WDW In December?

[CdeSade]

I hear that the first 3 weeks in December are some of the best times to visit WDW.

How about Dec. 17th-23rd? I was looking around on TouringPlans.com and it looks like there's an obvious difference (as Christmas Eve gets closer), but I'd like to get some of your opinions.

I will not be traveling w/ small children, and it will some friends (18+) and I. Dec. 17th-23rd is best for us because of school, but we COULD do Dec. 10th-16th.

The times I've visited before seemed to be "somewhat" crowded, w/ 45-60min. waits on the popular rides. To me, that's an average crowd.

Thanks in advance!
-Chris

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

I'd do the 10th - 16th, no crowds, the earlier in Dec. the better the chances for warm weather and holiday decorations will be up.

 

[Dawnie]

I have been there both of those weeks, and if I could choose I would pick the first one. When we were there the week right before Christmas it got more crowded each day. Either way though it will be better than the week between Christmas and New Years!

 

[kyprincess]

We went the last year Dec 3-10 and it was really great there was no longer than 15 min wait times for any of the rides it is by far the best time to go! So much so we are already planning Dec. 06' trip

 

[pmtaylor]

We are going Dec 17-23...I had a friend that went about the same time last year and said it was great. On the last day of her trip, the Xmas crowds starting coming. Otherwise she said it was a great time to go!

 

[WaltD4Me]

If possible I'd do the 10-16th too. Each day closer to Christmas gets more crowded.

We went the 2nd week of December just this past year and there were almost no waits. Longest we waited was 10 mins for Rock N' Roll rollercoaster and Dumbo. Everything else was pretty much walk right on. On Kali River Rapids at AK, we got off and walked right back on again -- it was great!
Plus it's easier to get good viewing spots for the parades and shows. We had no problem getting seats for Fantasmic, front row seats for Festival of the Lion King and had found great spots for SpectroMagic and Illuminations just 20 minutes beforehand. (I hate staking out spots an hour or more before!)

 

[kendzee94]

We went from 12/16-12/25. The crowds were not too bad during the week. The weekends were very crowded (90 min wait at Peter Pan's flight and people were actually standing in line vs. getting a fast pass--go figure! ) As far as weather goes, it's the luck of the draw. It was near 80 the week before and after we went, 40's and 50's while we were there. It is very beautiful at Christmas time, but I would go before the peak crowds (aka change in resort rates!).

 

[Mush]

We're going around the exact same time as y'all are (Dec 16-22) and have been planning the heck out of it -- in the span of a week, I bought Birnbaum's Official Guide, Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide and Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide with Kids. Anyway, according to the Unofficial Guide's updates, (http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm ...I'm guessing the same place as you), it looks pretty good, with most days being a 1-2, maxing out with a '5' on the day we leave.

Does anyone know how accurate this guide's been historically in predicting the crowd levels?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[CdeSade]

Thanks so much y'all!

This is a hard decision... I don't want it to be "dead", but I mos def want to have short waits (if any!).

It might not be too fun to see it getting more crowded the later I stay.

Man, oh man... at least this is helping out a lot!

I might even be going solo... if so, crowds won't really matter. Some of my friends are like "WDW is for kids!"... they've never been, obviously!

If I happen to find any more useful info on this subject (is that possible?!?), I'll post it on here!

-Chris

 

[micksterlee]

We justed booked Pop for Dec 17th thru 24th and Cm that helped me make the reservation said the first partof the week should be great as far as crowds go but as you closer to Christmas the crowds begin to build. We have been twice in June and crowds were very heavy, over an hour wait for many attractions, and when I mentioned this to the CM she said we should really enjoy this trip then because first of the week crowds should be nothing like June and chances are it won t be 110 degrees in the shade.

 

[CdeSade]

That helps me make a better decision.

The more I read and the more I think, I might just settle on Dec. 10th-17th.

Thanks micksterlee... I appreciate you passing the CM's info along!

-Chris

 

[webprinter]

In the past, we've noticed that it starts to get much more significantly crowded the weekend before Christmas. We usually go the first or second week of Dec. Debby

 

[Laurajean1014]

I love going to WDW during this time. It is perfect. Weather is great and so are the crowds. Everything is decorated and you still get to spend Christmas at home.

Enjoy.

 

[CPer'sMom]

We have made 3 Christmas trips to WDW ~~ each time the week before Christmas, usually 17 - 26. We do visit at other times of the year also and definitely do not like it too crowded and will not wait in long lines.

We have always loved that week before Christmas ~~ festive, small (er) crowds and very little wait in lines ( we do use fast pass ). You can see the crowds build as it nears Christmas Day; Christmas Eve day is our last park day. If we're staying through the 26th, we will maybe play mini-golf on Christmas Day, do some shopping, have a special meal at one of the resorts.

If you are planning to "settle" and opt for the earlier week, I would say that you really have no reason to do that if you're only doing it because you're afraid of big crowds. The BIG crowds are after Christmas!

 

[JoannaOhio]

We have always loved that week before Christmas ~~ festive, small (er) crowds and very little wait in lines ( we do use fast pass ). You can see the crowds build as it nears Christmas Day; Christmas Eve day is our last park day..... If you are planning to "settle" and opt for the earlier week, I would say that you really have no reason to do that if you're only doing it because you're afraid of big crowds. The BIG crowds are after Christmas!

We were last at WDW in December of 2000, when Christmas was only one day later in the week than it will be this year - (on Monday, instead of Sunday). We found that the parks weren't very crowded at the beginning of the week of December 18th, and we were hoping it would be the same this year, when that week will start on Monday the 19th. We'll be arriving in Orlando on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18th, and we'll get groceries and check into our off-site rented villa.

We hope to use one of our park pass days at MK on Monday, sleep in Tuesday morning, and go back that afternoon/evening for MVMCP. (We sure hope that the estimated MVMCP dates are correct, or we'll miss it.) We hope to have enough energy to do Epcot and MGM on Wed. and Thurs., but if we need to take a rest day, we'll do one of those on Friday, Dec. 23rd. That will definitely be our last day to go to any of the WDW parks.

My daughter and her fiancee are going on a cruise Dec. 25-29, while my dear granddaughter and I hang out and swim in the heated pool at our private villa. Then we'll have 2-1/2 more days together before we all head for home(s) on New Year's Day. In 2000 we went to SeaWorld on Christmas Day, and it wasn't particularly crowded, so we'll probably do that on the 24th, and maybe take advantage of their 2nd-day-free-return on the 30th or 31st.

We already have our villa reservation and transportation tickets - (I'm flying in from Ohio, and the other three are taking the auto train from DC) - so we'll deal with whatever we find in the way of crowds, but it is encouraging to hope that it won't be unbearable between Dec. 19th & 23rd.

 

[Disfreek]

This is the same time that we are going this year...December 17 until the 23 (we want to be home for Christmas for our DDs).

 

[Mush]

I think that having Christmas fall on a Sunday helps a lot for that third week of December. My guess is that many people want to spend a week that includes Christmas down there, and they may not be able to take off work until the 22nd or 23rd (better for those of us down there at that time ). If Christmas were on a Thursday or Friday, then I can easily see why that whole week would be crazy.