Will we be missing out in December?

[Haley R]

So we are in the process of planning a trip for December 1-5. Here are my thoughts for what we would like to do:
Day 1 (arrival day) - Land at 1:51 pm, go to Hollywood Studios
Day 2 - Resort hop to GF and MVMCP
Day 3 - Disney Springs and DAH
Day 4 - Epcot and Candlelight Processional dining package
Day 5- Departure Day

 

[hakepb]

Are you doing MVMCP and DAH instead of tickets?
(I wouldn’t pay for (2) MVMCP if I also had tickets, but it’s a clever idea without tickets)
Epcot and the Candlelight Processional would be the biggest miss without tickets/days
If you have morning/afternoon free you would have time to resort hop.
The Christmas Trees for DAK and DHS are in front of the park, so you could visit them for free.

 

[Haley R]

Are you doing MVMCP and DAH instead of tickets?
(I wouldn’t pay for (2) MVMCP if I also had tickets, but it’s a clever idea without tickets)
Epcot and the Candlelight Processional would be the biggest miss without tickets/days
If you have morning/afternoon free you would have time to resort hop.
The Christmas Trees for DAK and DHS are in front of the park, so you could visit them for free.

Yes our plan would be to do the events without purchasing tickets. I could see us maybe getting a 1 day ticket for the first night because we land at 3 pm but we may just land and hang out at the resort. I didn’t think about resort hopping to see decorations that’s a good idea!

What’s so good about the candlelight processional?

 

[jerseygal]

Yes our plan would be to do the events without purchasing tickets. I could see us maybe getting a 1 day ticket for the first night because we land at 3 pm but we may just land and hang out at the resort. I didn’t think about resort hopping to see decorations that’s a good idea!

What’s so good about the candlelight processional?

Resort hopping is a good idea, just seeing the Christmas Trees and Decorations puts you in the Holiday Spirit. Don't miss Grand Floridian Lobby, Gingerbread House Display, Tree, really beautiful! I happen to also love the Christmas Tree at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The CP was the nicest part of our 2014 early Dec trip! It is a narrated story with an unbelievable orchestra, beautiful music! We had CP dining package, did Chef de France dinner, then had tickets to the show. What a special evening! It was FREEZING standing on line though, early Dec that year, go prepared with heavy clothing gloves, scarf, and a blanket to wrap around if you need it. The daytime was so warm and wow, it dropped significantly at night. We had Lavar Burton, Reading Rainbow. We thought that he was fabulous! Our seats were fabulous, 3rd from the front, so happy we had the tickets thought the CP dining package..the standby line was SO LONG and their seats were way in the back. Would do the CP Dining Package again without question. If you go, ENJOY!

 

[fla4fun]

If you are not planning on buying regular tickets, then I would resort hop, and visit Disney Springs. I enjoyed the Christmas Tree Trail at DS. If you have a spare evening, go to the Epcot resorts area and catch the fireworks at Epcot. They do a special holiday ending to Illuminations that is really something to see. We like to watch near the YC marina.

One day tickets are so expensive for what you get that I personally would not buy one. There is plenty to keep you occupied without them. If you are going in October as well have you priced annual passes?

 

[mamaofsix]

Three times at Magic Kingdom and none at any of the other parks seems like a lot to me. Especially if you've never been at Christmas time. You would miss out on so much that the other Parks have to offer. I would do 1 MVMCP, and a 2 day park hopper ticket. That would cover Epcot for 1 day and a day split between MK and Hollywood Studios. It would cost roughly the same as 2 MVCMP and 1 DAH tickets. You could sleep in and resort hop on your MVMCP day.

-Epcot has the Candlelight Processional, but also Christmas Story tellers, special holiday food booths at many of the countries, amazing decorations, etc. They also have a great gospel choir musical act in Future World. Oh, and Illuminations has a special Christmas ending with "Let there be Peace on Earth" playing.
We are going the week before you and Epcot is more of a priority for us than MK. So, I personally would not miss it!

