When to go in December?

I don't know what the crowds are like that week before Christmas. However, I have been there between Christmas and New Year's Eve and the crowds are rediculoius in size. Even though the weather can be pleasant, if your kids get irritable easily I would avoid that week (you can expect lines between 90 mins and 180+ mins, depending on the ride). If your family does not mind the crowds, I felt that New Year's Eve in Disney was worth the experience.

We stayed on property Dec 25 08 - Jan 3rd 09. We were prepared for chaos and pleasantly surprised by what appeared to be lighter than anticipated crowds (no busier than an Easter weekend). New Years Eve was murder - but this didn't spoil our fun and we will definately revisit Disney during this time frame.
Be careful with daily breaks - parks do reach capacity during this time (we only experienced it on NYE when MK and EPCOT closed mid-morning). Being a resort guest DOES NOT guarantee admission - they will only allow you in during the first three phases of closure - phase 4 nobody gets in and nobody knows when (or if) the park will re-open

You couldn't pay me to go the days between Christmas and New Year's.

coltow said:

You couldn't pay me to go the days between Christmas and New Year's.

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Amen, Sister.
You have spoken wisely.

:xmas:

coltow said:

You couldn't pay me to go the days between Christmas and New Year's.

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Have you actually visited during this time and experienced it yourself - or just heard stories from others ??

I go every year for the first week of December. In terms of crowds, its historically been the lowest in numbers. Love it!

Never been there the week before or after Xmas, but I've read enough posts and heard from people that have been there the week AFTER Xmas. It sucks...period. Yeah...its great to be in WDW for the holidays, but I guess that is what the other 200,000 people are thinking who book their vacation for the same place at the same time. It's insane in terms of crowds. They can actually close the parks and not let anymore people in until it gets under control. Sure, they will let people who are staying on property in, but who wants to to to MK when there are 75,000 other people in it? Who wants to wait 2 hours to ride SM once? Or go to Epcot and with THREE hours to ride Soarin?

Apparently, some people will ignore all this and go the week after Xmas. Being a seasoned Disney Kool-Aid drinker with 20+ trips under my belt, there is NO WAY I'd go the week AFTER Xmas; during Easter break; or July through August. I want to enjoy my $5K+ vacation, not fight crowds to the point of exhaustion. :animwink:

Just recently returned from a December trip to WDW, Universal and SeaWorld. My days I selected were Dec. 11-16, a weekend through mid-week trip, just before the throng of holiday guests arrived.

Despite the first day in the mid-60s with sprinkles of rain, and my departing day that was 74 with a slight wind and clouds, my time at WDW and Central Orlando was awesome. Lucked out with near 80 and then three days in the mid-80s.

As for the time you would like to visit WDW, pretty nice time to visit would be Dec. 1-18. With the exception of Pop Warner and cheerleaders, crowds were minimal at all places and wait times were walk-ons or 10-15 minutes at best, with the exception of Rip Ride Rockit, Toy Story Midway Mania, Space Mountain, Small World, Peter Pan, Snow White, Dinousaur, and Manta.

I take that back -- Rip Ride Rockit was "down for seasonal maintenance" when I visited, but I have read it is still a very popular ride. Dueling Dragons, Spider-man, The Hulk, The Mummy, Men In Black, The Kraken, Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Big Thunder were walk-ons pretty much. Maybe a 5-minute wait at best.

Of course, it all depends on the time you visit the parks (morning, noon, evening) and what day of the week. Weekends are a little bit busier, because it's the weekend, and Disney Parks flux depending on the extra magic hours and Mickey's Christmas Party that are offered.

I lucked out because I have been to Central Florida many times, three in the past three years, and that I have done three solo trips. So, I took advantage of single rider lines. But let me say, Rock n Roller and The Mummy shut down their single-rider lines because the crowd levels were down to nothing.

Best of luck in planning.

Went on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of this year...It was quite heavy, but at the same time, manageable. Much like August.


It's a great time to go, though. Decor (where it still is! :lol is show-stopping and the weather is simply wonderful.

Re-read your post, so you are military or work for the government? Well, Shades of Green is a great place to stay. Even though it's on Disney property, and has minimal touches of Disney, it's very military, and every economical. You don't know you are staying at a Disney resort, let alone a military resort.

