Which December Week?

[KyleAfterAWhile]

We are going to Disney in December 2019. Yep, we have decided to brave it. We know it is going to be crowded with the opening of Star Wars, but that is just when it will work out the best. We considered November, but I do not see that being any less crowded.

So, which is the way to go? 1st or 2nd week?

I understand cheerleaders and football players are everywhere the first week, but the 2nd week bring in more crowds. So is this a wash?

 

[Dan Murphy]

First week after Thanksgiving is generally good. The Pop Warner kids have little to no impact on the parks. They do have a HUGE impact on the resorts they stay at. The following two weeks are good also.

 

[OneinThree]

The Pop Warner kids have little to no impact on the parks.

No way boss -I don't know the last time you were there week 1, but we were there during the first week of December this past year and will never return that time of year due to ridiculous crowds we had to deal with. Forget the attractions, just walking was so difficult one day we left Epcot entirely and went back to the resort. If I absolutely had to pick a week, it would be week 2.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

If I absolutely had to pick a week, it would be week 2.

We really only have October, November and December to pick from for next year. We don't do Halloween and we were there in Oct 2017 and it was CROWDED! Like, go crazy on people crowded. Haha

November doesn't seem to have any good weeks between school breaks, Jersey week and Thanksgiving. So, that leaves December. The end of the month is obviously out, so we are limited to the first 2 weeks.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I wasn't there last year, but have been 15 other years in the past. It has progressively grown more crowded that week every year, as well as all the other weeks I have visited during the year. I've seen no weeks get less crowded. Seems to be something we just have to deal with.

Actually, a very informative website shows the 2nd and 3rd weeks at one and two for the entire year, and the 1st week as 3rd best for the year. All good choices I would think.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

First week after Thanksgiving is generally good. The Pop Warner kids have little to no impact on the parks. They do have a HUGE impact on the resorts they stay at. The following two weeks are good also.

So do you suggest maybe arriving the Monday or Tuesday after Thanksgiving?

 

[Dan Murphy]

So do you suggest maybe arriving the Monday or Tuesday after Thanksgiving?

Best arrival is showing as 12/7, if going by Saturday to Sunday planning, 9th or 10th answering your question there.

 

[StageTek]

So do you suggest maybe arriving the Monday or Tuesday after Thanksgiving?

That's when we're going. Dec 4 to 10.

Looks like a good week.

 

[Amelia :)]

We were there from the 26th November to the 10th of December last year. Crowds were very manageable the entire trip. It’s always strange how two people can be there at the same time and have two completely different perspectives...

 

[OneinThree]

Best arrival is showing as 12/7, if going by Saturday to Sunday planning, 9th or 10th answering your question there

This is what we would likely choose if we weren't moving our Q4 trip to September.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hard to go wrong with the first three weeks after Thanksgiving. After that.....

 

[OneinThree]

It’s always strange how two people can be there at the same time and have two completely different perspectives...

I get it, but I'm not sure how else to take what we experienced. The Wednesday in Epcot (Dec 6th), we literally had to wait in line to be able to walk past the American Adventure .

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

Best arrival is showing as 12/7, if going by Saturday to Sunday planning, 9th or 10th answering your question there.

We will not be going until 2019, so I think it might be a little different next year?

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

We were there from the 26th November to the 10th of December last year. Crowds were very manageable the entire trip. It’s always strange how two people can be there at the same time and have two completely different perspectives...

I think it really depends on which park you visit. ??

 

[RolloTomasi]

The Wednesday in Epcot (Dec 6th), we literally had to wait in line to be able to walk past the American Adventure .

Obviously I could be wrong but that may have had something to do with the Candlelight Procession. This past December we got stuck in a huge crowd there when Kurt Russell was the narrator. It was mid-afternoon, too. There were CMs who were stopping people while the choir made their way to and from the stage.

To address the OP, last year I was there the second week in December. The year before I was there the first week. The first week was less crowded than the second, although both were fine. Pop Warner kids had no effect other than seeing kids in matching shirts and cheerleading uniforms. The second week did get more noticeably crowded the closer it got to the weekend though.

 

[Princess 'n LA]

Which resorts do the POP Warner folks usually stay at?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Which resorts do the POP Warner folks usually stay at?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/pop-warner-week-2018.3648690/

 

[focusondisney]

I get it, but I'm not sure how else to take what we experienced. The Wednesday in Epcot (Dec 6th), we literally had to wait in line to be able to walk past the American Adventure .

Obviously I could be wrong but that may have had something to do with the Candlelight Procession. This past December we got stuck in a huge crowd there when Kurt Russell was the narrator. It was mid-afternoon, too. There were CMs who were stopping people while the choir made their way to and from the stage.

Yep, I agree it probably had to do with the Candlelight Processional. Besides them stopping people for the performers, they have lots of the area roped off for the lines of people waiting for the show. There is not much walking space in that area of the park. Dec 6th was Jodi Benson, who I'm sue is very popular with Disney fans, so he e would have been big crowds getting into the lines too. The rest of the park might have been much easier to navigate.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

Thanks for all the comments.

Really, I feel from the time Toy Story land opens until about 2022, a year after the 2021 completion, Disney will see peak crowds like most of us have not experienced.