What are the parks like December 20-23?

[rice5899]

We were thinking about taking our kids there as their Christmas gift. Have never been during this time of year.

 

[Disneylover99]

Parks will be crowded. Lines for attractions will be long. But it is a truly magical time to go, if you love the festive atmosphere.

 

[Alesia]

Very, very, very crowded.

 

[Figmentmommy]

Last December we checked out on 12/21. Noticed a considerable increase in crowds beginning on 12/20. If you can move the trip to a few days earlier it will be much less crowded.

 

[rice5899]

Last December we checked out on 12/21. Noticed a considerable increase in crowds beginning on 12/20. If you can move the trip to a few days earlier it will be much less crowded.

I wish we could, however our kids get out of school on the 18th.

 

[JessLUVSminnie]

A few years ago we took our kids Dec 27th- Jan 1. It was packed but the only day that was unmanageable was New Year's Eve. That day was wall to wall people. You couldn't take a full stride step. Yikes! We are actually headed to WDW Dec 19th-28th. We're concerned about the crowds but I've planned our days so that we can be a bit flexible and adjust accordingly to the crowds. My DH hated the crowds but he wanted to go back to see the decorations again. (And the trip is our Christmas gift.) Since that was our first trip we didn't get to see much but we did see was spectacular. We're very excited! If you decide to go, I'm betting it will be magical.

*It may be late to schedule fastpasses. I made mine on the morning the option became available and by that night some of the ride options weren't available. Plus ADR options may limited if you have your heart set on certain restaurants.

 

[5Hfan]

Do you mean for this year or next? Parks are crowded but manageable with good plans, fast passes, ADRs, but if you're just looking into it now for this Dec it will be a struggle...

 

[mdoc]

We were there last year from the 21st to the 24th, and will be there this year from the 20th to the 23rd. For us, it was fine, although not nearly as good as prior Christmas trips that predated FP+. We've been to WDW many times, and we had already done almost everything there was to do on prior trips (new Fantasyland being the exception). We arrived for rope drop every day, used FP+ (a disappointment compared to the old FP system, but better than nothing), ate meals at off times and didn't try to do everything. I would never advise making a first trip to WDW during Christmas week, but it's easy to soak in the atmosphere and skip some attractions if you've done them all before. However, we still were able to accomplish a lot - we went on all of our favorite rides and saw our favorite shows. It's certainly less crowded the week before Christmas than it is the week after Christmas. If you're not morning people, you may be very frustrated, because morning is when we were able to do the most - the biggest crowds don't arrive until late morning. FWIW, I did a lot of my trip planning just today, and while I was able to get the FPs we wanted, I couldn't get a single ADR I wanted in the parks (and I was not being terribly picky), so we'll be eating counter service. That's OK - I don't go to Disney for the food and we'll save a few bucks. The only FP I considered that wasn't available was the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, and we'll just go there first thing in the morning.

 

[Canuck16]

As the last day of school for most kids is Friday the 18th I would expect it would be busy with lots of people heading there when that finale bell rings on the Friday

 

[mouselovinmamatoo]

We went for New Year's 2014 and it was super-busy but one of the best Disney trips we've had! We arrived at the parks for rope-drop and did as much as we could until it got really crowded by late morning (usually booked fast-passes for late morning and early afternoon, then just soaked in the atmosphere or went back to our resort for a swim. FYI, Canadian so we were at the pool no matter the weather!
Going from Dec 21-28th this year so obviously we weren't too disturbed by the crowds and ,for me, crazy-busy Disney is better than freezing at home!

 

[kerri0616]

Free Dining's last check in date is 12/21...expect a large uptick in check-ins on this date.

(I'm one of them!)

 

[epcotty]

We often go during that time and will likely do so again this year. Despite the long lines we get to do everything we want with enough planning

 

[dwbrewster]

We did 12/19-23 last year and it was busy but definitely manageable. I think part of it is going into it with expectations in check and you'll have a great time if you do.

 

[gtpoohbear]

It's busy and crowded, but not nearly as much so as after Christmas. It was about on-par with spring break, maybe even a little better.