Week Of Christmas 2004

[RMOTHERHUBBARD]

I am looking for suggestions for week of December 18th, 2004. I am going with my family, a 7 year and 11 year and my sisters family kids ages 3,5,6. My sister and I are trying to decide if we should do the 7 night cruise leaving 12/18/04 or 4 night cruise on 12/19 and add 3 nights land package after the cruise 12/23/04, 12/24/04, 12/25/04. Does anyone have any suggestions. My fear is that if we do option 2 we will spend alot of time waiting in lines at the theme parks. Has anyone done a cruise over Christmas time?

 

[NCRedding]

There is no 7 night cruise on 12/18/04: DCL is doing a special 10 day cruise leaving on the 18th, returning Tuesday, Dec. 28.

 

[westjones]

My family is going on the 4 night starting Dec. 19th, and then we are going to WDW on our own (it is cheaper to book your own land stay). We just went to WDW for Christmas last week and it was beautiful! It was our first Christmas at WDW, and we decided we wanted to go again after the cruise next year.

If you do decide to book the 4 night, you may want to book it soon before prices start to go up. I checked the similar cruise for this past year (2003) and as it got closer and closer the price really went up (can't remember exactly what it was, but I do remember it went up a lot). We have a Cat. 10 reserved for a family of 4 (2 adults/2 kids) and it has already gone up $400 since we booked it at this time last year.

Good Luck in you decision!
DJ

 

[CTJK]

[ We just went to WDW for Christmas last week and it was beautiful! It was our first Christmas at WDW, and we decided we wanted to go again after the cruise next year.
QUOTE]


How were the crowds at Christmas Time ?

 

[Miss Eeyore]

We used our "home" at Old Key West for many years at Christmas time. We found that the days leading up to Christmas were delightful. The crowds were small and the decorations and festivities wonderful. This being said, you could not possibly pay me enough to be in the parks Dec. 25 and beyond. If you are staying on-site, you are guaranteed to be admitted to the parks, but the parks were ALWAYS closed due to capacity by 10 am or so.....so you can imagine the crowds.

 

[disney3144]

We are also going on the Dec.19, 2004 Wonder cruise. Then we will be staying at WDW for 3 days. It is definately cheaper to book "land/sea" on your own. We booked 2 SPR's and then 3 days at Coronado Springs. Its all a surprise for the kids for christmas.

I would book now if you can. Prices DO go up the closer you get!

Jennifer

 

[tkd lisa]

We're on the 10 day 12/18/04 cruise. It is pricey, but it's kind of a once in a lifetime thing. Someone else did a comparison by adding this years 7 day Magic and this years 7 day Wonder that were sailing over Christmas, and the price for the 10 day is about the same as those two added together. The 10 day will be going to Key West, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay with 3 sea days.

Take a look at the main trip report board to get a sense of the crowds at Christmas in WDW. We've never been at Christmas, but plan to do 2 days after the cruise next year.

Good luck! Lisa

 

[TinkerBellPixie4GOAL]

Originally posted by CTJK
[ We just went to WDW for Christmas last week and it was beautiful! It was our first Christmas at WDW, and we decided we wanted to go again after the cruise next year.
QUOTE]


How were the crowds at Christmas Time ?

As a local, we try to stay away from Disney at christmas time, but being as we have a business to run we cannot avoid them. I was at the parks 3 days bedfore christmas, and the crowds were awful! There were 80 minutes for almost any line you tried to get on!

We used our "home" at Old Key West for many years at Christmas time. We found that the days leading up to Christmas were delightful. The crowds were small and the decorations and festivities wonderful. This being said, you could not possibly pay me enough to be in the parks Dec. 25 and beyond. If you are staying on-site, you are guaranteed to be admitted to the parks, but the parks were ALWAYS closed due to capacity by 10 am or so.....so you can imagine the crowds.

I do agree that after is worse

 

[westjones]

OK, as far as crowds at WDW the week of Christmas, well.....they were big!

We always have gone to WDW during September when the crowds are low, but we knew we would be going at a crowded time.

If this was your first time to go, I wouldn't recommend it. If you can only go one time and won't be back again for a long time, I wouldn't recommend this time. BUT, we went with the attitude that we wanted to see what Disney was like at Christmas and we had a wonderful time!

We didn't ride many rides. We knew we wanted to see the new Mickey's Philharmonic 3D show, and the line was VERY long...but we used the FAST PASS option and it worked great! We came back a couple hours later and went right in with the FAST PASS. We also used the FAST PASS for the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Disney MGM Studios wasn't too crowded the day we went (Dec. 24), but we didn't go to the Tower of Terror or the Rockin Roller Coaster (so maybe everyone was over in that direction).

Epcot was crowded, but we got to see the Candle Light Processional (standing in the back, but still worth it).

The lights are beautiful at both MK and Epcot! We had never seen the Spectromagic Parade at MK before (the lighted parade) and it was so beautiful! They don't do this in September.

We got to see the Country Bear's Chrismtas show at MK, which was also new to us! I liked it even better than the regular show.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that if you go at Christmas time, go with the idea that it will be crowded, and pick the things you want to do and use the FAST PASS options as much as possible. I think it is worth going to see Disney at Chrismtas at least once. We went to several resorts to see their decorations, and they were all beautiful!

DJ