Xmas week at Disney....magical or madness?!

[Debs Hill]

We are considering spending xmas and new year at WDW next year...but I felt I needed your feedback before we make a decision! For all of you who have been there at that time what was the good, the bad and the ugly?!!
What are the park hours? What did you on xmas eve, xmas day and new years? How long did you have to wait for the rides? What was the weather like? And finally, was it worth it? would you do it again!!?
Can't wait to hear all your experiences!

 

[TreeOfLife]

We're arriving on the 18th of Dec this year. By the 22nd or 23rd, you are going to be glad you stayed onsite and can use ee mornings. Grab fast passes every time you can, but you'll be shoulder to shoulder in the parks.

But our strategy to beat the crowds at that time this year includes an onsite stay in Universal. With front of the line privileges we should go through very comfortable, after the 24th.

 

[CamColt]

Im curious about this question too. We are planning our first Christmas trip this year, Dec 21-29.
I dont have much planned yet, but I know we are not going to try to do everything. Our main objective is to get the Christmas experience(and celebrate my birthday ont he 28th, LOL!). For Christmas Eve I hope to do the Candlelight Processional package at Le Cellier.

 

[Grumpy92]

The key to visiting during this week is to be flexible and patient. I have been at this time of year many times. You will need to do some planning before you go. Staying on site is definitely an advantage, as the parks will fill to capacity on the holidays.
Advice:
NYE - Go early and stay
MK - Stay out of this park on xmas day & NYE
Full Service Restaurant - Make PSs before your arrival, call around Oct.
Weather - There is no set weather plan in Fla, it differs from year to year. One NYE we about froze in temps in the low 30s & 20s. The last few years we got a few beautiful days in the 70s, then it would rain and turn cold. So be prepared for both types of weather.

Holidays at WDW are wonderful. There are so many special things going on and so many things to do it a a great time of year to visit.

 

[JulesMom]

We have been the last 2 years at Christmas and had a blast!

We would go again this year, but I just started a new job and can't get off for Christmas.

It wasn't near as crowded as we thought it would be. We have seen crowds almost as big during Spring Break.

By using EE and FastPass, we rarely waited more than 15 minutes for anything. Be flexible and enjoy it!

 

[XStAnt]

We went in 2002 from 12/22-12/27. Crowds weren't too bad before Xmas. If you get there before 12/25 do MK and MGM first. Stay away from those parks on Xmas day. They are jammed. They closed MK to new guests in the early am. We went to Epcot on Xmas day. While it was crowded, the park is large enough to handle the crowds better than the other parks. But get there early if you want to do major attractions like Test Track (all FPs gone by 11:00 am and a 2 hour line).

If you go around Xmas time you MUST get to the parks early and do the major rides first. Also use Fast Pass. Have at least a basic touring plan but be flexible.

Make priority seatings for any sit down restaurants you want to eat at. The restaurants will be crowded.

Park hours are extended at this time and they usually have fireworks every night at MK, Illuminations at Epcot, and 2-3 showings of Fantasmic at MGM. Don't miss these. Also, see the Osbourne lights at MGM. The CP at Epcot is also supposed to be great but you need to make a reservation early. All the resorts have decorations. You may want to tour the resorts to see them. This is a good thing to do on Xmas day and avoid the parks if you have enough time.

Xmas time can be fun at Disney if you do a little planning and are flexible. You won't be able to do everything, but you can do a lot.

 

[dougsmom98]

We were there from 12/27-1/3 and had a blast. We stayed off site so we were not able to take advantage of EE. We got to the park before it opened every day and had a plan. For the most part it paid off. This was not a relaxing trip, it was hard work to get our butts out of bed and to the park by 7:30 but we pretty much walked on to everything we wanted to for the first 2 hours. By 10-11 am, it started to get crowded but still manageable. By noon we were ready for lunch and the lines were pretty long, so we would eat and then go relax and find a place to watch the parades. If we didn't have 3 toddlers, we might have braved the long lines in the afternoon, but most days we would head back to the hotel for a swim. The people we went with didn't have small children and they would go back to the parks after they had dinner and they had a fantastic time at night. The parks are open really late during Christmas and New Year's week. We were really nervous about the crowds before we went on our trip but if you have a plan and don't mind getting up early you will have a great time.
Good Luck.
Amy

