What is Christmas Day like at WDW?

[WolfpackFan]

Okay, we're thinking/planning on doing something next year we've never done before - be at WDW during Christmas. We're planning on getting a 2BR at VWL and be there from Dec. 21-26. My question is what is WDW like during this time? Both our kids are grown (28 and 32) and we've told them about wanting to do this and both said okay, whatever you want to do (neither were real excited though to our surprise). They said they would both go with us (neither are married, or even have BF or GF's). Anyway, do you do anything special on Christmas Day for Christmas dinner? Do you go to the parks and if so are they very crowded on Christmas Day? I guess I was thinking the closest thing I could think of for a Christmas dinner would be at Liberty Tree Tavern. DW though mentioned that maybe we could eat somewhere at the Grand Floridian. Does anywhere at WDW do a special Christmas dinner? Do you have any special WDW related traditions? I was thinking we could take a little Christmas tree and we'd just take our presents with us of course. Maybe do some special cooking of Christmas treats to take with us also. This is all new to us, we've never been away from home at Christmas but DW and myself feel like we just want to do something different. We don't have a very large family outside of the four of us, so seeing other relatives is not a real concern. I'd love to hear from anyone as to your experiences at WDW over Christmas. This year we're going down for the first week of December (staying at AKV), so that will sort of be a sampling I guess of what might happen next year.

PS - When we first brought this up to DD28, we mentioned we were thinking about doing this either 2008 or 2009. Her response was to do it in 2008 as she hoped to be married in 2009. I thought to myself, yea right - seems to me first you've got to meet a boy and start dating .

 

[CarolAnnC]

You probably realize that you will need to book day by day at the 11 month window assuming you own the points to cover your trip at VWL. It will be a very heavy booking time and you can have the days linked together each day as you book them. Just let the CM know what you are doing.

Christmas Day will definitely see the parks reaching capacity. If you are staying in a WDW resort, you will be given park entrance, but not necessarily at the park of your choice.

For example, if you arrive at the MK and it has reached capacity, they will direct you to another park (often time it is Animal Kingdom) where you will be allowed entrance.

Plan on getting on very few rides that day, as it really is jam packed with long lines. Also, if you plan an ADR at say Liberty Tree Tavern and yu do not get into the park right at opening and it closes, you will not be able to make your ADR.

You may want to consider having a nice Christmas dinner in your villa. With the full kitchen, and the crowds it is a nice alternative to have.

The restaurants do all have special holiday menus which typically are a higher price. The DDE is blacked out for some holiday dates, including Christmas so be aware of that.

Good luck with your planning, you are wise to do it so far in advance!

 

[NJAviator]

We've been there for New Years, but not for Christmas yet. The parks will almost certainly filled to capacity. Magic Kingdom is almost a sure bet for that.

I suppose I would try to make advanced dinner reservations long before the trip if that's possible for Christmas Day. But, if that didn't work out, CarolAnn's suggestion of having dinner in your suite might be a good choice. Decorate a bit.. get that tree up.. put on some Christmas music.. and have a good time making dinner together.

What I can tell you is the atmosphere during the holidays is great. The decorations at the Wilderness Lodge are fantastic.

Whatever you end up doing, don't forget to post how it worked out for you.

 

[Doctor P]

We have been there on Christmas Day three times and NYE twice. Cutting right to the chase: 1) We do not go to a park on Xmas day--went the first year to MK and just simply won't do that again; 2) We won't go back to MK on NYE; Epcot was much better and is much more capable of handling crowds.

We love going at Xmas time and are going again this year, but you need to plan for tremendous crowds and try to enjoy what you can. This is not the time of the year to try to do everything or to "commando" visit the parks. We pick a couple things to do each trip that are essential to us, try to pick a couple things that we haven't done or haven't done in a while, and try to build in some relaxation time. Candlelight Processional on Xmas eve is one of our traditions; resort hopping on Xmas to look at the decorations is another; and doing the evening fireworks shows is another. Beyond that, we are going to do Hoop-Dee-Doo this time around, I am going to play some golf, and we are going to use the dining plan--all new things for our family trips to WDW.

 

[Muushka]

We are doing just what you are asking this year, first time (well, at the villa side anyway).

We went into the parks one Christmas day and said 'never again'. Not into that type of torture! So this time we are planning on CP on Christmas Eve (with Lt. Dan!). Breakfast Christmas morning will be at WCC, as will Christmas dinner.
We will also bring a tree and some lights for the balcony and probably a stocking or two. We won't go into any of the parks after Christmas eve. This last trip we only went in 2 days out of 7 and had a great time. Christmas will be that much better!