Room rates are based on your pay grade, and best of it all is that there is no tax on the room, and an AAFES shopette / Class Six is located in the resort.

Shades of Green has their own transportation to and from the Disney parks and Downtown Disney. They even charter vans to shuttle you to and from SeaWorld and Universal for $10 per person. Take advantage of it.

Shades of Green rooms are double-queens with a big bathroom and a mini living area, complete with a hideaway sofa.

Many military Disney fans have commented on this board on how great Shades is. A cool thing is that you don't have to take a Shades bus to get to the Disney parks. You can walk across the street to the Polynesian or to the Transportation Ticket Center and use Disney transportation. The walk to and from Shades to the Poly is like 10 minutes, and 15 to TTC.

Yes, Shades guests are guests on Disney and can enter the Disney Parks even if the park is in a phase shutdown.

I've visited WDW and stayed at Shades in August and October in recent years and loved both times. But to each their own. If you do visit WDW in December, holiday decorations are everywhere and holiday music is blaring everywhere, even in the beginning. It was lovely visiting in sumer conditions with shorts, a t-shirt, and a santa cap with no snow.

Check out the amenities at Shades of Green for yourself.

bugsbunny said:

I go every year for the first week of December. In terms of crowds, its historically been the lowest in numbers. Love it!

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Made it to WDW last December 1-8, and loved it. A little chillier than we would have liked (cold spell hit) but the crowds wer negligble.

Thanks for all the great info everyone. It sounds like if we go in Dec it needs to be the week before Christmas. I hate making decisions. :brick::lol:

a2grafix said:

Re-read your post, so you are military or work for the government? Well, Shades of Green is a great place to stay. Even though it's on Disney property, and has minimal touches of Disney, it's very military, and every economical. You don't know you are staying at a Disney resort, let alone a military resort.

Room rates are based on your pay grade, and best of it all is that there is no tax on the room, and an AAFES shopette / Class Six is located in the resort.

Shades of Green has their own transportation to and from the Disney parks and Downtown Disney. They even charter vans to shuttle you to and from SeaWorld and Universal for $10 per person. Take advantage of it.

Shades of Green rooms are double-queens with a big bathroom and a mini living area, complete with a hideaway sofa.

Many military Disney fans have commented on this board on how great Shades is. A cool thing is that you don't have to take a Shades bus to get to the Disney parks. You can walk across the street to the Polynesian or to the Transportation Ticket Center and use Disney transportation. The walk to and from Shades to the Poly is like 10 minutes, and 15 to TTC.

Yes, Shades guests are guests on Disney and can enter the Disney Parks even if the park is in a phase shutdown.

I've visited WDW and stayed at Shades in August and October in recent years and loved both times. But to each their own. If you do visit WDW in December, holiday decorations are everywhere and holiday music is blaring everywhere, even in the beginning. It was lovely visiting in sumer conditions with shorts, a t-shirt, and a santa cap with no snow.

Check out the amenities at Shades of Green for yourself.

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Thanks for the info on S of G. I am really leaning towards staying there to save money. And it looks really nice. :wave:

I just went December 12-17, it was much hotter and much more crowded than we expected. We avoided big rides because of major long lines (70 minutes+ at Space Mountain and Soarin') but enjoyed the things we got to do. I can't imagine going the week between Christmas and New Year's, I've heard horror stories!

Of your two choices, I would select 17-23. Volume will build throughout that time, but it will be more managible than Christmas week. I like the idea of Poly as it is very convenient for mid day breaks and quick access to both MK and Epcot. As others have said here....I prefer going one of the first two weeks in December for lighter crowds.

Even with larger crowds, the parks are managible with a plan, and hopefully you are morning people. Getting to the park at opening or EMH in the mornings will give you 2-3 hours of comfortable touring before the crowds really start to build at around 11:00.

If you do go during this time, be sure to make your ADR's (restaurant reservations) early, and I strongly suggest getting a dining package for Candlelight Processional at Epcot. If participating in Mickeys Very Merry Christmas party is of interest to you, you would need to choose the earlier week, and be able to catch one of the last parties offered. Unfortunately that would be fairly crowded as well, but is a nice holiday experience to have at least once.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

CAPTAIN HOOK said:

Have you actually visited during this time and experienced it yourself - or just heard stories from others ??

