Week Before Christmas Planning

[Ahabart]

We have enough Marriott points to stay off-site for our Christmas trip to US and had planned to go the week following Christmas. However, after researching, I've realized that the crowds will be outrageous, so we're changing dates. I am now looking at 4-5 nights starting anytime after the 14th.

With that in mind, we're trying to decide if we should stay on points off-site or spend the $ for one of the on-site hotels. Are the crowds the week before Christmas still bad enough to justify forking out the $ for the on-site hotel for the free express passes? Our party of 4 is me, DH, DD8, DD7.

Thanks!

 

[Metro West]

The week before Christmas isn't usually too terribly crowded but the closer you get to the holiday, the more crowded the parks become. I think you could make it w/o staying onsite since there's a good chance you wouldn't need the EP that week. However...since this will be your Christmas vacation, you might want to consider staying onsite to make it really special. The hotels are beautifully decorated for the season and I'm sure your kids would love it!