 

[NJAviator]

We have been there on Christmas Day three times and NYE twice. Cutting right to the chase: 1) We do not go to a park on Xmas day--went the first year to MK and just simply won't do that again; 2) We won't go back to MK on NYE; Epcot was much better and is much more capable of handling crowds.

It seems all the major holidays produced jammed packed parks. However on New Year's Eve, we go to MGM. They have a great show and it doesn't get as jammed up as MK. The fireworks are great and the kids like seeing the band Mulch, Sweat and Shears play .... so do we.... lol

...resort hopping on Xmas to look at the decorations is another...

Cool idea Doctor P.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We are there on Christmas Day also.

We are staying at AKV CR this year so we will visit the Concierge lounge for a light breakfast, open gifts around the tree and we have Brunch scheduled at Chef Mickey's
We decided to do the DDP for the first week or our 2 week stay.

We will ride the monorail and visit the resorts and probably end the evening at DTD and visit SSR to wish all our favorite CM's a Happy Holiday
We may even play a round of mini golf at one of the courses.

I love being in WDW for Christmas. We dont do parks either because of the crowds and it is just so wonderful being there. We get plenty of park visits in during our other visits throughout the year.

Also love the Waterparks in Dec/Jan. They are heated and not crowded

 

[pilferk]

Okay, we're thinking/planning on doing something next year we've never done before - be at WDW during Christmas. We're planning on getting a 2BR at VWL and be there from Dec. 21-26. My question is what is WDW like during this time? Both our kids are grown (28 and 32) and we've told them about wanting to do this and both said okay, whatever you want to do (neither were real excited though to our surprise). They said they would both go with us (neither are married, or even have BF or GF's). Anyway, do you do anything special on Christmas Day for Christmas dinner? Do you go to the parks and if so are they very crowded on Christmas Day? I guess I was thinking the closest thing I could think of for a Christmas dinner would be at Liberty Tree Tavern. DW though mentioned that maybe we could eat somewhere at the Grand Floridian. Does anywhere at WDW do a special Christmas dinner? Do you have any special WDW related traditions? I was thinking we could take a little Christmas tree and we'd just take our presents with us of course. Maybe do some special cooking of Christmas treats to take with us also. This is all new to us, we've never been away from home at Christmas but DW and myself feel like we just want to do something different. We don't have a very large family outside of the four of us, so seeing other relatives is not a real concern. I'd love to hear from anyone as to your experiences at WDW over Christmas. This year we're going down for the first week of December (staying at AKV), so that will sort of be a sampling I guess of what might happen next year.

PS - When we first brought this up to DD28, we mentioned we were thinking about doing this either 2008 or 2009. Her response was to do it in 2008 as she hoped to be married in 2009. I thought to myself, yea right - seems to me first you've got to meet a boy and start dating .

I've never been ON xmas day, but the day before, and the day after.

It's a zoo.

On Xmas day, I'd do what lots of posters are suggesting: stay away from the parks, or at least MK. Vist the resorts and check out all the decorations, etc. Maybe go to MGM, late, to check out the lights.

For meals, i'd stick to booking ADR's (if you don't want to do Xmas dinner in your villa) at resorts. Then you can't be denied access because the parks are full. There's usually some good suggestions (and menus) over at allears.net, but the best holiday dinner we had was at the Yachtsman's steakhouse, odd as that may seem.

 

[Beth]

I have no personal experience with this, but I've seen several people on these boards suggest purchasing an entire dinner from one of the local grocery stores - Publix, Goodings, etc - with all the trimmings.

I've seen this for Thanksgiving - I'm sure people do it for Christmas, too.

Since you've got the space in your villa...

...I bet VWL is just magical on Christmas day. Take a "Christmas Boatride" over to the Contemporary, hop on the monorail, and stop at the Poly and GF to see the decorations!

Enjoy your planning!

 

[ibelieveinmagic]

hi we are arriving very early christmas day this year , after check in we are going to see the harlem gospel choir at hollywood studios, and then dinner at artist point and then maybe watch the fireworks from the poly beach. But since youre staying at wildreness lodge i would suggest artist point for dinner and maybe trying to book the sleigh ride they have there? it is just so special and festive to be at disney world at christmas time! it is our favorite time to go! Have fun

 

[edk35]

VERY VERY SCARY FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD from people that went there. I would do something completely OFF THE BEATEN PATH.

 

[byoung]

Toooooooooooooooooooo Crowded for me.

 

[nhdisnut]

We were at WDW for Christmas week last year and had a wonderful time! On Christmas Day itself we went to AK - no lines at all! Most people seem to want to be at MK or Epcot on that day so we zigged when other zagged - worked great for us!

