WDW end of December

[luvflorida]

We are planning a trip to Orlando in December, (a few days after Christmas). We have never gone to Disney at this time of the year. I know it will be crowded, but I'm not sure what else to expect. Is it usually warm enough for swimming? I'd love to hear from anybody who has gone over Christmas. Any hints/tips we should know about? Thanks for any info!

 

[dvc guy]

We have been at WDW the past 5 years over Christmas. Yes you are correct it will be very, very crowded. A few tips for survival"

Make Ps's and do it early, or you will be eating dinner at 4 or 10 PM
SLOW down . You will never see it all during this time of year. Make a game plan and try to stay as flexible as possible.

If you are on site use EE or get started as early as possible. Parks will be open very late, MK, EPCOT, MGM should be open till 11 or 12 .

Weather can be cold during this time of year, or it might be warm. Coming from Maine, BTW is it snowing there yet? LOL, it might be warm enough to swim. The last few years it got up into the low 70's during the day , very nice when the sun was out. By the time sun went in it got cold down into the 50's. One year it was 80 plus every day and very humid. Be prepared for all temps. You would be surprise how many people I have seen in shorts and t shirts freezing at night.

It is a great time of the year, we will be there 12/28-1/2

Feel free to PM me if you have any question.

 

[gillis95]

We went last December..the first part..so crowds were not an issue. The temp range was from 50's to mid 70's. It was very chilly in the mornings if you are planning on getting early starts. I did not want to bring a coat so I bought "Cuddle Duds". Essentially very thin/light weight silky long underwear. They come in tops or bottom. I just had a black long sleeve style. I bought it at Dillards (dept store) but I've seen variations at Target stores. I wore that, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece jacket from Old Navy and I was warm enough. When the sun came out in the afternoon I would go to the restroom and take of the cuddle dud and wad it up in my backpack. Then put it on later tha evening. Worked for me. I also had a light weight rain jacket that was easily rolled up in my bag. I got it at Target in the camping section. They had better styles than just a pullover poncho. The synthetic fiber helped keep warm without bulk and it looked like a real jacket too. It's mostly cooler but it can surprise you. Just check the forcast up until the day you leave.

 

[ReneeDisney]

Any more information on December weahter, crowds- would be appreciated. We are going for New Years (12/28-1/4) and would love to be prepared for it all. Is there anything I should avoid? What are the festivities for New Years Eve like? Does Disney do anything fun for New Years?
We are staying at the BCV and looking forward to using the SAB pool. We are traveling with 5 adults and 3 kids, so there will be alot of us. We plan on making lost os PS ressies, just to make sure we can eat together.. Any suggestions or tips - are greatly appreciated.

 

[luvflorida]

dvc guy- AHHHHHHHHH! No, it is not snowing! Don't even say that word!

It's funny about the swimming thing, tho. We visited Orlando at the end of last January and beginning of February, and my daughter and I were the only people who actually went in the hotel's pool. There were people sitting in lounge chairs sunning themselves, but nobody was swimming. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the 70's. When we left Maine it was 10 degrees and we had several feet of snow on the ground. Orlando was like the tropics to us. We couldn't wait to jump in the pool!

We also noticed people wearing sweatshirts, while we donned shorts and t-shirts! We were even told that the alligators and crocs at Gatorland were very sluggish because of the "cold weather". So, I guess it's just a matter of whatever one is used to, or not used to. If December is in the 70's, then you'll probably find us in the pool.

 

[nuts4sn00py]

Hi ReneeDisney, We too will be @WDW for New Year's & we too are from NY. We are driving down & will be there from 12/27-1/3 @Swan. We will be @least 5 adults (pssbly 6) & 4 kids. First time we have ever been to WDW in December. Not really worried about crowds since we have been to Disney many times. We too are looking for info. on NYE & are planning an adult night out. Hope Disney has something special planned! Remember your Lime green ribbon! Kathy

 

[donbob95]

We once went just after the New Year, and were surprised by the warm weather. What a concept to be on splash mountain on January 3 and be able to enjoy the water at the bottom! One recommendation I would give for making the most of your time would be to buy an E-Ride night ticket, if one will occur while you are there. Nothing like 3 full hours after Magic Kingdom closes to be able to continue riding the most popular rides! Hope this helps!

Don
ºoº

 

[funhouse8]

We will also be in Disney fo NYE. You might like the Rock & Roll Buffet in Epcot. This looked like a fun thing to do. This is our first trip during the Holidays too so I can't tell you about crowds or weather but I can't wait. A cold day in Disney has to be better then a cold day at home. Gina
Check out this site.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/nye-epcotbuffet.htm

 

[lindsey]

We were there last year 12/21 - 12/30. We dressed in layers. Several days T-shirts were ok during the day, but long sleeves were nice at night. I bought some of those cheap knit gloves at Kmart and kept a pair in my pocket for when I got cold. It's so much fun to hear Christmas music and see all the decorations. You can't do it all, but you can pick and choose. I love it!!!!