 

[followme2disney]

We had a wonderful time this past Christmas. We were there 12/20 - 12/26. We stayed at the Poly so the monorail made trips to MK and EPCOT a snap. There are a few tricks to touring WDW this week. All of which I learned form these boards. Stay on-site. Do a MVMCP if possible...arrive two hours early...they will let you in to ride the rides without making you leave. When the regular park visitors do leave it is like having the park to yourself. They are gone but the MVMCP guests have not yet arrived. Take advantage of EE. Arrive about 30 min before the scheduled EE entrance time. Hit all the major attractions first. We did all of the major attractions plus at least half of the minor attractions and were pretty much ready to break each day by 10:30. We never waited in a line more than 15 min. and never even needed a FP. We went back out each evening with no problems or long lines except for Christmas day. Make all your priority seating in advance. Especially your CP on X-mas eve. You will have to monitor the boards to find out when they will start taking ressies. The weather was cold for Florida. We had to wear coats, gloves, jeans and sweatshirts at night. I believe it was unseasonably cold this past year. On X-mas eve we were at MK...there was a terrible storm with tornados touching down in the next county everyone left the park after the fireworks at 9. the park was open until at least 11. We rode BTMRR 2 times, Spash 2 times, HM, Space Mtn., Buzz, AE, CoP, TTA, WP, Snow White, PP, IASW, and PoC...no lines. On X-mas day we went to MK. They opened about an hour before the scheduled time because we got there maybe 50 min before the scheduled time and the park was already open. It was like a ghost town until about 9:30 or 10. Plenty of time to ride then also. EPCOT on Christmas night was packed. The parks were opened with EE at 8am, MK 7am and closed about an hour later than they are typically scheduled. Except for MK which was open until 11pm each night. I hope I got all of the info right for you. I would do this again the decorations were gorgeous. And it was extra magical. Especially CP, tree lighting at EPCOT, MVMCParade and Main Street at night. Unbelievable. But if you got you have to have a good touring plan mapped out and be prepared to remain flexible. And just remember...planning is half the fun!

 

[Ncrnation]

My whole family went the Christmas and New Years of 2001 and had a total blast! Staying on site definitely helped as did making PS's as soon as the dates came up. Some of the good restaurants went really fast and you don't want to end up spending Christmas Eve at McDonalds! (We spent ours at LTT and had an amazing dinner and so much fun with the characters).

We also schedule tours on days we thought would be really crowded. So we only went on a few ride but the experiences behind the scenes were a ride in themselves!

The key is to go early and to go late. As I was leaving the parks at 11:30-12 am to go back to my hotel to rest I heard people going in remarking that it was, "too crowded, horrible" etc. Of course it's crowded if you don't show until lunchtime! My brother and I would also go back late at night when all the little kiddies and tired families were back at their hotels. Went through all the EE ride at MK in like an hour one night. And saw Fantasmic 2x's at the latest show and the stadium wasn't even full.

Plan ahead, relax and enjoy the people you go with and you have a memorable experience.

Jenn

 

[Debs Hill]

Thanks so much for all your input so far, it's great to hear such positive experiences!

We plan to arrive at least a week before xmas week, so we thought we would use that time to see everything that we were desparate to see in the parks, and then anything after that is a bonus. I just wanted the experience of being at wdw with that incredible atmophere at xmas time.

So, what do you like to do on Xmas Day? Do the restaurants have special meals? Where do you like to eat over the holidays? What have you done/would recommend on New Years Eve? Do Universal do anything special for xmas too?

Thanks again!

 

[Thmacs]

I may have the minority opinion but I would never do Christmas at Disney again. We spent this past Xmas at WDW.(12/21-12/27) We had a 2bdr at OKW (which was awesome), but the parks were just too crowded for us to enjoy. It did not help that it was cold with torrential rain on Xmas eve which caused CP to be cancelled (I made those ressies in August). I live in FL so I know the weather is out of anyones control. We had a very good time at OKW , this is a fabulous resort. We had wonderful meals, and the CM's were great. The parks were just too jammed to appreciate the lovely decortaions, and the true"feeling" of Christmas. We are just spoiled by being able to get to WDW often and rarely go during a busy time of year. We move very slowly around the parks taking in the small details. This was not a possibility during Xmas. In the future we will go in the early part of December when the crowds are more managelable. just my $0.02. Have a great trip whenever you decide to go.