Many restaurants do have special Christmas dinner menus. A great place to check is http://www.allearsnet.com. They have menus from all the restaurants, and will have special holiday menus posted as well. We ate at O'Hana's (no special menu) and loved it. We did Liberty Tree the day after, and it was also very good (homestyle food).

As far as the rest of the week: get to the parks early! If you don't, expect lines like you have never seen them. We went early, rode everything we wanted, then went back to SSR to rest. At night, the evening fireworks shows are spectacular and should not be missed. We also had fun going to the various resorts to check out their holiday displays.

Have fun!

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Is it definitely necessary to book for this time day by day for every resort or just VWL? We are thinking of going for Christmas next year and staying at our home resort SSR Dec. 20 or 21-26. If I book at the 11 month window do I need to do it day by day?

You probably realize that you will need to book day by day at the 11 month window assuming you own the points to cover your trip at VWL. It will be a very heavy booking time and you can have the days linked together each day as you book them. Just let the CM know what you are doing.

 

[childsplay]

Is it definitely necessary to book for this time day by day for every resort or just VWL?

Absolutely....I would.
We are going the week after you (Dec 27- Jan 1) and staying at either OKW or BCV, and I will definitely be booking day by day to get what we want.
Good Luck and enjoy

 

[castleri]

We were at WDW for Christmas week last year and had a wonderful time! On Christmas Day itself we went to AK - no lines at all! Most people seem to want to be at MK or Epcot on that day so we zigged when other zagged - worked great for us!

As far as the rest of the week: get to the parks early! If you don't, expect lines like you have never seen them. We went early, rode everything we wanted, then went back to SSR to rest. At night, the evening fireworks shows are spectacular and should not be missed. We also had fun going to the various resorts to check out their holiday displays.

Have fun!

We did the same thing last year and I have one picture of the Dinosaur ride waiting area where the only people are our group and the CMs. We rode everything we wanted and then went back to the hotel for awhile before heading to the MK which was busier but doable. We ended the night with the wishes fireworks and had a great time. The weather was wet and somewhat cold which may have played a part in how many people were willing to spend long hours in the parks that day. The next visit to AK several days later was just the opposite with long lines and we saw some gardens behind the Dinosaur ride I didn't even know existed - had never had lines that long there before. As long as you are prepared and plan to do the things you really want to do first it can be a very enjoyable time. We also spent some time visiting the resorts to look at the decorations. We don't do the big Christmas dinners when we are there so can't help with that. We prefer to just do counter service and or eat in the villa. We did go offsite for a meal Christmas Eve as that was the day we arrived and my DGD wanted to go to The Melting Pot for her birthday dinner(her 20th birthday was the week before) so that was our big meal for the holiday. Hope you have a wonderful trip. I love these trips with my grown children.

 

[WolfpackFan]

OP back again. For those that have been in the past on Christmas Day - I know MK is crowded (as are all the parks), but have you ever seen them close Epcot due to crowds. I guess I'm thinking we might would do our Christmas dinner at Le Cellier, since it is one of our favorite restaurants at WDW. We would not even attempt to do anything that relates to rides. All we would want to do is get into the park, have our dinner, walk around some and then leave.

Also, another question for those that did CP on Christmas Eve, did you have any trouble getting ressies for the CP Dining Package?

One good thing is we're going to WDW in a little more than 3 weeks, so that will give us a preview of what all is going on at Christmas plus we can read the posts this Christmas to see how crowded everything is to help us with our planning. My only fear, is we go to the trouble of doing all this booking and planning and something happens that DS or DD can't go. I've said it's all or none. DS is the assistant manager of a store and has to work all kinds of different hours. We've told him to put in early for vacation then, but you never know.

Thanks for all the great replies.

 

[Muushka]

We booked the CP on the day it opened up and had no problem for this Christmas Eve. We could have eaten at Le Cellier, but chose the new Italian one for a change.

 

[Doctor P]

We booked the CP on the day it opened up and had no problem for this Christmas Eve. We could have eaten at Le Cellier, but chose the new Italian one for a change.

We booked CP as soon as it opened for Xmas Eve and were unable to get Le Cellier (and a couple other restaurants were also closed off by the time we got through 30 minutes after the lines opened). Epcot has indeed closed off during this time frame, but it most likely for NYE than it is for Xmas. So, be prepared to be shut out, but don't EXPECT that it will happen. Also, Epcot has been known to close the gates and then reopen them up a while later.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Thanks I'll make sure I call day by day so that we get what we want!

Absolutely....I would.
We are going the week after you (Dec 27- Jan 1) and staying at either OKW or BCV, and I will definitely be booking day by day to get what we want.
Good Luck and enjoy