Christmas Eve Arrival Advice

[tjpeeb]

Hello All,

This will be our first trip to WDW and I think I am getting pretty close to getting this thing planned out. I will be staying in the world from christmas eve and will be leaving new years day. My arrival at the park will be around 1pm and I am looking for advice for this mid-day arrival on a busy, busy day. My wife would like to do the candlelight processional in epcot but the crowds... I was thinking that we could save the CP for a slower epcot day and go to the MK instead and take it easy and do some shows, tiki room, whatever and save the rides for an AM MK day. I need to be careful here because we will be with our 8yo daughter she will want rides, rides, rides. Any ideas are welcome and your input is appreciated.

 

[AEfx]

Pray?



That's the best advice I can give, LOL. You are going to WDW at the absolutely busiest time of year.

If you can get a PS (or ADR, or whatever they are calling it now) you should be all set for dinner, and I doubt any day during that stay is going to be any less crowded. To get them on Christmas Eve though you'll really need to call at 7am 90 days out.

You didn't share how you came to those dates - is it because that's the only time you are able to go? If you went a week or two later you'd be in one of the SLOWEST time of year. Since it's your first trip, I'd hate for your first experience to be those throngs of people absolutely everywhere.

Either way, I send best wishes for a magical trip! If you do go Christmas week, plan plan plan!

AEfx

 

[tjpeeb]

Unfortunately this is when my family can go. We have a daughter in school and we dont want to pull her for a vacation. Other opportinities include spring break and summers. We chose Chrismas because of all of the extra disney magic this time of year. We know it is very busy and will do our best to prepare. We will get to the parks at opening and use a touring plan(except for this first day), we plan on taking breaks each day as well. Anyway, we will either go to MK or EPC after we arrive Chrismas Eve and I am looking for advice on which attractions to tackle mid-afternoon after our arrival on Chrismas Eve. Thanks for the input

 

[Laura]

I wouldn't even know where to start. I do so poorly in big crowds.

I just hope you are very very patient people. I am NOT patient and I always choose to go during the least busy times.

I also hope that you will have another opportunity in the future to go during a time when the crowds are light so you will be able to slow down and enjoy all the little details.

I think my advice would be to just enjoy the decorations and not really expect much else. You said your daughter loves the rides, but make sure she knows ahead of time that there will be very very long waits. Maybe get some handheld games or something she can do to keep from getting bored in the lines.

I don't have any advice about what attractions to tackle. I'd say just grab a fastpass for one and wait in line for another.

 

[surfsupdon]

Everyone speaks about how horrible Christmas thru New Years Week is, but I have done it for the past 3 seasons and our fmaily loves it. And get this, the longest we waited was 42 minutes for Peter Pan.

You figure a lot of the people that vacation that week are tourists, not locals and not many people who understand how Disney works. You wouldn't believe how many people do not understand FastPass that week. Arrive at park openings, always have a FastPass in your hand, and head back to your resort before noon. Enter the parks again later at night. They are generally emptied our fairly well past 10pm, especially emptier in the last hour they are open.

Make sure you get your dining reservations early for Christmas Eve/Day and New Years. You will need to leave a credit card number. The rest of the days of that week we were able to get PSs as late as a few weeks before we left.

As for your intial question, I would just go to a park and walk around in the evening. I would relax and situate myself in the room, then hit the parks in the evening and night. I would suggest getting a dinner and then heading over to MGM to stroll. In years past, the park has stayed open till 11pm but the Osborne Light display has stayed open until after park closing, approaching midnight. It is a beautiful display that SCREAMS Christmas and the later you go, the less people will be there. I would not reccommend CandleLight Processional until after Christmas Day. b/c I see that as drawing more crowds and b/c of the limited seating you do not want to get turned away. The Lights will really put you in a Christmas mood, complete with carols, snowfalls, and music.

So pretty much I'd relax and hit MGM that day, if you arrive in the later afternoon you may be able to get FastPasses for Tower at around 10pm which would be perfect timing for a dinner, a few rides, and Osborne Lights. Then go back to your room, listen for the prancing and pawing of each little hoof, and have a Merry Christmas! :xmas:

I love Disney World during Christmas and New Years!! Have fun!

 

[shoppingnut]

Regarding the Candlelight, you might want to consider doing the Candlelight dinner package where you pay basically for the dinner and get priority seating into the show. I have done this many times and it is well worth while, don't have to worry about waiting in a long line especially since it has become more and more popular. Also, I would maybe wait to see who will be doing the CP since the speaker is changed about every 3 days. I know generally around New Year's both Levar Burton or Gary Sinese have done it for several years, but this year could be different. I'm not sure when the schedule comes out, but if you want more info on the CP dinner package you can go on www.allearsnet.com.

 

[MinnieSummer]

My family does WDW for Christmas each year. We always do the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package on Christmas Eve and NEVER go to MK on Christmas Day. We usually go to AK on Christmas Day. No crowds, no waits, beautiful decorations, all the characters in the Christmas finery and easily accessible. Definitely the place to be if you want the holiday spirit without the holiday crush. Epcot on Christmas Eve has never been a problem for us although I have heard of people lining up hours in advance of the CP. The dinner package works for us. When the CP is over we just find a place to watch Illuminations and then slowly walk out of the park. One other thing that we have found works for us. I bring a four foot tree and upon arrival Christmas Eve morning, we put up the tree and then head over to Epcot. The one year we didn't do the CP we visited with Santa and some characters in our hotel. Another thing we do is ship the "Santa" gifts to our hotel for arrival the day before we do. Then, on Christmas eve, after my daughter is asleep, I go down to the lobby and get the box, put the presents under the tree and when she wakes up she thinks santa has been there. Works like "magic" Anyway, don't let the crowds sway you. Christmas at Disny is magical if you just approach it with your eyes open and plan ahead. If you have any other questions I'm sure someone here will have the answers, you might get various opinions, but that will help in your making a well informed decision.