! I could NOT believe how busy it was! Coming from a habitual summer WDW traveler I thought I'd be prepared - nope! It was crazy. I love that first and second week there though. Even if it's a little bit more crowded now, I'm sure you won't have a problem.

 

[GeauxTigger]

We were there the 23rd - 30th, and it REALLY picked up after the 24th. Christmas Eve in the MK was fine, it only felt crowded in the mid-afternoon (we were in the Haunted Mansion within 10 minutes around 11:30, much quicker than I expected). Fast Passes were readily available that day. We spent Christmas day at Disney Quest (moderate crowd), and Christmas night in Epcot (moderate crowd there too...didn't go on any rides, just walked around the countries and had dinner/drinks/snacks). We heard that the MK was closed with capacity crowds by mid-Christmas morning. The crowd in Epcot on the 26th was noticably larger (though not by much), MGM on the 27th was miserable, Epcot on the 28th was very crowded (my sister waited 45 minutes for brats in Germany, though my mother claimed the crowd was not nearly as bad as the day before), and the MK was horrible on the 29th (by late morning, most Fast Passes were either for late at night or gone for the day).

We still had fun! I wouldn't have chosen the time of year to go, but it was for a special extended family trip. I'd love to go the week before Christmas and leave on the 27th, just as the crowds really get huge in all the parks.

 

[alicenwonder99]

We were there Dec 9-14. It "felt" crowded, but the wait for the rides were minimal. The weekdays were more manageable. We got to MK on Sunday at opening, and it wasn't crowded at all. The crowds didn't pick up until later, but it rained most of that day so that scared off most of the guests. We practically had Tom Sawyer Island to ourselves (we saw just one other family there).

Compared to the summer, there are ALOT less crowds. Compared to the first week of January, it was more crowded.

It's fun to see the Christmas decorations, but I don't think I'll be going in December again. I'm going to go in January from now on.

Mary