2018 Christmas Week Experiences

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
My question is - Why would anyone want to go to Disney over Xmas Holiday? If you know its going to be swamped, do you really want to wait in long lines and have to push through crowds of people & kids? Stay home, enjoy your Xmas tree & presents. We are avid fans of Disney & have resident annual passes. We only go when the kids are in school. But, if you have kids that are in school, take them out one day and go during the week - never on a holiday! My advice to Disney - they should build a brand new park instead of adding to the four they have. They need to disperse the crowds that just keep getting worse. They could have built a completely new park that was just for Pandora and one for Star Wars. This would take some of the stress off the old parks. They could have a separate fee for the 2 new parks. With less crowds they would get more people and more gate fees.


For us, it's the only time to go. My son is in college and my daughter in middle school. This is the only time the vacations line up without 90 degree heat (which would be torture and not a vacation for us). We don't spend hour after hour in the parks at this time of year. We do fastpasses as well as possible during the day, and usually go back at night. Being at the Boardwalk makes it easy for us to come and go. Afternoons are usually spent dining, napping and/or swimming. Also, if the crowds are too nuts somewhere, we just leave. We've ridden pretty much everything, so it isn't a huge sacrifice to go back to the Boardwalk if the crowds are nuts. Plus, if one or two of us want to stay, we do. We're not afraid to break up the party.
 

Raineman

Well-Known Member
I would have loved to be in the HM standby line that the OP posted a picture of, simply for the fact that I have never been down onto the keel boat dock and would love to get a closer look.
 

HonoraMary

New Member
Some years ago a watched a Japanese program that did a story about Tokyo Disney one day in Golden Week (late April/early May they have 4 national holidays clumped together and practically everybody is off from work for that week). The parking lots were full before noon, and the line of cars waiting to get in went on for miles (helicopter cam). A reporting team interviewed a family who had driven hours to get there, only to wait hours to get in. They checked back with them the next day, and after they finally got into the park, they waited on line for hours, got on two rides, saw a parade and went home.
 

F'nGoofy

Member
I just returned from being down there from the 26th to the 2nd, and spent NYE in the Magic Kingdom. I have never seen it like that before. You really couldn’t walk in the Magic Kingdom. The other parks weren’t too bad, considering it was the holiday week (except for TSL, which was expected). By 5:30, you couldn’t walk anyplace near the castle or Main St. they had people walking in back of Main St. to get from Adventureland to Tomorrowland, which was interesting. I had to be there, and got my trip paid for, so I’m not complaining about it. Our high school’s marching band was marching in the Magic Kingdom on NYE, and I drive the equipment around so there I was. (Got to see a headless tigger and Olaf backstage). After the parade, it was just too much to deal with, with those throngs of people.

Being in Disney beats being just about anywhere. I figured it would be busy, but not like that. I would never plan a trip down there during the holidays.

These pictures were taken at 5:30...
AD03CFBE-3578-43BF-B877-1A303F5639C4.jpeg
AD03CFBE-3578-43BF-B877-1A303F5639C4.jpeg
8A559E54-3446-449B-AA25-07C18B3551E0.jpeg
 

Sonconato

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I just returned from being down there from the 26th to the 2nd, and spent NYE in the Magic Kingdom. I have never seen it like that before. You really couldn’t walk in the Magic Kingdom. The other parks weren’t too bad, considering it was the holiday week (except for TSL, which was expected). By 5:30, you couldn’t walk anyplace near the castle or Main St. they had people walking in back of Main St. to get from Adventureland to Tomorrowland, which was interesting. I had to be there, and got my trip paid for, so I’m not complaining about it. Our high school’s marching band was marching in the Magic Kingdom on NYE, and I drive the equipment around so there I was. (Got to see a headless tigger and Olaf backstage). After the parade, it was just too much to deal with, with those throngs of people.

Being in Disney beats being just about anywhere. I figured it would be busy, but not like that. I would never plan a trip down there during the holidays.

These pictures were taken at 5:30...View attachment 338372View attachment 338372View attachment 338373
Thank you for posting these photos around the Hub! We were in Adventureland around that time and were floored by the crowds over there. This is even worse! We always go around the Hub because we really don't like how it's changed from a Park like feel to a Parking lot like feel.
 

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
every so often I get a longing to go during Christmas and then I come to my senses. Some thing will have gone horribly wrong to make me brave those crowds.

Yikes.

I would like to go for a long weekend just to check out the decorations but I wouldn't handle the crowds
Early December is much better, you get the decorations with less crowds.
 

I'mwatchinguWizowski

Active Member
I agree with OP And several others. We do Christmas every year and this was by far the worst crowds we have seen vs years past. We have to go because of school and skipping school at this point is no longer an option for my oldest...did it tons in elementary. :) I was prepared for it so my expectations weren’t very high to ride to a ton of things. We enjoyed the parks and just being there for Christmas but what I couldn’t believe was how rude and mean people were...to kids!!! My kids were pushed, pulled and even almost separated at one point. It made me sad to see people behave this way. It wasnt only the huge crowds that seemed “worse” than usual it was just people attitudes.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom