Tips for Christmas at Disney?

[BaseballMoM2007]

We have decided to spend our Christmas vacation at Disney next year. I am very curious how people handle christmas morning with still-believe-in-santa age children. We will be flying down so I know I can't bring wrapped presents. Dates would most likely be 12-21 to 12-29 but could change a little bit.

-Did you bring presents or leave them at home?
-Do you decorate your room?
-Also any tips/tricks for crowd management/touring straegies for his crazy busy time of the year?
-Do they do the Mickey's Christmas Party stuff on the 23rd and Beyond for free? If so when? Or should I buy tickets to the party one of the last days of it?
-What Christmas activites are still available after the 25th?
-What do you do on Christmas Day/Christmas Eve for children to still make it special (i know we are at disney on Christmas what is more special than that)?

ALSO

We are thinking we will most likely stay at Swan/Dolphin as the Boardwalk area/proximity to Epcot/HS is very appealing to us. So this will be our first trip WITHOUT the dining plan. It works out about 500/600 less than a moderate would be with Free Dining so would like to not spend a TON more than the 600 so I don't regret not doing Free Dining IF (a big IF i know) it becomes available again. If i could keep an 8 night food Budget to under 1000 I would be thrilled.

Tips for good meals to try without breaking the bank. Maybe one or two really special meals (one for Christmas day and one for Son's 10th Birthday on the 27th) I was leaning towards Shula's and Hoop De Doo Revue both of which are new to us but I would hate to miss out on Ohana this trip.

 

[Klayfish]

We did this last year, but we stay off property and drove. My older one doesn't believe in Santa anymore, but my younger twins do.

We left a "note" for Santa before we left home telling him to leave the "big" presents at the tree in our house in Georgia. My wife and I then hid the stocking stuffers in our luggage. We brought a fake tree and some decorations and decorated the condo. Since you're flying, maybe you can just pick up some decorations before you leave...or if you have a way to get to Wal-Mart there, pick up a $20 fake tree.

It went over fantastic!! They loved it. Had Xmas twice....first Xmas day itself in Disney, then big gifts when we got back home.

 

[BaseballMoM2007]

We did this last year, but we stay off property and drove. My older one doesn't believe in Santa anymore, but my younger twins do.

We left a "note" for Santa before we left home telling him to leave the "big" presents at the tree in our house in Georgia. My wife and I then hid the stocking stuffers in our luggage. We brought a fake tree and some decorations and decorated the condo. Since you're flying, maybe you can just pick up some decorations before you leave...or if you have a way to get to Wal-Mart there, pick up a $20 fake tree.

It went over fantastic!! They loved it. Had Xmas twice....first Xmas day itself in Disney, then big gifts when we got back home.

I have a small tree I was thinking I could just pack and bring and thinking a note from santa saying some big presents were left at home and maybe have a family member go have those sat out for us when we get home.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Agree with above. Just bring stockings and maybe a "note" from Santa that he left all other gifts at their home. Disney used to do a tree that you could order to your room. It is very expensive. I would maybe bring a small one with a string of lights and some ornaments. Maybe take a quick trip to Walmart if you have any transportation and pick something up - or pack some plastic ornaments in your luggage.

You can get your picture taken with Santa down there. He used to be in the MK at the front of Main Street, and in DTD (now Disney Springs). You can also meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus in Epcot right outside the American pavilion. I can't remember, but check to make sure if Santa is there past 12/25. I want to say no - so make sure you do this before. Make sure to visit all the different counties in Epcot where they have Holiday Storytellers telling how they celebrate the holidays in their native land. They also used to have a giant Gingerbread House in the American Pavilion. Epcot also has the Candlelight Processional which is the telling of the story of the first Christmas. It is very moving and there is a choir singing Christmas music. In the past they have also added a special ending to IllumiNations so make sure to check this out if they still do it.

Visit all the different Disney resorts to see their trees and holiday decorations. If you are staying in an Epcot resort - the Boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club have great trees and the Grand Floridian has a beautiful tree and a Gingerbread House.

Once the MVMCP's are over, they should do all the Christmas things in the MK - we did this years ago and there was snow for the afternoon parade.

