Hi Sbeets! This is a great question mainly because, at least to me, this time does feel totally different due to the volume of people and if you try and do it exactly the same way you usually tour, depending on how you tour, it could lead to a not so fun time (I won't talk about my tantrum at AK, I think some things are better left forgotten until your husband wants to embarrass you) My main tips for this time of year are:
1. Know your plans for ALL meals and make any necessary dining reservations 180+ days in advance. Usually I can get away with only planning a few important meals during our October/February trips and still get into good restaurants as our days get more solidified. This is not the case during the holidays, even Olivias can be hard to get into this time of year as we found out. I find planning out our days and meals for the entire trip to be the best way to make sure I've thought it all through. Make fun of us planners all you will, but once I started doing this, our Holiday vacations became magical and we didn't have to eat anymore delivery pizza in our room cuz we just didn't know what else to do.
2. EMH in the morning are a good idea but the real money time is at night. You think 7am is a rough hour for the target Disney Demographic? Between 12am and 3am you will have the park practically to yourself. I can't tell you how many days I skipped rope drop and instead spent the day messing around the resort, took a good nap and then hit the part at 11pm for EMH which extended till 3am. If you have young kids, this is likely not an option, but if you don't this is the way to do it.
3. If I'm not closing down the park into the wee hours, here's the plan I follow:
- Arrive 20mins before Rope Drop
- Make beeline to fave rides
- First Fast Pass is 1 hr after park opens (these should be made as soon as the 60 day window opens)
- After rides grab lunch "to go" from a quick service location
- Grab a spot for the parade (at least an hour if not two before) and eat lunch there
- Watch Parade
- Get out of the park (you will likely have a lot of traffic to contend with later in the day, there is no avoiding it unless you skip the parade)
- Go enjoy the resorts, have a nap, have a good dinner at a sit down restaurant outside the parks
- If energy and travel party allows, you can go back to the parks for the EMH in the evening but I usually don't do both as it gets exhausting.
4. You need to accept that crowds will be there, I can't stress this enough, there is no strategy that will make this time of year smooth and free of the aggravation of crowds. Going at times when there will be LESS crowds is a good start, but unless you plan on hiding in your room from 10am to 10pm, you will need to be patient, roll with the punches, and expect things to take more time. If you accept this, then you will have a great time (how zen I know, not like my temper tantrum self at all).
5. I find that touring plans are just as helpful here to me as they are the rest of the year, which is, moderately so. I would use these, but I wouldn't live and die by them.
6. It's Christmas time at the place where decorating and attention to detail are probably most important in the whole world. Therefore I find it is super important this time of year to get to the resorts and explore the theming. Spending an afternoon in the lobby of the Grand Floridian isn't something I usually do on every trip, because while it's super enjoyable, it's not beating out strolling world showcase lagoon or other such locations every single trip. However, with it's amazing decorations and the higher crowd volume at the other locations, it becomes way more enjoyable and a "must do" during the holidays. I find that taking the afternoon to hotel hop, as we call it, during the holidays is one of the more enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon or even an entire day.
7. I have never found the head straight to fantasy land tip all that helpful. I go by speed walking to your favorite ride. Before the kido that was the mountains, not it's peter pan, c'est la vie.
8. Finally, don't write off the pools just cuz it's December. I've had plenty of 80 degree weather days where we went swimming in the afternoon, so pack a suit, you never know.