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In 2008 my cousin and her family were there (we had gone 2 weeks before Christmas). She told me about the lines they encountered. At first I thought she was exaggerating, but then I saw her pictures. Wall to wall people, 60mn wait for Small World, parks filled to capacity, um, no thank you

ClemsonTigger said:

Of your two choices, I would select 17-23. Volume will build throughout that time, but it will be more managible than Christmas week. I like the idea of Poly as it is very convenient for mid day breaks and quick access to both MK and Epcot. As others have said here....I prefer going one of the first two weeks in December for lighter crowds.

Even with larger crowds, the parks are managible with a plan, and hopefully you are morning people. Getting to the park at opening or EMH in the mornings will give you 2-3 hours of comfortable touring before the crowds really start to build at around 11:00.

If you do go during this time, be sure to make your ADR's (restaurant reservations) early, and I strongly suggest getting a dining package for Candlelight Processional at Epcot. If participating in Mickeys Very Merry Christmas party is of interest to you, you would need to choose the earlier week, and be able to catch one of the last parties offered. Unfortunately that would be fairly crowded as well, but is a nice holiday experience to have at least once.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

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Thanks for all your info. We just booked Shades of Green for Dec 17-23rd. :sohappy: The price was just too good to pass up. No dining but that is ok. I have basically a year to save. :lol: I would love to try the Christmas Party if we can and we plan on only getting 4 day PH tkts and taking one day to see all the decorations in all the hotels, in fact we may do that on our last day when it starts getting more crowded in the parks. Does Fantasmic show during Dec? My son really wants to see it. Thanks for all your help.

We go every year from roughly December 20th through the 26th. We don't even bother with the parks the last day as it is way to crowded. But, in the days prior to Christmas Day we manage to hit all the parks and see everything we want. The closer to Christmas the longer the lines so we get the must do things out of the way in the first couple of days and then do the different things during the really crowded days -- like the trails in AK, and all the holiday shows at MK. You've definitely made the right choice with your dates.

As soon as the 120 day mark hits I highly recommend making your dining reservations. The longer you wait the less likely you are to get the restaurants you want at reasonable times. Since your son wants to see fantasmic, I would do a dinner package that includes seats as it really eliminates the need to be in line an hour before show time. I recommend the same thing for Candlelight Processional if you want to see that.

Enjoy.

DisneyNole said:

I just went December 12-17, it was much hotter and much more crowded than we expected. We avoided big rides because of major long lines (70 minutes+ at Space Mountain and Soarin') but enjoyed the things we got to do. I can't imagine going the week between Christmas and New Year's, I've heard horror stories!

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We were there the very same dates and were also surprised at how crowded it was. Mostly Magic Kingdom IMO. We didn't have any trouble with crowds much at the other parks. The temperatures were perfect to me. I have never been the week after Christmas but my brother in law & sister in law went several years ago and have said that the crowds were horrible and they would never, ever go back that time of year again. It will probably be less expensive to go earlier also. We paid value season rates and the holiday rates went into effect on the 18th.

tink68 said:

Hi everyone. :wave: I have not been on here in awhile and I hope everyone is doing well and had a wonderful holiday.
I have a few questions for you experts on DW.
We were not going to go to DW this year but have decided to maybe try for December. Is it better to go Dec 17-23rd or Dec 26-Jan 1? I have heard about the week after Christmas being the busiest but how is the week before? Also where should we stay? Our choices are Shades of Green (any reviews of this would be great-we have never stayed here), GF, Poly or honestly any deluxe. We have stayed at Contemporary, WL and YC before so a different one would be great. We have decided that if we go at this time we want to stay deluxe so that when we take our daily breaks it is easier to get back to our hotel. We have a 14 yr old and a 5 yr old so daily breaks will be done. I know sometimes parks reach capacity and as long as you stay on property you can get in. Does this include Shades of Green?
Another option for us is to go in August (hot-yuck) LOL or wait until March 2011 and go during Spring Break .
Any reviews, suggestions, etc would be great. Thanks for your help and everyone have a great day.

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The before Christmas is a great time to go! We went for a week before Christmas a few years ago - departed on the 23rd. For the first half the trip - it was a breeze - almost no wait times at all. The closer you got to Christmas, the more the crowds came. But over all - a great time to go.