Christmas is a magical time, but a busy time. As it sounds like you have been to Disney in the past, just know it will be crowded and enjoy what you can.

Linda

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

When went went at Christmas it was a family gathering, mixed ages some believed, some didn't.
We brought presents, stockings for kids and a small pre-lit tree.
Crowd management... 21st-24th will be your best days. If you are planning MK on the 25th be there early...we made the mistake of doing presents first and regretted it all day... well about 5 hours then we called it off because of crowds. I will never do MK on Christmas day again.
We did the party but wouldn't do it again.
All Christmas festivities should be going on till New Year.
Christmas Eve we had a nice meal.
As far as cost of meals, that has a lot of factors but we average $50 a day per person. But that's not really eating many TS restaurants.
Have Fun

 

[vbarry]

I have spent Christmas at Disney several times. My daughters are now 12 and 16. I do bring a tree and some small decorations. I shipped all of our gifts and we did Christmas as normal in our room. My girls loved it! I did have the Disney florist do some stockings one year and deliver to our room upon arrival as a special surprise!! We normally did the Candlelight Processional dinner package at Epcot on Christmas Eve. I knew I would miss our Christmas church service at home and this is a very special event and as close to a Christmas Eve service as you can get at Disney. The days leading up to Christmas are not as crowded. Christmas day and beyond is very busy. We did do the MVMCP on Dec 23. I loved it! No crowds! I hope you have a wonderful trip! Christmas at Disney is so special!

 

[jolene63]

We will be there for Christmas and my son's birthday (Dec. 26) this year too. I told the kids that I will bring the stockings with us to Disney and Mommy and Daddy will fill them this year so they have a few things to open up Christmas morning. I told them we will leave a note for Santa and our presents should be waiting for us when we get home. I think this will make leaving Disney a little bit easier knowing that they have Christmas to celebrate when we come home on the 27th. Because we are driving from GA, I will bring a few Christmas and birthday decorations for our room. We have never been to Disney on Christmas day before and I want to make sure if feels a little "Christmasy" for everyone. I also want to make sure my son feels special on his birthday the following day.

 

[Jaime4004]

We emailed santa and asked him to bring the presents the sunday before we left. (Had 3 believers). He agreed so we had christmas that day. I had no desire to bring gifts back and forth to Florida. We did bring one small wrapped gift and a disney giftcard for each kid that santa had left in the room christmas morning. They liked that. On christmas eve we did a horse drawn carriage ride through the campground to see everyone's lights and decorations. That was cute.
For the parks, we got there at rope drop and used fast passes everyday. Left by 2 most days when the crowds got crazy. Sometimes went back at night. To me, the park craziness is fine as long as you know what to expect!

 

[jvz82]

When I was a kid, we did Disney on Christmas multiple times and I remember opening presents at the resort on Christmas. We drove though, so we didn't have to worry about how to get presents on an airplane. If you had to deal with flying, I'd bring maybe a couple small things and a note, like others suggested. We never really did anything else to make the day special, I think just being at Disney was special enough for us all!

As for crowds, get there super early and use your fast passes like others said! We go at Christmas time a lot. Usually it's close to dead all morning, starts to pick up around lunch time, and is pretty much insane by 3 pm. Don't plan too much for later afternoon/evening time because it gets pretty damn busy. It's fun though! Your first couple days will probably be ok, but by Christmas eve it'll start to really get crazy.

I've never done any of the Mickey Christmas party stuff.

Hoop de doo revue is amazing. It would make my list as one of my top 5 all-time most magical Disney moments. My grandfather got picked to participate in the show and it was so hilarious and fun. It holds a special place in my heart!

We're going to Disney this year from December 18th through the 22nd! I can't wait.

 

[5olearys]

We are doing CBR 12/21-27 and I am nervous as heck. Following this post because I want to hear more about everyone's experiences! I'm most concerned about the lines for counter service, lol. Some great advice here about Christmas Day! We have an 8:10 at Ohana that morning and hope to hit Epcot that day...would love to hear more from people who have BTDT!

 

[jtopp]

Might want to review your food budget. Ohana and Shula's, and $1000 for 8 nights might not add up. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Deb & Bill]

They never do Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party for free. They do run the parade from the party during the day once the parties are over (usually around the 19-21 is the last one).