-Hollywood Studios has a lot going on, too. A special projection show on Tower of Terror, Jingle Bell Jingle Bam, and some INCREDIBLE decorations. If you watch Hollywood Studios Christmas videos from The DIS last year, you'll get a good idea. The decor is sort of a nostalgia / 1950s Hollywood theme. Carols are playing all over the park and snow falling on Sunset Blvd. Some of the DIS team even claimed that HS was their favourite park for Christmas last year. You could easily hit Magic Kingdom in the morning on a party day (it will be VERY light crowds), and then hop over to HS once the party crowds arrive. And they say Toy Story Land looks amazing at night, with low wait times.

Or, as you mentioned, turn it into a full week and really enjoy the Christmas atmosphere at each park without feeling rushed! That would be my vote! You likely can't book a week at any of the All Stars right now because there are high school sports competitions happening that week. The kids aren't in the parks much, so it won't really affect crowds. But it does affect resort availability. If budget allows, see if there is space available at one of the moderates. There are great sales on right now...

Happy Planning!

 

[Disneylover99]

I could never skip Epcot in December. I’d miss the holiday food booths and storytellers around the world.
I love world showcase over the Christmas season!

 

[Shanti]

I think 3 days at MK will be too repetitive. I recommend getting regular 3-day tickets so that you can visit multiple parks. Epcot, in particular, has special offerings at Christmas, but all of the parks have lovely decorations, and of course, more diverse rides & shows rather than spending your entire trip at one park.

Don't count on those Christmas parties having low crowds so you can get lots of easy touring done, btw. That was our plan for MNSSHP this year, but it turned out to be our most crowded & unpleasant evening of the trip.

 

[Nancyg56]

Disney during the Christmas Season without visiting any park besides Mk would not fly with my family. PErsonally, while I like the party, I would not plan two, and then add DAH on top of that. I would extend my stay, buy park hoppers and visit all of the parks. For my family, a Holiday visit is Holiday focused, so we generally try to see all of the decorations in the parks, enjoy the exhibits, shows and added features, such as the Storytellers and CP in Epcot. I liek the MK, but for a holiday visit, I woudl not limit my sty to only that park, becuase with the exception of the party, it offers the least in regards to Holiday fun, IMO. Epcot would top my list of must do parks, with MK and DHS running behind, and I woudl need to get myself to DAK just for that magnificent tree.

 

[LovePug]

So we are in the process of planning a trip for December 1-5. We’ve never been during the Christmas season before so we are pretty excited. Since we will only have 3 days we plan on doing two MVMCP and DAH. Will we be upset/sad to miss out on the other holiday offerings at wdw? I could possibly convince Dh to do a whole week but we are already doing a week in October and the resorts are slim pickings. I have all star movies booked right now for dec 1-5 but can’t get it for the entire week.

Thoughts? What are you favorite holiday things at wdw?

If you don't want to go for a week, then I would purchase a 4 day ticket and use the 4th day on arrival day, at the park open the latest, and then you could hit each park during your visit. Christmas time is the best at the parks, IMO.

 

[anomamatt]

More time is always good. But, of course, only you know how many vacation days and how much money you want to spend. There is a LOT of fun stuff to do at Christmas time. It's worth spending some time in every park (and Dis Springs as well).

 

[djc9699]

I could never skip Epcot in December. I’d miss the holiday food booths and storytellers around the world.
I love world showcase over the Christmas season!

Last December we spent part of 5 days in Epcot. We usually only hit it once or twice in a ten day trip. Christmas in Epcot is so much fun.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Don’t miss Epcot! The storytellers and mini food and wine booths are so awesome.

 

[xlsm]

I will always advocate for more time around the holidays. Especially for Epcot (the Candlelight Processional for us was a one and done, but the storytellers were amazing. Holidays around the world were one of our favorite activities.)

Also, Hollywood Studios has my favorite decorations. Yes, I like them more than MK (nothing wrong with MK decorations, they're just more confined to Main Street.) The Sunset Season's Greetings with the projections onto Tower of Terror with the snow is so beautiful.

And if there's any time at all, check out some of the deluxe resort decorations.

i have some pictures in the TRs linked in my signature (last year's NYE and 2016 the week before Christmas) if you want to wade through those, or maybe check out videos on Youtube or pictures from Disney Tourist Blog.

