Between Christmas and New Years

[H2Opolo15]

My family and I are planning a trip during what may be the busiest time of year to, Dec 26-30. What is some good advice about planning our adventure during this time. Such as what do to when, things you have found successfull/unsuccessfull, and any other tidbits of advice. Please refrain from the class "don't" post. Thanks in advance!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

My biggest piece of advice is to take time to visit the resorts. Some of them do incredible decorations for the Holiday Season and they are worth going to see. The next thing I'd say is be patient (which I assume you know) and use FastPass as much as you can to alleviate the "standing in line" boredom. The only other thing I can think of is, and this is especially true with the new Fantasyland opening before you go, when you do MK, hit Fantasyalnd first! It is historically the first land to "fill up" and get busy!

 

[Britt]

I would make sure to get to the parks early and plan to stay the entire day....some days they stop letting people in and you'd hate to be that person!!!

It is going to be so gorgeous though!!

 

[sam_disney]

best advice i can give you , as we were there at that time this past year...

Is get up early, get to the parks, grab fastpasses for the major attractions but take your time and enjoy being in the parks! Do as much as you can!


Check out my trip report in my signature... to see what the crowds were like!

 

[maryszhi]

I would make sure to get to the parks early and plan to stay the entire day....some days they stop letting people in and you'd hate to be that person!!!

It is going to be so gorgeous though!!

agreed. make sure to stay hydrated as well. Make sure that you bring clothes for warm, cold, and average temp. because weather can be chancy. see all the of the decorations at the resorts, and parks. also do not expect to do everything. Its very crowded, and chances are you won't be able to do everything. make advance dinning reservations asap.

 

[Mr.Skunkape]

Magic Kingdom does New years eve fireworks the day before new years eve and new years eve.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Often it's best to avoid EMH. Go to a park the morning immediately after it's had Evening EMH.

Go early, be there before opening. Immediately get FPs for your #1 ride. Try to ride as much as you can as long as you can handle the crowds. Always get the next FP as soon as possible.

Leave once you can no longer stomach the crowds. Head back to your resort. Take it easy in the afternoon. Relax in the room or poolside, if it's warm enough. If you have the energy, visit other resorts to check out their Christmas decorations or stop by DTD.

Once you feel you've rested & reenergized, head back to the parks, the later the better. Avoid the first parades/shows. These are absolute mad houses. It's much better to try to ride attractions while everyone else is lining up for the parades. Stay as late as you can.

Repeat the cycle each day until completely exhausted. Then remind yourself never to go during Christmas week again.

 

[coachwnh]

Often it's best to avoid EMH. Go to a park the morning immediately after it's had Evening EMH.

Go early, be there before opening. Immediately get FPs for your #1 ride. Try to ride as much as you can as long as you can handle the crowds. Always get the next FP as soon as possible.

Leave once you can no longer stomach the crowds. Head back to your resort. Take it easy in the afternoon. Relax in the room or poolside, if it's warm enough. If you have the energy, visit other resorts to check out their Christmas decorations or stop by DTD.

Once you feel you've rested & reenergized, head back to the parks, the later the better. Avoid the first parades/shows. These are absolute mad houses. It's much better to try to ride attractions while everyone else is lining up for the parades. Stay as late as you can.

Repeat the cycle each day until completely exhausted. Then remind yourself never to go during Christmas week again.

This is our plan. We are AP holders, but this is our first Christmas trip to WDW. Even when we visit at other times during the year, we get started early. its amazing what you can accomplish with an early start. Im hoping to get half of that done before we leave the parks to enjoy the Yacht club pool and adult beverages!!! Heres to a great Christmas in the world!!

 

[swissamy]

My advice would be a bit different - SLOW DOWN!

As this is the busiest time ever to be at WDW, when we have come during this period, we have taken the mindset that we know we won't be able to "do it all" so we just tried to benefit from fast passes, EMH, and reservations for as many meals as possible.

WE have found that by making reservations for meals that we dont normally eat at sit down restaurants (lunch or breakfast) we can escape the masses and have a bit of sanity in a busy day. I would make reservations for all meals and cancel in advance the ones you dont want when you are there. Sometimes, a skillet at WL can really make a good late morning meal and a relaxing break if we hit the MK at EMH super early.

Prioritize what you (in our case it is the kids) want to do most and try to do that in each park and for the rest, slow down and enjoy the decorations, the Osborne lights at turn on time, strolling through Epcot after illuminations when everyone is rushing to leave .

One year we watched the NEw Years eve fireworks from the beach at Caribbean Beach rather than being bothered by the Epcot pandemonium.

A wonderful trip can be had - it is a question of planning and mindset! Enjoy!!

 

[quirkle]

We have done XMas - do it early and do it with joy! We would go in early and leave when the crowds annoyed us. Then do basically whatever we wanted - we never stressed or cared we just enjoyed.

 

[CaptainShortty]

My biggest piece of advice...PACK YOUR PATIENCE!

You are going without a doubt the most crowded time of the year where wait times for popular attractions can hit 3 hours easily and those not so popular attractions can hit an hour by noon. Everything is going to have a wait so be prepared of that. You cannot do the same amount that you would during a regular Disney vacation at some other time.

If you haven't made your ADRs yet, do so now! ADRs for lunch can help you escape the crowds during the height of the day so you can enjoy the parks more at night when things have slowed down a little.

Plan on minimal travel time for park hopping and ADRs. Travel time between locations, no matter what the mode of transportation is going to take you longer than usual. Minimize the travel time as much as possible.

Get to the parks early. The parks may begin to close early due to capacity so you don't want to get shut out. This usually only happens at MK but be weary no matter where you're going.

Take some time to explore the resorts. They are beautifully done up for the holidays so don't miss them. All of the resorts get decked out but the deluxes get the most so be sure to definitely stop by them!

Have a great time!!