Just booked our first visit during Christmas week. We’ll be there 12/26-12/31. We’re APs, just visited in Aug for SW:GE opening. This trip is focused on the holiday happenings.
Would love planning advice from those who’ve gone during this insanely crowded week.
I have a CP dining package booked for a 5pm show. How early do we need to arrive at the show to check in? Any tips for seeing a few holiday storytellers on Friday, 12/27? Hoping a Friday won’t be as crowded as the weekend.
As for MK park hours, I’ve noticed they change drastically as we get closer. I’m assuming we can expect a 7am EMH all week? Also hoping for expanded hours at DHS for SW:GE.
Just how bad are the crowds at the buses? Wonder how high Uber surge pricing gets?
Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciate!
Hello there! We have been over a few Christmas weeks, so can share what we have learned, but even I’m a little unsure on some planning with the addition of galaxy’s edge into the mix.
We usually do the candlelight processional for either Xmas eve or Xmas day, and you for sure want to show up earlier than show time- the one year when we showed up about 20 or 30 minutes early we were still quite a ways back in the line, but again that is on probably one of the most popular days outside of NPH days
As for Friday vs the weekend, not sure there will be a big difference for you crowd-wise as there is no school during that time. One of the benefits of an end-of-season trip is you have plenty of time to scout out storyteller schedules to make a rough plan. We usually try to plan two different days to catch the storytellers, as there is too much overlap to get them in one day and not go nuts criss-crossing and fighting crowds, and have not yet been able to catch all of them, but partly because we get sidetracked by something else we want to do, and partly because I still get too optimistic about walking times through the crowds!
I am banking on the hours changing before Christmas week gets here, and MK and Epcot seem to be pretty consistent year to year in their hours for the most part, but I’m not sure what’s gonna happen with AK or HS hours at all yet. The 7 am EMH at MK has been very consistent, but like anything else, not guaranteed until announced. We plan around assuming it will be that way, but know that we may have to revamp plans if it doesn’t come to be.
Bus crowds can be crazy, especially at peak times, but they also run more busses to keep things moving. We usually stick to bus transportation for the most part though, because even standing room only is better for our family than having to fight the traffic- we drive down for Xmas, so no need for Uber. My kids are older though, so standing isn’t a problem for our family. The longest bus ride ever was leaving Epcot one year on New Years Eve- while long, it was kind of a fun experience to share with others on the bus- had a fun driver- and I’m not sure I could take the potential awkward moments being stuck in an Uber with one stranger and my family for that long