 

[travelbug]

Last year was my first time at WDW for the holidays (Dec. 28-Jan. 4). We dealt with the crowds just fine by making use of EMH and Fast Passes. We also planned on NYE/NYD as our two non-park days. We entertained ourselves in other ways, and had a wonderful time. Days were usually mild and sunny, but it got pretty chilly once the sun went down. We were really glad to have gloves and earmuffs/hats/hoods in the evenings. We were in the pool (BWV) several days. The bright sun really warmed up the air, and the water was really nice. We also rented water mice and enjoyed time on the lake on a beautiful sunny morning.

The only time it rained all week was on NYE. It absolutely POURED for hours. We had gone for an early dinner at Cape May, and then planned to enjoy whatever was going on at the Boardwalk. We wound up enjoying some nice cozy time in our room, watching TV (which we had barely done all week), snacking, and watching the high fireworks from our balcony.

The decorations are absolutely beautiful and it's so nice to hear Christmas music playing. The Osborne Lights at MGM were amazing, and I'm so sad that they won't be up this Christmas.

One fun thing we did was go resort-hopping. We had dinner at Trail's End, then drove over to the Poly to explore. We took the monorail around to the Contemporary and the GF and enjoyed all the decorations. Then we drove over to VWL and checked out the lobby that we had heard so much about. Spectacular!

I'll be back down for the holidays again this year. Dec. 26-Jan. 4. Staying solo at the Dolphin the first 2 nights, then moving over to a BWV 2 BR when my sister and her family arrive. Can't wait to experience WDW for the holidays again!

Have fun planning your holiday trip!

 

[diznee25]

Sorry, I don't have any tips, but reading this thread is getting me excited for my trip this December! We'll be there Christmas week as well!


Michelle

 

[Highland Lass]

I went to WDW in December 1996 and for me the weather was nice and warm. However I do come from Scotland .........so we left behind freezing temperatures and snow.

I suppose it depends on the temperatures you are used to.The UK is too hot for me at the moment , 80-85 degrees, hence the reason I go in December when its cooler (hopefully).

 

[snowglobe girl]

We went last year from 12-29-02 to 01-02-03. The crowds were terrible through New Years Eve. The first day we arrived, we were in MK around opening and had only rode three rides by 3:00pm - AE, SM, and HM. We didn't use fastpass the first day, used them from that point on but sometimes fastpasses got gone so fast that the return time would be several (4-5) hours later. It was the worst crowds I had ever seen and we usually go around first of August. We had been told by several CMs that the parks would be gridlocked on New Years Eve and they were right. They said that MK and MGM were the two worst crowded and gave us advice to pick a park that we wanted to be in at midnight, get there early and STAY THERE. Parks often reach capacity on NYE and they actually shut down the turnstiles and won't let anyone else in (we were told that they try to let resort guests in, but won't guarantee). IT WAS GREAT. Standing on main street, looking toward the castle you will see MK's fireworks and if you turn around and look at the exit, you can see Epcot's fireworks too!!! Mickey comes across on loudspeakers and counts down until midnight. CMs give you hats and horns to blow - only bad part was that it rained!! Also, there are tv crews at the front of the park facing the castle because it's on Dick Clark's! On New Year's Day, crowds had diminshed by probably 60%. It was great (crowd wise) from that point on. It was chilly in the mornings and evenings, but I would wear capris and a t-shirt under a sweatshirt in the mornings, then tie the sweatshirt around my waist by mid-morning.

You have to see Obsorne family lights at MGM. They will give you "3-D" glasses that make the lights look like angels - don't throw them away - take them home because it will also work on your X-mas tree lights (my tree was still up when we got back). Also, don't miss Candlelight Processional at Epcot - last night will be before NYE, but it is wonderful. Make dinner reservations ahead of time or you'll be waiting quite a while. You should be able to swim mid-day, but too cold early in the mornings and late at night. At least one water park was open while we were there, but crowds were so big that we had to spend all of our time in the parks to see everything. Thats all I can think of now, but if I think of other tips, I'll post again.

 

[marcdavd]

We were at WDW after New Year's in 2001. "The coldest winter in 40 years" is how one CM described it. We awoke to frost blanketing everything every morning. The crowds were not bad, but I really had nothing to compare it to since it was our first visit, but everyone was bundled up. It warmed to 60 a couple of days, but that was as warm as it got.

We plan on going from 12/23 to 1/4 this year. I figured it would be crowded, but gridlock? Either way, we plan on taking our time and getting around to what we can. This is our first trip during Christmas/New Year and we are all looking forward to it.

Where would be the best place to spend Christmas day and New Year's day? Crowds are not a factor. I would like to hear from anyone about their experiences in the different parks on those days.

It will not be hard to spot the people from South Texas; the temperature gets below 75 and the sweaters and jackets come out. Brrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[cfewell]

This will be our first year at WDW during Christmas also, we are not staying onsight like we are in Oct. because we plan on doing other parks
My question is this....
We would like to go see the lights, but do not want to go to each of the parks, which one do you recommend going to see during this time that is the best decorated?

We will be there from Dec. 23rd to Dec. 30th, so we could possibly do two parks but I do not want to spend my whole vacation at Disney again since I will have just went in Oct., I would like my son to experience Universal and Sea World also.

Any suggestions would be great. THANKS!