Good luck making your decision...I'm not very good at being objective about time spent at WDW when Christmas stuff is out. I never thought I'd get to see the parks for the holidays (summer travel is easier with the kids), and now we're going for the third holiday season in a row

 

[Haley R]

Resort hopping is a good idea, just seeing the Christmas Trees and Decorations puts you in the Holiday Spirit. Don't miss Grand Floridian Lobby, Gingerbread House Display, Tree, really beautiful! I happen to also love the Christmas Tree at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The CP was the nicest part of our 2014 early Dec trip! It is a narrated story with an unbelievable orchestra, beautiful music! We had CP dining package, did Chef de France dinner, then had tickets to the show. What a special evening! It was FREEZING standing on line though, early Dec that year, go prepared with heavy clothing gloves, scarf, and a blanket to wrap around if you need it. The daytime was so warm and wow, it dropped significantly at night. We had Lavar Burton, Reading Rainbow. We thought that he was fabulous! Our seats were fabulous, 3rd from the front, so happy we had the tickets thought the CP dining package..the standby line was SO LONG and their seats were way in the back. Would do the CP Dining Package again without question. If you go, ENJOY!

Thanks for explaining the CP a little more. I'm not sure if we will be able to make it for a whole week because we are going to Japan in May/June so are trying to save money. I see that Neil Patrick Harris will be there when we are there, though, and I would love to see him! I'll have to ask DH what he thinks about doing a whole week. I'm thinking he will lean towards no, but who knows!

 

[Haley R]

If you are not planning on buying regular tickets, then I would resort hop, and visit Disney Springs. I enjoyed the Christmas Tree Trail at DS. If you have a spare evening, go to the Epcot resorts area and catch the fireworks at Epcot. They do a special holiday ending to Illuminations that is really something to see. We like to watch near the YC marina.

One day tickets are so expensive for what you get that I personally would not buy one. There is plenty to keep you occupied without them. If you are going in October as well have you priced annual passes?

I haven't priced out APs yet. We booked our October trip through a TA so I'm not sure how that works with getting APs.

 

[Haley R]

Okay Dh and I talked it through and we are for sure only doing December 1-5. We don't want to do an entire week because this will be our 4th trip to wdw this year. Also, just so everyone knows, part of the reason for going is to do After Hours again so that won't be coming off the list. We've done it twice now and we absolutely love it so when we saw December dates we decided we would like to go. This is what I'm thinking about doing now:
Day 1 (arrival day) - Land at 1:51 pm, go to Hollywood Studios
Day 2 - Resort hop to GF and MVMCP
Day 3 - Disney Springs and DAH
Day 4 - Epcot and Candlelight Processional dining package
Day 5- Departure Day

 

[mamaofsix]

Okay Dh and I talked it through and we are for sure only doing December 1-5. We don't want to do an entire week because this will be our 4th trip to wdw this year. Also, just so everyone knows, part of the reason for going is to do After Hours again so that won't be coming off the list. We've done it twice now and we absolutely love it so when we saw December dates we decided we would like to go. This is what I'm thinking about doing now:
Day 1 (arrival day) - Land at 1:51 pm, go to Hollywood Studios
Day 2 - Resort hop to GF and MVMCP
Day 3 - Disney Springs and DAH
Day 4 - Epcot and Candlelight Processional dining package
Day 5- Departure Day

Your plan looks great! Have a blast

 

[Haley R]

Your plan looks great! Have a blast

I'm really considering not going now, though. I didn't realize it was Pop Warner week and we will be staying at an All Star. There aren't any other resorts available in our price range. Caribbean Beach is in our price range, but all they have left is a pirate room which we don't want. Should we just not go?

 

[fla4fun]

I haven't priced out APs yet. We booked our October trip through a TA so I'm not sure how that works with getting APs.

You can upgrade any tickets you have purchased through a TA to an AP while you are there in October if you want to go that route.

As far as going during PopWarner, I would consider whether this is going to be a park intensive trip or if you would spend a lot of time relaxing at your resort. If you plan to spend most of your time out and about, you should be Ok. The food court may be busy, but that can happen any time. I have traveled during Pop Warner many times and not had any major problems. It seems like the major complaints are noise at the resort, which you wouldn’t notice if you were in the parks, and the busy food court.