What do you think the Dec 17-21 crowds are equivalent to?

[disneyberry]

<font face="times" size="+0">This is frustrating. My extended family expressed some interest in going to WDW the weekend before Xmas weekend. (Dec 17th - 21st)

I've heard that the crowds don't get crazy until maybe the 23rd or so.

But I'm still a bit worried. Just how bad are the crowds from the 17th to the 21st or so?

I made a poll w/ times of year that I've personally been to WDW. So either reply here or vote for the time of year that you think the crowds would be most equivalent to.

BTW, multiple choices are allowed in the poll.

TIA!</font>

 

[jmclester]

Did the poll thing but thought you'd like to know. Went at this time in '99. Crowds were very thin especially at night. The last night we spent at MGM for the Osbourne Family lights the park was all but deserted... it was great!! We still talk about it. They didn't even have fast passes then either. Just keep a check on the weather forecast to see how to pack and you'll be fine. Temps were great in '99 (even went swimming) but in Dec. '00 we almost froze! As long as you stay away from Dec. 25 - Jan. 1 you'll be fine with the crowds.

 

[rkmassa]

I don't have much to compare it to. My husband is a teacher, so all except one of our trips has been in the summer. We did manage to schedule a trip last Christmas. We were there the 19th through the 27th. We saw both parts-before and after Christmas. The parks were very nice right up until Christmas Day. We watched the night parade the 24th with about 25 people in view-not kidding. There was nobody around. The parade characters stopped and played with our kids. It was wonderful. We used fast pass only for very popular rides like Buzz, Peter Pan, Pooh, etc. Waited only 25 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain. We decided not to go to the parks Christmas Day, but we did have dinner at Chef Mickey's that night. I had people telling me horror stories about the crowds. Parks were closed early due to capacity. We went to MGM the day after, the lines were not bad in the mornig, but very long at night. Fast passes were out for ToT, and other poplular rides. Shows were packed and lines were long. If it hadn't been for the nice weather, it would have been miserable. Needless to say we were glad we had pretty much done everything before Christmas Day. Don't know how anyone sees much after that. Your dates sound really good. Don't forget to pack a jacket. It was very chilly at night.

We are going again this year the 18th to the 23rd. We will hope to miss the crowds again and have a great time like last year.

 

[sbelyo]

We went last year from the 17th of Dec. to the 23rd.

The park was not crowded at all until the afternoon of the 23rd. There were almost no wait times for the rides and most restaurants were walk up.

Hope that helps