End of November/First of December Crowded?

[largemarge]

Happy Sunday fellow lovers of all things Disney! I have a question about resorts and crowds at the end of November/beginning of December. My husband and I are planning on going to Disney from Wednesday 11/29-Sunday 12/3. We have not booked a hotel yet and our options as of now are very limited because quite a few of the resorts have sold out (only 12 have are available). I had always read that this is supposed to be one of the least busy times of the year, but am a bit concerned seeing how many resorts have been fully booked! Do they wait and release more rooms closer to the date or are they all truly fully booked? Any input or knowledge is greatly appreciated! We might push our trip back to mid-January if it's looking like it's going to be slammed. Thanks in advance!

 

[Souvenir]

If no availability is showing on the website then they are most likely fully booked. It's common for people to plan far in advance for a Disney trip. However, it's also common for people to cancel or change plans prior to the deadline for doing so, 30 days out for packages, 5 days for room only reservations. If you want something in particular and there's no availability keep checking back. You may get lucky. You should probably book an alternative that you'd be happy with as a backup in the meantime.
As for crowds, I've gone the first week in December the past two years and while I wouldn't call it crowded, there were certainly plenty of people everywhere. Expect standby lines for the most popular rides to have waits of 45-75 minutes midday. Also make advanced dining reservations for the places you really want to eat because you won't be able to just walk up to many of them, especially in the parks.
I would say that mid-January (the alternate time frame you mention) is similar crowd wise, but without the early closures at Magic Kingdom for the separately ticketed Christmas Parties.

 

[mguimond1990]

We went last year during the time that you are looking at, and we were also under the impression that it was a "slow time" but we thought it was pretty crowded. Unbearable? No, not with the right planning. But definitely more crowded than we anticipated. As they say tho, there's really no slow times anymore. It's always busy.

 

[oliviosis]

We went last year during the time that you are looking at, and we were also under the impression that it was a "slow time" but we thought it was pretty crowded. Unbearable? No, not with the right planning. But definitely more crowded than we anticipated. As they say tho, there's really no slow times anymore. It's always busy.

Same. We went 12/4-12/10 2016 and the first two days of the week were relatively heavy compared to what I expected. So many blogs say that's one of the slowest weeks but I think Touring Plans ended up rating the actual crowds an average of 5 so moderate but those first two days were pretty crowded. Agree though that it's do able.
With regard to your dates being booked, try getting a quote from Magical Vacations travel. They book blocks of rooms like a conference so maybe they still have some available?

 

[largemarge]

Thanks for the tidbits! To be completely honest, it's a little disappointing to know it's not the "quiet" time that most crowd calendars predict, but we definitely can make it work! In regard to the resorts, we ended up booking a room at All Star Music for now. Not our first choice, but hopefully it will do the job. I will definitely look into Magical Vacations to see what they might be able to offer. Thanks again!

 

[JIMINYCR]

What used to be counted on as slow times are no longer. More & more people are targeting those dates because of their past low crowd history. After Thanksgiving to mid Dec it used to be ideal because you got in on the holiday decorations and events and could avoid the days before Christmas holiday crush. You still will have a lower crowd level than if you went later, or during summer vacation months, you will have waits at the attractions and competition for ADR's but still can have an enjoyable visit.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I encourage you to read through some of the posts that talk about traffic on the boards. As they will say there is no "slow times" anymore. A light day now compares to a busy day 5-10 years ago. The best thing you can do is plan. Make your dining reservations, make your fast passes, create a loose itinerary and don't be afraid to make adjustments on the fly. Expect heavy crowds and it you happen to be there on a "light" day make the best of it and enjoy the time. If you go in knowing what to expect and have fun you will have a blast, no matter the crowd level.

 

[dreamfinder]

Keep in mind that the first full week of December is usually Pop Warner Championships and Cheer competitions. So while they may not be in the parks all day, they do end up occupying a large chunk of rooms. So they will very well be checking in that Sat/Sun, causing alot of properties to be unavailable for the dates you selected.

 

[largemarge]

Thank you! That could definitely be a possibility with the rooms. I have been in touch with a Magical Vacations agent and she is going to see if she can get us a room at POFQ so fingers crossed! We will definitely go in preparing for crowds. This will be my 12th visit so I've pretty much seen it all at this point! However, this is my first visit around the holidays so I am very much looking forward to seeing the parks and resorts all jazzed up.

 

[largemarge]

So we ended up changing our dates completely and pushed it back to late January. Even though it's a month and a half later, the availability of resorts and dining reservations looked to be majorly different from early December. Hopefully that's a good sign! We were also able to get an awesome deal from Magical Vacations (thanks for the recommendation!!!!!!) and are staying at POFQ for the first time. Maybe sometime in the near future we can visit around the holidays! But for now, we are looking forward to checking out the Arts Festival at Epcot!