Visiting 12/29-30 and 1/3-6

[Herculez]

Hi!

Haven't been to USF and IOA before, but will be in Orlando late in December '02 and early January '03. Can someone give me a feel for the crowds at USF and IOA during the periods Dec 29-30th and Jan 3-6th. What wait times can I expect for each ride/attraction on these dates, particularly the Dec 29-30th period? Do the Parks fill to capacity Dec 29-30th? If it's too much, I might skip USF/IOA altogether then and try for a day there sometime during Jan 3-6th or spend all of my days at WDW.

USF and IOA are smaller than WDW Parks, so it seems like I might be better off heading to WDW (e.g., EPCOT) for the Dec 30-31st period, as the Disney Parks might better absorb the crowds.

Anyone have any thoughts on how I should spend my days at the USF/IOA and WDW Parks during these dates to get the most out of my visit?

 

[Robinrs]

I wouldn't say that any park in Orlando would be empty during the last week of December. Remember, all of the schools will be out and that always spells long lines and crowds. EPCOT is a larger park but it has less major attractions, and the few they do have will have very long waits. Last year the Magic Kingdom closed their gates to off siters because of the crowds on New Year's Eve.

Also last year lots of people skipped the Christmas/New Years trips due to the terrorist threats. It seems that everyone is pulling out the stops for this year, though. Lots of hotels are sold out and the deals that were offered last year don't exist this year.

That being said, I go every year during New Year's week. The difference between before New Year's Day and after are like night and day. I always say it looks as though the parks are vacuumed. No guarantee for this year since I know my son's school will be out until the 7th and Georgia does fill those parks up because it's so close to Florida, but I would bet for after rather than before.