 

[CarolynFH]

We spent 12/30/01-1/6/02 at BWV with my parents. We had a good time (they had never stayed at BW before), but it was way too crowded, especially NYE in Epcot. (I grew up in New Orleans, and it was like the French Quarter on Mardi Gras, not my idea of a fun place to be.) The decorations, the Osborne Lights, MVMCP, and CP are all available earlier in December, so when I need a Disney at Christmastime "fix" I'll go before Christmas-NY week!

 

[peachgirl]

We were at WDW this past Christmas and NYE from 12/19 - 01/01. We enjoyed it and I'm glad we went, but we won't ever go back again at that time of year. Up until Monday 12/23, it wasn't bad at all, after that it was horribly crowded. We did as others have suggested...used EE, left the parks by 11am, did MVMCP and used FastPass. We also planned months in advance and had all our priority seatings, Candlelight Processional and MVMCP plans in place. There wasn't anything we could have pre-planned that we didn't.

Still, our park time was very limited due to the crowds and to be very honest, the "mood" of the crowds changed dramatically after the 22nd. People were pushy and rude and generally very unpleasant. I've always claimed that WDW had some of the nicest people you'd ever find on vacation, but not at Christmas! I can't explain why the difference, but we definitely noticed it.

Also, the weather is much too unpredictable for us at that time of year. It was actually warmer here (Oklahoma) for most of our stay than it was in WDW!. It rained terribly on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as well as other days. It really did ruin the party atmosphere for New Year's Eve. There were only 2 or 3 days when the temps got beyond the mid 60's, so it was much too cold for us to make use of the pools or water parks.

With all those negatives I know it sounds like we had an awful time. We didn't. We had a wonderful time for the most part and as I said it was something we wanted to experience just once. Once was enough though. We prefer thinner crowds and warmer weather!

 

[Grumpy92]

All the sit down restaurants will offer some form of the traditional xmas dinner.
You might want to consider making reservations for the CP dinner pkg. This will include dinner at EC, reserved seating at the show and a discount on merchandise at the park for that day. Call early as this is a popular thing to do. They usually start taking resv in late Sept, first of Oct.
Yultide Tour-We did this one year because we wanted to do something different. It was so fun. We visited three parks, a resort and the wdw xmas warehouse. The guides discussed the various holiday traditions and how they decorate wdw. We even got free xmas ornaments at the end of the tour.
MVMCP- Another popular event that you will need to check on early before your arrival.
Dinner-We have done Mama Melrose on xmas eve and then walked thru the Osbourne lights. Last year we had dinner at Narcoossees and xmas day dinner at Yachtsmans St is a favorite.

NYE- We have done three of the parks on this night. Mk was the worst. MGM had the best entertainment and EC was the most fun. We did EC a few years ago, it was freezing but we went early stayed the day, had dinner at Akershus and toasted to the NY with Champagne on WS. The best part was watching the intl CMs celebrate Ny with their country, so we had countdowns all evening leading up to ours. The worst part was the worn out children who were sacked out EVERYWHERE in the park. This was just too much for many of the young ones.

Xmas Day - We try to avoid the parks. We have done Disneyquest, toured the resorts, tea at the GF and DD.

IOA has the Grinchmas, which is very cute.

 

[Thmacs]

Still, our park time was very limited due to the crowds and to be very honest, the "mood" of the crowds changed dramatically after the 22nd. People were pushy and rude and generally very unpleasant. I've always claimed that WDW had some of the nicest people you'd ever find on vacation, but not at Christmas! I can't explain why the difference, but we definitely noticed it.

Peachgirl,
I could not have said it better myself. I wanted to add that to my post but it kept coming out wrong so I deleted it. Thank you
for addressing this issue. My family felt the exact same way.

Thamcs